The future relationship between the UK and the EU will not be negotiated within two years, says the former head of the Foreign Office.

Separation talks could be completed within the two year deadline set out in Article 50, but a future relationship would take longer to negotiate, Sir Simon Fraser told BBC Newsnight.
Sir Simon said "transitional arrangements" would be necessary.
Prime Minister Theresa May will invoke Article 50 on Wednesday.
"It's certain that we won't have resolved everything in the period before the expiry of the Article 50 process," Sir Simon Fraser told BBC Newsnight.
"The EU side want to start with negotiating the terms of the separation... And the British side, on top of that, wants to move rapidly to discuss the future relationship - both political and economic - between Britain and the EU. And that is a very complex second set of negotiations."
Because of the difficulty of defining the future relationship, Sir Simon, who held senior posts in Brussels and Whitehall before becoming the head of the diplomatic service, believes talks will soon shift to the nature of 'transitional arrangements'. This means vital questions about how the UK does business with the EU could be left unresolved far beyond 2019.
Many Brexit supporters had hoped informal negotiations with the EU could start before the Article 50 clock begins ticking this week. Negotiations are limited to two years.
But Sir Simon said the European Commission has thwarted such plans: "There has been a very disciplined position across the EU, and I don't think that there has been a lot of informal behind the scenes discussion of the agenda or of the key issues yet."
Sir Simon is also sceptical that the UK will be able to play off different countries among the EU's 27 countries.
"The UK has got to negotiate with the EU as a whole through the EU's appointed negotiator, which will be essentially led by the Commission."
He added: "I think it would be a mistake to try divide and rule because I don't think that that will work."
While Article 50 allows up to two years to reach an agreement, the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said he wants the outline of a deal to be ready by autumn 2018, in the hope that it can then go before the European Parliament for ratification and member states for agreement well before the deadline is up.
But many diplomats, Sir Simon Fraser among them, believe that there will be no serious political discussions before this autumn, following the German elections.
While Brexit dominates national debate in the UK, it is a secondary issue for many European governments.
This could lead to delays in negotiations with many governments not taking positions until they have to. Combined with the complexity of the Brexit discussions, many diplomats believe that the UK could find itself close to a "cliff edge" without final agreement.
Sir Simon said while it was in the interest of both sides to avoid such a scenario, there was a "risk of political ill will and turbulence - both political and economic" if a deal is not reached within the Article 50 timeframe.
It is for this reason that Mr Barnier may want to make transitional arrangements dependent on a resolution of one of the first items on the EU's divorce agenda: getting the UK to agree to paying a bill of tens of billions into the Commission's coffers.
Mark Urban is diplomatic and defence editor for BBC Newsnight


Warner Bros has won a case against the heirs of one of the creators of Superman allowing it to continue to own all rights to the famous superhero.

It follows a ruling that the heirs had given up their claim on the character in 1992.
Superman is one of Warner Bros most valuable characters.
The Man of Steel's co-creators, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, battled for higher compensation for Superman throughout their lives.
Siegel's heirs have also fought DC Comics - owned by Warner - for a stake in copyrights to Superman.
In 2010, DC Comics sued the brother and sister of Shuster, the artist responsible for Superman, on the basis that they relinquished their ability to reclaim the superhero's copyrights in exchange for annual pension payments from DC Comics.
Shuster's heirs had argued that the copyright agreements could be cancelled under provisions that allowed the creators of works made before 1978 a mechanism to reclaim their rights.
However, Judge Wright ruled that Shuster's sister's decision to accept higher annual payments created a new agreement which cancelled any previous contract.
A lawyer for the Shuster family said in a statement: "We respectfully disagree with its factual and legal conclusions, and it is surprising given that the judge appeared to emphatically agree with our position at the summary judgment hearing."
Warner Bros declined to comment on the ruling.
Superman has generated more than $500m (Â£310m) for Warner Bros with five films at the US box office and billions of dollars more from television, toys and games, and comic books spanning 74 years.
The latest Superman film, Man of Steel, is due for release in 2013.
Director Zach Snyder told fans at Comic-Con earlier this year that his film would make the superhero more relatable than previous depictions that showed him as "a big blue Boy Scout up on the throne and you can't really touch him."


The leaders of Australia's two main political parties have begun discussions with independent MPs about forming a minority government.

The result of Saturday's election is too close to call and the result will not be known until at least Tuesday.
At least 11 of 150 lower house seats remain in doubt.
The Australian Electoral Commission tally has Labor leading in 69 seats and the ruling Liberal-National coalition leading in 64 seats.
Five seats are listed as close, and another six as "not yet determined".  Counting of pre-poll, postal and absentee votes will resume on Tuesday.
Despite being behind in the official tally, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said early on Sunday morning he still expected to get the 76 seats he needs to form a new administration.  Postal votes are expected to favour his candidates.
Analysts are still predicting that Mr Turnbull's coalition will come closest to forming a government, though a hung parliament, where neither party has an absolute majority, is likely.
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The result is not decided, but the blame game has already begun.
Even if Malcolm Turnbull manages to snag a working majority - and that looks increasingly unlikely - he still comes out the loser in this election. Critics are already calling him out for a "lazy campaign".
Turnbull must wear this, but the record strength of the independent vote suggests something larger at play than a prime minister who misread the public mood.
There's been a flight away from mainstream politics to those advocating protectionist and anti-immigration policies in the US, UK and much of Europe. It seems Australians are of a similar mind.
Up to 12 upper house seats will go to politicians from outside the mainstream, including anti-immigration candidate Pauline Hanson. This will create major headaches for whoever forms a government.
Mr Turnbull confirmed he had held discussions with independent members of Australia's lower house, whose support he will need in a hung parliament.
These include Queensland independent Bob Katter, who said on Sunday he had drawn up a list of demands, and Senator Nick Xenophon, whose newly formed political party polled strongly and took a lower house seat.
Bill Shorten, leader of the Labor opposition, has also been talking to the crossbenchers, although most analysts believe it is unlikely he will be able to form a minority government.
All 150 seats in Australia's lower house, the House of Representatives, were being contested at this election, as were all 76 seats in the upper house, the Senate.
Nearly a quarter of Australians voted for a lower house candidate from outside the major parties. Results for the Senate vote are expected to take several weeks.
It is the first time in decades that all the seats in both houses have been contested in a single election. The double-dissolution election, as it is known, was called by Mr Turnbull in an attempt to break a deadlock over industrial relations legislation.
Counting will not resume until Tuesday because postal votes, absentee votes and pre-poll votes need to be packaged up and returned to counting stations to be processed.


Ivory Coast international Max Gradel has insisted his loan move to Toulouse was not prompted by a falling out with Bournemouth.

Gradel did not start a Premier League game for Bournemouth last season and is now at the French club until the end of the season.
The 29-year-old is relishing playing regularly and a return to France.
"I understand the French league and coming back here was not a difficult decision," Gradel told BBC Sport.
"There was no problems or whatsoever with Bournemouth, but the chance to play regular football was too good an opportunity to turn down,
"Even though it's tough when you are not getting regular football, but I always enjoyed support from everyone connected to the club."
The former Leeds United player joined the Bournemouth from French side St Etienne in 2015 and signed a new four-year contract the following year.
Despite a lack for regular playing time for Bournemouth he was part of the Ivory Coast squad at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
The winger, who has scored eight goals in 50 appearances for his country, felt his lack of opportunities was going to affect his international career.
"There's personal desire play regularly for club and country this season, considering the World Cup qualifiers throws up a big competition for places," he added.
"So my decision [to go out on loan] is based purely on football and ambition. You have to make a strong case for yourself by playing regularly wherever you are.
"It's what's best for me and my career because I want to help my country qualify for Russia and play in the World Cup."
Gradel played in all three of Ivory Coast's games at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon as the defending champions failed to get past the group stages.
He has played in four African Cup of Nations tournaments with the Ivory Coast and was a member of the 2015 title-winning squad in Equatorial Guinea.
Gradel was also part of the squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, featuring against Colombia.


Ceremonies have taken place to mark the centenary of the start of the bloodiest battle in British history.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was at a service in France to remember the lives lost in the Battle of the Somme.
Prime Minister David Cameron, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were also at the ceremony at The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.
Earlier a two minute silence marked the exact moment the first wave of men went over the top in the battle.
It brought to an end an overnight vigil by members of the armed forces at the National War Memorial in Edinburgh.
More than a million men were wounded or killed in the 141-day battle, the most devastating encounter of World War One.
A ceremony has been held at the Lochnagar crater which was created by an explosion at the start of the battle in La Boiselle, France.
And wreathes have been laid at a memorial to the 15th and 16th battalions of the Royal Scots in the French village of Contalmaison.
In Glasgow two paving stones have been unveiled honouring local soldiers who received the Victoria Cross for bravery at the Somme.
Meanwhile, men dressed as World War One soldiers were spotted in Glasgow and Shetland handing out cards detailing casualties of the Battle of the Somme.
The hashtag #wearehere, which features on the cards, trended on Twitter as pictures of the tribute are shared.
It was later revealed to be a Somme commemoration project by National Theatre head Rufus Norris and artist Jeremy Deller.
Commemorations began at Scotland's National War Memorial on Thursday evening when hundreds of people joined military personnel, veterans and descendents at an overnight vigil.
Prayers were said before candles were taken inside the war memorial and placed on a casket containing the original Roll of Honour for the fallen of the Great War.
The candles were guarded overnight by representatives from units including the Wrens, the Royal Navy and several Scottish Army regiments, standing by the casket with their heads bowed.
A two-minute silence, which began with the firing of the One O'Clock Gun, ended at 07:30 when Lt Col Alan Hamilton sounded a whistle used by his great uncle, Robert Hamilton, in the trenches of the Somme.
"It was quite emotional, the hairs on the back of my neck went up," he said afterwards.
Ms Sturgeon, Mr Cameron, and senior members of the Royal Family were among around 10,000 people marking the anniversary at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing in France.
About 70,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave are commemorated at the site.
Speaking ahead of the service, Ms Sturgeon said: "Fifty-one Scottish battalions were involved, and the losses suffered by those units - and those from the other countries involved - were on an almost unimaginable scale.
"Barely a single community in Scotland was left untouched by the battle.
"Across Scotland communities are now remembering those who gave their lives, and a whole century on from the devastation and suffering of the Battle of the Somme, we should all reflect on the horrors of the Great War and give thanks that our continent now lives in peace."
Hundreds of people gathered around the memorial cairn in front of the church here in the French village of Contalmaison.
It was on the front line of the battle of the Somme and on this day 100 years ago, men from the Royal Scots climbed out of their trenches to attack the Germans lines in the surrounding fields.
Within one hour, of the 800 men attacking, 670 of them were dead or injured.
A colour party from the Royal Regiment of Scotland stood guard as tributes were paid, a two minutes silence observed and the last post sounded.
The veterans minister Keith Brown was also here to represent the Scottish government.
He said it was almost impossible to take in the losses but it was essential for the country to remember the sacrifice.
Sgt James Turnbull and Drummer Walter Ritchie have been remembered outside the People's Palace on Glasgow Green.
In ceremonies led by the Lord Provost of Glasgow, and attended by the men's relatives, commemorative paving stones have been unveiled.
Both men were awarded a Victoria Cross for acts of bravery on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Sgt Turnbull, who was hit by a sniper's bullet, died shortly afterwards, but Drummer Ritchie survived the war and later picked up his VC at Buckingham Palace.
The Lord Provost, Sadie Docherty, said the men showed "extraordinary courage" on the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army.
"One hundred years ago the heroism of both men was very well documented by the media in our city and beyond," she added.
"Today, we hope that by unveiling these commemorative paving stones we will ensure their story isn't forgotten for this generation and generations to come.
"I am particularly pleased that their families are able to take part in these ceremonies - and to be able to express to them the city's gratitude, and my own."


A house fire in Madagascar has killed 38 people, including 16 children.

The blaze ripped through the three-storey thatched home during a party, police said.
The incident occurred on Saturday in the south-central district of Ikalamavony, according to local media reports.
The reports said the blaze started in the outside dining area of the house, and a police spokesman said it was being treated as an accident.
Africa Live: More on this and other news stories
"Of the 39 people in the house, 38 were killed, including 16 children," the spokesman, Herilalatiana Andrianarivosona, told Agence France-Presse.
Panic-stricken guests were reportedly unable to escape the burning building after struggling to open the only exit door.
Those outside the house were unable to help.
The owner of the house and his 14-year-old son survived the fire, news website Midi Madagasikara reported.


A faulty data broadcast is causing problems for Lexus car owners in the US.

The buggy update - which was delivered via a wireless transmission - is causing affected vehicles' infotainments systems to stop working.
This prevents drivers from getting navigation directions, climate controls and digital radio.
The Toyota division has acknowledged the problem and said owners needed to bring their cars in.
"Errant data broadcast by our traffic and weather data service provider was not handled as expected by the microcomputer in the vehicle navigation head unit (centre display) of 2014-16 Model Year Lexus vehicles and 2016 Model Year Toyota Land Cruiser," a spokeswoman explained.
"In some situations, this issue can cause the head unit to restart repeatedly, affecting operation of the navigation system (if equipped), audio and climate control features.  The data suspected to be the source of the error was corrected last night."
The firm said "many" vehicles had been affected.
It confirmed the problem only affected US-based drivers who subscribed to Enform, a data-transmitting service not available in Europe.
Several motorists have posted videos showing the cars' screens booting up, flashing purple and then crashing. The fault repeats whether the vehicles are stationary or moving.
At least one car owner believed their car had been "hacked".
Some owners have reported that when they disconnected their car battery, it reset the unit and made it work again. But others have said this only provides a temporary fix as the problem returns several hours later.
"The correction is a forced reset and clearing of the errant data from the system," Lexus later explained.
"Toyota and Lexus owners experiencing these issues should visit their dealer for a complimentary system reset and a confirmation of the system.  We regret any inconvenience."
The issue threatens to tarnish Lexus's reputation. It had been ranked as the "most reliable" car brand in Consumer Reports' survey of the automobile industry last year.
"Lexus has an excellent reputation for reliability, but these days that's not just about having trustworthy mechanical parts but its also electronics and software," commented Prof David Bailey from Aston Business School.
"There are typically more lines of code in a car than an aircraft, and you only have to get one part wrong for it to cause these types of problems."


European astronaut Andreas Mogensen has remotely operated a robot on Earth while flying aboard the International Space Station.

The Dane commanded a rover to drive to an experiment board and, using the vehicleâ€™s robot arm, place a rounded peg into a hole.
Mogensen had a feedback system in his controls that allowed him to "feel" what he was doing 400km below him.
It is the kind of technology astronauts might use one day at Mars.
Building habitats on the surface of the Red Planet, or repairing failed equipment, could require the teleoperation of robots from orbit.
Monday's experiment had to deal with what is expected to be one of the key challenges: latency.
Video signals and other feedback had to pass through a complex communications network involving ISS mission control, ground antennas, and relay satellites. This 90,000km path introduces about a second's delay into proceedings.
Nonetheless, Mogensen managed to get the peg to plug the hole with the aid of a laser guided tool.
The experiment was developed by the European Space Agencyâ€™s Telerobotics and Haptics Laboratory in collaboration with the TU Delft Robotics Institute.
The rover was positioned at Esaâ€™s technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The current altitude of the ISS is 402km. It is moving around the Earth at roughly 28,000km/h.
Andreas Mogensen is Denmark's first astronaut. He is making a short, eight-day visit to the space station.
Among his other experimental tasks - he will be testing a water purification system that relies on a new nanotechnology membrane, and wearing a new "skin suit" designed to alleviate back problems.


Liverpool have chosen not to include defender Joel Matip for Wednesday's FA Cup third round replay at Plymouth as the row over his eligibility continues.

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The Reds failed to get clearance from Fifa on whether he could play for his club during the African Cup of Nations.
Matip, 25, 'refused to play' for Cameroon after being named in their preliminary squad.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hinted he would select Matip regardless but chose not to after taking legal advice.
Klopp says he has been told that world governing body Fifa will decide by Friday whether an investigation into Matip's situation is necessary.
Matip, who signed from Schalke last summer, has not played for Cameroon since 2015 and was not included in their final 23-man squad for the Cup of Nations.
But Fifa regulations state a player may be blocked from playing for his club if he refuses to play for his country.
The player could miss six to eight games for Liverpool if he is not made available until the end of the competition.
Should Cameroon make it to the final on 5 February, Matip would not be available until Liverpool host title-chasing Tottenham in the Premier League on 11 February.


Oxford United goalkeeper Simon Eastwood has agreed a two-year contract extension with the League One club.

Eastwood, 27, rejoined the U's in June after being released by Blackburn Rovers and has made 42 appearances in all competitions this season.
He initially signed a one-year deal but impressive performances, including a penalty save against Newcastle in the FA Cup, have earned him an extension.
"I'm really happy to be committing my future to the club," Eastwood said.


David Rutherford's double helped the Giants to victory over Coventry at the SSE Arena as they moved to within four points of leaders Cardiff Devils.

The deadlock was finally broken three minutes from the end of the second period with Ashley Tait scoring for the visitors on a power-play.
Rutherford levelled just 40 seconds later and he made it 2-1 early in the third period.
Jeff Mason and Chris Higgins added 'empty net' goals in the final minutes.
Sparks flew early in a feisty first period as Blaze's Garrett Klotz and Giants opponent Jim Vandermeer 'dropped the gloves'.
Both players sat out play for five minutes, with Klotz serving an additional two for the slashing offence that initiated the fight.
Belfast could not exploit the extra man advantage and an even first period ended scoreless.
The visitors took the lead through Tait after Matt Nickerson was penalised for boarding - the Giants responded with Rutherford firing past Brian Stewart into the Blaze net.
Rutherford put the hosts ahead as the Giants finally made a power-play count.
Simmering tensions boiled over once more as Adam Keefe and Klotz fought - the subsequent penalties incurred meant the latter would play no further part in proceedings.
The Giants then scored a decisive 'empty-netter' through Mason just seconds after Blaze had pulled keeper Stewart from the ice, and Higgins rubbed salt in by making it four with 32 seconds remaining.
Next up for the Giants are back-to-back home games against the Sheffield Steelers on Saturday and Sunday.


Barking dogs account for about a fifth of all noise complaints in Suffolk, it has emerged.

In the past five years, 17,982 complaints have been lodged with the county's borough and district councils.
Of those, 3,454 relate to dogs barking, the BBC Radio Suffolk Freedom of Information request found.
Seven thousand complaints were made about loud music and parties, while church bells have led to 10 complaints to councils.
Other complaints were made about bird scarers in fields, machinery and vehicle noise, and people shouting or talking loudly.
17,982
Total number of complaints
3,454 about barking dogs
336 about bird scarers
16 about fireworks
10 about church bells
Ipswich Borough Council received the highest number of complaints over the five years, with 4,568.
Waveney District Council received 3,672 complaints, while Suffolk Coastal District Council had a total of just over 3,000.
Mark Johnson, senior public health officer at St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said the best thing for people to do was to speak with the person making the noise.
"It's the most common sense approach because sometimes they don't even realise they're causing a nuisance to their neighbours," he said.
As for dogs, Candice Rose, owner of Canine Creche in Martlesham, said they could be taught not to bark.
"The key thing is reward and distraction," she said. "We distract them and then reward the good behaviour.
"There are solutions, it could be a behavioural issue, in which case that can be adjusted, but if it's just through boredom - there really is no excuse in this day and age."


Of his last 30 matches in 2016, Andy Murray won 28 and lost just two.

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Of his first 30 matches in 2017, the world number one has won 21 and lost nine.
Winning his last five tournaments of 2016 to pip Novak Djokovic to the year-end number one position in the final match of the season at London's O2 Arena was astonishing, dramatic and unforgettable.
And yet it appears that relentless run of success, and the 87 matches he played over a season, has come at a price.
Murray's straight-set defeat by world number 90 Jordan Thompson in the first round at Queen's Club was the sixth time he has lost to a player outside the top 20 this year. He has had shingles and an elbow problem, and now his left hip is proving cause for concern.
Opting out of two scheduled exhibition matches at the Hurlingham Club in London may not be too much of a blow, as Murray's aptitude for grass is likely to allow him some margin for error during the opening week at Wimbledon. But will he be in pain, and will his movement suffer?
Although it was reassuring to see him return to the practice courts on Friday, Murray was walking with a limp and neither moving, nor hitting his backhand, anywhere near as well as he will need to. Only time will tell.
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Murray has looked especially vulnerable this season over three sets.
As well as the defeat by Thompson at Queen's, he has also lost in straight sets to Fabio Fognini in Rome (no disgrace), to Borna Coric in Madrid, and to world number 129 Vasek Pospisil at Indian Wells.
Though he was bamboozled by Mischa Zverev in the fourth round of the Australian Open, his Grand Slam record remains formidable. He is aiming this fortnight for a 10th consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final, and the last time he failed to reach the second week of a Slam was when he fell to Stan Wawrinka in the third round of the 2010 US Open.
So, assuming Murray's hip does not leave him underpowered, the French Open provides the best indication as to how he might fare at Wimbledon.
Murray often started slowly in matches at Roland Garros, but put in a dominant third-round performance against Juan Martin del Potro as he won in straight sets. He never looked a realistic champion, but ultimately was just a tie-break away from a second consecutive final. He then ran out of steam, a legacy of insufficient matches, in a Stan Wawrinka-dominated final set of their semi-final.
It would be foolish to try to come to a firm conclusion about Murray's chances at the All England Club this year. Twice a champion, and a gold-medal winner on Centre Court at the 2012 Olympics, not even Novak Djokovic has outperformed him at Wimbledon over the past five years.
Yet on 2017 results alone, Murray is only the seventh best player in the field.
He has too frequently struggled to impose himself on his opponent, and hindered at times by injury, has not been able to trust his serve in the same way.
This year he has won 72% of points on first serve, down from 76% last year; and while last year he saved 66% of the break points he faced, that number has fallen this year to 54%.
He claims his indifferent form is nothing to do with the pressure associated with his status as world number one, and he does not cut the figure of a man weighed down by an unwelcome burden.
But perhaps Murray has lost his cause: he is now the hunted, rather than the hunter.
That may not be a concern much longer.
Murray is virtually 5,000 points behind Rafael Nadal in the season-long race and is therefore very likely to be replaced at the top of the rankings by the autumn at the latest.
In fact, he could be overtaken after Wimbledon by Wawrinka or Djokovic if they win the title, but more probably by Nadal, who assuming both reach the second week would only have to go one round further.
Nadal's knees, Djokovic's blues and Wawrinka's unexceptional Wimbledon record muddy the waters still further.
And then there's Roger Federer: the seven-time champion, who is free of injuries, and last Sunday in Halle won his fourth title of the year having skipped the clay-court season.
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The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) says it has opened an investigation into the government's contracts with G4S and Serco for tagging criminals.

It comes after an audit suggested the firms had been charging for tagging criminals who were either dead, in jail or never tagged in the first place.
In July, the government had asked the SFO to consider carrying out an investigation into G4S.
G4S said it would co-operate fully with the SFO investigation.
A spokesman for G4S said: "G4S confirms it has today received notice that the director of the Serious Fraud Office has opened an investigation into the 'contract for the provision of electronic monitoring services, which commenced in April 2005, as amended and extended until the present day'.
"G4S has confirmed to the SFO that it will co-operate fully with the investigation."
The audit by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, launched in May, alleged that the charging discrepancies began at least as far back as the start of the current contracts, in 2005, but could have dated back to the previous contracts in 1999.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling told the two firms that an independent "forensic audit" - a search for possible illegality - should be conducted, which among other things would need to examine email trails between bosses.
G4S was reported to the SFO when it refused to co-operate with this further audit, while Serco allowed a further forensic audit to take place.
In the course of the audit in September, the Ministry of Justice provided material to the SFO in relation to Serco's conduct.
G4S made headlines after it failed to provide all of its contracted security guards for the London 2012 Olympics, prompting extra military personnel to be called in to fill the gap and leaving the firm with losses of £88m.


US consumer prices rose in October in a sign that inflation may be picking up again.

The figures, along with the strong employment numbers last month, increase speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.2% in October, after two months of declines.
Prices were pushed up by the rising cost of electricity and a resurgence in petrol prices.
A survey of US fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch found that four-fifths of the managers surveyed expected a rate rise next month.
Leslie Preston, an economist at TD Bank said: "October's inflation numbers are just the sort of confirmation the Fed is looking for that domestic strength is generating inflationary pressures.''
The so-called core CPI, which strips out food and energy, also rose 0.2% after a similar increase in September.
Medical costs accounted for much of the increase. Medical care prices rose 0.7%, the largest increase since April. and hospital costs increased by 2%.
Although food prices rose only 0.1%, the smallest gain since May, they edged up 0.4% in September and four out of six of the indexes compiled by the big grocery store food groups showed the largest increase since August 2011.
The biggest price falls were in clothing, shoes and new cars.
Over the entire 12 months through to October, the core CPI increased by 1.9%.


The giant panda cubs living at a Research Center in Chengdu in Southwest China have been showing their mischievous sides recently.

22 May 2016 Last updated at 11:57 BST
From trying to balance on poles to knocking a surveillance camera off a tree, they've been busy.
Now their funny daily activities have been caught on camera...


Hundreds of people have marched in protest at a proposal for thousands of new homes in south-east Kent.

Shepway District Council has plans for a new garden town with up to 12,000 homes at Otterpool Park, just south of the M20, near Folkestone.
It claims the 30-year project will provide much-needed housing, with infrastructure to support it.
But opponents are concerned about the local impact and say they are not being listened to.
On its website, the council explains that a garden town is a "properly planned" new settlement with "high quality homes... in a beautiful setting".
It says it offers "everything people need for a new community to thrive" including schools, medical centres, green space, public transport, new roads, community centres and shops.
'Desperate shortage'
But Ian Nedgett of the Sellindge and District Residents Association is not convinced.
"Twelve thousand houses on a greenfield site is not sustainable," he said.
"We know people need somewhere to live but it needs to be spread out - the whole of Kent needs to take a share."
Otterpool resident Vernon Morris added: "They are destroying the countryside for our children."
However, John Bibby from the housing charity Shelter said there was a need to develop greenfield sites as well as brownfield sites "in a way that is sensitive to local people's needs and desires".
"People across the south-east recognise that the region faces a desperate shortage of housing," he said.


Surrey have signed left-arm seam bowler Mark Footitt from Derbyshire on a four-year deal.

The 29-year-old, who has taken 158 first-class wickets over the past two seasons, was included in England's squad for the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in August.
"We are delighted to have signed a bowler of the quality of Mark," Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart said.
"His talent with both a red and white ball will add so much to our attack."
Footitt took 76 wickets at an average of 23.63 in Division Two of the County Championship this summer, having finished 2014 as the leading wicket-taker in the country with 82 scalps.
"It is a fantastic opportunity for me," the former Nottinghamshire player told the Surrey website.
"Working with another strong coaching set-up at Surrey can only help to further my England ambitions, which were started during my time at Derbyshire"
Footitt was under contract at Derbyshire until the end of 2016 but rejected the offer of a new deal in August.
"We offered an improved contract to Mark which he turned down," Derbyshire chief executive Simon Storey told BBC Radio Derby.
"As soon as a player suggests he wants to look at options elsewhere, we felt it was something we should let him do.
"As part of the transaction with Surrey we have agreed a compensation package."


The company that developed 3D printed gun parts has announced plans to launch a new firm, dedicated to copyright-free blueprints for a range of 3D printable objects.

Defcad, as the firm will be known, has already been dubbed the Pirate Bay of 3D printing.
The site will become a "search engine for 3D printing," according to its founders.
But its flouting of copyright is likely to face legal challenges.
The firm is the brainchild of Cody Wilson, law student and self-styled crypto-anarchist.
Last year he set up Defense Distributed, a project aiming to print gun parts.
The project provoked controversy with 3D printing firm MakerBot pulling gun part blueprints from its website in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings and 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys refusing permission for its machines to be used by the company.
It is also facing legal challenges to shut the site down.
Despite the set-backs, it released a video this month demonstrating an AR-15 with a 3D printed part firing more than 600 rounds.
Meanwhile its blueprints at non-profit Defcad.org have seen 400,000 downloads since the site was launched, according to founder Cody Wilson.
Announcing the new for-profit Defcad.com at the South by South West conference in Texas, Mr Wilson said it was an obvious next step for the wiki weapon project.
"Help us turn Defcad into the world's first unblockable, open-source search engine for 3D printable parts," says Mr Wilson in the video posted on the website looking for funding.
In the video, Mr Wilson said the revolution which many predict 3D printing will bring about will only happen if it can be freed from corporate ties.
The blueprints available on the site will be for "important stuff", he said. "Not trinkets, not garden gnomes but the things institutions and industries have an interest in keeping from us; access, medical devices, drugs, goods, guns."
"Supplying consumers with blueprints to print products designed by third parties is a business model fraught with risk," said Lorna Caddy of law firm Taylor Wessing.
"Many of those products will be protected by intellectual property rights, such as design law. Owners of those rights could assert them in the courts to prevent their designs being further distributed and to seek financial compensation," she added.


Wigan Athletic have signed Bournemouth midfielder Shaun MacDonald for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal.

The 28-year-old Wales international has been with the Cherries since 2011, during which time they have progressed from League One to the Premier League.
MacDonald came through the Swansea youth system and has had four stints out on loan at Yeovil.
"He is a terrific pro who understands the way we want to play," boss Gary Caldwell told the club website.
He is not available for the Latics' game against Blackburn on Saturday, 13 August but is registered for matches after this weekend.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


The convictions of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher have been quashed by Italy's top appeals court.

It is the final ruling in the case, following three previous court decisions over the 2007 murder.
Ms Kercher, 21, was stabbed to death in a Perugia flat she shared with Ms Knox.
American Ms Knox, 27, said she was "full of joy" after being acquitted, but the mother of Ms Kercher, who was from London, said she was "shocked".
Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito, her Italian ex-boyfriend, were initially found guilty of the murder in 2009.
They were freed in 2011 after the convictions were overturned, but they were reinstated by another court last year.
Despite being cleared of the murder charge, the guilty verdict against Ms Knox for the slander of Patrick Lumumba - a bar owner she falsely accused of the crime - has been upheld.
The presiding judge confirmed a three-year sentence would remain. That time has been served.
Ms Knox had spent four years in prison during the trial, and could seek compensation for the extra year served, BBC Europe correspondent Gavin Lee said.
Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito had always maintained their innocence and the decision by the Court of Cassation puts an end to their long legal battle.
The reasoning behind the decision will be made public in 90 days.
"I'm still absorbing the present moment," Ms Knox said, speaking outside her mother's house in Seattle.
She expressed thanks "for the justice I've received and for the support I've had from everyone".
"Meredith was my friend," she added, "she deserved so much in this life."
Gavin Lee, BBC Europe correspondent in Rome
It has been a seven-year trial, and late on Friday night, after nine hours of discussion, five appeal court judges in Rome's supreme court stepped out to deliver a definitive acquittal of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, over the murder of Meredith Kercher.
No reason was given. A brief statement was read by the presiding judge - justification will be delivered, in writing, within 90 days, in accordance with Italian law.
Neither defendant was in court, but there were cheers from both defence teams, who spoke of their surprise - an acquittal being a rarity in Italian supreme court hearings.
Lawyer Carlo Della Vedova broke the news to Ms Knox by phone, who cried with happiness, saying she now wants to "recover from this nightmare".
The Kercher family have not been in court for this hearing, but prosecution lawyer Francesco Maresca spoke of their concern that they won't ever learn the truth about what happened to Ms Kercher eight years ago.
Prof Greg Hampikian, a friend of the Knox family who also worked on the DNA evidence for Ms Knox's defence, told BBC Radio 5 live that "everybody is very happy to see this finished, so they can get on with their lives".
"She's trying to start her life as a young woman, so hopefully this will be a really wonderful change and a new day for them and for Raffaele and his folks," he said.
"I hope the Kerchers can find peace as well. It's just been an up and down thing for everyone for so long."
The lawyer for Ms Kercher's family, Francesco Maresca, expressed his disappointment, saying: "I think that it's a defeat for the Italian justice system."
Arline Kercher, Meredith's mother, said she was "very shocked" by the court's decision.
"They have been convicted twice so it's a bit odd that it should change now," she said.
Ms Kercher, from Coulsdon in south London, was on a one-year student exchange in Perugia when her throat was cut in the flat she shared with Ms Knox.
Prosecutors claimed she was killed as part of a sex game that went wrong.
The Leeds University student's body was found under a duvet in her bedroom, which had been locked from the inside.
Days after the killing, Ms Knox and her then-boyfriend, Mr Sollecito, 31, were arrested.
They were convicted of murder in 2009 by a court in Perugia.
But in 2011, a jury cleared both defendants of the charge, after doubts were raised over the handling of DNA evidence.
A retrial was ordered after prosecutors argued that important evidence had been disregarded. In 2014, the guilty verdicts were reinstated.
Another man, Rudy Hermann Guede, born in Ivory Coast, was convicted of murder in a separate trial and is serving a 16-year sentence.
The court's ruling against Guede stated that he did not act alone, and the 2014 verdicts against Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito said they wielded knives, Guede held the victim down and committed a sexual assault and Ms Knox "delivered the only mortal blow".
That 2014 ruling has now been overturned, so no-one now stands convicted of acting with Guede to kill Ms Kercher.
David Willis, BBC News, Seattle
Whoops of joy erupted from the Knox family home in the sleepy Seattle suburb of Arbor Heights as the verdict was announced.
All morning family and friends had been coming and going - members of the "Friends of Amanda" campaign that has lobbied so tirelessly on her behalf.
They and many others in America's Pacific North West have long been convinced Amanda Knox is the victim of a major miscarriage of justice.
One supporter, former Judge Michael Heavey, told the BBC it had been a "modern-day witch hunt".
Amanda Knox is now free to travel outside the US, and, at the age of 27, to plan for her future - a future free of the risk of being extradited to Italy to serve out the remainder of a 28-and-a-half year sentence.


UK intelligence chiefs have told Prime Minister David Cameron it is "highly likely" the Syrian government was responsible for a chemical attack on 21 August, which killed at least 350 civilians in eastern Damascus.

The assessment was written by the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) on 27 August and released by Downing Street on 29 August.
The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera gives his analysis of the assessment below (GC).
A chemical attack occurred in Damascus on the morning of 21 August, resulting in at least 350 fatalities. It is not possible for the opposition to have carried out a CW attack on this scale.
GC: A central reason for the relative confidence of the assessment is a view that it could not be the opposition and therefore had to be the regime which launched the attack.
The regime has used CW on a smaller scale on at least 14 occasions in the past.
GC: The accompanying letter from the chair of the JIC says that it has judged with the "highest possible level of certainty" that chemical weapons have already been used 14 times but not on the same scale. The JIC appears very confident that these attacks were by the regime and may have more intelligence about these incidents than the 21 August attack.
There is some intelligence to suggest regime culpability in this attack.
GC: This key sentence indicates that they have only "some" intelligence pointing to the regime carrying out the attack but nothing so conclusive as to dispel all doubt. It is described in the accompanying letter as a "limited but growing body of intelligence". It is also described as highly sensitive, meaning it might be intercepted communications or material from another country. The prime minister has been shown it, but it is not included in this assessment.
These factors make it highly likely that the Syrian regime was responsible.
GC: This is the key judgement of the document. The phrase "highly likely" indicates a significant degree of confidence but not absolute certainty.
Extensive video footage attributed to the attack in eastern Damascus (which we assess would be very difficult to falsify) is consistent with the use of a nerve agent, such as sarin, and is not consistent with the use of blister or riot control agents.
GC: This paragraph, along with the accompanying letter, shows that the judgement that chemical weapons were used is based on what is known as open source information - in other words not secret intelligence but in this case public video footage. It also suggests they do not have separate confirmation of the use of chemical weapons, for instance in the form of analysis of samples at UK labs, which does seem to have taken place in the wake of other previous attacks. The committee chair says it has asked experts inside and outside government to see if this video could have been faked in any way by the opposition and has come to the conclusion that it is real.
There is no obvious political or military trigger for regime use of CW on an apparently larger scale now, particularly given the current presence in Syria of the UN investigation team. Permission to authorise CW has probably been delegated by President Assad to senior regime commanders, such as [*], but any deliberate change in the scale and nature of use would require his authorisation.
GC: This judgement is important because it suggests the JIC have some idea of the chain of command for the use of chemical weapons but are still not sure why chemical weapons were used and on precisely whose orders on this occasion. The accompanying letter says this area of motivation is the one where it does not have high confidence in its assessment. There has been speculation as to whether the attack was launched on orders from the top or on the initiative of a local commander.
There is no credible evidence that any opposition group has used CW. A number continue to seek a CW capability, but none currently has the capability to conduct a CW attack on this scale.
GC: This judgement is interesting because it tells us that some rebel groups have been trying to get hold of chemical weapons. There has been great concern that those opponents of the regime linked to al-Qaeda might get hold of them. However, the UK appears convinced that no opposition group would be able to carry out the kind of attack seen on 21 August, therefore meaning the use of weapons logically would have to have been by the regime.
Russia claims to have a 'good degree of confidence' that the attack was an 'opposition provocation' but has announced that they support an investigation into the incident. We expect them to maintain this line. The Syrian regime has now announced that it will allow access to the sites by UN inspectors.
GC: The inspectors will be looking to prove if chemical weapons were used but are not expected to say by whom.
There is no immediate time limit over which environmental or physiological samples would have degraded beyond usefulness. However, the longer it takes inspectors to gain access to the affected sites, the more difficult it will be to establish the chain of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.
GC: A chain of evidence is required to be sure that a particular sample was not tampered with before it is analysed for proof that chemical weapons were used.


The 2003 Iraq invasion was "an act of military aggression" and a "catastrophe", Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said.

Responding to the publication of Sir John Chilcot's inquiry into the war, Mr Corbyn said MPs had been "misled" in the run-up to the invasion.
He also apologised on behalf of Labour and called for more powers for the International Criminal Court.
David Cameron said lessons must be learned from the Iraq War.
He announced a two-day Commons debate into Sir John's long-awaited report.
Sir John said his report does not make a judgement on the legality or otherwise of the war.
But Mr Corbyn, a long-term critic of the war who voted against the invasion, said it had "long been regarded as illegal by the overwhelming by the weight of international legal opinion".
It "devastated Iraq's infrastructure" he said, and "fostered a lethal sectarianism".
"By any measure, the invasion and occupation of Iraq... has been for many a catastrophe," he said.
Going to war without a UN mandate was "profoundly dangerous", Mr Corbyn said, adding: "All those who took the decisions laid bare in the Chilcot report must face up to the consequences of their actions, whatever they may be."
He paid tribute to the late Robin Cook, who resigned from the government over his opposition to the war.
Mr Corbyn said that in his resignation speech, Mr Cook had said "in a few hundred words in advance of the tragedy to come what has been confirmed by this  report in more than two million words".
In a speech later on, Mr Corbyn apologised to Iraqis, soldiers' families and Britons who feel democracy was "undermined" by the invasion.
He said: "Politicians and political parties can only grow stronger by acknowledging when they get it wrong and by facing up to their mistakes.
"So I now apologise sincerely on behalf of my party for the disastrous decision to go to war in Iraq."
He added: "Finally, we need Britain to join the 30 countries including Germany and Spain that already support giving the International Criminal Court the power to prosecute those responsible for the crime of military aggression."
Earlier, as he fielded questions from MPs, Mr Cameron, who as a backbencher at the time voted in favour of intervention, said: "Members on all sides who voted for military action will have to take our fair share of the responsibility.
"We cannot turn the clock back but we can ensure that lessons are learned and acted on."
He said the experience of Iraq should not prevent Britain from collaborating with the United States in future military action.
Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said the late Charles Kennedy, who led his party at the time had been "right all along" in his opposition.
Labour MP Ann Clwyd said Saddam Hussein had been in breach of UN resolution and killed thousands of his citizens.
She said: "I wish people would ask Iraqis what they think of the invasion, because many are grateful that we took the action that we did at that time."


Two men have admitted causing a crash which killed the driver and passenger of a taxi.

Mirza Malick, 64, and Paul Hayward, 55, from Bradford, died at the scene of the crash on the Shipley Airedale Road in January.
Ismail Miah, 23, of Springfield Place and Muhammed Sikder, 27, of Sylhet Close, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at Bradford Crown Court.
They will be sentenced next month.


A man has died after being trapped in rubble when a church collapsed near a railway line in Cardiff.

Firefighters, rescue dogs and a drone had been searching for the man in the wreckage of the derelict church in Splott, which collapsed at about 14:50 BST.
Two people escaped from the building - which was being demolished - and were treated for minor injures.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service workers are trying to recover the body.
Gareth Davies, area manager for SWFRS, said the man had been trapped under a large amount of rubble.
He said: "As a service, we wish to extend our sympathies to the individual's family at this very sad time."
Cardiff demolition firm Young Contractors, which has been working on the derelict church for about three weeks, confirmed none of its staff were on the site at the time.
A report, prepared for Cardiff council in June 2016 ahead of work to replace a bridge nearby as part of rail upgrades, described the building as a "dangerous structure" at risk of "imminent collapse".
Report authors Brunton Knowles warned part of the building close to the railway line was unstable and needed to be stabilised or it may "fall" and damage the tracks.
Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas said questions would have to be asked as to how the building got into the state it did, adding it had been "left to deteriorate for decades".
As the building collapsed a warning was sent to a train heading towards the scene, but the driver did not report anything "untoward" on the line, Network Rail said.
However, South Wales Police has since confirmed scaffolding was on the tracks.
Officers have taped off part of Pearl Street close to the derelict church.
All trains were initially cancelled between Cardiff and Newport, but two lines have now reopened. Limited services are in operation as a precautionary measure.
Network Rail warned commuters rail services across the network could be affected following the incident.
A Network Rail spokesman said: "We are working with our partners, Arriva Trains Wales, Great Western Railway and Cross Country, to update passengers as and when more information becomes available."
Cardiff North MP Jo Stevens tweeted: "This is awful news from #Adamsdown my thoughts are with the victim's family & friends".
The Evac emergency alert phone app - which provides information about major incidents, fires, floods and terrorist attacks - warned users all main train lines between the capital and Newport were closed.


A viscount has denied threatening Gina Miller, the woman behind the Brexit legal challenge, in a "menacing" Facebook post.

Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, 50, the 4th Viscount St Davids, allegedly called Ms Miller a "troublesome first generation immigrant" in the online post.
He denies three charges of making malicious communications, which also refer to a family from Luton.
His lawyer said the comments were "taken out of context".
Ms Miller fronted a successful legal challenge which, on 3 November, ruled the government must consult Parliament before formally beginning the Brexit process.
Westminster Magistrates' Court heard Lord St Davids posted on 7 November 2016: "Â£5,000 for the first person to 'accidentally' run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant."
The post allegedly added: "If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles."
The viscount is also accused of posting two messages on 11 September, in which he allegedly referred to immigrants as "monkeys".
Reacting to a story about the Sube family, who were involved in a row over housing, he said: "Please will someone smoke this ghastly insult to this country, why should I pay tax to feed these monkeys?"
Andrew Rinker, defending, said: "I think a lot of these comments are taken completely out of context, he calls his own daughter a little monkey."
Ms Miller is expected to give evidence when Lord St Davids, from Knightsbridge in London, faces trial on 10 July.
Guyana-born Ms Miller, 52, has previously spoken of online abuse she has received since spearheading the legal challenge.
She said in a radio interview that becoming the face of the court battle had resulted in her being "apparently the most hated woman in Britain".


Scotland's home-based players are being funded to go full-time as they prepare for the Women's Euro 2017 finals.

A package agreed between the Scottish Football Partnership, Sport Scotland and energy firm SSE will provide finances until the tournament is over.
Around half the squad are expected to benefit from the scheme.
Scotland's women will be competing at a major finals for the first time this summer and are in the same group as England, Spain and Portugal.
The championship in the Netherlands begins on 16 July, with the final on 6 August.
Scotland meet England in the opening game of Group D on Wednesday, 19 July.
Head coach Anna Signeul welcomed the initiative, saying: "It's a strong statement from all three parties that they care about the women's game in Scotland and are willing to help the players improve.
"We feel we have support from everyone and that will help us going into the Euros.
"To have our best domestic players on the same playing field as their team-mates who are full-time professionals is really important. It offers equal opportunity and will stand us in good stead ahead of July."


Wrexham maintained their faint hopes of a National League play-off berth by levelling late against Dover Athletic.

The hosts took the lead in the second half when debutant Nicky Deverdics' shot proved too hot to handle and Joe Healy slammed home.
However, John Rooney shrugged off his contract row to cross for Jordan White to level at the second attempt.
Dover remain fifth in the final play-off berth. Wrexham are up to 10th and are seven points off the top five.
Wrexham boss Dean Keates told BBC Radio Wales Sport:
"I think in the end we are happy with a point.
"That is as good as we have played this season.
"I am proud of the lads, they showed great character to get back into it and at the end, we were the team pushing to win the game."
Match ends, Dover Athletic 1, Wrexham 1.
Second Half ends, Dover Athletic 1, Wrexham 1.
Substitution, Wrexham. Rob Evans replaces Oliver Shenton.
Goal!  Dover Athletic 1, Wrexham 1. Jordan White (Wrexham).
Connor Essam (Dover Athletic) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Wrexham. Jordan White replaces Mitchell Lund.
Substitution, Wrexham. John Rooney replaces Izale McLeod.
Goal!  Dover Athletic 1, Wrexham 0. Joe Healy (Dover Athletic).
James Jennings (Wrexham) is shown the yellow card.
Second Half begins Dover Athletic 0, Wrexham 0.
First Half ends, Dover Athletic 0, Wrexham 0.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.


A 74-year-old biker has died in hospital following a crash on the A712 north of Newton Stewart at the weekend.

Emergency services were called at 15:30 on Saturday to a spot near Glenamour Farm.
A Honda 1300 motorbike had left the road and the seriously hurt rider was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for treatment.
However, police said the man, from Lancaster, had died as a result of his injuries early on Monday morning.
Anyone who has information about the incident has been asked to contact police.


The new S4C headquarters have been given the go-ahead by Carmarthenshire council.

The building, Yr Egin, will be located at the University of Wales Trinity St David campus in Carmarthen.
It is due to open in 2018 and should house about 25 companies who it is hoped will contribute £11m a year to the local economy.
Seventy five jobs will be relocated, including 55 S4C jobs from Cardiff.
The area where the new building will be located has been earmarked for mixed use development, including 1,100 new homes and a primary school.
A road to the development was also given planning permission.
Council leader Emlyn Dole said: "This is a much-needed development for Carmarthen providing a significant economic boost to the area with major benefits to the local community."
The Welsh-language broadcaster announced plans to move from Cardiff to Carmarthen in March 2014.


Arkansas and Indiana have passed laws to quell the outcry over new "religious freedom" legislation that critics say encourages anti-gay discrimination.

Republican Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed a revised version of his religious objections bill that he hopes addresses these concerns.
The amendments mean his state's law more closely mirrors what Bill Clinton signed into federal law in 1993.
Indiana also approved law changes which were signed off by its governor.
The Indiana amendment prohibits businesses from using the law as a legal defence if they refuse to provide services to gays and lesbians, or other groups.
The change does not apply to churches, religious schools, or non-profit religious organisations.
It also prohibits discrimination based on race, colour, ancestry, religion, age, disability, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and military service.
Sport: National Collegiate Athletic Association, NBA, basketball players Charles Barkley and Jason Collins, Olympic diver Greg Louganis, tennis greats Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova
Business: Angie's List, Yelp, Warren Buffett, Apple, Gap, Levi's
Politics: White House, Hillary Clinton, governors of New York, Connecticut and Washington state, cities of San Francisco, Indianapolis and Seattle
Celebrities: Miley Cyrus, George Takei, Larry King
Neither the Indiana nor Arkansas law - so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Acts - had specifically mentioned gays and lesbians.
But opponents of the original laws said the language contained could offer a legal defence to businesses with religious objections to same-sex marriage - for example, caterers, florists or photographers that refused to offer services to same-sex couples.
The federal law of 1993 was designed to protect infringements by the government on individuals, particularly in relation to Native Americans who were being fired for smoking peyote, which was encouraged by the Native American Church.
It does not allow businesses to use the law as a way to discriminate.
"This mirrors the federal law," Mr Hutchinson said at the signing ceremony, broadcast on cable television. "That was the objective. We did that."
The spotlight of criticism came to Indiana at an unwelcome time. The state is preparing to play host to the nation's college basketball championships in coming days.
The controversy has gripped the US political debate as the number of states that allow same-sex marriage has steadily increased. The US Supreme Court is expected to rule this summer in a case that could make gay marriage legal across the United States.
Indiana lawmakers and business leaders, some of whom had originally spoken out against the law, stressed their state's history of hospitality and inclusiveness.
House Speaker Brian Bosma offered a personal apology to Greg Louganis, the gold-medal winning diver, who had told him he felt hurt by the law.
The House chamber was packed with lawmakers, members of the news media and local business leaders.
One gay rights activist told us after the news conference ended that the state still needs to do more to protect the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people.


A mother who abducted her son's ex-girlfriend after breaking into her house with an accomplice has been given a community sentence.

Roseann Browne and Stacey Duff went to the woman's Dundee home looking for Browne's son.
Dundee Sheriff Court was told the victim was bundled into a car after the pair threatened her.
Browne and Duff were each placed on supervision for two years by Sheriff Alastair Carmichael.
They were also given restriction of liberty orders and ordered to carry out unpaid work.
The court heard previously that the victim had managed to dial 999 as the two women broke into her flat but then her phone was taken from her.
Depute fiscal Saima Rasheed told the court: "Neighbours could see and it was clear she did not want to go with them.
"She was put in the middle seat in the back of the car and all the other seats were occupied by the two accused and two males.
"Police asked for the complainer to get out of the car and when she did, she told them to 'get me away from them'.
"Officers entered the building and could see the mortice lock on the door was damaged and found the mobile phone smashed inside on the floor."
Browne, 41, of Cupar, and Duff, 30, of Kirkcaldy, pleaded guilty to a charge of abduction committed on 29 July last year in Dundee.
Not guilty pleas from two male co-accused were accepted by the Crown.
Defence solicitor Gordon Stewart, for Browne, said: "This incident was brought about by her desire to try and trace her son.
"Drink fuelled the situation."
Dewar Spence, representing Duff, said: "The only link between her and this matter was she recently became friendly with the other accused and there was discussion about her friend's son and she was dragged in to it."
Browne was ordered to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work and placed on a 19:00 to 07:00 curfew for nine months.
Duff was placed on a curfew for eight months and ordered to complete 190 hours of unpaid work.


Leyton Orient have signed Peterborough defender Shaun Brisley on loan until the end of the season.

The 25-year-old centre-back has featured just three times for Posh this season and had a loan spell at Northampton earlier in the campaign.
"Shaun was really eager about coming which delighted me," O's player-manager Kevin Nolan told BBC Radio London.
"His quality will create competition for our two centre-halves to make sure they are on top of their game."
Orient have won both their games since Nolan took charge last week, and moved into the League Two play-off places after beating Newport on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old hopes he can strengthen his squad further before the transfer window closes on Monday, having also brought in striker Armand Gnanduillet last Friday.
"I'll be speaking with the president [Francesco Becchetti] and his support staff about maybe getting a couple more in before the end of the window," Nolan said.
"Hopefully it is a positive relationship which gets us back to where we want to be, which is in League One."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Two Australian sisters have described the confusing aftermath of an acid attack at an east London club.

Isobella Fraser, 22, and her sister Prue, 20, both suffered burns when a man sprayed at least 12 people inside Mangle E8 in Hackney early on Monday.
They had been separated in a preceding scuffle inside the venue which officers believe involved two groups.
Isobella said she suffered painful burns, but initially had no idea what had happened.
"I thought someone scratched me on the back because it was just stinging really badly," she told the BBC.
"All I could smell was gas and it was really hard to breathe and I thought, 'Oh my, God," someone's bombed the club."
The pair said they arrived at the club about 23:30 on Sunday and were enjoying drinks with friends when a fight broke out about 90 minutes later.
They were separated in the scuffle.
"The next thing I remember is being pushed over this barrier fence," Prue said.
"I felt pain that I've never felt. It was like someone set my arm on fire."
After being evacuated from the club, the sisters admitted themselves to hospital.
"You can see the splatter marks on my back," said Isobella.
"I'm probably going to scar but I'm just glad I didn't get it on my face or in my eyes."
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "The only information that we have is that it was an unknown corrosive substance thrown within the nightclub."
"It was identified by a pH paper test as a strong acidic substance."


Newtonmore retained the MacTavish Cup for shinty's North area championship with a 3-2 win over Kilmallie in a hard-fought final at Bught Park, Inverness.

Kilmallie came back from 3-0 down on a game held in the shadow of three recent deaths connected with their club, including leading player Duncan Rodger.
The runners-up were also consigned to the bottom of the Marine Harvest Premiership when local rivals Lochaber defeated Glasgow Mid Argyll 2-1 to leapfrog them.
Newtonmore built up a 3-0 lead in their quest for a 41st title since 1902 when Steven MacDonald and Drew MacDonald both scored in the first half and Fraser MacKintosh followed up early in the second.
But just when the game looked over, Michael Rodger and Callum McDougall put Kilmallie right back into it. However, the challengers just could not force extra time.
Kinlochshiel lost their 100% league record when Glenurquhart bounced back from their Camanachd Cup exit for a 2-0 victory in Drumnadrochit.
For the second home game in a row, former top-flight football goalkeeper Michael Fraser gave Glenurquhart the lead after a goalless first half. Daniel MacKintosh then confirmed Glen's upward move into sixth place with their second on 78 minutes.
Regular Lochaber scorers Shaun Nicholson and Stuart Callison got one each and Seb MacMillan replied fpr Mid Argyll as the Spean Bridge side came off the bottom.
Fraser Watt got two including a penalty as Inveraray progressed 3-1 at the expense of Argyllshire rivals Oban Celtic in the Balliemore Cup.


Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel beat Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Vettel dominated in soaking conditions that delayed the start of the final session by nearly an hour.
The world champion was 0.623 seconds quicker than Rosberg, with Alonso a further 0.437secs adrift.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Red Bull's Mark Webber starts his final F1 race fourth ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Lotus's Romain Grosjean.
Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne qualified seventh and eighth with Ferrari's Felipe Massa ninth ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.
Qualifying was wet throughout but a heavy downpour just after the second knock-out session forced organisers to delay the start of the top 10 shoot-out because of standing water on the track.
The second session had ended with a high-speed crash by McLaren's Sergio Perez, who lost control after running wide on to kerbs on the exit of Turn Five.
After a series of 10-minute delays, the drivers all ventured out on 'extreme' wet tyres to set 'banker' laps before coming in to change tyres when it became apparent conditions were suitable for 'intermediates'. They have a lower tread depth, but give drivers more speed if there is not a lot of standing water on the track.
Grosjean gambled on not even doing a lap on the 'extreme' tyres and the decision initially paid off when he went fastest on his first flying lap while his rivals were getting up to speed.
However, it meant the other drivers had the benefit of a drier track when they set their times on fresh tyres and Grosjean tumbled down the order.
First Webber beat him by just 0.15secs before Vettel crossed the line shortly afterwards following a scintillating lap in his team-mate's wheel tracks that put him 1.144secs clear of the Australian.
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Rosberg then grabbed second place, pipping Hamilton just behind him by 0.122secs before Alonso beat both.
With the edge taken off the tyres, most could not improve on their second flying laps.
Only Grosjean, Webber and Rosberg managed faster times, and just Rosberg gained a position, leapfrogging Alonso to join Vettel on the front row.
"We got out and I was surprised how much of the water had gone," said Vettel. "I went to the intermediates and got a good lap straight away. It's great in these conditions to get it all right."
Alonso said he felt he could have beaten Rosberg to second place.
"I have mixed feelings, to be honest," said Alonso. "I am happy to be so high up on the grid finally because we normally start between seventh and 10th in the last few grands prix, which is not ideal.
"But I'm not totally happy with my lap. I went off at Turn Four, I was very late and missed the corner, it was very slippery. I exited eight tenths behind. [My pace] was not enough for pole position but it was enough for second place."
Scot Paul Di Resta qualified 12th in what may be his last race for Force India, and possibly even in F1 for the time being, as his future is uncertain because he has not yet lined up a drive for 2014.
Di Resta, whose team-mate Adrian Sutil will line up 16th, said: "Unfortunately the first set of tyres we put on in Q2 didn't really switch on. We got in and put a new set on but the conditions had already worsened.
"But to be P12, I've only done about six laps here all weekend, I'm pretty satisfied with that. Tomorrow, if it's dry, it'll be about who's done the best work in the simulator because there's been no dry running all weekend."
Perez ended up 14th, a place ahead of team-mate Jenson Button, the Mexican ensuring he ended the season 10-9 ahead on qualifying results despite McLaren deciding to drop him for Danish novice Kevin Magnussen for 2014.
Button said the team had paid the price for gambling on a relatively low-downforce set-up in the hope of being in better shape in the race.
2008 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari
2009 - Rubens Barrichello - Brawn
2010 - Nico Hulkenberg - Williams
2011 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
2012 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
"We ran low downforce," Button said. "We felt it was working for us yesterday but unfortunately we did not run in the wettest conditions and we could not get tyre temperature today.
"On my final lap, I was 0.3secs up at Turn 13 and then I got to Turn 14 and there was a river running across the circuit. I lifted and that was 0.3secs gone."
Perez said: "I think the crash looked bigger than it was. The hit was not that big. I saw the damage to the front wing and suspension.
It [the weather] was getting worse and I was trying my best to find the lap time. The car was not performing at all. I tried to risk everything I could and it ended badly.
"The team made the decision they did. I hope I can stand here next year and say leaving McLaren was the best thing that could have happened to me."
Full qualifying results.


The head of Scotland Yard's e-crime unit has made a veiled attack on judges over the sentencing of cyber criminals.

Det Supt Charlie McMurdie said e-crime cost the UK economy an estimated £27bn a year and was not "victimless".
She said fraudsters and robbers get longer sentences than cyber criminals.
Her comments come after the FBI busted an Estonian gang who infected four million computers in 100 countries with code redirecting users to online ads, allegedly making them $14m (£9m).
Security firms hailed Operation Ghost Click as the "biggest cyber criminal takedown in history".
Det Supt McMurdie said: "Sentencing is still an issue. Some of these people have made millions and if it was fraud or robbery they would get eight or 10 years but they get less because it's cyber crime."
She pointed to a number of successes in recent years, including Operation Lath and Operation Pagode, which had resulted in several people being convicted in British courts.
Det Supt McMurdie said Operation Pagode centred around a criminal "cyber supermarket" website where up to 8,000 people exchanged information about stolen credit cards, and bomb-making and drug-making kits.
She said it was "the largest English-speaking forum of its kind" and contained details of 130,000 compromised credit cards.
Operation Lath saw Ukrainian nationals Pavel Klikov, 29, and Yevhen Kulibaba, 33, from Chingford, Essex, jailed for withdrawing an estimated £3m from victims' bank accounts, having used Trojans to infect them.
But Det Supt McMurdie believes their sentences of four years and eight months did not reflect the severity of the crime.
"Sentencing powers are sufficient but it's the appreciation of the harm these individuals are causing that is lacking," she said.
"In total some of these cases involve £5m or £6m. People think there are no victims, no-one loses out because individuals get their money back from the banks. But it's a loss to the UK economy and a gain for that criminal organisation."
She said there was a "significant cyber threat around the Olympics" and said there was already a lot of fraud involving online ticketing but the picture was "constantly evolving".
Det Supt McMurdie said the police nationally had been given an extra £650m from the government to fight cyber crime and her own team had grown from 20 officers to 104.
In January, three new regional e-crime units will be launched in north-west England, the East Midlands and Yorkshire/Humberside.
The Met's e-crime unit is also involved in the ongoing investigation of internet activist groups like Anonymous and LulzSec.
"Most of our activities have international aspects," she said.
Det Supt McMurdie said she was aware of Operation Ghost Click and said her unit liaised with the FBI on an almost hourly basis.
"When the Americans get hit, it is inevitable that we will be hit too," she said.
Det Supt McMurdie denied the police had employed ex-hackers to do "penetration testing" on their own and other websites but added: "The people who test our infrastructure have the same skillset as hackers. You could call them hackers but they're not."
Asked if there was evidence "traditional criminals" were switching to cyber crime, she quipped: "There is no significant intelligence that old-fashioned 'blaggers' have become cyber hackers. They wouldn't understand it. Nor have I evidence of old-fashioned gangsters commissioning cyber criminals."
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said many companies were spending millions of pounds protecting themselves from cyber crime and he encouraged them to share good practice.


A man was found dead days after a video of him being confronted by a self-proclaimed paedophile "hunter" was posted on social media.

The 44-year-old was arrested on suspicion of grooming on 28 May and released on bail. He was found dead at a property in Harlow on 31 May.
The video was posted on a Facebook page run by Christopher Wood from Essex.
Essex Police has referred the man's death to the police watchdog. His death is not being treated as suspicious.
Follow updates on this story and other Essex news
The dead man's name has not been released by police.
On Facebook, Mr Wood said the death had come as "shocking news" and he had removed the video "out of respect for his family".
Mr Wood describes himself on Facebook as a "hunter" who wants to "make a stand" against the grooming of children online.
An Essex Police spokesman said the force was aware of videos "filmed and published by a third party" on social media "purporting to show an encounter between the arrested man and a member of the public".
It declined to comment further.


The chairman of the US's communications watchdog is proposing "strong" protections to ensure the principles of net neutrality are upheld.

In an article in Wired, Tom Wheeler said he intended to place new restrictions on how fixed line and mobile broadband providers handle data.
He plans to prevent the service providers from being able to create fast lanes for those willing to pay.
Verizon has indicated that it might begin legal action as a consequence.
Setting out his vision, Mr Wheeler described it as the "strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the FCC".
The principle of net neutrality is one that holds that all packets of data, whether it be an email, a webpage or a video, are treated equally on the network.
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said he intended to reclassify internet service providers (ISPs) to make them like any other public utility, in order to ensure the watchdog can regulate them.
"These enforceable, bright-line rules will ban paid prioritisation, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services," he wrote.
"I propose to fully apply - for the first time ever - those bright-line rules to mobile broadband.
"My proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone's permission."
This will mean far heavier regulation for both fixed line and wireless providers and will give the FCC the power to stop ISPs from blocking traffic from services which rival their own, or from setting up fast lanes for those internet companies prepared to pay.
In a statement to the BBC ahead of the announcement, Verizon refused to be drawn on the debate.
"We have not publicly stated, nor do we intend to speculate, as to what we may or may not do regarding an order that we have not seen and has not yet been approved," it said.
But, in a blog post written a few months ago, entitled Diminishing the Prospects of Further Net Neutrality Litigation, the ISP explained the likely course for it and other ISPs if the FCC did reclassify internet access.
"The ISPs, and perhaps some in the tech industry, will have no choice but to fight the sudden reversal of two decades of settled law," it wrote.
ISPs have long argued that, in a data-hungry world, there needs to be some kind of traffic prioritisation.
They point out that bandwidth heavy services such as Netflix are putting disproportionate strain on their networks and forcing them to invest billions in infrastructure. Such services, they argue, should share the costs of maintaining the network.
Verizon kickstarted the current debate about net neutrality when it challenged the FCC's net neutrality rules in January 2014.
A court found in its favour, meaning Verizon could start charging content providers such as Netflix to carry its content through its pipes. It also meant that the FCC had to reassess its rules.
It immediately had two lobby groups putting pressure on it.
Advocates of a free and open internet insisted that net neutrality was one of the fundamental tenets of the internet - it had been built for everybody and it should remain as easy for a small start-up as for a big multi-national to access people via the network, they argued.
ISPs, on the other hand, argued that some sort of traffic prioritisation was necessary in the complex data-hungry world we now live in. Doing so did not damage commitment to an open internet, they contended.
Initially it seemed that the regulator was leaning on the side of the ISPs and favouring some sort of two-tiered internet but protests outside its headquarters, intense lobbying from the tech industry and the eventual intervention of President Obama, appear to have changed its mind.
In November the president waded into the row and called on the FCC to enact "the strongest possible rules" to protect an open internet.
The debate about net neutrality is not just confined to the US.
In Europe some countries, such as the Netherlands, have already enshrined the principle in law.
Web pioneer Sir Tim Berners-Lee called for the rest of Europe to follow suit in a guest blog on the European Commission's website, written this week.
The inventor of the world wide web said that maintaining net neutrality was "critical for the future of the web and the future of human rights, innovation and progress in Europe".
"When I designed the web, I deliberately built it as a neutral, creative and collaborative space," he added.
He cited research commissioned by the Dutch government which suggested that net neutrality "stimulates a virtuous circle between more competition, lower prices, higher connectivity and greater innovation".
The European Union is due to discuss the issue of net neutrality in March.
In the US, the changes also have some way to go before they become law.
The five FCC commissioners will vote on the proposal on 26 February.
Meanwhile some reports suggest that a group of Republicans in Congress are already working on a bill to undermine the proposals.


Stocks on Wall Street closed flat on Friday as investors digested a speech by US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen.

Ms Yellen signalled that the Fed was likely to raise rates in March, a move which markets have increasingly been expecting.
The Dow Jones closed up just 0.01%, or 2.74 points to 21,005.71.
The S&P 500 index inched up 1.20 points to 2,383.12, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 9.53 points to 5,870.75.
Ms Yellen told an audience in Chicago: ''Looking ahead, we continue to expect the evolution of the economy to warrant further gradual increases in the target range for the federal funds rate.''
The New York indexes shrugged off the Federal Open Market Committee chair's commentary.
"At some point, maybe later in the year or next year, the market may not look at a rate hike as a positive thing," said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management.
"But right now, the market is willing to see this as an indication that economic growth is accelerating."
Meanwhile, shares in Snap, the owner of Snapchat, continued to climb after surging 40% on Thursday on its market debut. The social media company's shares closed up a further 10.66% to $27.09.


An explosion followed by a fire at a gas plant in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas has killed 26 people.

Mexico's state oil company, Pemex, said the fire broke out at around lunchtime at its gas facility outside the city of Reynosa, near the border with the United States.
Pemex said 26 workers had died, 22 contractors and four company employees.
The cause of the blaze has not been established, but the company says the fire has now been extinguished.
The plant is located by a road linking the cities of Reynosa and Monterrey.
After the explosion, which occurred around 11:00 (16:00 GMT), the road was closed for hours as ambulances and firefighters rushed to the facility to try to control the situation and rescue the wounded.
Mexican troops have also been called in to help.
A similar accident occurred last week at a nearby plant owned by Pemex, injuring four workers.
Another Pemex gas plant in Tamaulipas state was hit by a fire on 13 August, but the company said no one was injured.
Correspondents say illegal tapping at pipelines in northern Mexico, usually carried out by criminal gangs, is the cause of many accidents at Pemex facilities.


When President Muhammadu Buhari took over power in May 2015, many Nigerians expected him to wave a wand and bring about change.

They felt that their votes had hired the right man who would immediately fix all that was wrong with our country.
But, while delivering a speech to commemorate Nigeria's 55 years of independence from the UK on 1 October, President Buhari made it clear that he would not do the job on his own.
He invited every Nigerian to share the burden of change with him: "We all have a part to play to bring about change.
"We must change our lawless habits... We must change our unruly behaviour... To bring about change, we must change ourselves."
Few of us who live in Nigeria can deny knowledge of exactly what our president was talking about.
We are quite familiar with ubiquitous unruly behaviour:
I could go on and on. The catalogue of unruly behaviour in Nigeria is endless.
And, like President Buhari has pointed out, for the country to move forward, these bad habits have to change.
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani:
"Times have changed... Doling out instant corporal punishment in public with soldiers both administering and executing justice goes against the country's constitution"
But change will require more than passionate appeals from revered leaders.
For many Nigerians, unruly behaviour has become ingrained. It is now a case of "I know it, but I just can't help it".
Back in 1983, when he took over power in a military coup, President Buhari enforced his "War Against Indiscipline" (WAI) with the help of armed personnel, who punished unruly behaviour with instant penalties, such as frog jumps in the street.
WAI worked. Nigerians began to behave themselves.
But times have changed. Today's Nigeria is a democracy. Doling out instant corporal punishment in public with soldiers both administering and executing justice goes against the country's constitution.
A good place to start would be to understand the origin of this unruly behaviour.
The same Nigerians who find it impossible to queue up at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos immediately stand in line when they arrive at Heathrow.
And you are unlikely to hear a Nigerian "big man" barking "Do you know who I am?" to a cleaner on the streets of London.
He knows that he could easily end up spending the night in jail.
My father once told me how anyone who defecated in public was punished back when he was growing up.
The pile of excreta would be set alight, and a generous quantity of red pepper added to the flames.
Doing this was believed to cause the culprit's anus to begin to burn and itch wherever he was. And this belief acted as deterrent against people defecating in public places.
In today's Nigeria, where weak modern institutions have replaced traditional checks and balances, hardly any deterrents against lawlessness exist.
People have become used to getting away with almost anything. Many Nigerians consider themselves a law unto themselves.
But, anything is possible. President Buhari wants Nigerians to change and change we can.
After all, the Europeans who berthed on Africa's shores in the colonial era were able to replace entire peoples' habits with completely new and different ways.
Full profile
Does Nigeria run better without a cabinet?
Buhari's to-do list
Is Buhari a changed man?
Nigerians of today can learn new habits.
The past few decades have seen Nigeria inviting all manner of experts from far and wide to assist with recommendations and solutions for our country's diverse issues.
We have had the economic experts, the financial, security, political, agricultural, trade, health, but now may be the time for the Nigerian government to engage psychologists, experts at uncovering and disabling the inner forces that drive undesirable behaviour.
These behaviour modification experts could develop special programmes for leaders at different levels.
They could collaborate with government corporations and private organisations.
They could tinker with the curriculum in our country's schools, infusing regular lessons with programmes that would produce Nigerian citizens who would consider the effect of their every action on the world around them.
More from Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani:


A woman has been charged with murder after a man was stabbed to death in West Yorkshire.

David Butterfield, 43, was found with a stab wound to the chest at a house in Gomersal, near Cleckheaton, on Friday evening, West Yorkshire Police said.
He was treated by paramedics but died at the property on Shirley Terrace, investigators said.
Michelle Spencer, 47, is due to appear before magistrates in Huddersfield later on Tuesday.


There has been an important development in the big crack cutting across the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

The fissure, which threatens to spawn one of the biggest bergs ever seen, has dramatically changed direction.
"The rift has propagated a further 16km, with a significant apparent right turn towards the end, moving the tip 13km from the ice edge," said Swansea University's Prof Adrian Luckman.
The calving of the berg could now be very close, he told BBC News.
However, he also quickly added that nothing was certain.
The fissure currently extends for about 200km in length, tracing the outline of a putative berg that covers some 5,000 sq km - an area about a quarter of the size of Wales.
The crack put on its latest spurt between 25 May and 31 May. These dates were the two most recent passes of the European Union's Sentinel-1 satellites. Their radar vision is keeping up a constant watch as the White Continent moves into the darkness of deep winter.
After some initial activity at the beginning of the year, the Larsen crack became stationary as it entered what is termed a "suture" zone - a region of soft, flexible ice. But this situation held only until the beginning of May, when the rift tip then suddenly forked. And it is the new branch that has now extended and turned towards the ocean.
When the berg's calving does finally take place, the block will probably drift away quite gradually from the ice shelf.
"It's unlikely to be fast because the Weddell Sea is full of sea-ice, but it'll certainly be faster than the last few months of gradual parting. It will depend on the currents and winds," explained Prof Luckman.
Taking out such a large chunk of ice would mean the Larsen C shelf would lose more than 10% of its area. Previous research by the Swansea group has shown that this will put the shelf in a much less stable configuration.
Similar calving events on the more northerly Larsen A and Larsen B ice shelves eventually led to their total break-up. Scientists are concerned that this same fate could now await Larsen C.
Were the shelf to collapse (and even if it did, it would still take many years to complete), it would continue a trend across the Antarctic Peninsula.
In recent decades, a dozen major ice shelves have disintegrated, significantly retreated or lost substantial volume - including Prince Gustav Channel, Larsen Inlet, Larsen A, Larsen B, Wordie, Muller, Jones Channel, and Wilkins.
Prof Luckman's MIDAS Project is posting updates on the Larsen crack on its blog, and on its Twitter feed.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


Jim Crowley says the gruelling tussle to be champion jockey took over his life as he stands on the verge of his first title.

He has travelled more than 50,000 miles and ridden in over 700 races in a duel with 2015 champion Silvestre de Sousa.
Crowley, 38, is set to lift the title on Saturday at Ascot  - close to his birthplace - on British Champions Day.
"I've become obsessed by it. When you really want to do something badly, you eat, breathe and sleep it," he said.
"Literally, I have thought about nothing else for the last two months. It does take over your life.
"Any sportsman will tell you the same - you have to be obsessed with something if you want to do it well. I'll be glad when the season's over because you can relax a little bit, but it's all I'm thinking about at the moment."
When betting opened on this year's top rider, Crowley was rated a 66-1 outsider.
He had signed up last year with agent Tony Hinds, who helped Ryan Moore and Richard Hughes become champions, but felt 2016 might be a year too soon for a title bid.
With the Stobart Flat Jockeys' Championship taking place from late April to mid October, Crowley did not make it in to the top 10 until early July.
"After Glorious Goodwood [in July], I think I was 17 or 18 winners behind the leaders, which was still quite a fair way, but we were on a roll and thought we would give it our everything," he recalled.
The battle to be champion, which is based on the number of winners, developed into a two-horse race, as last year's victor De Sousa, 35, fought with Crowley.
With a lead of 15 going into the final week, the Briton is now highly unlikely to be overtaken.
"For about two months, we were literally neck and neck. Every day the lead would change. It's been fantastic for racing, so many people have picked up on it," Crowley said.
Every day brought a new quest for winners, developing into a punishing schedule.
"Some days I've got up at 4am and gone to Newmarket from my home in Sussex to ride work and then do two meetings that day, possibly up to 13 or 14 races a day, travelling by car or helicopter or plane.
"I would say I've done more than 50,000 miles going to meetings by car. I was driving myself up until about two months ago when the workload became so intense that I managed to find someone to drive me.
"Sometimes I would get to bed at midnight. It's physically, as well as mentally, tiring."
Crowley recalls an evening meeting at Chelmsford where De Sousa won the first two races, and he replied with victory in the final three.
"We are both very competitive, hungry jockeys," he said.
"When you are locked in a close battle like I have been with Silvestre, you're watching each other all the time and seeing if he's ridden winners.
"It's human nature, and anyone who says you wouldn't do that is a liar. You can't help it. If he was at another meeting, I would watch to see where he was in a race."
Crowley wrestled the lead from De Sousa with a 100-1 treble at Windsor on 28 August.
But a day later, his Brazilian rival rode four winners at Epsom and Crowley joked to him: "You've kicked my backside today."
Crowley regrouped and pulled clear by riding 46 winners in September, the most victories clocked up in a month, beating a long-standing record held jointly by Fred Archer and Sir Gordon Richards.
"There are days when I thought he wouldn't ride a winner, looking at the racecard, and he'll come back and bang three in. He's a tough, tough person to ride against," Crowley said.
"The next day you wake up and think, 'It's my turn' - and that's the sort of mentality you need.
"You have to be a bit careful, otherwise it could fry your head if you're having a bad day and they're having a good day. It's a bit like golf, where you have to just concentrate on what you're doing.
"We get on really well. I have so much respect for him as a jockey and a person."
Crowley rode for seven years over the jumps before making the switch to flat racing.
"I never in my dreams thought I'd be champion flat jockey, if anything I had dreams of being champion over jumps," he said.
"It would be without doubt the highlight of my career. From a young boy when you go into racing, you want to be champion. To realise your ambition is a dream come true.
Being crowned champion at Ascot would have special resonance for Crowley.
Hopefully we will get to spend a little more time together in the winter, but if he wants to do it all again, then we'll support him all the way
"I was born in the hospital, literally opposite the racecourse. I grew up just down the road, a lot of my friends and family live close by, and it would be great if I could be crowned champion there. It's always been a lucky track for me."
Crowley concedes he might have a big party once the season is over, and then he hopes the title can be a springboard for more success.
"I'd like to win an English Classic. I've been second in the Oaks and the St Leger. Racing is big on the international stage and it would be good to win some big races abroad," he said.
The father-of-three has been supported by his wife Lucinda and children Alice, Bella and Sam.
"My girls, who are nine and seven, are into ponies and horses and they've become really interested in it. I hope I do it for their sake. I hope I can make them proud," he added.