UN member states have rejected a US-backed plan to introduce new regulations on cluster bombs - munitions which break up into hundreds of smaller bomblets.

The plan would have eliminated all cluster munitions made before 1980.
But human rights groups argued that an international convention banning such bombs already exists and that the new protocol would dilute its provisions.
The US said that it was "deeply disappointed" by the decision.
"The protocol would have led to the immediate prohibition of many millions of cluster munitions [and] placed the remaining cluster munitions under a detailed set of restrictions and regulations," the US embassy in Geneva said in a statement.
First developed during World War II, cluster bombs contain a number of smaller bomblets designed to cover a large area and deter an advancing army.
A total of 111 UN member states have already signed up to the Oslo convention prohibiting the production, transfer, and use of cluster munitions. The US, Russia and China have not.
A senior US official said the bombs were a military necessity for when targets were spread over wide areas, and that using alternative armaments would cause more collateral damage and prolong conflicts, Reuters reports.
The outcome of Friday's meeting in Geneva was welcomed by human rights campaigners who say cluster bombs are indiscriminate weapons that can fail to explode on impact and lie dormant, often causing injury to civilian years after conflict has ended.
"How often do you see the US, Russia, China, India, Israel and Belarus push for something, and they don't get it? That has happened largely because of one powerful alliance driving the Oslo partnership," said Steve Goose of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes, in Geneva, says that though the proposal would have eliminated millions of ageing cluster munitions, even military allies of the US, like Britain, chose not to support it.
Many UN member states felt, she says, that getting rid of some cluster weapons while officially sanctioning others would set a dangerous precedent, and might even legitimise their use in the long-term.
The US move was also opposed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the top UN officials for human rights, emergency relief and development.
1. The cluster bomb, in this case a CBU-87, is dropped from a plane and can fly about nine miles before releasing its load of about 200 bomblets.
2. The canister starts to spin and opens at an altitude between 1,000m and 100m, spraying the bomblets across a wide area.
3. Each bomblet is the size of a drink can and contains hundreds of metal pieces. When it explodes, it can cause deadly injuries up to 25m away.


Sweden's prime minister has described as a "terrible crime" the stabbing of a 22-year-old female employee at a centre for young asylum seekers.

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven visited the centre for unaccompanied migrants in Molndal, near Gothenburg, hours after the killing.
An asylum seeker of 15 was arrested on suspicion of murder. The victim has been named locally as Alexandra Mezher.
Mr Lofven said many Swedes feared that such attacks could happen again.
"I believe that there are quite many people in Sweden who feel a lot of concern that there can be more cases of this kind, when Sweden receives so many children and youth, who come alone [to seek asylum]" he was quoted as saying by Radio Sweden.
Police officers arriving at the scene at Molndal near Gothenburg found a "crime scene with a lot of blood", said spokesman Thomas Fuxborg.
"The perpetrator had been overpowered by other residents, people were down and upset."
The victim, whose family was described as Lebanese in origin, died in hospital of her injuries.
Ms Mezher had worked at the asylum centre for a few months and a cousin quoted by Expressen newspaper said she was "an angel who wanted to do good". She had been planning to do a postgraduate course in social sciences, Goteborgs-Posten reported.
A knife believed to be the one used in the attack was recovered.
The residents at the home, all aged between 14 and 17 and about 10 in number, were moved to new accommodation for the night, according to local media.
Sweden's National Police Commissioner, Dan Eliasson, has requested 4,100 additional officers and support staff to help fight against terrorism, carry out migrant deportations and police asylum facilities, Swedish news agency TT reports.
"We are forced to respond to many disturbances in asylum reception centres," he was quoted as saying.
"In some places, this takes significant police resources. This was not the case six months ago and it means that we won't be able to respond as effectively in other areas."
Sweden accepted almost 163,000 asylum applications last year, almost a third of them from Syria. Migration officials say 35,400 unaccompanied minors sought asylum in Sweden in 2015, five times the number in 2014.
The national migration agency has described the surge in arrivals from unaccompanied minors as "a great challenge for all municipalities in the country".
Along with Germany, it is a prime destination for refugees and other migrants entering the EU illegally.
However, it recently introduced temporary border checks in a bid to control the influx of people.


A dramatic drop in giraffe populations over the past 30 years has seen the world's tallest land mammal classified as vulnerable to extinction.

Numbers have gone from around 155,000 in 1985 to 97,000 in 2015 according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The iconic animal has declined because of habitat loss, poaching and civil unrest in many parts of Africa.
Some populations are growing, mainly in southern parts of the continent.
Until now, the conservation status of giraffes was considered of "least concern" by the IUCN.
However in their latest global Red List of threatened species, the ungainly animal is now said to be "vulnerable", meaning that over three generations, the population has declined by more that 30%.
According to Dr Julian Fennessy, who co-chairs the IUCN giraffe specialist group, the creatures are undergoing a "silent extinction".
"If you go on a safari, giraffes are everywhere," he told BBC News.
"While there have been great concern about elephants and rhinos, giraffes have gone under the radar but, unfortunately, their numbers have been plummeting, and this is something that we were a little shocked about, that they have declined by so much in so little time."
The rapid growth of human populations has seen the expansion of farming and other forms of development that has resulted in the fragmentation of the giraffe's range in many parts of Africa.  But civil unrest in parts of the continent has also taken its toll.
"In these war torn areas, in northern Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia in the border area with South Sudan, essentially the giraffes are war fodder, a large animal, extremely curious that can feed a lot of people," said Dr Fennessy.
A study in recent months suggested that the giraffe was actually four different species but for this update of  the Redlist, the IUCN have stuck with the traditional definition of one species with nine subspecies.
Of these, five have had falling populations, one has remained stable while three have grown. Different outcomes seem to be highly dependent on location.
"The species in southern Africa, those numbers are increasing by two to three times over the last three decades," said Dr Fennessy.
"But when you come up through East Africa, those numbers have plummeted some by up to 95% of the population in the case of the Nubian giraffe, in the last three decades alone."
While researchers believe that some local populations may not survive, there is optimism that that the long term future of these tall creatures can be secured.
The success in keeping giraffe numbers high in Southern Africa has much to do with the management of game parks for tourists say experts, who believe that the extra attention that the IUCN listing will now attract will benefit the species.
"South Africa is a good example of how you can manage wildlife, there is a lot of moving of animals between different conservation areas, it is a very different scenario than in most of the rest of Africa." said Chris Ransom from the Zoological Society of London.
"I think giraffes can survive, with the right conservation efforts, and we can ensure that the animals do live in the wild. There  are a lot of cases of success in conservation. The giraffes could be one."
The latest edition of the IUCN Red List now contains over 85,000 species in total with more than 24,000 threatened with extinction. Over 700 newly recognised bird species have been added, with 11% of them on the edge of survival.
One bird, the Antioquia wren has been listed as "endangered" as more than half of its habitat in Colombia could be wiped out by proposed dam.
Invasive species on islands are also seen as a threat for many birds including the Pagan reed-warbler and the Laysan honeycreeper.
The publication also includes the first assessment of crops including wild oats, barley, mango and other wild relative plants.
"Many species are slipping away before we can even describe them," says IUCN Director General Inger Andersen. "This IUCN Red List update shows that the scale of the global extinction crisis may be even greater than we thought."
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The insurance bill for the floods in Cumbria and the North earlier this month is likely to hit £520m, the industry has said.

Customers have put in no fewer than 23,700 claims for property damage, after Storm Desmond caused torrential rain in parts of the region.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said the storm was on a scale which it expects to see every year.
Over 4,000 affected businesses have put in claims for damage.
The ABI said that so far, insurance companies had already paid out £1.7m to residential customers and £900,000 to commercial customers.
The £520m expected bill makes the storm much more serious than the floods in Cumbria in 2009, which caused £200m of damage.
However, the floods in Somerset and the Thames Valley two years ago cost insurers £1.3bn.
And the summer floods in South Yorkshire and Tewkesbury in 2007 cost more than £3bn.


The South African ambassador to Uganda, a former columnist for South Africa's Sunday Sun paper, has been found guilty of hate speech for an anti-gay article.

South Africa's Equality Court fined Jon Qwelane $14,450 (Â£8,920) and ordered him to apologise for promoting hatred in the column published in 2008.
Headlined "Call me names but gay is NOT OKAY", it caused an uproar at the time.
Mr Qwelane, who was appointed last year to Uganda where homosexual acts are illegal, did not mount a defence.
Correspondents say the outcome of the case is particularly significant in the light of the recent attacks and rapes of lesbian women in South Africa.
Unlike in many African countries, homosexual acts are legal in South Africa and discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned, but activists say gay and lesbian people are often attacked in townships.
"We are hoping really that this finding will send a message to community members, a message that says gay and lesbian people have an equal right to the protection of their dignity," said Vincent Moaga, spokesman for the South African Human Rights Commission, which initiated the complaint against Mr Qwelane.
The Sunday Sun officially apologised for the column following complaints after its publication, but Mr Qwelane refused to make an apology.
The court agreed with commission's argument that Mr Qwelane's article, and the cartoon accompanying it, had promoted hatred against homosexuals, causing them emotional suffering.
Mr Moaga said the money from the fine would be donated to gay rights organisations.
The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg says Mr Qwelane was appointed as ambassador last year, raising concerns that he would fuel tensions in Uganda which has come under intense international pressure over plans to tighten laws against homosexuality.
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, first introduced in 2009 and yet to be voted on in Uganda's parliament, seeks to increase the penalties for homosexual acts from 14 years in prison to life.
It also proposes the death penalty for a new offence of "aggravated homosexuality" - defined as when one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive, disabled or a "serial offender".


World number three Rory McIlroy says he was "taken aback" by the extent of the criticism he received for playing golf with US President Donald Trump.

McIlroy, who returns to the PGA Tour in Mexico this week after nearly two months out with a rib injury, says he was called "a fascist and a bigot".
"It's not as if we were talking foreign policy out there," said the Northern Irishman. "We were talking golf."
McIlroy also met Tiger Woods, and said the American was "in a good place".
Former world number one Woods has been plagued by injury in recent years, and has not played since pulling out of the second round of February's Dubai Desert Classic because of back spasms.
McIlroy said the 41-year-old could still play in the Masters - which he has won four times - in April.
"It's a possibility," said McIlroy, who had lunch with Woods last week. "Mentally, he's in a good place.
"He struggled with his body over the past couple years and it's unfortunate because it just won't allow him to do what he wants to do."
McIlroy was speaking at a news conference streamed on the PGA Tour's Facebook page.
Asked about his round with Trump at the president's Trump International course in Florida last week, he said: "I was just doing what I felt was respectful.
"The president of the United States phones you up and wants to play golf with you. I wasn't going to say no.
"I don't agree with everything he says but it is what it is. I'm not an American. I can't vote. Even if I could vote I don't think I would have."
McIlroy said he had a "good time" and seeing "30 secret service and 30 cops and snipers in the trees" was "a surreal experience".
McIlroy is preparing to compete in the WGC-Mexico Championship, which begins on Thursday.
And he hopes his injury lay-off is actually "a blessing in disguise".
The former world number one, who won the last of his four majors in 2014, said: "I feel like I'm probably stronger now than I was in November, December last year."
McIlroy can reclaim top spot in the rankings if he wins at the Club de Golf Chapultepec and Dustin Johnson finishes in a two-way tie for third or worse.
"I don't think we make too big a deal of it," he said. "It's not as if I earn any more money as the world number one, it's just nice to be able to say you're the best in the world at what you do.
"It's been a really great group of guys that have won the last few weeks and it's been a little tough for me."


Newcastle Falcons are relishing the importance of Sunday's bottom-two Premiership showdown with London Irish, says back row Mark Wilson.

Irish, currently bottom of the table, trail the Falcons by four points.
With four points for a win, plus potential bonus points for tries and losing margins, the Falcons could form a points buffer with two games to play.
"We want to play in these games because it's exciting and it brings out the best in people," Wilson told BBC Sport.
"We're professional rugby players and we get paid to perform in these high pressure environments. Nobody wants to play in dead rubbers, just turning up and playing."
Newcastle are expecting a large crowd at Kingston Park, with 5,000 tickets sold by the beginning of the week.
The importance of retaining top-flight rugby in the north east is not lost on the squad, who have had almost two weeks to contemplate the match during the European break.
"It's been bigged up to be a big game and rightly so," Wilson added. "With the gap at the bottom it is a big game and no getting away, but these are the games we want to play in."
While the precarious position of both sides has helped sell tickets, the Falcons can feel disappointed to still be in the battle against drop after their mid-season revival.
Six straight home wins after the turn of the year, four of them in the league, lifted Dean Richards' side up the table.
But narrow defeats since then by Worcester, Bath and Wasps have placed jeopardy on their place in the elite.
"There's a sense of frustration that we're in the position we are," Wilson added.
"I think if you look back six or seven weeks, we were on the back of six wins on the bounce at home where we beat Bath, Quins, Leicester and Northampton - we didn't think we'd be in this situation.
"It shows how competitive the Premiership is, and you can't take any team lightly but we know we can compete with the best teams.
"It's a case of knowing we've got to perform. It's not rocket science, just doing the simple things really."


Too Naked For The Nazis - a book about the career of a vaudeville trio - has won the Diagram Prize, awarded to the oddest book title of the year.

Author Alan Stafford had nominated his own book for the award run by The Bookseller magazine.
It beat Reading from Behind: A Cultural History of the Anus, with 24.8% of the public vote compared to 24.3%.
Stafford does not win a cash prize, but instead receives "a passable bottle of claret".
His book is a biography of musical hall act Wilson, Keppel and Betty - said to be "the inspiration for the Chuckle Brothers" - while Reading from Behind is an academic text.
Other works on the seven-strong shortlist for the prize, now in its 38th year, included Transvestite Vampire Biker Nuns from Outer Space and Soviet Bus Stops.
Stafford said: "I'm hugely grateful to everyone who took the trouble to vote for me.  A good title not only tells the public what the book's about, sometimes it tells the author too.
"Too Naked For The Nazis pinpoints the central event of my book - when a trio of comedy Egyptian sand dancers incurred the wrath of the Nazi high command by a blatant exposure of hairy legs.
"It was when the title started provoking more comment than the book that I began to appreciate its worth."
Horace Bent, administrator of the prize, said it had been "the closest Diagram Prize race of all time".
He said: "Too Naked For The Nazis is arguably the perfect Diagram winner, as if concocted by a team of crack Diagramologists - our voters penchant for nudity goes back to the very first winner, 1978's Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice, while the Third Reich has been represented by titles such as How Green were the Nazis (2007). Mr Stafford has brought these two strands together in one irresistible package."
The Booksellers' Tom Tivnan added: "What is interesting is the trend for authors in the last couple of years to nominate their own books and then going out and actively campaigning for the prize; Mr Stafford's Twitter electioneering for his book bordered on an Ahabian monomania.
"And why not? I think writers have recognised that winning the Diagram could mean a boost in sale of tens, maybe even as much as a hundred copies. High stakes indeed. More likely, they are probably after the free bottle of plonk we give to the nominator."


In a soggy Shropshire field on the edge of the Harper Adams University campus an amazing experiment is just beginning.

Can you plant, grow and harvest a hectare of spring barley using only robots?
If they pull this off, this small team will be the first in the world to manage such a feat.
But it is not going to be easy.
I was there as they started the project and brought robots to the field for the very first time.
The ground rules are simple.
There's a hectare of land which will be fenced off and only robots and machines will be allowed inside with the odd drone flying overhead.
People are completely forbidden - hence the project nickname, "The hands free hectare".
The crop chosen by Harper Adams and Precision Decision Ltd is spring barley, which means after harvest the end result can be used to make robot beer.
So there's everything to play for.
There's a really fascinating argument at the heart of all this.
A modern tractor can drive itself using GPS and decide how much pesticide or fertiliser to apply and where to do it.
In theory making the tractor completely autonomous is the next logical step.
After all that's what is happening with self-driving cars.
But these tractors are also really big.
That means they can crush the soil which reduces yields and their size also limits the accuracy when applying those expensive chemicals.
The alternative is the approach being taken at Harper Adams.
Smaller, lighter, cheaper machines that achieve the same result but leave the soil in better shape and which can tackle weeds and more with pinpoint accuracy.
It's a view that says future farming will involve a flock of smaller robot machines rather than one massive self-driving tractor.
So how likely is all this?
Will we really see driverless tractors quietly moving through fields of wheat and barley?
Well one American report suggested the global market for agricultural robots could be worth £13bn by the year 2020.
Here in the UK, the question of who will be working in our fields post-Brexit is bringing a new focus on to the whole issue of automation.
For now the team is waiting for the delivery of the compact tractor that will be doing most of the work from planting to harvest.
Ahead of its arrival they are testing the robot driving system on a smaller machine.
They have three months to get everything right before they face their first big test, planting the barley.
So will the young, nimble team from Shropshire beat some of the world's biggest machinery companies to this extraordinary goal?
An entire farming cycle carried out by robots?
Well we'll be there every step of the way to find out.
Which is another level of stress for the team because nothing makes technology go wrong like training television camera on it.


England have sent eight players back to their clubs as coach Eddie Jones confirmed his squad of 23, plus two travelling reserves, for the Six Nations match against Scotland.

Jack Clifford, Ollie Devoto and Paul Hill could make their debuts in what will be Jones' first match in charge.
Uncapped duo Maro Itoje and Elliot Daly will travel to Edinburgh as reserves.
Saracens' Itoje may yet feature in the match-day squad, with Courtney Lawes battling a hamstring injury.
Assistant coach Steve Borthwick told BBC Sport that Northampton lock Lawes did not train on Tuesday but was hopeful he would play.
"Courtney is working hard on his recovery. He was working well with the physios and hopefully he'll be fit and healthy for Saturday," said the former England second-rower.
Sale forward Josh Beaumont, one of seven uncapped players in England's original 33-man squad, is one of the eight to return to their clubs this weekend.
Kieran Brookes (Northampton Saints), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Matt Kvesic (Gloucester Rugby), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Sam Hill (Exeter Chiefs), Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby) and Marland Yarde (Harlequins) have also been freed up to play in the Premiership.
England have a new coach, and a new captain in Dylan Hartley, and will aim to atone for becoming the first host nation to fail to progress beyond the World Cup group stages in 2015.
The statistics bode well for Jones, as Scotland have not beaten England in their last eight attempts since 2008, with one draw in 2010.
Scotland have only won their first game of the Six Nations once, in 2006, and have not scored a try against England at Murrayfield since 2004.
Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Ollie Devoto (Bath Rugby), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Alex Goode (Saracens), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Paul Hill (Northampton Saints), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens).


The jury in the trial of well known Irish traditional musician, Francis McPeake, has been discharged over a legal issue.

The 72-year-old, formerly of Eliza Street Close, Belfast faced 12 counts of child sex abuse.
He was accused of abusing a 15-year-old girl between 2009 and 2010. He denied all the charges.
The 12-member jury had spent more than six hours deliberating before being discharged on Wednesday.
The judge thanked the 10 women and two men for their time.
The trial at Belfast Crown Court started on 28 May.


The Traditional Unionists have proposed two possible alternatives to the current power sharing executive which, they argue, could provide a path to making Stormont work.

The party's Plan A is a voluntary coalition with an opposition, operating initially on the basis of 60% weighted majority votes.
The party's Plan B would involve MLAs passing bills through the assembly, but British ministers exercising executive functions while remaining accountable to the assembly.
The TUV claim Plan A would ensure cross-community involvement, although they believe it should be possible to reduce the threshold to a straight majority over time.
In a new policy document, the TUV leader, Jim Allister, argues that "clinging endlessly to the failure of mandatory coalition is not serving Northern Ireland well".
Stormont has been in crisis for weeks following the murder of an ex-IRA man.
Kevin McGuigan Sr was shot dead near his home in east Belfast in August, and following a police assessment that Provisional IRA members were involved, all but one of the Northern Ireland Executive's unionist ministers resigned in protest.
Crisis talks involving Northern Ireland's five biggest parties, and the British and Irish governments, have been taking place over the past three weeks.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Theresa Villiers told the Conservative Party's annual conference that the future of Northern Ireland devolution is under threat.
However, she said a return to direct rule would be a "severe setback" for Northern Ireland's political process.


Inmates at a "substandard" prison claimed it was easier to get hold of drugs than clothes or bedding, a watchdog has found.

The report on HMP Bedford found almost twice the number of prisoners said it was "easy" to access drugs, compared to a previous inspection in February 2014.
It also discovered incidents of self-harm had almost doubled from 67 to 121.
The Prison Service said it was taking action to address the level of substance misuse at HMP Bedford.
The critical report sets out the findings made by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons in May.
It found that of 72 recommendations made after the prison was last inspected more than two years earlier, only 12 had been achieved and four partially achieved.
The report found the use of drugs previously known as "legal highs" was having a "serious impact" on safety at the prison.
The use of the psychoactive substance Spice - which mimics cannabis - was prevalent, inspectors found.
Details of damaged furniture, graffiti, shortages of clothing and dirty, unscreened showers were also noted.
Peter Clarke, chief inspector of prisons, wrote: "The stark reality is that prisoners told us it was easier to get illegal drugs in the prison than it was to get clothes or sheets.
"Standards in the prison have declined to unacceptable levels.
"I am not suggesting that staff at HMP Bedford are not working hard - they clearly were, and some important things had been put in place to improve things in the future."
The prison held just under 500 male prisoners at the time of the inspection.
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said Bedford was "a good example of everything that is wrong with the prison system".
She added: "It is unsafe, overcrowded and understaffed. Prisoners can obtain drugs easily but cannot get essentials such as clothes and sheets."
A Prison Service spokeswoman responded: "Safety in prisons is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system and a vital part of our reform plans.
"There are a number of factors, including the availability of psychoactive substances, that must be tackled. We are rolling out mandatory nationwide testing of synthetic drugs, which will help to end the flow of these dangerous drugs into our prisons."


Nicaragua is striving to overcome the after-effects of dictatorship, civil war and natural calamities, which have left it one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

It is now also struggling with the conflict associated with being on the drug trafficking route to the United States.
Nicaragua has traditionally relied on agricultural exports to sustain its economy but the country's meagre national wealth benefited mainly a few elite families of Spanish descent, in particular the Somoza family in the mid-20th century. This dynasty ruled the country with US backing between 1937 and the Sandinista revolution in 1979.
The Sandinistas began redistributing property and made huge progress in the spheres of health and education, but the US launched a sustained campaign of embargoes and armed subversion.
It is now hoping to launch one of the world's most ambitious infrastructure schemes - a canal project to rival the Panama Canal.
Population 5.9 million
Area 120,254 sq km (46,430 sq miles)
Major languages Spanish, English, indigenous languages
Major religion Christianity
Life expectancy 71 years (men), 77 years (women)
Currency gold cordoba
President: Daniel Ortega
Left-wing Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega made his political comeback in the November 2006 elections, having led Nicaragua through revolution and a civil war before being voted out in 1990.
He cruised to victory in the 2016 presidential election to win a third consecutive five-year term with his wife Rosario Murillo as his vice-presidential running mate.
Independent election observers, as well as opposition figures and the US voiced deep concern about the fairness of the poll.
Mr Ortega's opponents have accused the former fighter of seeking to consolidate his family's control over Nicaraguan politics by appointing relatives to key posts and side-lining opposition candidates.
In 2014, his Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) pushed constitutional changes through Congress eliminating presidential terms limits.
Mr Ortega has strong support from the country's poor who account for more than a third of the population and have benefitted from his social programmes.
During his tenure, Nicaragua has experienced stable economic growth, poverty levels have fallen and low violence compared to elsewhere in Central America.
For most Nicaraguans radio and TV are the main sources of news. There are more than 100 radio stations, many of them in the capital, and several TV networks. Cable TV is available in most urban areas.
Some key dates in Nicaragua's history:
1838 - Nicaragua becomes fully independent. Country spends most of the 19th century in violent power struggles between Liberal and Conservative factions.
1860 - British cede control over the country's Caribbean coast to Nicaragua.
1909 - US supports a coup by Nicaragua's conservative forces, beginning a long period of US interventions and occupations in Nicaragua.
1927 - National hero Cesar Augusto Sandino begins a rebellion against the US occupiers and their Nicaraguan allies.
1934 - Sandino forces the US marines to withdraw. Sandino is assassinated. Anastasio Somoza Garcia, at the head of the National Guard, installs the Somoza family dynasty. Somoza and his sons Luis and Anastasio Jr rule Nicaragua until 1979.
1978 - Assassination of opposition leader Pedro Joaquin Chamorro triggers general strike and unites moderates and the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in efforts to oust Somoza.
1979 - Sandanista military offensive ends with the ouster of Somoza. National reconstruction government is formed under Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega. Left-wing stance of Sandinista leaders results in formation of anti-Sandinista rebels, the Contras.
1984 - Daniel Ortega is elected president. The US government led by President Ronald Reagan backs the Contras with arms and money, escalating the armed conflict.
Inflation reaches 33,000% in 1988 and GDP plunges 13.6%. Central American presidents step in and broker a peace settlement. The US disarms the Contras in return for guarantees of a fair election.
1990 - Violeta Barrios de Chamorro leads an anti-Sandinista coalition to defeat Daniel Ortega and is elected president. She installs a national reconciliation government, the war ends and the economy gradually starts to recover.
2006 - Ex-president Daniel Ortega is returned to power in elections.


It's got witches, wizards and animatronic owls.

And now Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has got 11 Olivier Award nominations. That makes it the most nominated new play in Olivier history.
The musical Groundhog Day, which begins on Broadway this month, has picked up eight nominations.
Glenda Jackson receives her first nomination since 1984 following her return to the stage as King Lear.
Her leading role at London's Old Vic last year was her first stage appearance for 25 years after giving up acting for politics in the early 1990s.
Joining her in a very strong best actress category are Cherry Jones, Billie Piper and Ruth Wilson for their performances in The Glass Menagerie, Yerma and Hedda Gabler respectively.
The best actor category features Ed Harris for Buried Child and Tom Hollander for Travesties.
Jamie Parker is nominated for his role as Harry Potter while Sir Ian McKellen receives his 10th nomination for No Man's Land.
The nominations were announced on Monday by past acting winners Denise Gough and Matt Henry.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened to five-star reviews at the Palace Theatre last July, has already dominated theatre awards season, with multiple wins at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, the Critics' Circle Awards and the recent Whatsonstage.com awards.
Presented in two parts, the play - showing the stars of the wizarding saga in their mid-30s as their own children head off to school - lasts over five hours.
Cursed Child's record-breaking 11 nominations ties with the current record holder for the most nominated production, Hairspray (2008).
It's up for best new play against Elegy and One Night in Miami, both at the Donmar Warehouse, and The Flick at the National Theatre.
Its other nods include Noma Dumezweni for best supporting actress as Hermione Granger, Anthony Boyle for best supporting actor as Scorpius Malfoy, and composer Imogen Heap for outstanding achievement in music.
John Tiffany is nominated twice in the director category, for both Cursed Child and The Glass Menagerie. He's up against Simon Stone for Yerma and Matthew Warchus for Groundhog Day.
Groundhog Day competes in the best new musical category against Dreamgirls, School of Rock and The Girls.
Jesus Christ Superstar, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, receives six nominations, including best musical revival.
Dreamgirls receives five nominations, including best actress in a musical for Amber Riley.
"In a year of global change, the nominees for this year's awards demonstrate London theatre's ability to challenge our perceptions, stir our emotions, and entertain us," said Julian Bird, chief executive of the Society of London Theatre, which produces the Olivier Awards.
Sir Kenneth Branagh will receive a special award during the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 9 April.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


A mother and her six-year-old son who were killed in a five-vehicle crash in Cornwall have been named.

Laura Hopes, 32, from Saltash, and her son Alfie died in the pile-up on the A38 between Tideford and Landrake on 9 July.
Her four-year-old son Tommy remains in hospital in Bristol with head injuries.
The third victim, 53-year-old Tony Woodman from Plymouth, died when he got out of his car and was hit by a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction.
More on the fatal crash and other stories from Cornwall
A crowd funding page set up by a Hopes family friend has so far raised more than Â£13,000.
A tribute said Mrs Hopes was a "loving, kind and devoted mum" and her husband Lee and family were devastated by the loss of her and Alfie, who were "loved deeply".
Alfie was described as "happy and popular boy" and a keen footballer, playing for Saltash United where his father was the coach.
"He loved Liverpool Football Club and was rarely seen without a football kit on and a ball at his feet," the tribute said.
The family said Tommy remains in the Intensive Care Unit at Bristol Children's Hospital with his family at his side, but is expected to make a full recovery "over time".
It also thanked the "incredible" emergency services and everyone who tried to help at the scene.
Mr Woodman's family also paid tribute to him, describing him as a loving and caring son, an amazing brother and "awesome" dad and granddad, who would be "deeply missed" by everyone who knew him.
Devon and Cornwall Police are appealing for any witnesses to the collision to contact them.


British Airways owner IAG pulled the UK market lower as investors reacted to the weekend's IT failure.

Shares in IAG closed 1.4% lower after dropping as much as 4% as the airline group counted the cost of three days of disruption.
BA says it is now operating a full flight schedule at Heathrow and Gatwick.
The FTSE 100 fell back from Friday's record close, and ended 24 points lower at 7,522.9.
Elsewhere in the airline sector, shares in Easyjet fell before reversing track to end 0.8% higher.
Ryanair opened lower - despite the carrier reporting record annual profits - but then gained altitude to close up 2.3%.
Shares in the London Stock Exchange group edged up 1.4% after the company said it had agreed to buy a fixed-income platform from US bank Citigroup for $685m (Â£535m).
The biggest riser on the FTSE 100 was 3i Group, up 2.3%, while Mediclinic International was the biggest faller, down 3.5%.
On the currency markets, the pound edged up 0.2% against the dollar to $1.2871, and was also 0.2% higher against the euro at 1.1504 euros.


Catholic church authorities in Ireland have ordered a review of social media access for trainee priests after allegations some of them used the gay dating app Grindr.

The allegations centre on the Irish national seminary, St Patrick's college at Maynooth in Co Kildare.
Its trustees said they were concerned about an "unhealthy atmosphere created by anonymous accusations".
The seminary has now been asked to review its social media policy.
In its statement, the college's trustees also highlighted "some social media comments which can be speculative or even malicious" about its trainee priests.
And the trustees said trainee priests should pay attention to the Pope's recent recommendation that spending time with women and families can benefit their studies.
They have also asked the seminary authorities "to evaluate and review the policy regarding the appropriate use of the internet and social media".
Earlier this month the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev Diarmuid Martin, moved some seminarians to the Irish College in Rome to continue training.
At the time he told RTE that he was not satisfied Maynooth was an appropriate place to train priests.
Archbishop Martin said Grindr would not be appropriate for men training to be celibate priests.
"An app like that is something which would be fostering promiscuous sexuality, which is certainly not in any way the mature vision of sexuality one would expect a priest to understand," he said.


The BBC is launching a new Young Writers' Award to celebrate ten years of its National Short Story Award.

The contest, open to young people in the UK aged 14 to 18, is aiming to inspire and encourage the next generation of writers.
Both competitions have opened for entries and close on 25 February 2015.
Last year's National Short Story Award was won by We Need to Talk About Kevin author Lionel Shriver, who beat writers including Zadie Smith.
The competition promoting contemporary British short fiction has attracted entries from Naomi Alderman, Sarah Hall, Jon McGregor, Rose Tremain and William Trevor over the years.
Entrants to the Young Writers Award - also run in collaboration with reading charity Booktrust - must be British or currently live in the UK and they can submit stories of up to 1,000 words on any topic.
Young Adult author James Dawson, whose novels include Cruel Summer, Hollow Pike and Say Her Name, said young authors were often "bolder, braver and darker than many adult authors would dare".
"When it comes to talent, age ain't nothin' but a number, and the only difference between a 'writer' and an 'author' is a book deal," he added.
"I was about 13 when I started writing and I would have died for an opportunity like the BBC Young Writers' Award.
"The prize - the chance to have a story appear on BBC Radio - is incredible (and something most authors, including me, have never had!)"
A five-strong shortlist will be announced in September, with the winner revealed at the BBC National Short Story Award ceremony on 6 October.
BBC Radio 4 will broadcast each of the adult finalists' stories during September, when each writer be interviewed by Front Row.
Entrants need to have a history of publication in creative writing, with Â£15,000 prize money up for grabs for the winning entry.
"Launching the first BBC National Short Story Award ten years ago, short stories seemed an endangered species - what a difference a decade makes," said Di Speirs, editor of Books at BBC Radio.
"Not only do we see short stories in the headlines - holding their own against novels in areas as diverse as the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, the Edinburgh and the Guardian First Book awards, but joyfully story collections are crossing my desk more and more frequently and finding new, young and enthusiastic writers and readers."
Speirs said it was "particularly exciting" to be launching the new strand of the competition for young people.
Ten schools across the UK will also get the chance to shadow-judge the award, reading the stories and voting for their favourite.


Veteran wing Sean Lamont has been called into the Scotland squad for the two-Test tour of Japan next month.

The 35-year-old Glasgow player, who was originally scheduled to "have a bit of rest at home", replaces the injured Tim Visser in the 27-man party.
Visser suffered a knee problem playing for Harlequins against Montpellier in the European Rugby Challenge Cup final.
Lamont will compete with fellow wings Tommy Seymour, Sean Maitland and Damien Hoyland for a Test place.
He won the last of his 104 caps in Scotland's final Six Nations match against Ireland in March, but was omitted from the original tour squad in favour of Edinburgh wing Hoyland.
Scotland will fly out on 11 June to Japan, where they face the Asian champions in Tests on Saturday 18 June at Toyota Stadium, Toyota City, and on 25 June at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.
Both matches will be broadcast live by BBC Scotland, with 11:20 BST kick-offs.
Scotland beat Japan 45-10 at last year's World Cup, four days after the Japanese caused one of the biggest upsets in rugby history by beating South Africa 34-32.
Forwards
Props: Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh), Moray Low (Exeter Chiefs), Willem Nel (Edinburgh), Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh). Hookers: Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors); Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby). Locks: Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Castres), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors). Back-rowers: John Barclay (Scarlets), David Denton (Bath), John Hardie (Edinburgh), Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors); Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors).
Backs
Full-back: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors). Wings: Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh), Sean Lamont (Glasgow) Warriors), Sean Maitland (London Irish), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors). Centres: Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Scott (Gloucester), Duncan Taylor (Saracens). Fly-halves: Ruaridh Jackson (Wasps), Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors). Scrum-halves: Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors).


A court in Pakistan has banned public celebrations of Valentine's Day in the capital, Islamabad, on the grounds that it is not part of Muslim culture.

The Islamabad High Court's order prohibits all Valentine's Day festivities in government offices and public spaces with immediate effect.
It also directs the media not to promote or cover Valentine's events.
The orders were a response to a private petition which argued that Valentine's Day was contrary to Islamic teaching.
According to the Dawn newspaper, the petition argued that the festival promoted immorality, nudity and indecency under the cover of spreading love.
Valentine's Day has grown in popularity in many cities in Pakistan over the past decade, but some religious groups have denounced it as decadent.
The ban does not affect shops and restaurants, but it is the first time such a ruling has been imposed in the capital.
Countries out of love with Valentine's Day
It comes a year after Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain said Valentine's Day should be avoided, calling it a Western tradition that was not part of Pakistan's culture.
There have been other localised measures. Last year local officials in Kohat, in north-west Pakistan, banned the sale of Valentine cards and goods, and Peshawar local council banned celebrations.
However, officials in both places later said the bans had been discarded or ignored for being unpopular.
This is not the first time that Valentine's Day has made the news in Pakistan for the wrong reasons. Last year it was vigilantes burning Valentine cards, but now for the first time a court has barred it. Many believe this shows the reluctance of religiously conservative parts of Pakistani society to assimilate international events or ideas.
Many religious hardliners believe Valentine's Day is a foreign idea with no roots in Pakistan. They argue that it is is essentially a Christian festival. Last year one conservative newspaper ran an advertisement which described it as "a festival of obscenity". They fear in the future they will also be celebrating Diwali, Christmas and who knows what else.
Also creating concern among ordinary Pakistanis is the fact that it is the commercial entities that are out promoting these days to make them spend their hard-earned money. Online stores and restaurants offer special deals, while prices of flowers, especially red roses, soar on the day.
But the real problem is probably the narrow definition of the Valentine's Day message. It is not seen as promoting love, but perceived in a more sexual way.
How the ban is implemented depends on how the government and, especially, the police interpret it. If they think it means going after shops selling Valentine's Day items, it could mean a ban on them too. But so far we have seen no such action.


Born and bred in the south Wales valleys, former Labour leader Neil Kinnock is proud of his humble beginnings.

He once famously declared he was the first in his family for "a thousand generations" to attend university.
But he has now learned that a great-uncle had something of privileged start in life by going to an exclusive public school school in Surrey.
He was taking part in BBC Wales family history programme Coming Home.
The programme, to be shown on BBC One Wales on Wednesday, goes to the heart of his political and family life - from his working class roots to the House of Lords.
Neil Kinnock was born in 1942 in the coal mining town of Tredegar and later gained a degree in industrial relations and history at Cardiff, where he met his wife, Glenys, a future MEP. He also gained a postgraduate diploma in education.
During the programme, he makes an emotional journey to trace his ancestry.
Following the death of his great-grandfather, Gordon Kinnock, in 1892, his widow Emily was left to raise 10 children.
Among them were Archie, Lord Kinnock's grandfather; Harold and Wilfred.
Harold was sent away to an exclusive public school - King Edward School in Surrey, and he later enjoyed a successful career as a civil servant.
Lord Kinnock made his often quoted remarks about his background at a Welsh Labour party conference just before the 1987 election, saying it was not the lack of talent or strength which held people back, but opportunity.
In his speech, the then Labour leader asked the question: "Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Why is Glenys the first woman in her family in a thousand generations to be able to get to university?"
In the programme, Lord Kinnock defends his political statement, in light of the discovery, and said: "Going to this school doesn't naturally convey the fact he had a good education."
Lord Kinnock also finds out the reason his grandfather first moved to the south Wales valleys might not have been to escape a dominant father after all.
Revealing why he took part in the programme, Lord Kinnock said: "Even when your life has been churned over in biographies, you still retain a sense of curiosity about bits that were missing."
Later in the series, actors Trevor Eve, Alison Steadman and Charles Dale travel back to Wales, finding out about their hidden past.
Coming Home: Neil Kinnock is on BBC One Wales on Wednesday, November 30 at 20:30 GMT


A vulnerable man who had a history of hoarding and lighting fires died after being failed by health and social services, an inquest has heard.

Bob Crane, 61, who had bipolar disorder, suffered fatal smoke inhalation at his Bristol flat.
Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership said it was cooperating with the inquest.
After Mr Crane's death in 2014, Bristol Safeguarding Adults Board (BSAB) launched a serious case review.
In a report presented at Flax Bourton Coroners' Court, the BSAB said he died because his mental health history was "overlooked" and his risky anti-social behaviour was not seen as a symptom of his psychiatric condition.
The inquest heard Mr Crane had cooked on barbecues with liquid gas, because his gas and electricity supplies had been cut off.
In the six months before his death, firefighters were called to his flat in Carolina House in Dove Street, Kingsdown, four times after neighbours reported he was lighting fires, the inquest heard.
It was also told Mr Crane had been treated in hospital for a bipolar disorder, in 2012.
The safeguarding report found Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health partnership (AWP) failed to see his "risky and chaotic lifestyle" was a symptom of his underlying mental disorder.
AWP felt his anti-social behaviour was "down to choice - rather than a symptom of his condition", the report stated.
Agencies lost sight of the fact that he had been detained under the Mental Health Act and was entitled to ongoing support, it said.
Louise Lawton, independent chair of the BSAB, said: "The findings of this review highlight a number of key things, particularly around how agencies recognise and deal with the complex issues of self-neglect and mental capacity.
"There are lessons for all agencies involved with Mr Crane and this review has generated important learning which will be disseminated accordingly."
Mark Dean, AWP's adult safeguarding lead, offered condolences to relatives and friends of Mr Crane.
"We are committed to doing all we can to safeguard people in our care and we will be fully cooperating with the Coroner's inquest."
An inquest into Mr Crane's death is expected to last until Friday.


The Australian government has never hidden its scepticism about climate change or renewable energy but its decision last week to cut support for cleaner energy sources still left the renewable energy industry reeling.

Earlier this year, Stacy Nichols' small electrical business on Queensland's Gold Coast employed six people.
By the time the Australian government announced on 22 October its intention to reduce its support for renewable energy, she was down to just two staff.
"I have a van set up for solar work sitting on the street, with no solar work or staff due to [Prime Minister] Tony Abbott," Ms Nichols says.
The many companies, such as Ms Nichols' firm,  that are involved in the burgeoning renewables industry - mostly wind and solar power operators - were devastated by the government's announcement that it would cut its target of generating 41,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year of renewable energy by 2020 to 27,000 GWh a year.
The government says the cut in the Renewable Energy Target (RET) takes account of a decline in overall demand for electricity that has been sparked, in part, by higher power prices. It also says the lower target will provide certainty to the renewables sector.
The decision is not as drastic as it could have been. A government-commissioned review by businessman and climate change sceptic Dick Warburton had proposed, as one option, scrapping the RET altogether.
However, the new target still has to make its way through parliament either with the support of the Labor opposition or of a number of independent senators in the Upper House - neither of which is a sure thing.
Until that is settled, businesses such as Ms Nichols' are facing an uncertain future.
"We were growing," the mother of two young children said of their family business. "We were looking to put on more people and get another van."
Her company, Infinite Lighting & Electrical, decided to specialise in solar electricity work just two years ago as the industry encouraged its members to pursue solar power in a political climate where the sector was supported by an RET entrenched in legislation by the previous Labor government.
Ms Nichols invested heavily in training and certification for her staff.
But months ago, when it became clear the government would cut or dump the target RET, business began to dry up, she says.
It is not only small operators who have been hurt. One of Australia's largest wind turbine tower producers, Keppel Prince Engineering in Victoria, announced last Thursday it had sacked 100 workers because of the government's RET decision.
A number of large-scale renewable energy producers had already been affected by the conservative government's lack of commitment to renewable energy, says the sector's peak body, the Clean Energy Council.
In July, clean energy solutions provider Pacific Hydro cut its staff by 10%; Hydro Tasmania has said the government's scrapping of the carbon tax would significantly cut into profits, and US company, Recurrent Energy, has reportedly closed its Australian office.
The Clean Energy Council says a cut in the RET will kill much of Australia's renewable energy industry, which employs about 21,000 people nationwide.
"A substantial reduction of [the] target to around 27,000 GWhâ€¦ would equate to a 64% reduction in future investment and effectively devastate the renewable energy sector," says the council's acting chief executive Kane Thornton, adding that consumers will end up paying higher, not lower power bills because of the cut in supply.
The Australian government's move to "recarbonise" does not bode well ahead of global climate talks in Paris next year, says policy think tank the Climate Institute.
"The core risk is that it institutionalises failure by driving up emissions," says Climate Institute deputy chief executive, Erwin Jackson.
The European Union has announced it will cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% on 1990 levels by 2030.
Australia, the highest carbon emitter per capita of any country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has an existing emissions reduction target of at least 5% by the end of this decade.
"We need all countries to be pulling their weight," Mr Jackson says.
A decline in Australia's renewable energy generation will take it in the wrong direction, he says.


Crude oil prices rose in early Monday trading amid tensions in Ukraine, but fell again after Libyan protesters ended their occupation of an oil port.

The price of Brent crude futures briefly rose above $108 a barrel, but later fell back to $107.30.
Libya's state oil firm said the port of Zawiya and its refinery had reopened and were operating normally.
But pro-Russian militants are still occupying buildings in eastern Ukraine, ignoring a deadline to leave by Kiev.
EU foreign ministers are meeting to discuss new sanctions against Russia.
Brent crude oil was trading at $107.74 a barrel at 12:30 BST, up 41 cents or 0.4%, while West Texas Intermediate crude was trading little moved at $103.62.
Energy analysts say the crisis in Ukraine is unlikely to have a direct impact on global oil supplies. However, disruption to Europe's gas supplies is possible.
President Putin wrote to EU leaders last week saying that Russia would cut gas supplies to Ukraine if it did not pay its bills.
This could lead to a reduction of gas supplies to Europe - much of which comes via pipelines across Ukraine.
The European Union's Energy Commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, is expected to discuss this threat to gas supplies at Monday's meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Meanwhile, Libya's western Zawiya oil port resumed operations after protesters left the entrance to the facilities and the adjoining refinery has also restarted production.


British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has become the oldest Brit to complete the gruelling desert race, the Marathon des Sables.

Media playback is unsupported on your device
11 April 2015 Last updated at 09:06 BST
The 71-year-old crossed the finish line in Morocco, north Africa, after running 159 miles, over six days, in sweltering temperatures.
He almost didn't make it - he nearly had to pull out on Thursday because he was feeling unwell.
His challenge has raised nearly Â£1m for charity and he's been telling us what it was all like...


Hundreds of possessions which chronicle the life of the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire have sold for over £1.7m.

The Duchess, who was the last of the fabled Mitford sisters and lived at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, died aged 94 in 2014.
Elvis memorabilia, a rare signed copy of Brideshead Revisited and a Channel Tunnel machine blade were some of the items that went under the hammer.
Historian Maxwell Craven said the lot reflected her "terrific" personality.
As well as jewellery and furniture, the Duchess' passion for art and literature shines through.
Portraits of her at different stages of her life feature along with correspondence from artists and writers such as Lucien Freud, Evelyn Waugh and, more recently, Madonna.
Mr Craven, who knew the Duchess, said she had an affinity with creative people, which was rare for someone from the upper classes in post-war Britain.
He said: "She understood what artists were trying to say...and had these wonderful people from all backgrounds come to stay [at Chatsworth]."
Other highlights of the collection included a photograph of the Queen when she famously sat for Lucien Freud and a signed pre-publication copy of Brideshead Revisited - which sold for £52,500.
The Duchess also had a passion for popular culture, reflected in her collection of Elvis Presley memorabilia.
"She was very keen on Elvis," said Mr Craven.
"She was the right age in the 1950s, she loved the music."
Perhaps the most baffling item is an iron and steel tooth blade from the borer machine that broke through the final section of the Channel Tunnel.
It gets a name check in her 2011 book Wait For Me, where the Duchess wrote about an expedition under the sea where she met French tunnellers.
She said: "The machines were like something out of a giant's toy box and I still have - given to me as a memento of the day - one of the claws that played its part in opening up this underground highway to the Continent'."
The claw sold for £1,875.
The most expensive items sold were a diamond and ruby brooch gifted to the Duchess and a Japanese gilt-decorated lacquer guardian figure, which went for £62,500 each.
The auction took place at Sotheby's in London on Wednesday.


A Swedish aid group says its clinic in Afghanistan has been raided, with two patients and a carer killed.

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) said the raid on its health clinic in Tangi Saidan in Wardak Province appeared to be carried out by soldiers from the Afghan National Army.
There was no immediate confirmation from the army, but a local politician said soldiers had targeted the clinic.
The village of Tangi Saidan is under the control of the Taliban.
Men who appeared to be from the Afghan army entered the clinic around 23:00 local time (18:30 GMT) on Wednesday, SCA communications manager Bjorn Lindh told the BBC.
"The clinic staff were detained by the soldiers and beaten," Mr Lindh said. "Then they started to search through the clinic, and took two injured persons and a caretaker out of the clinic... according to the information we have, they were taken to a place nearby and killed."
The head of the provincial council, Akhtar Muhammad Tahiri, told the BBC that "Afghan Special Forces conducted the operation - they said that opponents were being treated there."
A local government spokesman told news agency EFE that those killed "were not patients, but Taliban".
Wardak province was the scene of some of the most violent battles between Nato and the Taliban before international troops pulled out, and Taliban militants still maintain control of some areas.
The Afghan defence ministry has not confirmed the raid, but a spokesman told EFE that the incident was being investigated.
SCA Country Director Jorgen Holmstrom has described the attack as "a gross violation of humanitarian principles".
"Medical facilities and medical staff are to provide treatment to anyone in need and patients are to be granted safety according to humanitarian law," he said.
In October, a US attack on a clinic run by aid group Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) in Kunduz killed at least 42 people.
The US military's investigation into the attack concluded that the crew of the AC-130 gunship mistook the clinic for a nearby government building that had been seized by Taliban fighters.


Three people have been remanded to stand trial at Crown Court accused of safety breaches after a fatal fire at a Cornwall hotel.

Three people died in the blaze at the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay in 2007.
John McMillan, Nicola Burfitt and Martin Trucker were remanded in their absence by magistrates at Bodmin to face trial at Truro Crown Court.
They are due to appear in March. The case is being brought by Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service and Cornwall Council.
Mr McMillan is a director of the company which owned the hotel. Miss Burfitt was its group administration director.
Mr Trucker was employed by Hawthorne Safety Consultants at the time of the fire.
An inquest on Joan Harper, 80, Monica Hughes, 86, and her 43-year-old son Peter, all from Staffordshire, returned an open verdict last year.


Warwickshire all-rounder Rikki Clarke says their emphatic One-Day Cup win over Worcestershire shows there is no problem with confidence in white-ball cricket.

Clarke, 34, returned career-best List A figures of 5-26 in the Bears' eight-wicket victory at Edgbaston to bounce back from successive T20 Blast defeats.
"I think we're playing some good cricket," Clarke told BBC WM.
"T20 can be a game if something goes slightly wrong, it goes against you."
After missing out on two chances to book their place in the quarter-finals of the T20 Blast with back-to-back losses to Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire's hopes of a last-eight spot in the 50-over competition were kept alive by their handsome win over their local rivals.
With the Bears in fifth place and one of six teams separated by two points, the North group looks like going down to the wire.
Clarke is adamant he and his team-mates are up for the fight of making the quarter-finals in both limited-over formats.
"We're a tight unit and we want to do it for the next person," Clarke said.
"Sometimes you get over the line and sometimes you don't.
"It's a cliche but we have to take each game separately and this win won't mean anything if we don't back it up. Our approach to 50-over cricket is similar to four-day cricket and hopefully we can take that momentum."
The Bears continue their One Day Cup campaign against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston on Tuesday.


Manchester United will face Belgian league leaders Anderlecht in the Europa League quarter-finals.

United, considered the favourites by many bookmakers, are the only British team left in Europe's secondary club competition.
Jose Mourinho's team edged past Russians FC Rostov with a 2-1 aggregate win in the last 16.
French side Lyon play Besiktas, Dutch giants Ajax meet German team Schalke, while Celta Vigo face Belgium's Genk.
The first legs are set to take place on Thursday, 13 April and the return games will follow a week later.
Anderlecht (Bel) v Manchester United (Eng)
Celta Vigo (Spa) v Genk (Bel)
Ajax (Ned) v Schalke (Ger)
Lyon (Fra) v Besiktas (Tur)
Manchester United have not lost any of their six previous meetings with Anderlecht - which includes a club-record 10-0 win in their first European fixture.
The Red Devils, under legendary manager Matt Busby, thrashed the Belgians in the European Cup preliminary round second leg in September 1956.
The sides last met in the 2000-01 Champions League first group stage - Andy Cole's hat-trick helping United to a 5-1 win at Old Trafford before they lost 2-1 in Belgium.
Anderlecht, who are Belgium's most successful team with 33 domestic titles, finished as Pro League runners-up in 2016.
They finished top of the league at the end of the regular season last weekend, two points clear of Club Brugge before the end-of-season play-offs.


Bath director of rugby Mike Ford says he trusts his players to turn around their form after an inconsistent start to the season.

Last season's Premiership finalists were beaten in the European Champions Cup by Wasps on Saturday and have also lost four league games this term.
"I trust the players 100%, it hurts them more than anybody," said Ford.
"They want to play as best as they can, they care, the leaders have led and the players have followed."
Bath host Worcester on 27 December and Ford admits Warriors will fancy their chances at the Rec.
"They will smell blood and think it's a good time to play Bath, they will come firing, we have to meet their physicality," he told BBC Radio Bristol. "It's all about attitude and we need to play with edge."
Ford also admits his side have let down supporters this season and says the players are working hard to find ways to turn things around. He also says he is putting himself under pressure to help improve results.
"We had a few home truths after that performance (against Wasps) and sometimes that's what it needs," he said. "The lads have got back on the horse and trained really well so they've taken the first steps.
"Pressure comes from the way you prepare. I felt pressure today, I felt pressure yesterday because you have to get the tactics right, get the message right to the team, prepare your training and meetings. That's where the pressure comes, on match day I can't do much, it's over to the players.
"If you do the job during the week then match day normally takes care of itself. You can't worry about the results otherwise it'll drive you crazy, I've been in the game too long to worry about things like that."


Chelsea's Burkina Faso forward Bertrand Traore is reaping the rewards of having a good attitude and a willingness to learn, says boss Guus Hiddink.

"He was always ambitious and a very fresh guy," said Hiddink. "I liked his attitude, his fresh approach - not afraid to make errors."
The 20-year-old has scored in each of his last three games and Hiddink feels Traore has learned to stop overplaying.
"We spoke to him in training about how to improve," Hiddink added.
"All young players must know how the game is played. He was overdoing it a bit because he is very mobile and busy, he was overdoing it.
"It was not circus but it was too much and he was punished several times by strong defenders.
"He is coping with that much better in recent weeks which means he is open to learn and you can teach him, you can say 'work on this' and he is very clever to do so."
Hiddink said this week that Traore has already usurped Pato in the pecking order- with the Brazilian struggling for match fitness and without an appearance since his January move.
And the Dutchman is sure Traore has the mentality to take success in his stride.
"He is fresh whether there are no spectators or whether there are 40,000 in the stadium, he is not impressed by that and I like that, he is very spontaneous," he said.


A chain of academies could face closure amid "serious concerns" over how it is governed and its use of public money.

The Durand Academy Trust (DAT) runs an infant and junior school in Stockwell, south London and a boarding school for older pupils in Midhurst, West Sussex.
The Department for Education said the trust had been issued with a pre-termination warning notice and had until 1 August to respond.
The trust said the warning notice was "wholly unwarranted".
Durand Academy, which has more than 1,000 pupils at its three sites, received Â£17m from the government to set up the school for weekly boarders in 2014.
Last year the Charity Commission investigated the relationship between the academy and DAT, a separate body that runs and governs it.
It came after parliament's Public Accounts Committee said there was an "unacceptable lack of clarity" over who owned assets held by the trust.
The government's Education Funding Agency (EFA) has written to Durand's chair of governors Sir Greg Martin, setting out its provisional intention to terminate the funding agreement.
It said acting executive head teacher Mark McLaughlin should either resign from any company of which Sir Greg is a director or in which he has a shareholding or resign from DAT to "to remedy the breaches that have occurred".
Schools minister Lord Nash said: "This is not a decision I have taken lightly given the trust's commitment to providing an excellent education to its pupils, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and difficult circumstances.
"However after repeatedly failing to address serious concerns about the school's governance, the effective use of public money and its failure to comply with the standard rules all academy trusts must follow, we have taken this decision to safeguard the future education of Durand's pupils. "
Sir Greg said the governing board was surprised and disappointed the EFA issued the letter.
"They are disappointed the EFA failed to share with the board the PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the school's finances and as such they are not in a position to fully comment," he said.
"The Governing Board is seeking legal advice and will fully respond in due course."


Police are investigating a report of rape in the Waterworks area of north Belfast.

It was said to have happened to a female, just off the Cavehill Road, at about 20.30 BST on Wednesday.
Enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the sexual assault.
Police officers are at the scene. There are no further details.


Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has dismissed an offer from Owen Smith of becoming party president in the event his rival wins the Labour leadership.

21 July 2016 Last updated at 20:58 BST
Speaking in an interview with BBC Newsnight's Evan Davis, he said it was "a job that doesn't exist" which would require a "constitutional change" - and he compared the role to that of "director of football".
Watch the full interview on BBC Newsnight on 21 July at 22:30 BST on BBC Two.


Eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt ran his first sub-10-second time of the year to win the 100m at the Diamond League in Monaco.

The 30-year-old Jamaican clocked 9.95 in his final Diamond League race to beat America's Isiah Young (9.98) and South African Akani Simbine (10.02).
Britain's CJ Ujah ran 10.02 to claim fourth.
Elsewhere Britain's Laura Muir was comfortably beaten by Kenyan Hellen Obiri in the women's 3,000m.
Bolt has confirmed he will run the 100m and 4x100m relay at the World Championships in London in August, his final event before retiring.
With two weeks to go until the event, this was arguably Bolt's toughest test since he won double Olympic gold at Rio 2016.
The global icon laboured to victory in 10.06 in Ostrava last month but finally dipped under the 10-second mark against a much tougher field in Monaco on Friday.
In his final race before London 2017, which takes place from 4-13 August, Bolt showed signs he could well bow out with yet another gold medal.
Mike Costello, BBC athletics correspondent
It was workman-like for Usain Bolt but he edged in front over the last 40 metres. There were no real celebrations at the end but he wanted to run inside 10 seconds.
He said he gets it right when the championships come around. Now he has got two weeks to get it right in defence of his world title.
European indoor 1500m and 3,000m champion Muir was up against her fierce rival Obiri - the 2016 Olympic 5,000m silver medallist - in the 3,000m.
Scot Muir, who will contest both the 1500m and the 5,000m at next month's World Championships, was sent a clear message by the in-form Kenyan.
Obiri clocked an impressive eight minutes 23.14 seconds to secure a huge victory over compatriot Beatrice Chepkoech as Muir ran a personal best time of 8:30:64 but finished third.
Fellow Briton Eilish McColgan also ran a lifetime best as she put in a late change to take fourth in a time of 8:31:39.
European champion Dina Asher-Smith continued her comeback from injury with an encouraging performance in the women's 200m.
The 21-year-old, who only returned to action last month, clocked a season's best time of 22.89 seconds to take third behind Marie-Josee Talou of the Ivory Coast (22.25) and American Kyra Jefferson (22.42).
Asher-Smith will run the women's 200m and the women's 4x100m relay at next month's World Championships.
The world's best flocked to a fast track in Monaco and were rewarded with a series of quick times in the final Diamond League event before August's World Championships.
South Africa's 400m world record holder and Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk won the men's 400m in a meeting record of 43.73 seconds.
But he was pushed all the way by Botswana's Isaac Makwala, who ran another season's best time of 43.84 with countryman Baboloki Thebe in third.
In the women's 800m, South African Caster Semenya looked imperious in the final straight to power home in a national record and world-leading time of one minute 55:27 seconds, ahead of Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba.
Britain's Lynsey Sharp came sixth in a time of 1:58:01 - a season's best performance.
In the men's 800m, Emmanuel Korir continued his fine year with an easy victory in a world-leading time of 1:43:10 to send a message to fellow Kenyan David Rudisha.
British champion Eliot Giles struggled in the fast-paced race, coming home in ninth place in a time of 1:46:10.


The bill for temporary staff used by the government has nearly doubled in three years, MPs have said.

Whitehall spending on temporary staff rose to £775m in 2014-15, the Public Accounts Committee said.
Chairman Meg Hillier urged ministers to "get a grip" and develop skills among the existing workforce.
The Cabinet Office said it had "stamped out excessive spending" and had more than halved costs from 2009-10, when it peaked at £2.7bn.
'Poor planning'
But Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said the Cabinet Office's recruitment policy was wasting taxpayers' money,
"We've got a government that claims to spend taxpayers' money wisely but wastes huge amounts of cash on temporary workers, some of whom are paid a thousand pounds a day," said Mr Watson.
"The amount the government spends on short term staff is rising significantly because it isn't recruiting civil servants with the right skills. Poor planning by the cabinet office is costing UK taxpayers dear."
The Public Accounts Committee report also found that 32 people on temporary contracts were paid more than £1,000 a day, although it said that represented a reduction.
The cost of temporary workers was up to between £679m and £775m in 2014-15 - depending on what data was used. This reached up to £1.3bn when coupled with consultants.
The cross-party committee, which scrutinises public spending, said specialist temporary staff often cost twice as much as permanent staff and suggested the government address "the skills gap across government".
The committee said the use of temporary staff was "justified only when it is not feasible for departments to maintain the necessary skills in-house or to borrow those skills from elsewhere within the civil service".
Although spending controls brought in during 2010 had had an effect, spending had been on the rise again since 2011-12, they said.
Central procurement deals were also not used for around half of consultancy and temporary staff assignments, they said.
The committee's Labour chair, Meg Hillier, said public money was being "wasted because of poor workforce planning".
"There is a place for buying in expert advice and using temporary staff if there is a skills gap but departments first need to be sure they do not have access to these skills in-house. Getting this wrong costs the taxpayer dear.
"Filling permanent roles with temporary staff is short-sighted and does nothing to address underlying skills shortages in the civil service, nor to develop its expertise. When temps leave, valuable experience leaves with them.
"The government needs to get a grip, identify where skills are lacking in-house and put a proper plan in place to deliver those skills through the recruitment and development of high quality, permanent staff."
But a Cabinet Office spokesman said:  "This government is scrutinising spend like never before. We've stamped out excessive spending on consultants and put in place stringent spending controls. The total spend on consultants is still less than half of that in 2009-10."
He said the department was "actively building" skills but sometimes needed specialist expertise quickly on complex projects.
"But we only do this when the key skills are not readily available within the Civil Service and where it delivers better value for taxpayers," he added.


Crimea's media scene has seen major changes since Russia annexed the peninsula in March 2014.

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists says press freedom has deteriorated significantly; it cites harassment of journalists and the removal of Ukrainian TVs from terrestrial airwaves and cable networks.
Most local broadcasters are pro-Russian. Only Crimean Tatar ATR TV remains more or less critical of the authorities.
Major Russian TV channels are widely available terrestrially. Top Ukrainian channels can only be watched online or via satellite.
Black Sea TV, once the most-popular TV station based in Crimea, is now only available via satellite and the internet.
Radio stations tend to focus on entertainment and operate as local outlets of major Russian broadcasters.
Russian print media have expanded their presence. Most leading Moscow-based titles are available at  local kiosks and many have set up offices in Crimea. Very few Ukrainian papers are sold.


A woman who fears her daughters will be subjected to female genital mutilation in Nigeria will not be deported for at least another day, family friends say.

Afusat Saliu, 31, and Bassy, four, and Rashidat, two, from Leeds, had been due to leave on a Virgin Atlantic flight to Lagos at 22:20 BST on Thursday.
The airline's boss Sir Richard Branson received more than 1,000 tweets calling on him to intervene personally.
The Home Office would not confirm whether deportation had been delayed.
Ms Saliu and her daughters were arrested by UK Border Agency staff on Wednesday.
Anj Handa, a close friend of the family, said: "Afusat was meant to be given 72 hours' notice before she was actually deported, and the Home Office totally ignored that. Finally they have accepted that.
"She is not going to be deported tonight or tomorrow morning but that does not mean she is not going to be deported.
"She has been given an overnight reprieve but the campaign is still very much ongoing and the lawyers are still working on her judicial review.
"We are still urging people to keep up the pressure to help her stay in this country while the case is reviewed."
Ms Saliu's solicitors BP Legal have launched a judicial review in an attempt to allow her to remain in the UK.
They say officials have ignored their own guidelines by ordering her deportation before the review is heard.
Earlier, Sir Richard Branson said in a statement: "Without knowing the specifics on the case it is very difficult to comment in detail on a legal decision taken by the Home Office.
"While Virgin Atlantic cannot confirm whether any passengers are or are not flying with them due to data protection laws, they would view any case like this with the safety and welfare of all passengers their primary concern
"Regardless, if Afusat Saliu and her family are deported to Nigeria we call upon the UK and Nigerian governments to do all they can to protect the family and ensure they are not put at risk of female genital mutilation."
Sir Richard described female genital mutilation (FGM) as an "horrendous practice and a serious violation of internationally recognised human rights".
He called on the authorities to give the Saliu family all the support and protection possible.
Ms Saliu fled from Nigeria in 2011 after her stepmother threatened to subject Bassy to female genital mutilation. Ms Saliu, who is herself a victim of FGM, was heavily pregnant at the time.
She has said she fears both her daughters will be subjected to the practice and forced into marriage should they return to Nigeria.
The family converted to Christianity in the UK and worry they would be targeted by Islamist militants Boko Haram in the west African country.
It is understood the Salius were taken into custody and detained at a holding centre in Sheffield before being moved to a family immigration centre in Crawley, West Sussex.
More than 120,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Home Office reconsider the case.
A Home Office spokeswoman said it did not comment on individual cases.


Venezuela's largest oil refinery has resumed production after a massive blast killed 42 people last week, state oil company PDVSA says.

Last Saturday's explosion at the Amuay refinery in the west of the country set oil tanks on fire for days.
The cause of the blast is unclear, but officials have pointed to a gas leak.
Critics have accused PDVSA of neglecting maintenance as it funnels oil revenue into social programmes run by President Hugo Chavez' government.
"Operational activities have resumed safely and gradually" at Amuay, a company spokesman said on Friday.
Two production units with a combined capacity of 160,000 barrels of oil per day are now back up and running, with a third due to restart soon, PDVSA said.
The Amuay refinery, which is part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, is capable of refining 645,000 bpd.
President Hugo Chavez, who has promised a $23m (Â£14.5m) fund for clean-up operations, has said there is no evidence the explosion was the result of poor maintenance.
But his main rival in October's presidential election, Henrique Capriles, and other critics have said government inefficiency and under-investment under Mr Chavez have led to a decline in safety standards.
In its latest statement, the company said 42 people had been killed. Earlier reports had put the death toll at 48.
Half of those who died in the incident were members of the National Guard who were protecting the refinery.


A collection of vintage and classic motorcycles and cars has raised more than £3.5m to help cancer patients.

The items, which also included watches and cameras, were owned by photographer and retailer Robert White, who died of cancer last year, aged 62.
He was treated in Dorset and proceeds from the auction will help fund new facilities in the county, and support a number of staff training bursaries.
A 1930 Bentley four-and-a-half litre Le Mans-style tourer fetched £315,100.
The cash will pay for new scanners at Poole Hospital and new radiotherapy facilities at Dorset County Hospital.
Mr White's oncologist, Dr Mike Bayne, described the donation as a "lasting legacy".
Mr White, from Poole, started his collection after setting up a photography business in the town in 1982.
Other highlights from the sale, which had more than 600 lots, included a 1921 Megola 640cc touring motorcycle, which sold for £82,140, and a gold limited series Daniels wristwatch, which made £224,500.
He previously sold a collection of Brough Superior motorcycles to his friend, the US talk show host Jay Leno.
Funds raised from that sale are currently helping to build a new £7m cancer treatment centre at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, and diagnostic facilities at Poole Hospital.
The sale at Bonhams in London had been expected to raise a total of £2m.


A man who posed as a female escort online to lure girls into sex has been jailed for 18 months.

Christopher Kirkwood, 27, from Glasgow, pretended to be "Sheryl Davies" when he asked a 16-year-old girl if she was interested in becoming a prostitute.
As part of a "run through", he persuaded her to perform a sex act on a fictitious friend called "David" - who turned out to be Kirkwood.
He was caught after he contacted two other girls - one of whom was aged 14.
Kirkwood, from Glasgow's Drumchapel area, pleaded guilty to two charges under the Sexual Offences Act and another of being involved in a fraudulent scheme.
Jailing him at Glasgow Sheriff Court, Sheriff Martin Jones QC said that "whole sorry episode" would not have happened if Kirkwood had not met up with the girl.
He told Kirkwood: "Due to the gravity of these offences, a custodial sentence is the only appropriate one in this case."
The sheriff also ordered Kirkwood be supervised for another two years on his release and placed him on the sex offenders list indefinitely.
The court heard that Kirkwood had got in touch with the 16 year-old in August last year after setting up a Facebook page in the name of "Sheryl Davies".
"Sheryl" claimed to be involved with an escort agency and asked the teenager if she was interested.
Kirkwood then repeatedly sent a number of messages requesting that the girl send naked photos of herself in different poses.
He claimed the pictures would be used as a profile for the escort agency.
The court heard the unsuspecting teenager "genuinely believed" that she was in contact with a female involved in this line of work.
"Sheryl" continued and suggested the girl meet her friend "David" to help her get a job.
The youngster agreed to meet "David" at a car park in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire where the sex act took place.
Police later became involved following reports Kirkwood contacted two others girls while posing as "Sheryl".
He had been in touch with another 16 year-old about being an escort, but the teenager said that was "horrible".
Kirkwood messaged a 14-year-old girl and she also refused to get involved.


Blackburn Rovers have signed defender Derrick Williams for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal from Bristol City, while Tommie Hoban has joined on a season-long loan from Watford.

The pair arrive at Ewood Park following centre-half Shane Duffy's departure to Brighton for an undisclosed fee.
Williams, 23, made 131 appearances for the Robins, helping the club to the League One title in 2014-15.
Hoban, 22, has played 58 games for Watford, scoring twice.
Both players, who have Republic of Ireland Under-21 honours, will be available for Saturday's Championship game against Fulham.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


A ban on selling high-caffeine energy drinks to children should be brought in, a Labour AM has said.

The call from Jenny Rathbone follows research that showed more than a third of Welsh schools have banned pupils from bringing them to school.
A body representing energy drinks manufacturers said it was "draconian" and not supported by evidence.
The Welsh Government said it was "fully aware" of health concerns and would explore ways of looking at the issue.
The sale of the drinks - high in caffeine and frequently high in sugar - has been banned in schools since 2007.
Slightly fewer than half of Welsh secondary schools responded to a survey by BBC Radio Wales' Eye on Wales programme. Sixty nine said they had gone further and confiscated the drinks over concerns they can affect pupils' behaviour and educational attainment.
Latvia and Lithuania banned the sale of energy drinks to under 18s and Ms Rathbone wants the Welsh Government to explore introducing similar laws, using its powers to legislate on child protection.
"I think it should be around controlling the sale of these goods to children under the age of 16 at least, I would prefer 18," the Cardiff Central AM said.
The European Food Safety Authority has estimated about two thirds of 10 to 18-year-olds regularly consume energy drinks - even though they are not recommended for those under the age of 16.
The British Soft Drinks Association - which represents the majority of the UK's energy drink manufacturers - is opposed to legislation that would place age restrictions on their purchase.
Its director general, Gavin Partington, argued that such a "draconian ban" would not be justified by the evidence and would remove consumer and parental choice.
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said that it was "fully aware" of the health concerns surrounding energy drinks, especially for young people.
He added that a letter had been sent to the UK's food standards agency asking it to "explore further opportunities" to send appropriate messages to consumers.


Brentford have confirmed manager Mark Warburton will leave the club at the end of the season.

Assistant boss David Weir and sporting director Frank McParland will also depart the Bees, who are currently seventh in the Championship table.
Former City trader Warburton took charge in 2013 and guided the club to promotion from League One last season.
"Every decision I take is intended to be in the best long-term interests of the club," said owner Matthew Benham.
"Some of the decisions taken, like this one, have been extremely hard."
Warburton became Brentford boss 14 months ago following Uwe Rosler's departure to Wigan, having previously been sporting director since 2011.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Despite challenging for promotion to the Premier League this term, the 52-year-old's future at Griffin Park came into question last week following a newspaper report that he was set to be replaced as manager in the summer.
The Bees released a statement last Tuesday which said Warburton would "continue to lead the club",  but Benham subsequently tweeted that he would explain the situation further in due course.
"Matthew, a Brentford fan since 1979, has decided to make changes in order to ensure the long-term prosperity of the club," a club statement said.
"As part of a remodelling of the club's football management, a head coach will be appointed to work alongside a new sporting director.
"The club want the new structure to be a long-term way of working which is independent of whoever is in the head coach role.
"Frank, Mark and David have decided, following long discussions with Matthew, that they feel unable to work under the changed structure and approach as it differs from their football philosophy."
Warburton and Weir will continue to coach the first-team until the end of the season, but McParland has been placed on gardening leave.
The trio all signed rolling one-year contracts at Griffin Park last summer.
Benham said it was difficult to implement change when things appeared to be going so well, but added: "I am single-minded in my resolve that we can leave no stone unturned in our quest for sustainable Premier League football."
And Warburton said he was "relieved we now have clarity".
He continued: "In my remaining time at the club we shall move heaven and earth to get the promotion that the players, fans and Matthew deserve.
"I have enormous respect for Matthew and his investment in the club and he has the absolute right to run the club in the manner he deems most appropriate and beneficial.
"David and I remain totally focused on supporting this squad of players and ensuring they are best prepared for each and every remaining fixture this season."
"Clearly Mark Warburton felt he couldn't operate under the new "European" system which owner Matthew Benham wants to impose at Griffin Park.
So the man who guided Brentford to promotion last season and has turned them into a force in the Championship this year will find himself out of work.
"You would imagine the former City trader will be relatively confident that his reputation emerges from all this unscathed. Brentford, however, are taking a huge gamble."
Benham became Brentford owner in summer 2012 and is involved in financing the construction of a 20,000-capacity stadium at Lionel Road, which the club hope will be ready by 2017.
He has also been the majority shareholder of Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland since last summer.


Hampshire retained their hopes of Division One survival as they restricted Durham to 242-7 in their first innings, a lead of 169 runs.

The hosts were earlier dismissed for 411, taking maximum batting points after resuming on 370-6 at Southampton.
Durham looked in trouble at 186-7, but recovered with an unbroken eight-wicket partnership of 56 between Michael Richardson (50) and Brydon Carse (30).
However, a win will now keep Hampshire up - whatever happens elsewhere.
Victory over Durham would ensure safety at the expense of the losers of Warwickshire's game with Lancashire at Edgbaston - while if that game is drawn or tied, a Hampshire win would send the Bears down.
Seventh-placed Warwickshire lead sixth-placed Lancashire by 79 runs with 10 second-innings wickets in hand after two days - but while both took maximum bowling points, the two sides only collected one batting point between them,
Hampshire currently trail Warwickshire by five points and Lancashire by 10.
If Hampshire take two more Durham wickets in the next 27 overs, they would earn a third and final batting point - which would mean a draw would keep them up at Warwickshire's expense if Lancashire win.
The hosts lost their last four wickets for just 41 runs on the second morning at the Ageas Bowl as Durham claimed a final bowling point with 11 balls to spare.
Graham Onions took three wickets in three overs to finish with figures of 3-41.
Durham's reply started poorly when Keaton Jennings fell leg before without scoring to Gareth Berg's first ball and Scott Borthwick (15) edged Brad Wheal to keeper Lewis McManus.
Spinners Liam Dawson and Mason Crane reduced the visitors to 152-5 in the afternoon session, including captain Paul Collingwood for nought and Graham Clark for 58.
Wheal accounted for Ben Stokes (50) and Ryan Pringle in quick succession after tea as the follow-on looked possible.
But Hampshire failed to make a further breakthrough in the final 25 overs of the day and will look to finish off Durham's first innings with the second new ball on the third morning.
Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson told BBC Radio Solent:
"A decent day today for us and it's the sort of wicket where something can happen very quickly.
"You can get a partnership going, but you can also go bang, bang with a couple of wickets really quickly and a new batsman is in.
"We're still ahead of the game, but we're obviously going to have to take those three quick wickets in the morning and bat quickly and set a score.
"There's going to be a result at Edgbaston, but we're in a good position as well. They know that too and we can still win this game."


Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez beat Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4 6-7 6-3 to win the men's doubles title at the French Open.

The 15th seeds had never before won a Grand Slam tournament, whereas the Bryan twins were seeking their 17th Major title together.
Lopez and Lopez - who are not related - are the 11th different men's pairing to triumph in the last 11 Grand Slams.
Their win means that France's Nicolas Mahut will replace Brazil's Marcelo Melo as world doubles number one.
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Former boy band star Jay McGuinness has been crowned the winner of this year's Strictly Come Dancing.

The former member of The Wanted, who danced with Aliona Vilani, was the hottest favourite in the show's history, according to bookmakers.
He beat former Coronation Street actress Georgia May Foote and partner Giovanni Pernice.
The other finalists were broadcaster Katie Derham and Anton du Beke and soap star Kellie Bright and Kevin Clifton.
The results show opened with Derham and Du Beke in fourth place.
All the couples performed three dances in this year's final - one routine from a previous show that the dancers had chosen to perform again, one judges' choice and a showdance.
For their choice, Jay and Aliona chose to do the paso doble to It's My Life by Bon Jovi, while Georgia and Giovanni returned to the charleston, dancing to Hot Honey Rag from Chicago.
Katie and Anton went back to the Viennese waltz, set to Elvis Presley's If I Can Dream, while Kellie and Kevin picked the charleston, accompanied by Star Wars Cantina Band by John Williams.
They had survived to the final from the 15 celebrities who took to the dancefloor at the start of the series in September. Peter Andre, Carol Kirkwood, Daniel O'Donnell, Ainsley Harriott and Jeremy Vine were among those who were knocked out along the way.
This was the 13th series, and the BBC One show has remained popular with viewers, with more than 10 million households tuning in to every instalment this year.
Last year's winners were TV presenter Caroline Flack and partner Pasha Kovalev.