A £25m scheme to protect the Whitesands area of Dumfries from flooding looks set to go to public inquiry.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has agreed to refer the project to the Scottish government.
That would pave the way for a hearing to allow the public to express its views.
The new Labour-SNP administration said last month that it felt an inquiry would be the best way forward for the project.
The scheme has proved a controversial one since it was first proposed with concerns over the cost, the impact on riverside views and loss of parking spaces.
The Labour group on the authority has said it believes the project remains the "correct one" to address long-standing flooding issues in the area and boost regeneration.
However, their SNP colleagues committed to revisit the scheme as part of their manifesto.
An amendment put forward by Conservative councillor Ian Carruthers to rip up the plan and start again was defeated.


Hundreds of animals are being inspected after cross-border raids on farms.

The PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) and gardaí (Irish police) were investigating livestock theft and carried out searches in counties Armagh and Monaghan.
Around 300 animals are being checked by officials to determine their ownership.
Around 35 cows and 15 sheep were found at the farm in south Armagh, while 250 sheep were discovered on a nearby farm across the border.
More than 20 PSNI officers were involved in the searches which centred around two sheds.
Insp Leslie Badger said carrying out such an operation can be risky.
"You have to consider your security when you are doing these operations," he said.
"It's not only the terrorism element to Northern Ireland, but also the criminality element - we have some criminals out there who would try to frustrate police actions and disrupt us."
He also spoke of the importance of working with police south of the border to combat rural crime.
"We rely heavily on our partners in the Republic of Ireland, An Garda Síochána, and it's with their help we can go in here - a property that straddles both sides of the border," he said.
While recovering stolen livestock was the goal, the PSNI did not find any clear evidence of animal theft.
However, they did find breaches in animal welfare and cattle documentation.
The police also found some ear tags - used to identify cattle - which did not belong to the herd.
Insp Badger was happy with the outcome of the operation.
"It disrupts this type of activity - this is a big footprint into this area today in relation to the viability and the traceability of our animals - which end up on our tables," he said.


Last Christmas, more than half of Britain's shoppers tried the discount experience of Aldi or Lidl.

For a supermarket like Tesco, that figure is chilling for two reasons.
Firstly, Christmas was traditionally the time when promiscuous shoppers returned to the Big Four to fill their groaning family trolleys. That is no longer the case - Lidl sells champers too.
And, secondly, if half of shoppers tried Aldi and Lidl, that meant that half didn't. Which shows the enormous room for expansion the discounters have.
Both are planning substantial store openings over the next two years, giving the lie to anyone who thinks that the discounter cycle is coming to an end anytime soon.
Aldi has also said it will start an online offer next year, which is likely to send a few more cold winds through Tesco's aisles.
One remarkable fact from Tesco's results today is that it is seen as good news that the UK business (which accounts for three-quarters of the supermarket's revenues) has actually turned a small profit.
For a large part of last year, Dave Lewis, the chief executive, was running the British business at a loss as he desperately tried to encourage customers back through the door.
Frankly, even I could have a good go at selling courgettes at less than I bought them for.
Investors will be heaving a sigh of relief that such an unsustainable position was at least only temporary.
But it's not as if with one bound Mr Lewis is free. For the first half of this year, profits in the UK were down 70% on the same period last year, and the vital operating profit margin is languishing below 1%.
That's for a business that used to enjoy a margin of more than 5%.
Mr Lewis is caught in something of a trap. He must offer customers lower prices if he is to arrest declining sales.
But he also has to provide investors with profits, or the Tesco share price - which has halved in the last two years - is only going to go in one direction.
I asked Mr Lewis if he was worried that Tesco was operating within such tight margins.
"I'm not sure I see it exactly the same way, Kamal," he told me.
"I understand why you say that because you compare this year with the first half of last year, and that's completely understandable.
"But having come into the business, we obviously had some issues to deal with.
"We dealt with them. It meant that in the second half of last year we made no profit whatsoever in the UK.
"So if I compare to the second half of last year, the first half of this year feels like we've made some progress.
"Our sales are growing compared to where they were either a year ago or indeed in the second half of last year, and we've generated some profit as we rebuild the Tesco business.
"Importantly, at the same time we're improving what it is we're doing for our customers."
Mr Lewis told me that he wanted to cut prices further. For that, Tesco will use cost savings within the business and some of the income from the £4bn sale of Tesco's business in South Korea, which has reduced Tesco's debt costs.
But some expenses will be going up. The government's announcement that a "national living wage" of at least £9 an hour will be paid by businesses by 2020 will have a substantial impact on retailers.
Last week I interviewed Sir Ian Cheshire, the former head of B&Q owner Kingfisher, who called for a review of the increase in two years to ensure that the costs for businesses were not too onerous
Although not agreeing with Sir Ian's call, Mr Lewis did tell me he wanted the hourly rate demands of the living wage analysed.
"We supported the fact that the living wage in April was set at a minimum of £7.20," he said.
"We supported that because we actually paid Tesco colleagues [that] already.
"I think the thing that we would like rather than any review is actually a broader discussion about total reward within the retail sector.
"My colleagues receive a base pay, but they also receive a series of benefits, which they really appreciate.
"When you look at those benefits and you monetise those benefits, it gets you very close to the £9 which is what is aspired for in 2020.
"So, the conversation I'm having with my colleagues is around how it is they want to receive their reward from Tesco.
"But a simple reduction of everything into a base rate is not what they want, and I'd like a more intelligent conversation about total reward rather than just talking about base pay per hour."
Mr Lewis knows he is caught between two sometimes conflicting impulses - lower prices for customers and increased profits for investors.
He believes he can produce both, via a better-run business focused on the UK.
Investors remain to be convinced despite a small rise in the share price. The message? Mr Lewis - more work needed.


The premier of South Australia state has apologised to a gay British widower after state authorities refused to recognise his marriage.

Briton David Bulmer-Rizzi, 32, died on Saturday after falling down stairs while on honeymoon in Adelaide.
His husband Marco Bulmer-Rizzi, 38, was unable to plan a funeral as the state did not recognise him as next-of-kin.
David's death certificate was also marked "never married", despite his husband's protests.
The men, who lived in Sunderland, legally married in London last year. But South Australia does not currently recognise same-sex marriages, even foreign ones, as legal partnerships.
South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill said he had phoned the widower to express his sorrow over his treatment.
"He told me that in a range of ways he felt disrespected by a number of authorities that he was associated with, not all government some of them in government, and I expressed my apology for that behaviour," Mr Weatherill said.
"I also committed myself to putting before the South Australian Parliament measures that would prevent this from happening again."
Mr Bulmer-Rizzi said Mr Weatherill had promised to reissue his husband's death certificate with the correct marriage status.
"It's almost a good day - if it weren't for everything else," he told Buzzfeed.
"I don't know if David would even believe it. The fact that through him maybe this is never going to happen to somebody else is such a good thing."
Mr Weatherill called upon the federal government to introduce legislation legalising gay marriage.
"Ultimately this is about recognition of same sex marriage and there are so many things that flow from that such as basic acceptance in our community," he said.
"This will only be properly dealt with once we have same-sex marriage legislation at the Federal level."
The sentiment was echoed by gay rights groups.
"I urge the federal government to follow South Australia's lead and ensure there is no discrimination against same-sex couples married overseas, be they travellers like Marco and David or Australian residents," Australian Marriage Equality's Rodney Croome said in a statement.


A large blaze broke out at a recycling yard containing plastics and foam in the Black Country.

Seventy firefighters tackled flames off Rufford Street, close to Lye railway station, Stourbridge, from 12:00 BST.
Black smoke could be seen for miles around and people living nearby were advised to keep windows closed.
West Midlands Fire Service said the fire was under control and crews had been scaled back while damping down continued.


New Doncaster boss Darren Ferguson believes the team can challenge for promotion from League One this season.

The former Peterborough boss was appointed boss of the Keepmoat Stadium side, who are currently 20th in the table, on Friday.
"This club is ready to go, there is no question about that," the 43-year-old told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"There is a good blend of youth and experience. I've had plenty of time to look at them and there's a team there."
He continued: "It has been made clear that the aim is to get to the Championship. The reality of that means this season we need to get 21 wins from our remaining 35 games.
"It's an exciting challenge and one that we will meet head-on."
Ferguson, who is the son of former Manchester United boss Sir Alex, will take charge of the team for the first time in Saturday's home match against Bradford.
He has replaced fellow Scot Paul Dickov in the Keepmoat Stadium dugout after the former Oldham boss was sacked on 8 September after taking just six points from their opening six league games.
Interim boss Rob Jones won one of his six matches in charge to leave Doncaster above the League One drop zone on goal difference only.
Ferguson left Peterborough in February after four years with the London Road side and has signed a rolling contract with Rovers.
He said he had benefitted from taking some time out of the game.
"I wanted the break and I felt that I needed it in the right way," he added.
"I went straight from playing to management and then had maybe a month between leaving Peterborough and Preston and going back to Peterborough.
"There was an offer straight after I left Peterborough and in the summer, but the timing wasn't right."


Soon it may not just be smiley faces, big cats and a thumbs-up that you can send your friends on Facebook messenger.

Screenshots posted by a computer science student in the US appear to show cash transfers between users could be coming to Facebook.
Earlier this year the social network's founder Mark Zuckerberg said that "over time" there would be some "overlap" between messenger and payments.
But Facebook declined to comment.
Andrew Aude, 21, posted screenshots of the payment function on Twitter.
He reportedly uncovered the facility using software which allows developers to explore and modify apps.
He added debit card details which apparently unlocked a way of sending money, just as you would a photo or emoji.
Speaking to investors in July, Zuckerberg warned that the company had "a lot of work to do" before offering a payments service.
"We're going to take time to do this in the way that we think that's going to be right over multiple years."
Earlier this year, Facebook hired former PayPal president David Marcus.
Several person-to-person payment apps already exist including Ribbon, Square Cash and Venmo.
So far these services have struggled to attract users in large numbers, particularly outside the US.
Facebook has 1.3 billion active monthly users, giving it the potential to become widely used as a payment service.
The social network has faced criticism for forcing users to use a separate app to send messages rather than the main Facebook app.
Adding mobile payments may help Facebook encourage people to use the messenger app more widely.
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Tributes have been paid to a teenage boy who collapsed and died during a football match in Northamptonshire.

Ben Walker collapsed while playing for Thrapston Town Juniors on Friday.
His club said he died doing the thing he loved. Flowers and football shirts have been left by friends at the club on Chancery Lane.
Nick Price, from the club, said the boy's death had affected everyone but had also brought the community together.
"Bringing the town together as a community is great but it goes wider than that to schools, the people themselves and football clubs around here, who have held a minute's silence in tribute for him.
"It's hit so many people really, really badly," he added.


Phillip Simelane, the man who stabbed 16-year-old schoolgirl Christina Edkins to death on a Birmingham bus, had previously been in prison for threatening his own mother with a knife.

Christina was on her way to Leasowes High School in Halesowen for an exam when she was killed on 7 March - three months after Simelane had been released from jail.
West Midlands Police said they had been called to his mother's address in Walsall about 20 times.
She had contacted the force "for a number of issues, fighting with siblings, arguing with [her] and causing criminal damage" in the house, police said.
Simelane, now 23, served a jail sentence for the threats to his mother last year and had another conviction for violence.
The force said it was now believed he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time he killed Christina, in the Edgbaston area of the city.
But when the teenager was attacked with "a normal kitchen knife" on the number nine bus near Five Ways, homeless and unemployed Simelane was not under "any kind of care plan", police said.
The force said it had "no further contact" with Simelane after December, when he was released from prison where he had been sent following a breach of licence conditions for a sentence he had served for interfering with a vehicle.
Agencies involved in managing Simelane before the attack are holding independent reviews to try to establish what support he had, with prison and mental health services involved, police said.
Supt Richard Baker said: "From what we know of Phillip Simelane as a result of Christina's murder (sic), he has only recently as a result of this been diagnosed with schizophrenia. There doesn't appear to be any historic diagnosis of this illness previously.
"I think it's probably unfair to speculate at this particular time what was or could or should have been done by the relevant agencies."
Christina, the youngest child of Jason and Kathleen and sister of Joanne, 24, and Ryan, 18, was a GCSE student.
Her family said she was "very much looking forward to" her school prom and had bought "a beautiful lilac dress" for the event, and it was their wish that she wore it on the day of her funeral.
The prom was dedicated to her and dozens of balloons of her favourite colour purple were released.
In a family statement released by her great-uncle Chris Melia, they spoke of their pride in her exam results - 11 subjects with grades from A* to C - along with "the pain that her ambition to study to be a nurse or midwife will be unfulfilled".
Mr Melia told the BBC when Christina's father called him on the day she was stabbed, he had to tell him three times before it "really went in for me that she was dead".
He added: "Certainly there should be answers as to how did this happen, and how is it going to be prevented from happening in the future?
"It was clearly identified that this guy had a severe problem."
The chief executive of mental health charity Sane, Marjorie Wallace, said there were opportunities at all stages from school onwards to have Simelane assessed and treated, "all of which appear to have been missed".
She said: "Over the last 10 years Simelane showed all the signs of mental illness, was violent towards his family, and had concerns raised about his mental health in prison.
"If society cannot cope with one disturbed young man, we should be concerned at the number of others in prison who may be released unconditionally in the same way."
Christina had left home on a normal Thursday at about 07:30 and boarded the bus on Broad Street. Simelane was already on it.
The teenager was attacked about five minutes later.
Simelane was homeless and had been on the bus for more than two and a half hours. At one stage a passenger had alerted the driver to a man sleeping upstairs.
Supt Baker said: "[Simelane had] asked the bus driver if he could stay on for a bit longer because he was cold and he wanted to try and get some sleep.
"We would express no criticism whatsoever towards the bus driver in this particular incident. Nobody could have foreseen what was coming."


The first of four new UK submarines to carry Trident nuclear missiles will be named Dreadnought, a decision inspired by famous ships from the past.

The Ministry of Defence revealed the name, to coincide with Trafalgar Day, for the first vessel of the £31bn project to replace existing submarines.
The MoD said nine Navy vessels had previously been named Dreadnought.
Perhaps the most famous was HMS Dreadnought, commissioned in 1906, which transformed naval warfare.
The name became used at the time to describe a new era of warship design.
Other Dreadnoughts included one that sailed with Sir Francis Drake to battle the Spanish Armada in 1588, and another that was present with Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Britain's first nuclear-powered submarine, launched 56 years ago, also shared the name.
Critics of the project to renew the UK's Trident nuclear weapons system believe the enormous investment could be better spent elsewhere.
But Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "Every day our ballistic missile submarines are used to deter the most extreme threats to Britain's security.
"We cannot know what dangers we might face in the 2030s, 2040s and 2050s, so we are building the new Dreadnought class.
"Along with increasing the defence budget to buy new ships, more planes, and armoured vehicles, this commitment shows we will never gamble with our security."
Dreadnought will be the lead boat of the four new submarines, as well as the class name for the whole fleet.
The MoD, which received approval for the name from the Queen, said the next three boats would also be given names with "historical resonance".
But there are still groups fighting against the project who have said the bill will run much higher than predicted.
Dave Webb, chairman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: "Replacing and running Trident is set to cost a staggering £205bn.
"The government dishonestly states Trident will cost between £31bn and £41bn, but that's only the cost of manufacturing four submarines.
"Hundreds of billions for a nuclear weapons system that does nothing to address the real and serious security threats we face - like terrorism and cyberwarfare - but not enough money for schools, hospitals, welfare and jobs. That just doesn't make sense to the majority of the population."


The Certificate of Irish Heritage scheme, which officially recognises people of Irish descent around the world, is to end due to a low uptake.

The scheme was introduced by the Irish government four years ago to forge connections with some of the 70m people abroad who claim to have Irish roots.
It was an official confirmation of Irish ancestry, aimed at those who do not qualify for full citizenship.
However, as few as 3,000 certificates have been sold since the 2011 launch.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "The uptake of the Certificate of Irish Heritage has been considerably less than anticipated.
"No further certificates will be available for purchase after 24 August 2015."
The department said the scheme had been set up to encourage people of Irish descent to trace their family roots and to give "greater practical expression to the sense of Irish identity felt by many around the world".
Previous recipients have included a number of high-profile figures, including US President Barack Obama, former US President Bill Clinton and the Hollywood actor Tom Cruise.
Applicants were asked to provide details of their Irish ancestors online, so their ancestry could be verified through record checks.
The certificates cost 45 euros (Â£32) or 120 euros (Â£85) for a framed version, but the Department of Foreign Affairs said it never anticipated that the scheme "would provide significant revenue to the government".
The website where applications are processed described the initiative as representing the "enduring emotional ties and sense of identity bestowed by Irish ancestry, recognising the continuing emotional attachment of the descendants who left our shores long ago".


Ex-Portuguese President Mario Soares, regarded as a father of the country's democracy, has died at the age of 92.

Mr Soares was prime minister between 1976 and 1978, in the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution that ended decades of right-wing dictatorship.
A Socialist, he returned as PM in the early 1980s and served as president between 1986 and 1996.
He had been admitted to hospital in Lisbon last month following a "general worsening of his health", doctors said.
He had shown signs of improvement, but later fell into a deep coma from which he never recovered. The hospital, however, has not revealed the exact cause of death.
After flirting briefly with communism at university and then embracing Portugal's democratic movement as a Socialist, Mr Soares was jailed 12 times and then exiled for his political activities during the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.
Mr Soares played a key role after the 1974 Carnation Revolution, a military coup that put an end to 48 years of Salazar rule.
A fierce critic of the junta that ruled Portugal for the next two years, Mr Soares in 1976 became the first post-war democratically elected prime minister.
He then spearheaded the country's entry into the European Union. But, in recent years, he became a vocal critic of the austerity policies associated with the massive eurozone bailout Portugal sought in 2011.
Mr Soares left the presidency in 1996 after the maximum tenure in the office permitted under the constitution, with his popularity at a peak. For years, he remained one of the country's most influential politicians.
He ran again for president in 2006 at the age of 82, but finished in third.
Portugal declared three days of national mourning from Monday.
"President Mario Soares was born and graduated to be a fighter, to have a cause to fight - freedom," President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said.
"Mario Soares never gave up on a free Portugal, a free Europe, a free world and what was decisive... he was always victorious."


UK astronaut Tim Peake has thanked the thousands of people around the world who sent him a good luck message, as he spends his first weekend in space.

"From the schoolchildren who watched the launch in class, people watching on the underground... your messages mean a great deal to me," he blogged.
His blog also contains a selection of some of the best messages from social media sites Twitter and Instagram.
He arrived at the International Space Station for six months on Tuesday.
As he does not have the time to reply to each message individually, he wrote: "The support for our launch was outstanding, and I want to thank each of you for the #GoodLuckTim messages.
"From the schoolchildren who watched the launch in class, people watching on the underground, and viewers outside of UK, your messages have shown how much interest there is in space and they mean a great deal to me.
"A big thank you to those who attended launch celebrations up and down the country and especially the school kids who attended the event at the Science Museum. We are very busy up here but I promise to start sharing more of our life in space soon."
The former Army aviator and helicopter test pilot has posted three pictures to his Twitter feed since Friday - one of the view towards Earth, one of him giving a thumbs-up to all his supporters and another of him giving blood for experiments being conducted.
On Friday, during a live link-up from the space platform, he said his first few days in space had been "absolutely spectacular".
Answering questions from reporters gathered at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, he said the first two hours had been "pretty rough" and he had been feeling "disorientated and dizzy".
But he was able to show them a backwards somersault and said he was surprised how quickly his body had adapted to weightlessness.
From Westbourne, near Chichester in West Sussex, the UK's first professional British astronaut said the most unexpected thing about the experience so far had been "the blackness of space".
"We always talk about seeing the view of planet Earth and how beautiful it is and you come to expect that.
"But what people don't mention that much is when you look in the opposite direction and you see how dark space is."
He is among six crew members living and working on the space station.
According to the European Space Agency, he has a number of tasks to perform, including unpacking cargo and taking part in an experiment looking at the effects of microgravity on the bone marrow.
Where is the International Space Station right now?
What's it like to live on the space station?
Tim Peake in space: Want to know more?
Special report page: For the latest news, analysis and video
Video: Bye bye Daddy
In pictures: Flight to the space station
Explainer: How do I become an astronaut?


Turkey's biggest newspaper, Zaman, has published an edition carrying pro-government articles, two days after being taken over by authorities.

On Friday, a court ruled that Zaman, previously linked to an opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, should now be run by administrators.
Its last edition under old ownership on Saturday said Turkey's press had seen one of its "darkest days".
Meanwhile, a newspaper set up by former Zaman staff was launched on Sunday.
Police raided Zaman's Istanbul offices late on Friday hours after a court ruling placed it under state control, but managers were still able to get Saturday's edition to print.
No reason was given by the court for the decision.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the takeover was "legal, not political".
"It is out of the question for either me or any of my colleagues to interfere in this process," he said in a television interview.
Water cannon and tear gas were used against some 500 Zaman supporters gathered in front of its headquarters on Saturday.
Zaman journalists who arrived to work on Saturday said their access to internal servers had been denied. Its editor-in-chief Abdulhamit Bilici and a leading columnist were also fired.
The front page of Sunday's edition of Zaman, the first under new ownership, bears an image of Mr Erdogan and the headline "Historic excitement about the bridge". The articles says Mr Erdogan is to lay the last part of a third bridge across the Bosphorus that is close to completion.
One report in Turkey last year said the bridge may bear Mr Erdogan's name.
The edition was met with scepticism by journalists who used to write for Zaman, which has a readership of 650,000.
Some former Zaman staff produced a new newspaper named Yarina Bakis, or Look to Tomorrow, on Sunday.
Its front page showed an image of tear gas being fired outside Zaman's headquarters on Saturday, with the headline: "Water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets are not enough: Throw him out!"
The newspaper said "Throw him out" was uttered by a policeman who ordered a journalist at the protest to be removed.
It is unclear how the new newspaper was published at short notice, and where it was printed.
The Twitter feed that used to belong to Zaman now redirects automatically to that of Yarina Bakis.
Zaman's website is now inaccessible, but has a holding message promising there will soon be "unbiased coverage for our readers".
The paper was closely linked to the Hizmet movement of influential US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, which Turkey says is a "terrorist" group aiming to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.
Mr Gulen was once an ally of Mr Erdogan but the two fell out. Many Hizmet supporters have been arrested.
BBC Turkish correspondent Rengin Arslan, in Istanbul, said some online commentators were criticising supporters of Mr Gulen and Zaman for ignoring instances in which voices critical of his party had themselves been punished.
The European Union's response has been to issue weak statements of concern, the BBC's Mark Lowen says.
It is accused of acting softly on Turkey as it needs the country's support in managing the refugee crisis.
The government in Ankara has come under increasing international criticism over its treatment of journalists.
The EU's diplomatic service said that Turkey "needs to respect and promote high democratic standards and practices, including freedom of the media", while the US described the move as "troubling".


There has never been an economic story like China's - consistent rises in national income for 30 years at an annual rate of 10%, hundreds of millions of Chinese people lifted out of poverty, and expansion that took it from almost nowhere to become the world's second biggest economy, contributing 15% of global GDP and 25% of global GDP growth.

So it is no exaggeration to say that the story of the world economy since 1978 has been China's story - determining everything from our low and falling interest rates (because its manufacturing prowess tamed inflation almost everywhere) through to an unprecedented boom in the price of energy and raw materials.
But until today there was a plausible argument that what happened on its financial markets was not of great significance for the rest of us, because those markets were still relatively closed to foreign investors and were subject to significant state meddling.
Till today's great awakening - when a rout on the Shanghai stock market, where most shares fell their maximum daily limit of 10%, has infected confidence everywhere.
Shares tumbled the world over - roughly 5% on average in Europe, less at this instant in North America.
Investors are in effect shouting that the era of so-called Chinese exceptionalism - that China can grow faster for longer than any other economy in history - is over, having become so dependent in recent years on debt-fuelled investment (which was what my film, How China Fooled the World, warned about at the start of 2014).
And they are not just delivering that verdict in falling shares, but in oil prices that have tumbled to the slum levels of 2009 and commodities in general are back at levels not seen since 1999.
All of this has big implications for most of us in the coming weeks and years.
Now we may be tempted to celebrate the increase in our spending power, thanks to the tumbling prices of food and energy that China's waning appetite has caused.
And those with big debts may be chipper that both the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England may delay interest rate rises by yet another few months, because of concerns that China is exporting lower growth and deflation to us.
But we should be under no illusion that if China is turning Japanese - if it is on the verge of years of very low growth or even stagnation - we will all pay a big price.
That is especially true in the UK, where the big flaw in our recovery is that we are too dependent on spending by domestic consumers and domestic businesses - such that we are borrowing money from the rest of the world to finance our living standards in record amounts - or to use the jargon, we have a record current-account deficit or negative balance on our income from trade and investment with the rest of the world.
If a Chinese deceleration leads to a permanent slowdown in global growth, our ability to close that deficit through sales to the rest of the world would be impaired - which would force us to spend much less at home. Or to put it another way, we would become considerably poorer.


A ferry has crashed into a harbour wall and run aground at Lochmaddy Marina in North Uist.

The MV Hebrides, which had 76 passengers and crew on board, was unable to slow down as it attempted to dock at 11:00.
It had been travelling from Tarbert on Harris when it is believed to have suffered engine problems.
No passengers on board the Caledonian MacBrayne vessel were injured in the incident.
Norman MacAskill, a truck owner and farmer who was waiting to board the ferry, said it was immediately obvious something was wrong as the vessel approached.
He said: "As I watched the ferry coming round the bend of the pier, she seemed to be going very fast. She just kept on coming and it was clear something was drastically wrong.
"Then she came to a dead stop. Someone said she was stuck in forward gear. You could hear the sound of the engine churning up the sea.
"They eventually managed to get her to stop and in reverse, but on the way back she hit the pier."
All services on the route have been cancelled for the day after what Caledonian MacBrayne described as "a technical issue".
A CalMac statement said: "A technical failure led to the vessel being unable to reduce speed sufficiently for the routine docking procedures and she struck both pontoons in Lochmaddy harbour and the seabed.
"No-one was injured and the vessel's hull remains intact. A total of 76 passengers and crew were on board, as well as 13 cars, one lorry and one motorhome.
"She is now alongside safely at Lochmaddy. All passengers and vehicles have been disembarked and alternative routes for all those affected are being investigated.
"A team of divers is on its way to make underwater investigations of the hull and a full inquiry into what happened has been launched.
"Travel on the Uig-Tarbert-Lochmaddy route is disrupted and likely to remain so for some time/a minimum of 48 hours."


A prototype AI that spots online trolling can be tricked with a few typos, researchers have shown.

The system, from Google spin-off company Jigsaw, fails to detect words like "idiot" and "stupid" as toxic language when misspelled as "idiiot" or "st.upid", for example.
Jigsaw said its tool, called Perspective, was still in development.
One computer scientist said such systems would always have to adapt to the changing tactics of trolls.
Jigsaw's tool is being developed to help automate the detection of abuse and harassment online.
"Perspective scores comments based on the perceived impact a comment might have on a conversation," the Jigsaw website says.
But researchers from the University of Washington, whose paper has not yet been peer-reviewed, found the system was far from infallible.
While the AI graded certain phrases as toxic, almost identical ones could sneak by with just a few creative typos:
There were false positive examples as well - in which innocuous phrases (such as "It's not stupid and wrong") were erroneously graded as toxic.
The findings were welcomed by Jigsaw.
"It's great to see research like this," product manager CJ Adams told technology news site Ars Technica.
"We welcome academic researchers to join our research efforts on Github and explore how we can collaborate together to identify shortcomings of existing models and find ways to improve them."
Accounting for "adversarial examples" - deliberate attempts to fool a system - was a key part of developing such technology, said computer scientist Dr Pete Burnap, at Cardiff University.
"These things are typical problems in natural language processing," he told the BBC.
"Jigsaw will probably look at this and start incorporating adversarial examples into their training set."
He said he was pleased to see companies such as Google working on technology that might one day help curb trolling online.
"It's really great actually to see companies like this come forward and say, 'Here's a toxic comment,'" Dr Burnap said.
"[Such comments] can harm people and communities."


There is "no enthusiasm" for political parties to ask the taxpayer to fund their activities, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life has said.

Lord Bew wrote to all the major parties about the issue after last year's election - but only the Conservatives and SNP replied, he said.
He argued that the public were also "not sympathetic" to state funding.
The committee has recommended parties get an extra Â£23m of state cash.
Its 2011 inquiry also recommended a Â£10,000 annual cap on individual donations from 2015 and the idea that union members should have to "opt in" to fees paid to Labour if donations were to be counted individually.
'Deeply rooted' perception
But during a Lords committee on trade union and political party funding, Lord Bew said: "The difficulty of the issues relates not just to the attitude of the parties."
In their letter back to him, the Conservatives pointed out that voters were also not sympathetic to state funding, he said.
While the public was in favour of electoral reform, there was also a "deeply rooted" perception that money was only given to political parties with the expectation of something like a peerage in return.
"All I can do is write to the parties, which I do periodically, and I have no reason to believe that there's any enthusiasm to address this," he said.
'Price worth paying?'
Sir Christopher Kelly, a former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said "it was wrong that any of the parties should be wholly reliant on significant sums from significant donors" whether from individuals, those donating through private companies or trade unions.
But Liberal Democrat treasurer Lord Wrigglesworth said: "I can't see a time when the political parties are going to be willing to go to the taxpayer and ask for money for their organisations."
Sir Christopher conceded that if members of a focus group were asked if more money should go to political parties, they would say "not on your Nelly".
But if they were pressed: "Do you think it's a price worth paying to... take big money out of politics?" They would say "of course", he said.


Ransoms of up to $400,000 (£273,000) have been paid to gangs which hijacked ships in the Gulf of Guinea in 2015, a maritime report says.

The region was the most dangerous in the world for seafarers, with pirates becoming more violent, it added.
A total of 32 seafarers had been kidnapped so far this year compared with 15 in 2015, the report said.
Kidnapping for ransom took place mainly in the oil-producing areas off Nigeria's coast, it said.
The spike in kidnappings appeared to be linked to political developments in Nigeria, the report by the US-based group Oceans Beyond Piracy group said.
There had also been a sharp drop in oil theft last year, which the report put down to improved patrolling of Nigeria's waters, and the fall in oil prices making it less profitable.
One of the most high-profile cases was that of the Malta-flagged MT Kalamos, an oil super tanker, which was attacked in February 2015.
The tanker's abducted crew was freed after the $400,000 ransom was paid, the State of Maritime Piracy 2015 report said.
It did not say who had paid the ransom.
Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent
The latest report on the state of maritime piracy around the world offers grounds for both optimism and pessimism.
The Somalia-based piracy that grabbed the world's attention in 2012 has all but vanished, due largely to the presence of armed escorts aboard merchant vessels that has completely disrupted the pirates' business model. There is good news too from south-east Asia where increased co-operation between states has seen piracy attacks fall off steeply in the last half of 2015.
But the Gulf of Guinea continues to be a hazardous place for seafarers with violence deliberately directed against sailors, including mock executions.
Unlike the Somali basin, where there is a high degree of international co-ordination and naval patrolling, the report says West Africa's coastal waters suffer from a lack of piracy prosecutions and a rule of law. While cargo theft is rare, kidnap for ransom is rife.
"In most kidnapping incidents the pirates board the vessel after firing at the bridge to suppress any opposition and intimidate the crew, and then proceed to isolate the ranking officers and engineers, who net the highest ransoms," the report said.
"Time permitting, the pirates loot the vessel as well, sometimes spending a few hours aboard. They then escape with the three or four crew members who will be held onshore during negotiations."
In most cases, victims were held on small islands in Nigeria's Niger Delta region.
"The same pirate gangs responsible for these attacks are likely the same groups responsible for kidnapping and violence in the Niger Delta," the report said.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari took office last May after defeating the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in elections in March 2015.
"While the anticipated spike in kidnappings prior to the March presidential election did not materialise, the elections dramatically impacted maritime security and will reverberate well into 2016," the report said.
Mr Buhari's government has sacked maritime security chief Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokemi.
It has also cancelled a security contract given to the Global West Vessel Specialists firm, which is linked to former oil militant Government Ekpemupolo, who has the alias Tompolo.
Mr Ekpemupolo was one of the most important figures in the oil-rich Niger Delta until he agreed to an amnesty deal in 2009 with Mr Jonathan's government.
He has been on the run since February, refusing to be questioned by Nigeria's anti-corruption agency in connection with $231m in missing government funds.
The amnesty, given to tens of thousands of oil militants, had stemmed the level of violence in the region.


A year after French and African forces forced out Islamist militants from the historic city of Timbuktu, local residents are still waiting to reap the peace dividend, reports the BBC's Alex Duval Smith.

''We stayed throughout the 10-month occupation by the jihadists. We were not rich enough to leave,'' says fruit seller Aicha Dicko, 35.
''Now we see the people coming back thanks to travel grants, and receiving food aid once they get here, but there is nothing for us.''
Timbuktu has always had an eerie air about it - the sand and the stultifying heat combine to dull all noise.
Saving Timbuktu treasure
Even at its busiest, the historic city bustles in silence; you only hear an approaching motorbike when it is very close, feet shuffle silently in the sand.
Now the silence is almost complete - the streets are empty, especially after dark.
Even the market seems to be functioning in slow motion and the rare vehicles are the pick-ups of the Malian army or UN force.
For the region's rice growers the problem has been a  lack of water, because of a shortage of diesel to run irrigation pumps, which has left them unable to thin their seedlings this season.
''Our harvest is bad,'' says Aboubakar Cisse, 45.
''If we want peace, the authorities must address the root causes of the war: People are hungry and thirsty. If the economy stays bad, men will go back to the armed groups, who pay you 300,000 CFA francs ($600; Â£400) to join up.''
Since 28 January 2013, when French soldiers put the Islamist militants to flight, an 800-strong UN force has been in charge of securing Timbuktu, alongside Malian soldiers.
But the city's traumatised residents complain that the troops do not patrol after dark, leaving Timbuktu in the grip of a rumour mill of fear.
And militants still stage the occasional attack in and around the city.
Lack of diesel means streetlights only go on for a few hours each day.
In pictures: Tourism in Mali
Children do their homework beneath them but when night falls completely, worried parents call them indoors.
Displaced teachers, health staff and civil servants are offered government grants to return to Timbuktu but take-up is slow.
Public buildings that were looted and ransacked remain boarded up.
Only three banks have reopened.
Commerce, which had been the lifeblood of the city since the 12th Century when it was founded on the thriving cross-Saharan trade in salt, gold, ivory and slaves, has ground to a halt.
Bank manager Seydou Coulibaly says Tuareg and Arab livestock herders and businessmen are too afraid to return.
They fear lynchings because they are seen by black residents as having collaborated with the Islamists and Tuareg secessionists from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).
''Until last year, Timbuktu really depended on the easy availability of food and fuel from Algeria and Mauritania," says Mr Coulibaly, who has left his wife and children in the south of Mali.
"Pasta and juice from Algeria used to be what we bought from the Arabs. Those convoys were run by the same people who smuggled drugs and arms and abducted Westerners, and had links to al-Qaeda and others.''
Mr Coulibaly, whose branch was raided before serving as the Sharia prison while the Islamists were in charge, said the closure of the Algerian border and regular French counter-terror operations in the vast desert north of Timbuktu have largely halted the Sahara caravans.
Although life was tough for the Timbuktu residents who did not flee Islamist rule, with punishments such as floggings and amputations, and the destruction of some of the city's ancient mausoleums, some say they were better off in economic terms.
''The items we used to buy have become really rare. Everything has to come from Bamako now and the boat takes a week," Mr Coulibaly says.
"Prices have practically doubled or tripled. In Timbuktu there is actually quite a bit of nostalgia for the days during and before the occupation.''
Metalworker Issa Tandina recently completed an aid agency contract for school desks. But work is generally slow and he has laid off 15 of the 25 staff he employed two years ago.
''It was better when the occupation was on,'' he said. ''We did lots of repairs on their pick-ups and they paid. Now work is slower than ever.''
Roadside grill owner Souleymane Dicko is more optimistic; his economic barometer is the number of sheep he slaughters to feed his customers.
''It is getting better. Before the crisis it was five sheep, during the crisis it was one sheep and now we are back to two per day," he says.
"I have been grilling for 20 years and I am sure things will improve. We went to the brink. People have to be more patient.''
For Timbuktu tourism director Sane Chirfi Alpha, even if the economic situation improves, the city will continue to struggle until the tourists come back.
''Tourism and its related activities - hotels, restaurants, crafts - accounted for 80% of the city's legal earnings and jobs," he said.
"But given the recent history of abductions, we cannot yet, hand on heart, ask international visitors to return.
"The only way to rebuild the sector is to focus on national tourism and visitors from the sub-region.''
There are hopes that the construction of a 1,200km (745 miles) tarred road from Bamako to Timbuktu - begun in 2010 and abandoned in 2012 - will be an economic lifeline for the region.
''We have 580km to go. There is only one way forward and that is opening up these zones, getting them out of their isolation,'' said the head of the European Union delegation in Mali, Richard Zink.
But the EU-funded project has not restarted as planned in February as it is still not considered safe enough to put workers on road-building equipment on the ground.
Mr Zink also warns that trade alone cannot solve the problem.
''Development depends on commerce but also requires reconciliation,'' he says.
''There is a tendency in the of south of Mali to think: 'Send up the army.' But it won't work and the government knows it won't work.''


One of the world's most deadly snakes has been discovered on a boat at Aberdeen Harbour.

The green mamba was found on a ship that had docked on Wednesday from west Africa.
It is understood workers on the vessel put the snake into a box before calling animal welfare experts.
A police escort was used to transport the animal to a Scottish SPCA animal centre in Drumoak. However, the snake was later euthanised.
The SSPCA said the nearest anti-venom was held in London and that the snake was destroyed amid health and safety concerns.
The western green mamba feeds on small animals and rodents and is mainly found in the coastal tropical rainforests of western Africa.
Experts say its bite can be fatal in as little as 30 minutes.


India's largest e-commerce company Flipkart has raised $1bn (£590m; 60bn rupees) in fresh funding, the largest ever for an Indian internet firm.

Founded in 2007 by two former Amazon employees, the company is hugely popular for selling books and electronics online.
It has 22 million registered users and handles over 150,000 shipments a day.
Earlier this year, Flipkart acquired fashion portal Myntra and exceeded $1bn in annual sales.
India's e-commerce market was worth $13bn in 2013, with online travel accounting for more than 70% of transactions.
According to research firm Forrester, online sales of retail goods were worth $1.6bn last year, but with the growing reach of internet in the country and more people shopping online, it is expected to reach $76bn by 2021, according to consulting firm Technopak.
Correspondents say Flipkart is competing for a bigger slice of the Indian online retail market with the Delhi-based marketplace Snapdeal, fashion e-tailer Jabong, and global e-commerce sites like Amazon and eBay.
In the last seven years, Flipkart had raised $760m and the recent funding is the largest for the company.


Two lorry drivers from Northern Ireland have been describing the travel chaos in Calais and how they have been threatened with knives.

Travel is being disrupted for a third day as a strike by French ferry workers causes problems on both sides of the Channel.
Tony Henderson from Larne said a group of more than 100 migrants ran at him with iron bars and machetes.
John Graham who lives in Bangor said he has to keep his doors locked.
MyFerryLink workers walked out on Monday for the second time in a week over the sale of the company's ferries to the rival firm DFDS Seaways.
The strikes forced the Port of Calais's closure and left thousands of Dover-bound trucks stuck on the M20 in Kent.
Mr Henderson is stuck in about 10km of traffic with a lorry load of paper since early on Wednesday. The drivers have no proper toilet facilities and are dependant on the contents of their own fridges for food.
He said migrants were "running riot" on  the main road.
"They feel quite at ease opening doors and forcing padlocks off because... the police can't be everywhere at one time. They know if we get out we're outnumbered.
"They try and force padlocks, they secret bars approximately 18 inches long  and about half an inch in diameter in a bag or something, then they walk along and put it inside the padlock and smash them off."
Mr Henderson said the drivers watch out for each other.
"It's threatening, yes, It's been worse," he said.
"It's not funny watching 100-plus people coming running at you with iron bars and machetes and you are the focus of their sole attention to get into your truck.
"They have machetes. They hide them quite well from the police."
He said the economic impact of the delay was "catastrophic" for the companies involved.
"This was loaded yesterday. I should have been on a boat yesterday or a train and I should have been delivering today, so at this present moment in time, we're not even in England.
"The strike has made the situation worse."
Another driver, John Graham from County Down, has been stuck in traffic since 10:00 BST on Tuesday.
"You don't have any facilities. You're expected to sit on a motorway, you can't get out anywhere, you can't do anything - all you can do is sit there and look at the traffic.
"You've no information, whatever information you get is normally distorted, it's second-hand."
He said he had also been "threatened by migrants, banging on the door trying to get in. You can see they've got knives."
"Not just one, there's maybe eight to 10 of them, all at once, and you have to look down the side of your trailer to see if they're trying to get in and you're looking down the other side to see if there's any trying to get in through the passenger side. You have to keep your doors locked.
"I slept on the side of a motorway last night, because I couldn't get out of a queue, doors locked.
"I got about four hours sleep last night in total because of the noise of the motorway, the heat - you can't open your windows because of the heat -  or you're worried that somebody tries to gas you or put something into the lorry so you have to open it. If they put a lit rag in through your windows, you'd have to open your doors."
The industrial action is expected to continue until Thursday.


President Faure Gnassingbe is looking to continue his family's 48-year rule of Togo in elections on Saturday, 10 years after violence marred the handover of power from his father.

Although still seen as the favourite, he may face a bigger challenge than in the past.
• Faure Gnassingbe (Union for the Republic)
Faure Gnassingbe, 48, has been in power since his father Gnassingbe Eyadema died in office in 2005 after ruling Togo with an iron fist for 38 years.
His campaign has been stressing Togo's recent respectable economic record, as well as his government's extensive infrastructure projects, especially road construction.
• Jean-Pierre Fabre (Combat for Political Leadership Change in 2015)
An economics graduate and former newspaper editor, Jean-Pierre Fabre started his political career in the opposition movement against Gnassingbe Eyadema, and unsuccessfully stood against Faure Gnassingbe in 2010.
Campaigning at the head of a coalition of opposition parties, he has promised to end what he calls officials' impunity, corruption and disregard for the law, and to use the proceeds of economic growth to reduce widespread unemployment and fund improved public services.
• Aime Tchaboure Gogue (Alliance of Democrats for Integral Development)
• Gerry Taama (New Togolese Commitment)
• Mouhamed Tchassona Traore (Patriotic Movement for Democracy and Development)
No opinion polls are published, but most observers think the election will be a two-horse race between Faure Gnassingbe and Jean-Pierre Fabre.
In 2010, official results gave Faure Gnassingbe victory, with 61% of the vote against 34% for Mr Fabre.
Although the president is again the firm favourite, many observers think the result could be closer this time.
Togo's GDP has more than doubled since 2005 and economic growth reached 5.6% in 2014.
But critics say the benefits have mainly gone to a wealthy minority, while most ordinary Togolese still suffer from high poverty and unemployment rates.
2011 statistics show 58% of the population lived on less than a dollar a day, and while official figures put the jobless rate at 6%, many believe the actual figure is much higher.
Unemployment disproportionately affects the young, who make up a rapidly growing percentage of Togo's population.
The 2005 elections were overshadowed by fraud allegations and violent protests which left at least 400 people dead.
Five years later, the opposition unsuccessfully contested official results that handed Mr Gnassingbe a second term, while international observers judged it "acceptable".
Last year, opposition protests failed to bring about constitutional changes limiting the president to two terms in office - a move that would have prevented Mr Gnassingbe from standing.
Western observers see it as encouraging that, so far, the campaign has been peaceful.
The president of Togo is elected by universal adult suffrage for a five-year term. About 3.5 million people are entitled to vote.
To win, a candidate has to come first among all candidates in a single round of voting; he or she does not need to gain more than 50% of the vote, and there is no second round.
The West African regional bloc Ecowas and the African Union are deploying observers.
The election was postponed from 15 April in response to allegations of irregularities on the electoral register.


If the ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey holds, it will be welcomed by most people in Syria - but the odds seem stacked against it.

Several previous ceasefires have collapsed, and new clashes have already broken out in several parts of the country amidst sharp differences in interpretation of the latest agreement by the Syrian opposition and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
But not all past ceasefire attempts have failed. And this time dramatic shifts in Turkish policy towards the Syrian conflict may alter everything.
Political investment by major external powers is clearly critical for any ceasefire deal to succeed.
The "cessation of hostilities" that was brokered by the US and Russia in February 2016 produced a major drop in levels of violence in all regime- and opposition-held areas for some two months.
Its eventual collapse was likely, but not inevitable.
Other, more localized ceasefires were mediated by Iran in the city of Homs in May 2014 and January 2015 and by Iran and Turkey in the large towns of Zabadani, Foah and Kefraya in September 2015.
These were flawed and highly coercive arrangements that had to be renegotiated repeatedly, but they allowed the evacuation of fighters and wounded and some supply of humanitarian assistance.
Russia and Turkey appear sufficiently invested politically to make the latest ceasefire work.
But in seeking to encompass all parts of Syria not under Islamic State control, they are hostage to the two parties that have the least stake in a general truce: the Assad regime and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra until ending its formal affiliation to Al-Qaeda last July.
Their gradual military escalation and counter-escalation was the principal reason for the ultimate collapse of the February cessation of hostilities agreement.
Already, the Assad regime has claimed that the latest ceasefire does not include Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. But opposition spokesmen say the opposite: that only areas under IS control are excluded.
The regime has lost no time since the ceasefire went into effect to mount fresh air strikes on areas north of the city of Hama known to be strongholds of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.
The latter organisation has been striving for much of 2016 to become the dominant opposition force in the northwest of the country, and so there is a real risk that it will use the resumption of fighting as a means of splitting or radicalizing other rebel groups and bringing them under its fold.
Russia has sought to contain this issue by isolating Jabhat Fateh al-Sham from the rest of the armed opposition. Its announcement that the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham rebel movement, which it had previously designated as a terrorist jihadi group, had signed up to the ceasefire is a measure of how determined it is to make the agreement hold.
But the critical factor is the shift in Turkey's policy on Syria.
Previously, other armed opposition groups would have abandoned the ceasefire if Jabhat Fateh al-Sham came under attack.
Their dependence on its combat expertise and planning and command skills and the extensive intermingling of opposition fighters and areas of control in northwest Syria meant that they could not afford to stand by while it was targeted.
But with Turkey now coordinating closely with Russia and pushing for a ceasefire, the opposition can no longer afford not to stand by.
Turkish policy has been evolving at a quickening pace. The decision to lean on the opposition to allow thousands of its fighters to abandon the effort to lift the regime siege of eastern Aleppo in order to spearhead a Turkish-backed push against Kurdish-held areas to the north last August ensured the fall of one of the most important opposition strongholds in Syria four months later.
Remaining opposition forces in the northwest have significant stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, but are wholly dependent on Turkey for further military resupply and for the flow of trade and international humanitarian assistance.
Turkey has not abandoned the opposition completely, but it is clearly working to a new set of policy assumptions and objectives in Syria. That these include a strategic decision to abandon the effort to force Assad from power is already plain.
Talk of setting up a safe zone in northern Syria has never been credible, despite considerable bluster. Moscow insiders claim Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also abandoning his categorical rejection of significant Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria, so long as he can block the same thing in Turkey.
With President-Elect Donald Trump about to take office in the US, there is little reason for Turkey to expect to counter-balance Russian policy proposals on Syria.
These calculations prompted Turkey to accept the fate of Aleppo - which it had long presented as a "red line" that the Assad regime should not cross - and then to broker a ceasefire with Russia immediately after its fall.
The alacrity with which the main political and military opposition groupings have announced their support for the latest ceasefire is the surest measure of the extent of the shift in Turkey's policy and of its determination to enforce compliance, whatever the provocations from the government side.
The real question, then, is not whether the latest ceasefire will hold, but how far Turkey will go in making the Syrian opposition accept what comes next, should the peace talks jointly sponsored by Russia and Turkey take place within the next month as officially scheduled.
Indeed, even if the ceasefire fails or if the talks are unsuccessful - or not held at all - Turkish policy towards Syria is set on a new path.
For the Syrian opposition, in particular, what comes next is more of a threat than a challenge.


The "home of Gaelic sport in Britain" could be forced to move under plans to upgrade part of the M42.

A Â£282m relief road at junction 6, by the National Exhibition Centre, could be the end for Pairc na hEireann, home to Warwickshire Gaelic Athletic Association.
The site was built up with money raised by the Irish community which bought the land in the 1950s.
Treasurer Martin Grogan said Highways England was "taking memories away".
Mr Morgan, who has also played at the club during his 30-year association, said: "This is home to Gaelic sport in Britain. Full stop.
More updates on this and other stories in Birmingham and the Black Country...
"There's no other complex as big as this outside Ireland. It's prime location and we're not going to move from here."
Nearly every weekend, hundreds of people play hurling, camogie and Gaelic football there.
Three options for the route are being considered by Highways England and a dual carriageway link to the west of Bickenhill would pass right through the association's land.
Option one:
Option two:
Option three:
Highways England said the junction has almost reached capacity and the upgrade is needed to ease the severe congestion and prepare for the arrival of a new HS2 station, which will also see traffic grow.
A spokesman said it was considering responses to a public consultation and decision had been made yet.
"We are in touch with the club and will keep them fully informed.
"As with all of our schemes, we would do everything we can to minimise its impact on the environment, local communities, local businesses, road users and residents."


The RMT has called for urgent talks ahead of a meeting to discuss further strikes on the Southern rail network.

Southern has called on the conductors' union to end its action and said the strikes are increasingly "ineffective".
The operator said it ran nearly 90% of trains during a one-day walkout by the RMT this week.
Meanwhile, Aslef met Southern on Wednesday in a bid to avert further strikes by the drivers' union after its members rejected a deal.
Aslef has said it is working to ensure there are no more drivers' walkouts, but it still has a mandate to strike. Southern is unable to run the majority of its services during train driver strikes.
The BBC understands those discussions will also resume next week.
Both unions have been in dispute over driver-only operated (DOO) trains.
The row is over Southern's decision to turn guards into on-board supervisors and give responsibility for opening and closing carriage doors to drivers.
RMT chief Mick Cash said the union had written to parent firm Govia Thameslink to stress the urgency of talks ahead of a union meeting on Tuesday, and to seek assurances on safety.
He said: "RMT continues to seek a guarantee on a second safety-critical member of staff."
A Southern spokesman said the company was reviewing the letter but said: "We ran nearly nine in 10 train services during the RMT strike two days ago and over half (54%) of our on-board supervisors and conductor staff reported for work on the day too."
"The RMT leadership should recognise these facts and that our passengers are noticing that the RMT's action against them is increasingly impotent and ineffective."
An RMT member said it was a "pack of lies from a company which wouldn't know the truth if it hit them in the eye".


The Scottish government has announced measures to improve the well-being of service personnel and veterans.

They include new houses in Glasgow with support for veterans living there.
The way former service men and women are recorded on GP records will also be improved.
Minister for Veterans Keith Brown, himself a Falklands War veteran, has published a paper setting out the measures the government is pledged to implement.
The government has already allowed service personnel to apply for social housing before they leave the forces.
Now it will build a unit of 50 homes in Glasgow's Cranhill district where former servicemen and women will also have access to outreach support to help them adjust to civilian life.
The homes, being constructed by the Scottish Veterans' Housing Association at a cost of Â£6.5m, will be ready by the end of 2013.
The Scottish government is providing Â£2.3m towards the overall cost of the project.
The Armed Forces Commitments Paper also addresses the medical needs of former service personnel who may have mental health issues, addiction or suicide concerns.
GP records will be improved to ensure doctors can identify service-related conditions.
Launching the paper at Edinburgh Castle, Mr Brown said the bravery, loyalty and professionalism of Scotland's servicemen and women deserved the government's wholehearted care and support.
He said :"This commitments paper sets out our obligations to serving personnel, their families, reservists, veterans and the bereaved and how we will continue to meet these.
"With input from partner organisations like Veterans Scotland, we will continue to develop, deliver and implement new and innovative policies to support this dedicated group of men and women."
Among other pledges are examining how the NHS can provide the best support possible for family members when reservists are away on operations and encouraging more injured service personnel to take up sport and potentially get involved with events such as the Paralympics.
Veterans' charities have welcomed the commitments announced which they said would allow them to ensure help and support are available to those who have served in the armed forces.
Martin Gibson, of Veterans Scotland, said: "The coherence of the paper's policies will allow Veterans Scotland and the military charities to work in a well defined arena which will go a significant way to ensuring that help and support will be available to our veterans wherever it is needed."
The Rt Hon Donald Wilson, Lord Lieutenant, Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh and Veterans Champion, said: "Edinburgh has a long and proud tradition of honouring its military service personnel and veterans for the immense sacrifice they make day in and day out to keep this country and its people safe.
"Sending people to war is a huge responsibility but supporting them when they return is just as important.
"In my role as Veterans Champion for Edinburgh, I will work closely with the Scottish government on fulfilling the commitments set out in this paper."


Treviso scored three tries to earn their first win of the season and condemn Newport Gwent Dragons to a third defeat from four Pro12 games.

Media playback is not supported on this device
A Tommaso Allan penalty was followed by centre Tommaso Benvenuti going under the posts, fly-half Allan converting.
Rynard Landman struck back for the Dragons and Angus O'Brien added a penalty, but the Welsh side lost their try-scorer at the break.
Filo Paulo and Marco Fuser crossed for the Italians after the break.
The hosts thwarted centre Adam Warren's early break, then went ahead as Allan kicked the game's opening points.
Having been hammered 64-10 at Ospreys in the previous round, Treviso were determined to make amends in front of their own fans.
Benvenuti's try underlined that intent and although South African lock Landman gave the visitors hope and O'Brien brought them within two points at the break, the Dragons were unable to trouble Treviso's tryline again.
Former Cardiff Blues lock Paulo crossed at a corner flag, Allan converting before exchanging penalties with O'Brien.
The Dragons' hopes of a late comeback ended with a 79th-minute touchdown for Paulo's second-row partner Fuser, again converted by Allan.
Dragons boss Kingsley Jones told BBC Wales: "Fair play to Treviso. They didn't do too much flash. They played very smartly, played in the right areas.
"But ultimately it came down really to us failing to kick accurately.
"We forced things in the end. We were really trying to get back, trying to get the bonus point and credit to the players for that effort.
"But we were a little bit naïve because we allowed another try really, for Treviso."
Treviso: Jayden Hayward; Angelo Esposito, Tommaso Benvenuti, Alberto Sgarbi (capt), Luke McLean; Thomas Allan, Giorgio Bronzini; Nicola Quaglio, Ornel Gega, Simone Ferrari, Marco Fuser, Filo Paulo, Francesco Minto, Marco Lazzaroni,  Dean Budd.
Replacements: Luke Bigi, Alberto De Marchi, Cherif Traore, Filippo Gerosa, Abraham Steyn, Tito Tebaldi, Ian McKinley, David Odiete
Dragons: Carl Meyer; Ashton Hewitt, Tyler Morgan, Adam Warren, Hallam Amos (capt); Angus O'Brien, Charlie Davies; Sam Hobbs, Rhys Buckley, Lloyd Fairbrother, Cory Hill, Rynard Landman, James Thomas, Nic Cudd, Ed Jackson.
Replacements: Thomas Rhys Thomas, Thomas Davies, Craig Mitchell, Matthew Screech, Harri Keddie, Luc Jones, Sam Beard, Geraint Rhys Jones.
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (IRFU), Filippo Bertelli (FIR)
Citing commissioner: Achille Reali (FIR)


Full-back Stuart Hogg believes Scotland can profit from Glasgow Warriors' success in Europe this season.

A Champions Cup quarter-final with Saracens follows the Six Nations and Hogg, 24, is brimming with confidence.
Asked whether Scotland can emulate the progress made by Glasgow, he said: "I don't see why not.
"Finn Russell has been playing awesome at 10 for Glasgow, so if we can get outside him for Scotland, I think we'll be grand."
Warriors reached the last eight of Europe's premier competition for the first time thanks to a resounding 43-0 win at Leicester on Saturday.
The Pro12 side also beat Racing 92 home and away in the group, while rivals Edinburgh topped their section in the Challenge Cup, with 34 of Scotland head coach Vern Cotter's 36-man squad involved in knock-out rugby in Europe after the Six Nations.
Hogg thinks Scotland will benefit from the club feats, with increased competition for places and a greater sense of belief.
"I'm not going to lie, there were times in years gone by when we were scared about what was going to happen," he admitted.
"But now we're confident about getting the job done. We believe we have the playing staff, the structures and the coaching staff to get us victories."
With Ireland visiting Murrayfield on 4 February, Scotland are looking for their first opening win in the Six Nations since 2006.
Wales and Italy also come to Edinburgh, while there are difficult trips to Paris and London in what will be Cotter's final campaign before he is succeeded by Glasgow's Gregor Townsend.
Last year, Scotland finished fourth in the championship after beating Italy and France.
"We will concentrate on Ireland first and then after that we will look at the next opposition," said Hogg.
"We play a different way with Scotland than we do with Glasgow but here's hoping we can build up a good bit of form.
"The structure we try to play is very much dominate up front and release the backs out wide. The more space we get, the better.
"It's a work in progress but Ireland kick the ball a fair amount so if we can defuse their kicking game there will be good counter-attacking opportunities.
"There is no better feeling than winning in a Scotland jersey. We'll be doing everything we possibly can to get that feeling back.
"Vern Cotter has worked wonders for Scotland. He's put a huge amount of effort into this country and it would be good to send him off with some victories to thank him for all the work he's done for us."


One of Scotland's most successful entrepreneurs has sold his tyre-fitting business for £50m to Michelin.

Mike Welch, chief executive of Blackcircles.com, can expect to gain a third of that sale price, while staying with the company.
He started selling tyres aged 16 before joining Kwik-Fit.
Aged 21, he set up Black Circles, basing it in Peebles, where it employs 50 people.
Welch, now aged 36, built it up to annual sales in 2013 of £28m, with annual growth of around 20% per year since 2008.  The first three months of this year have seen revenue rise by 34% on the same period last year.
The company developed a "click and fit" business model. Customers choose their tyres online, they are then delivered directly from manufacturers to one of 1,350 independent garages, where the customer then books in a tyre-fitting session.
According to the chief executive, prices undercut conventional sales by 20%-to-40%.
In March, the company announced that it was looking at ways to extend its growth, including a float on a stock exchange, private equity investment, or a sale.
It recruited former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy onto the board, to use his expertise in retail. There is also a trial of a Blackcircles fitting service at some Tesco superstores.
The Michelin deal opens up expertise and a much wider distribution network, without limiting Blackcircles.com to the parent company's brand products.
Michelin already owns the conventional tyre distributor ATS Euromaster, and the French firm hopes there will be synergies between the two distributors, although Blackcircles.com will continue to operate independently within the Michelin group.
"I'm delighted to have found in Michelin a partner who shares our passion for customer service, innovation and technology," said Mr Welch. "The strength of the Michelin Group will allow us to underpin the multi-brand offering that we deploy in each garage, on every street corner.
"I am convinced that our teams, our customers, our garages and our suppliers will rapidly start to see the benefits of this partnership."
Jean-Dominique Senard, chief executive of the Michelin Group, commented: "Our strategy illustrates our ambition: to be ever more innovative, efficient and proactive for our customers by offering them products and services suited to individual needs, and by simplifying the entire purchase process, from choosing their tyres to having them fitted by professionals."
Michelin has 68 production plants in 17 countries, and employs 117,000 people.
An interview with Mike Welch can be heard on Business Scotland this weekend - at 06:00 on Saturday and 07:30 on Sunday - on BBC Radio Scotland.


The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to an all-time low of 2%.

Rising property prices in Australia's biggest city, Sydney, a strong currency and a drop in iron ore prices are among the reasons for the cut.
The cut is the second this year, following a previous 25 basis point cut in February.
The RBA's move follows similar action from central banks in China, Canada, Singapore, Korea and India.
A rising Australian dollar had also been cause for concern. The currency started to fall against the US dollar on the RBA's announcement.
"The RBA has done the right thing," said economist Shane Oliver from AMP Capital.
"Sure, surging Sydney house prices are a concern but interest rates need to be set for the national 'average', not just one city," he said.
"And the 'average' is telling us Australia needs lower interest rates: growth is sub par, the business investment outlook is poor, national income is getting hit hard by the falling iron ore price and house price gains outside of Sydney are soft."
The RBA's move also follows worrying official trade numbers released on Tuesday which showed the country's trade deficit had missed expectations in March.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said the deficit had narrowed by a seasonally adjusted 18% to 1.32bn Australian dollars ($1.03bn).
Analysts said the numbers were due in part to falling iron ore and coal exports.
Australia's central bank had been under pressure to cut its lending rates further this year, particularly amid worrying iron ore prices - which recently fell to decade lows - together with a recent strengthening of the local currency.
Iron ore is Australia's most valuable export and the plummeting prices - attributed to a supply glut and waning demand from China, a key buyer of the product - have been hurting miners' profits, as well as government tax revenue.
Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey said last month that the government would face a multi-billion dollar revenue loss due to a plunge in the price of iron ore.
The government will deliver its 2015-16 budget papers on 12 May and has said it remains committed to achieving a budget surplus.
Analysts said the RBA's move to cut its lending rates would help further lower the Australian dollar, which would in turn help commodity producers exporting products priced in US dollars.
"Further depreciation seems both likely and necessary," RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said, "particularly given the significant declines in key commodity prices."
In March, Australia said its economy grew 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2014 from a year earlier, marking its slowest pace of annual growth last year.
The economy grew 0.5% in the October to December period from the last quarter, when quarterly growth was 0.4%.


The UK needs a "credible fallback" in case no EU trade deal is reached during Brexit negotiations, former Bank of England governor Mervyn King has said.

Lord King said British negotiators needed to show Brussels the country has an alternative over a bad trade deal post-Brexit.
The former governor, who served between 2003 and 2013, said no deal was "not the first preference of anybody".
He said the government "probably wasted a year" on its contingency plans.
The first round of Brexit negotiations at the European Commission ended in July.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said Brussels might delay trade talks due to a lack of progress on the cost  of the UK's "divorce" settlement.
Brexit: All you need to know
Brexit: What is at stake in EU-UK talks?
The people who will negotiate Brexit
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lord King said: "We are where we are, and we are in a negotiation and it's important that the negotiation succeeds.
"But it cannot succeed without a credible fallback position and that is something which I think is a practical thing that the civil service ought to be taking a lead on."
Previously Prime Minister Theresa May has said: "No deal is better than a bad deal."
By Simon Jack, business editor
Mervyn King described the coverage of the Brexit debate both before the vote and since as "hysterical".
When asked his own view of the economic impact of leaving the EU, he said: "I don't know - that's the only honest answer."
One thing he is sure about is that as the UK approaches the Brexit negotiations, we must be prepared to walk away otherwise our position lacks credibility.
By walking away he means falling back on a trade relationship governed by the rules of the World Trade Organisation.
"If you are going to have any success in this negotiation you need to have a fallback position that the other side understands and thinks is credible," he said.
"It is not first choice but we have to have an option otherwise the other side won't listen. This ought to be something people can agree on irrespective of whether they voted for Brexit or not."
If the UK left the EU without a trade deal with the 27 other nations it would rely on World Trade Organisation rules, and trade agreements between Europe and other countries may not be available to Britain.
On Thursday current governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney announced that uncertainty over Brexit was reducing growth in the British economy.
As a result the bank lowered this year's growth forecast from 1.9% to 1.7%.
Mr Carney said: "Uncertainties about the [UK's] eventual relationship [with Europe] are weighing on the decisions of some businesses."
Lord King said: "I don't know what the economic consequences of Brexit will be, that's the only honest answer."
Previously, Brexit minister Steve Baker said the government was preparing for all possible outcomes over Brexit talks, but added a no-deal with Brussels was unlikely.


Extra precautions are in place at fireworks events in the South East as the bonfire season gets under way during a four-day firefighters' strike.

The Battel Bonfire Boyes told the BBC they had plenty of control measures in place for their procession on Saturday.
The Hop Farm in Kent has extra security guards, extinguishers and water barrels for four days of fireworks, and is checking visitors for sparklers.
The Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) has gone on strike in a dispute over pensions.
Bonfire traditions are particularly strong in Sussex with processions held throughout the autumn months, but the FBU said the timing of the strike would not put people in danger.
Jim Parrott, from the FBU, said: "People are put at risk 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The timing of this doesn't make any difference to that. They're always at risk."
Fire Minister Penny Mordaunt has said fire and rescue authorities have "robust" plans in place for the weekend.
Southeastern has laid on extra trains for the Battle Bonfire Boyes event on Saturday, with additional services between Hastings, Battle and Tonbridge.
One of the biggest bonfire events in the UK takes place in Lewes on Wednesday. About 30,000 people attended last year.


German bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff has announced that he is to retire from the concert stage.

The 52-year-old said on his website he was ending his nearly 40-year-career due to health issues.
"My health no longer allows me to live up to the high standard that I have always set for my art and myself," he said in a statement.
The singer said he would continue to teach at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin.
Born with serious physical defects caused by his mother's exposure, during pregnancy, to the drug thalidomide, Quasthoff stands four feet tall due to a shortening of his leg bones.
Initially denied admission to music conservatory owing to his condition, he has since appeared on stages around the world performing under the likes of conductors Daniel Barenboim, James Levine, Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti.
"I owe a lot to this wonderful profession and leave without a trace of bitterness," Quasthoff said.
"On the contrary, I am looking forward to the new challenges that will now enter my life.
"I would like to thank all my fellow musicians and colleagues, with whom I stood together on stage, all the organizers, and my audience for their loyalty."
He will also continue his role as artistic director of biennial song competition, Das Lied, which he created in 2009.
After making his mark as a Lied and concert singer, he took up opera in 2003, singing the minister from Fidelio at the Salzburg Easter Festival and following it up with a performance as Amfortas at the Vienna State Opera a year later.


Health leaders have insisted they are "fully committed" to keeping open a 24-hour A&E department at a hospital in north Cumbria.

They have written an open letter to patients and staff amid concerns about the future of services at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven.
Some services have already moved to Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary, prompting worry among campaign groups.
But the letter said an A&E at Whitehaven was "non-negotiable".
It also said that no changes to services would be made without a public consultation, and hospital bosses were committed to providing "high quality" care.
However, the letter did reveal that by the spring of 2016,  a "clinical strategy" would be published setting out a plan for local services.
In a recent investigation by BBC Inside Out, staff claimed patients were suffering because services had moved - allegations that North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust, which runs the hospital, denied.
The letter to patients said: "We are all fully committed to the continued delivery of the 24 hours a day, seven days a week, accident and emergency service - this is non-negotiable.
"It is also a very significant challenge, and will require all of our organisations to work together to find improved ways of working to solve the operational and workforce problems in the hospital."
It also said there were no plans to make further changes at the hospital until a review had been carried out.
Some medics spoke anonymously to the BBC's Inside Out North East & Cumbria earlier this month and claimed that "patients have died because of the changes".


When the definitive history of the personal computer is written, familiar and historic names such as Olivetti, Apple, IBM, will all be given recognition for their innovations of the 1960s and 1970s.

But will future generations remember visionary John Blankenbaker, and his ground-breaking invention, the Kenbak-1 Digital Computer?
It was a machine that first went on sale in 1971 and is considered to have been the world's first "commercially available personal computer", coming on to the market some five years before Apple 1.
In fact it was a panel of experts, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, meeting at the Boston Computer Museum in 1987, which gave the Kenbak-1 its pre-eminent status.
Back in 1970 Mr Blankenbaker, then a computer engineer and consultant, put together his machine at his home in Brentwood, California.
"I came into a little money and decided it was time to build a small computer that could be afforded by everyone," he tells me.
"It did not use any microprocessors, and I did the work in my garage."
In the early days of the office computer even a small device cost thousands of dollars, whereas Mr Blankenbaker's aim was a simple computer that would cost no more than $500 (then roughly Â£200).
Unlike most hobby computers of the time, it was sold as an assembled and functioning machine rather than as a kit.
His ambition was that the device should be educational, give user satisfaction with simple programmes, and demonstrate as many programming concepts as possible.
"I thought of the Kenbak as an affordable introduction to the study of computer programming - I emphasized the hands on experience," he recalls.
He demonstrated his prototype computer at a high school teacher's convention in southern California, and when the computer went into production, its advertising was focussed on the schools market, something he now feels was a mistake.
"It should have been at the hobby-oriented people," he says. "Schools took too long for budget approval.
"My failure was in marketing, but the machine was a success in its limited way."
As it happens, the costs involved meant the computer had to be sold for $750 (about $4,400 in 2015) . Ironically it's a price that would be considered an investment nowadays, when one considers that a prototype Kenbak-1 sold for $31,000 at Bonhams in New York last month.
Now one of the few remaining existing production models is expected to sell for between 20,000 ($22,000; Â£14,400) and 40,000 euros when it goes up for auction in Germany on Saturday, 7 November.
By the time Kenbak Corporation closed in 1973 it had completed one production run of just 50 computers, and is now virtually unknown today. Mr Blankenbaker says that as well as US sales, there were also buyers from France, Spain, Italy, Mexico, and Canada.
Mr Blankenbaker, now 85, and retired to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, first became interested in computers when he was a first year physics student in the 1940s.
"When I was a freshman at Oregon State College in 1949, I read about Eniac (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer)," he says.
"This inspired me to design a computing device. It was a kludge but it inspired an interest in computers."
Two years later he was an intern at the National Bureau of Standards where he was assigned to the Seac (Standards Eastern Automatic Computer) where he learned how a modern computer worked.
"Seac was very large; it had its own building," he recalls. "In 1952 on graduation I worked for Hughes Aircraft Company in a department which was building a suitcase-sized computer for airborne work."
By 1958 he had described the future principles of the Kenbak-1 machine in an article entitled "Logically Microprogrammed Computers".
The Kenbak-1 was designed before microprocessors were available - the logic consisted of small and medium scale integrated circuits mounted on one printed circuit board. MOS shift registers implemented the serial memory.
"[It] lacked sophisticated input-output, a large memory, and interrupts," says Mr Blankenbaker. "Otherwise it demonstrated stored programs with three registers, five addressing modes, and a rather complete instruction set which only lacked multiplication and division."
"The computer was intended to be educational," he adds.
"Professionals in the field were enthusiastic but it was a struggle to convince the non-professionals that they could buy a real computer at this price."
The Kenbak-1's advertising in 1971 stated: "Fun Educational Modern Electronic Technology created the Kenbak-I with a price that even private individuals and small schools can afford.
"Step-by-step you can learn to use the computer with its three programming registers, five addressing modes, and 256 bytes of memory. Very quickly you, or your family or students, can write programs for fun and interest."
However, as Mr Blankenbaker says, he may have been more successful targeting his sales at the university students and young professionals who would go on to provide Apple's customer base later in the decade, and indeed still do.
After the Kenbak-1 experience he worked at International Communication Sciences, at Symbolics, and at Quotron, before retiring in 1985.
He says he did not make much money out of the Kenbak-1 venture, and that one of his failings was in underestimating the development of high technology.
"In 1970, I had no vision of what the future would bring. I always felt that the current technical situation was the most that could be expected."


A rocket has exploded at the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The company say no-one has been hurt but we don't know why the blast happened.
Smoke is still coming from the site and the blast shook buildings several miles away.
Nasa say Space X were planning to use the rocket to take a satellite into space but the satellite and the rocket have both been destroyed.


World champion Michael van Gerwen is one of five players with an unbeaten record after two rounds of the 2017 Premier League.

But no player has won their opening two games after Phil Taylor, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld all drew in Nottingham.
Van Gerwen beat Peter Wright, the only other player who won his first match of the tournament, 7-3.
Two-time ex-winner Gary Anderson beat Jelle Klaasen by the same scoreline.
Adrian Lewis registered his first points by beating Dave Chisnall, while Wade and Taylor were involved in the first of Thursday's two drawn encounters.
Belgium's Kim Huybrechts secured his first point of the competition with a 6-6 draw against Van Barneveld, who won the Premier League in 2014.
Adrian Lewis (Eng) 7-2 Dave Chisnall (Eng)
James Wade (Eng) 6-6 Phil Taylor (Eng)
Jelle Klaasen (Ned) 3-7 Gary Anderson (Sco)
Peter Wright (Sco) 3-7 Michael van Gerwen (Ned)
Kim Huybrechts (Bel) 6-6 Raymond van Barneveld (Ned)


Shrewsbury have signed midfielder Jon Nolan from relegated Chesterfield for an undisclosed fee.

The 25-year-old joined Chesterfield in May 2016 from Grimsby, where he played under Paul Hurst, now Shrewsbury manager.
Nolan has also played for Stockport County, Lincoln and Wrexham.
He has signed a three-year deal and becomes the League One side's third summer signing, after strikers Lenell John-Lewis and Arthur Gnahoua.
Having kept hold of defender Mat Sadler, 32, and winger Shaun Whalley, 29, Hurst is still waiting on offers made to teenage keeper Shaun Rowley and 21-year-old midfielder Bryn Morris.
But midfielder Gary Deegan has left to join Cambridge United.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


The first Guantanamo hearing for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others accused over the 9/11 attacks turned into a series of disputes between defendants, lawyers and the court, writes the BBC's Steve Kingstone.

As courtroom dramas go, this one veered wildly between suspense, tragedy, farce and black comedy.
Early in the hearing, one of the accused, Ramzi Binalshibh, got up from his chair and began to pray.
"When detainees stand up, the guards get excited," observed the judge, Col James Pohl, with studied understatement.
Proceedings were interrupted for several minutes as the defendant continued his prayer, kneeling on the courtroom floor.
Another alleged terrorist, Waleed bin Attash, had begun the day restrained in his chair.
"Can I assume he was not coming here voluntarily today?" asked Judge Pohl drily.
With the defendant apparently in discomfort and unable to reach his headphones, his defence lawyer offered a guarantee.
"He has assured me he will not misbehave if the restraints are removed," explained Captain Michael Schwartz. The judge concurred.
Before long, however, it was clear that none of the accused was wearing the court-supplied headphones providing simultaneous Arabic translation.
After a recess, the judge accepted the prosecution's offer to bring an interpreter physically into the court, to relay proceedings aloud in Arabic. "We'll have to do this in bite-sized chunks," Judge Pohl advised.
Therein followed several hours of painfully slow legal back-and-forth.
First, over whether the defendants recognised their court-appointed defence lawyers. Next, whether civilian lawyers were suitably prepared to assist to the defence, in a military case that could carry the death penalty.
And finally, over whether Judge Pohl was sufficiently removed from the events of 9/11 to oversee the biggest terror trial of our times. He was asked by defence lawyers to confirm that none of his family had been killed or injured in the attacks.
At one point during the morning, the video feed to watching reporters was briefly cut, as the hearing took a turn towards matters considered sensitive or classified. Such interruptions have been strongly challenged by the defence and human rights groups, who call them censorship.
When the feed resumed, we were given clues as to what had transpired. "The warning light went off because the word 'torture' was used," observed David Nevin, the civilian lawyer for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
"I'm trying to work out where the line is," observed Captain Schwartz, the lawyer for Waleed bin Attash. He added wryly that it appeared as if the line was drawn at "embarrassing for the government".
All of which presents the defendants with a problem.
If, as appears to be the case, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed wants to argue that this entire process lacks legitimacy because he was water-boarded before being brought to Guantanamo, he will want the world to know about it.
But unless the rules are changed, the details may never become public.
The alleged mastermind of 11 September spent much of the day hunched over a desk, looking older than his 47 years.
His silent defiance was a far cry from past theatrics here. In previous appearances he had boasted of having plotted 9/11 "from A to Z," proclaimed that he wished to die a martyr, and even ordered a court sketch artist to redraw his nose.
This time, acts of resistance were small and presented through lawyers.
David Nevin, representing Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, complained that his client had not been allowed to wear the clothes he had brought for him.
Instead, the Guantanamo authorities had stripped-searched the defendants, then supplied them with white Pakistani-style dress.
Virtually all the defence lawyers chipped in with criticism, collectively implying that the enforced dress code was a control tactic.
Long after night fell, the session ended with a formal reading of the charge sheet, which details the steps these men allegedly took to plan mass murder.
It also lists the 2,976 people killed on 11 September 2001, some of whom had relatives watching in court.
Several had told me they were here to bear witness to justice. But even if this court is to offer closure, on this day's evidence it will be a long time coming.