It was meant to be an optimistic story about schools in South Sudan this week.

The United Nations was announcing 400,000 more children in school this year, with a Â£27m project to re-start lessons after the disruption of war.
But instead there have been angry denunciations and war-weary condemnations as 89 children have been abducted by an armed group in Malakal in the north of South Sudan.
With no little poignancy for an education campaign, Unicef says they were abducted while preparing for exams.
And the official figure is believed to be a substantial underestimate of the numbers of youngsters kidnapped and taken to a training camp to become child soldiers.
John Budd, Unicef's spokesman in South Sudan, said it had left families "very scared and fearful", but there was much work going on to try to get the children back.
"I like to be an optimist, but I temper it. I'm a realist as well and there are 12,000 children who are child soldiers in this country."
There have been groups of child soldiers released and disarmed, but so far only a minority.
"I wish I could say it was going in the right direction. The reality is that the numbers are stuck at a stubbornly high level."
The mass abduction of these youngsters in the world's newest country shows the deep-rooted problems facing international campaigns to provide school places for all children.
And it's another example of the grim phenomenon of education being caught up in violence or deliberately targeted.
This year will see a series of carefully choreographed conferences as world leaders set out a road map to deliver a decent education to all children by 2030.
The last set of global pledges, made in 2000, included the promise to provide primary school education for all children by 2015.
It's going to be a broken promise - and the events in South Sudan show how difficult it is to match the rhetoric with the reality on the ground.
More stories from the BBC's Knowledge economy series looking at education from a global perspective and how to get in touch
"We're very aware that if schools continue to be attacked for the purposes of kidnapping children, I know what parents are going to do," said Mr Budd.
"They will hide their children rather than expose them to a location where armed people can grab them."
The abductions are not ideologically driven, like those carried out by Boko Haram in Nigeria.
They are about recruiting for South Sudan's warring factions, but Mr Budd says it still has the same destructive impact on education.
Julia Gillard, former Australian prime minister and now head of the Global Partnership for Education which is co-ordinating international efforts to create school places, expressed her "utter dismay" at the kidnappings.
The Unicef project to widen access to education in South Sudan is urgently needed. Only 42% of children start school and only 10% complete primary school.
And the Back to Learning plan launched in the capital Juba set out a way for more teachers to be trained and 200,000 children in conflict zones and 200,000 outside conflict zones to return to school, after the disruption of war and violence.
More than a million people have been forced from their homes by warfare, about 1.5 million children are out of school - and Unicef's intervention promised "pre-school and basic education, catch-up programmes for adolescents and psychosocial support in the classrooms".
Mr Budd says the abductions must not stop the efforts to improve education in South Sudan. "We're going to continue."
But he is aware of the risk of a downward spiral, with armed conflict destroying education as "collateral damage", alongside local markets and crops.
"We had the potential to try to rectify the illiteracy that is prevalent throughout this country," he said.
There is much support from international donors and UN agencies, he says.
But once there is conflict, he says the idea of the right to education is replaced by a struggle for "child survival", fighting against malnutrition and epidemics and all the problems that come when communities have been uprooted and displaced.
"They really just overwhelm you," says Mr Budd.
Education has become an unexpected front line for conflicts and terror in many countries.
A report from the United States last month highlighted a rising number of attacks on students and places of education, in a depressing catalogue of murders, abductions, arson attacks and intimidation.
And this month, a UN human rights report warned of a pattern of deliberate attacks on girls' education, among an estimated 3,600 attacks against students, staff or educational buildings in a single year.
Last week, UN education envoy Gordon Brown set out a list of defensive proposals for schools in Pakistan, in the wake of the massacre of students and teachers in Peshawar.
The list of security measures includes razor wire, metal detectors, bomb checks on school buses, armed guards on rooftops and emergency communication systems.
It's more like equipment for a fortress than a place of learning.
In South Sudan, they are waiting to find how their pupils can be brought back. They want to have them back revising for their exams and getting a chance to go to school.
"The exams are next week. We want them back to sit them," said Mr Budd.


BBC Scotland will be delivering comprehensive election results coverage across online, TV and radio.

We will be reporting the length and breath of the country after polls close at 22:00 on 5 May.
There will then be analysis, background, reaction and debate as we find out the outcome of each of Scotland's 73 Holyrood constituencies.
Who wins seats from the eight regional lists will also be revealed following the through-the-night counts.
Based on the 2011 Holyrood election results, here is an estimate of the declaration times of Scotland's 73 constituency seats and eight regional lists.


Manchester Thunder thrashed Team Bath to continue their 100% start to the season and top the Superleague table.

Player-of-the-match Helen Housby was in inspired form as Thunder ran out 62-37 victors against Team Bath, who had gone into the match with two wins from two.
Hertfordshire Mavericks are the only other team to remain unbeaten, after Monday's 62-45 win at Team Northumbria.
Elsewhere, Loughborough Lightning beat Celtic Dragons 58-53 and Surrey Storm sealed a 59-36 win over Yorkshire Jets.
Storm, champions in 2015, were beaten by Team Bath on the opening weekend but have since bounced back to record two victories in a row, while Jets remain bottom of the table with three defeats from three matches.
Like Team Northumbria, Dragons are also yet to pick up a point in 2016 following their narrow defeat by Lightning.


The SDLP has accused the DUP and Sinn Féin of playing the "cash for ash" controversy like a "soap opera".

South Belfast MLA Claire Hanna said no-one doubts the seriousness of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scandal but other "big challenges lie ahead".
"Whether the DUP and Sinn Féin play out this sham fight or they go to an election, we need a plan for Brexit... and we need them to get on with it".
The RHI scheme is approximately £490m over budget.
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams signalled, this weekend, that his party "would act" if Arlene Foster does not stand aside during an investigation into the botched green energy scheme.
However on Twitter, Ms Hanna claimed the DUP and Sinn Féin "love to star in dramas of their own making".
"For whatever reason, both parties have set their face against a public inquiry. They need to prove that the terms they are setting out are robust and help us get some answers," she added.
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has also called on the DUP and Sinn Féin to "get off their high horses" and to respect Stormont's institutions.
Responding to Mr Adams speech on Saturday, she said: "There are strong words in it... but ambiguities remain as to Sinn Féin's real intentions and their wider approach to Government in Northern Ireland.
"People won't accept a deal between the DUP and Sinn Féin over this scandal. Openness and accountability are not something up for trading," she added.
"We need to see a proper public inquiry, anything short will leave lingering suspicions".


England's Andrew Johnston moved two shots off the lead at the Puerto Rico Open after a six-under-par third round of 66.

The 28-year-old carded six birdies and did not drop a shot as he moved to 13 under at Coco Beach.
American Chris Stroud leads on 15 under in a field that sees the top 25 players separated by just five strokes.
Johnston, ranked 100 in the world, has one victory on the European Tour but is yet to win a PGA Tour title.


Carl Frampton says "people will be in for a shock" when he fights champion Leo Santa Cruz for the WBA featherweight title on Saturday.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Unbeaten Frampton is aiming to become the first Northern Ireland boxer to win world titles at different weights.
The 29-year-old Belfast man had to relinquish his IBF super-bantamweight belt before the fight.
"The Mexican fans are getting worried now it is getting closer," said Frampton in New York.
Frampton was also stripped of the WBA crown because he did not agree to a defence against mandatory challenger, Cuba's Guillermo Rigondeaux.
The last time Frampton fought in the United States, he recovered from being knocked down twice in the opening round to retain his IBF super-bantamweight title with victory over Alejandro Gonzalez Jr in Texas.
"I feel good. It does not feel like I am the away fighter. I am expecting it to be noisy on the night," Frampton, who has won all 22 of his professional fights, told BBC Radio 5 live.
"You will see the best performance yet from me. I am full of energy. I will refuel and then come back a bigger man than Santa Cruz on the night. I will be stronger than him and will do the business."


An anti-abortion group has said it has called for the case of a woman given a suspended prison sentence after buying drugs online to terminate pregnancy to be brought to the appeals court.

Precious Life described the sentence as "very lenient".
On Monday, Belfast Crown Court heard the 21-year old woman could not afford to travel to England for a termination.
The human rights organisation Amnesty International said it was "appalled" by the conviction.
Unlike the rest of the UK, abortion is only permitted in Northern Ireland if a woman's life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health.
The court heard on Monday that the woman, who cannot be named, was 10 to 12 weeks pregnant when she obtained the tablets in July 2014.
Two of her housemates reported her to police after they found blood-stained items and a male foetus in the bin of the house they shared in south Belfast.
She was was given a three-month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, on Monday after admitting two offences - procuring her own abortion by using a poison, and of supplying a poison with intent to procure a miscarriage.
Bernadette Smyth from Precious Life said she was "very concerned about the judgement" and was "very hopeful that this case will be reviewed".
"We are in a crisis situation here, it's a human crisis and we, Precious Life have sent to the PPS for NI (Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland) our concerns calling for this case to be brought back to the appeals court," she said.
"It's sending out a dangerous message and could set a dangerous precedent for future cases of illegal abortions here in Northern Ireland."
Precious Life has no right to appeal the sentence. Only the director of public prosecutions can ask the Court of Appeal to review whether the sentence was unduly lenient.
The human rights organisation Amnesty International said: "A woman who needs an abortion is not a criminal - the law should not treat her as such," Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International's Northern Ireland director, said.
"This tragic case reveals that making abortion illegal does not stop women in Northern Ireland needing or seeking terminations.
"Those who can afford it travel to England for the treatment they need. Over 1,000 women make that journey from Northern Ireland every year."
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said the pursuance of the case had been in the public interest.
"The test for prosecution has two elements," a PPS spokesman said.
"It involves an assessment as to whether the available evidence provides a reasonable prospect of conviction, and also whether prosecution is in the public interest.
"In this particular case it was decided, having carefully considered all of the relevant evidence and information, that both elements were met.
"A range of factors were relevant to the balancing of the public interest, including the important fact that the law in Northern Ireland makes the conduct in question a serious criminal offence, in respect of which a conviction carries the potential of a significant custodial sentence."


Port Vale captain Ben Purkiss says that the players fully understand the impact that relegation could have on the whole club - if they were to go down.

With just three League One games left to play, four straight defeats have plunged Vale into the bottom four.
Bury's point on Tuesday night at second-placed Bolton, who Vale host on Saturday, leaves Michael Brown's side now two points adrift of safety.
"Everyone understands the situation we're in," Purkiss told BBC Stoke.
"Everyone knows the the effect on people as individuals and the effect on the football club as a whole if we were to fail."
Vale are in their fourth season back in League One, after promotion under Micky Adams in 2013.
Vale have shown decent from this season at Vale Park, where they have won 10 and lost just six of their 22 home games.
But Saturday's final home game of the season is followed by two away matches - a concern for a side who have the second-worst record on their travels in the division this season, having picked up just nine points out of a possible 63.
They finish the season at another side chasing automatic promotion, Fleetwood and, before then, they face a Midlands derby, at mid-table Walsall on Tuesday.
Vale were in the play-off places, in sixth, when they beat Fleetwood 2-1 on 12 November, having won seven and drawn four of summer appointment Bruno Ribeiro's first 17 games in charge.
But that proved to be his last victory and, since his departure on Boxing Day and the appointment of Brown as caretaker manager, Vale have won four times in 22 matches.


It's been a frustrating start to 2017 but hopefully the illness and injury problems are finally behind me just in time for some of the biggest tournaments of the year.

I'm still coughing my way around Roland Garros as I get over the effects of my latest bout of sickness - the more I talk, the more I want to cough - but I felt fine during my match on Tuesday and happy to get through to the second round.
I haven't played as many matches, or had as many wins, as I would like in the build-up to the French Open but Grand Slams are long events and hopefully I can play my way into form.
The Slams are what's driving me more than the number one ranking. If you win these events, you give yourself a chance of staying at the top of the rankings. If you don't, you don't deserve to be up there.
Last year I performed well in the Slams with finals in Australia and France, a win at Wimbledon and the quarter-finals at the US Open.
This year the start hasn't been so good, but I can turn things around over the next few weeks both here in Paris and at Wimbledon.
I've been pretty lucky over the past couple of years but shingles, an elbow injury and illness have certainly set me back this year.
When I had the shingles I could still do a bit of training, I just couldn't do anything that was of high intensity at all.
I was able to hit balls, so stay in a bit of rhythm in terms of my timing, but I couldn't do any physical work like interval training - just staying active and avoiding anything too strenuous to make sure my heart rate didn't get up too high.
With the elbow, I could do everything except serve. I could at least train and stay in decent shape, I just couldn't play tournaments or matches or points.
And obviously, that's what we do. As much as you practise and work on stuff, playing points is the most important thing and I couldn't do that.
So it was really positive that I came through four sets on Tuesday and the elbow felt fine. That was probably the most I'd served since the injury, and in fairly slow, heavy conditions, and it feels pretty good.
I feel totally over the illness I had a week ago and although the cough's a bit irritating, I'm certainly not sick any more.
Media playback is not supported on this device
There were points towards the end of last year when I wasn't number one, but I felt like I was the best player in the world. This year I've been number one and I certainly haven't been the best player out there.
It was a great experience to get there for the first time here in Paris last November, and obviously I've enjoyed keeping hold of it for the past six or seven months.
It's not easy to stay at the top and the past three or four months have not really been good enough to merit that ranking, but it's calculated over the past 12 months, and over that time I've been the best.
So far this year I obviously haven't, and I need to try to turn that around.
The next step will be my second-round match against Martin Klizan - a big hitter with a pretty unorthodox style. He played five sets on Tuesday so hopefully I can make it tough for him again.
The end of his first match was also pretty unorthodox as there was no handshake with Laurent Lokoli. I saw the video, although I didn't see what happened in the match, but the two of them obviously weren't happy with each other.
I'm pretty sure that in every match I've played professionally, there's always been a handshake at the end of it.
Hopefully there will be another one in a couple of days, and I'm the one smiling.
Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport's Piers Newbery


First-half goals by Julian Draxler and Sami Khedira earned Germany victory over Northern Ireland in their 2018 World Cup Group C qualifier in Hanover.

Draxler unleashed a right-foot shot into the bottom corner on 13 minutes.
Khedira nodded in the second four minutes later after Mats Hummels out-jumped the visitors' defence to head across goal to the Juventus midfielder.
Northern Ireland are third in the group on four points, with Germany top after winning their first three games.
Azerbaijan remain second in the table having retained their unbeaten record with a goalless draw against the Czech Republic.
Norway secured their first points of the qualifying campaign by defeating San Marino 4-1.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill's team selection reflected the change of emphasis from attack for Saturday's 4-0 win over San Marino to defence for the inevitable rearguard action against the four-time world champions.
Aaron Hughes came in to win his 104th cap and joined fellow experienced defenders Gareth McAuley and Jonny Evans in a back three, with Lee Hodson and Shane Ferguson deployed as wing-backs and the defensively-minded Corry Evans named in midfield.
Although the Germans predictably dominated territory and possession, Northern Ireland posed an attacking threat on the counter-attack.
Josh Magennis, preferred to Kyle Lafferty and Conor Washington in the lone striker role, was the visitors' stand-out player, working tirelessly throughout.
O'Neill's men were unable to convert a couple of breakaway chances in the first half, Jamie Ward's weak finish being easily gathered by Manuel Neuer and Magennis seeing his well-struck drive saved by the Germany goalkeeper.
Goalkeeper Michael McGovern was the hero when the sides last met at the Euro 2016 finals in Paris in June, making a number of outstanding saves to keep the final score down to 1-0.
The Norwich stopper was in action early on as he palmed away a Mario Gotze header, but poor defending in the early stages cost Northern Ireland dear as Draxler and Khedira found the net in that decisive four-minute spell.
Draxler shrugged off Gareth McAuley for the opening goal, while Khedira used his height advantage to climb above the Northern Ireland defence for the second.
The hosts had a number of chances to add to their tally in the second half but McGovern was rarely troubled, as Khedira in particular was guilty of profligacy in front of goal.
With the Germans strongly fancied to top the group, Northern Ireland's hopes of securing second place, and with it a shot at making Russia 2018 through the play-offs, will rest on less daunting fixtures than their visit to the formidable third-ranked team in the Fifa world standings.
The men in green host Azerbaijan in a potentially key match at Windsor Park on 11 November, with the Czech Republic entertaining Norway and San Marino at home to Germany on the same night.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill: "I was disappointed to go behind the way we did and to lose the second goal at that point in the game when we were trying to contain them.
"In the end if we had taken anything from here it would have been a huge bonus and whatever happens in the group, I don't see any of the other teams coming here and winning, so it's far from a disaster.
"We look forward to the game against Azerbaijan now and we have the incentive of going second in the group if we win that game."
Match ends, Germany 2, Northern Ireland 0.
Second Half ends, Germany 2, Northern Ireland 0.
Offside, Northern Ireland. Steven Davis tries a through ball, but Niall McGinn is caught offside.
Corner,  Germany. Conceded by Shane Ferguson.
Attempt missed. Thomas Müller (Germany) left footed shot from very close range misses to the left. Assisted by Joshua Kimmich.
Attempt missed. Sami Khedira (Germany) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan.
Corner,  Germany. Conceded by Lee Hodson.
Offside, Northern Ireland. Corry Evans tries a through ball, but Niall McGinn is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Ilkay Gündogan (Germany) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Joshua Kimmich.
Substitution, Germany. Kevin Volland replaces Jonas Hector.
Attempt missed. Shkodran Mustafi (Germany) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left following a corner.
Corner,  Germany. Conceded by Michael McGovern.
Attempt saved. Mario Götze (Germany) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jonas Hector.
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Kyle Lafferty replaces Josh Magennis.
Shane Ferguson (Northern Ireland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Joshua Kimmich (Germany) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Shane Ferguson (Northern Ireland).
Attempt missed. Toni Kroos (Germany) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jonas Hector.
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Paddy McNair replaces Oliver Norwood.
Offside, Germany. Sami Khedira tries a through ball, but Mario Götze is caught offside.
Substitution, Germany. Shkodran Mustafi replaces Jérôme Boateng.
Attempt missed. Sami Khedira (Germany) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Toni Kroos with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Germany. Conceded by Aaron Hughes.
Attempt missed. Toni Kroos (Germany) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Mario Götze.
Attempt missed. Jérôme Boateng (Germany) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Sami Khedira.
Attempt blocked. Joshua Kimmich (Germany) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Toni Kroos.
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Niall McGinn replaces Jamie Ward.
Attempt missed. Sami Khedira (Germany) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan.
Corner,  Germany. Conceded by Lee Hodson.
Corner,  Germany. Conceded by Oliver Norwood.
Attempt saved. Sami Khedira (Germany) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Joshua Kimmich with a cross.
Attempt blocked. Ilkay Gündogan (Germany) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Julian Draxler.
Offside, Northern Ireland. Aaron Hughes tries a through ball, but Shane Ferguson is caught offside.
Corner,  Northern Ireland. Conceded by Jérôme Boateng.
Second Half begins Germany 2, Northern Ireland 0.
Substitution, Germany. Ilkay Gündogan replaces Mesut Özil.
First Half ends, Germany 2, Northern Ireland 0.
Manuel Neuer (Germany) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Josh Magennis (Northern Ireland).
Corner,  Northern Ireland. Conceded by Mats Hummels.


Newport Gwent Dragons centre Ashley Smith has retired from playing rugby on medical grounds.

The Welsh region says Smith, 28, has suffered a "series of concussive events" and after "expert advice" has decided to "hang up his boots".
"I am utterly disappointed and devastated that I have been forced to retire through injury," said Smith.
"But I feel that the medical advice given to me cannot be ignored."
Former Wales Under-20 captain Smith, made more than 160 appearances for Dragons since joining the Rodney Parade side in 2005.
Dragons' director of rugby, Lyn Jones said it was a "big blow" for the region.
"We are all so upset at the news of Ashley's forced retirement," said Davies.
"Over his 10 years at Rodney Parade, he has been a credit to the region, himself and his family.
"We will miss his maturity, football, decision making and his experience.
"It's a big blow for us, but Ashley has made the right decision for himself and his family. We wish him well for the future."


The death of a woman who waited six hours for an ambulance after a fall was accidental, an inquest has concluded.

Daphne Williams, 78, from Hanmer in Wrexham, died two weeks after being admitted to hospital in September 2016 for surgery on a fractured femur.
John Gittins, North Wales East and Central coroner, told the Ruthin hearing he accepted the delay had not contributed to her death.
But he added he would prepare a Prevention of Future Deaths report.
"I am fully aware of the huge body of work that is being carried out regarding delays in admission and allocation of resources," he said.
"There is a clear willingness to try to make things better and it's clear that with all the efforts being made some answers will come to light which will alleviate some of the difficulties."
But he added that the delay Mrs Williams encountered was "not acceptable".


Scotland's first Minister Alex Salmond has taken the ice bucket challenge after being nominated by James McAvoy.

The internet trend involves people posting videos online of them having water poured over them. The aim is to raise money and awareness for charity.
Actor McAvoy challenged both Mr Salmond and Better Together chairman Alistair Darling to take part.
Prime Minister David Cameron was among those nominated by Mr Salmond, along with his deputy Nicola Sturgeon.
Ms Sturgeon took up the challenge moments later.
A government source said David Cameron would not take part in the ice bucket challenge. However, he will make a donation to a motor neurone disease charity.
Mr Salmond, who took the challenge to raise awareness of motor neurone disease, also nominated "every single member of the Scottish press corps" but singled out BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor, who has since had his soaking.
Ms Sturgeon nominated Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont and her colleague, Scottish Sports Secretary Shona Robison.
Mr Darling took the ice bucket challenge on Friday afternoon then nominated the staff of Better Together.
X-Men star McAvoy was nominated by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
In his video, he said: "As it is the year of the Scottish referendum, I'd like to nominate our political champions Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond to do their very worst".
As the iced water poured over him, he said: "Alex/Alistair - you have got 24 hours".
Both politicians accepted the challenge on Friday but as Mr Salmond waited until Sunday to complete it he did not meet McAvoy's deadline.
Mr Salmond said on Friday: "I'm always up for any challenge, and I'm game for this one.
"It will invigorate me for the next month of campaigning - but the Scottish media should be careful what they wish for, as I get to nominate who's next for the ice bucket!"
On Friday afternoon Mr Darling tweeted: "Just took the #IceBucketChallenge for http://gordonsfightback.com. Video coming soon... Thanks James McAvoy."


The world's top eight male tennis stars are in London this week for the ATP World Tour finals, so what better way to warm up than with a challenge.

13 November 2016 Last updated at 11:02 GMT
They've taken on the 'mannequin challenge' together, trying to stay still.
The latest craze is seeing people take videos of themselves standing completely still - like mannequins in a shop window.
Novak Djokovic starts Sunday's play against Dominic Thiem from 2pm on BBC Two.
Pictures courtesy of ATP World Tour.


Ex-England captain Alan Shearer says he does not understand why Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is "moaning" about fixture congestion.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Pellegrini started six teenagers in Sunday's 5-1 FA Cup defeat at Chelsea, resting his regulars for Wednesday's Champions League trip to Dynamo Kiev.
"Barcelona played on Saturday and they face Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday," said Shearer.
"It is the same amount of time as City, but they didn't rest any players."
The ex-Newcastle manager added: "I don't get the talk of resting players. City are - and want to be - a very big club on the global stage.
"They've got more resources than anyone. I never see Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo wanting to be left out.
"It seems a big issue in our country."
Pellegrini insisted he was "forced" to prioritise Wednesday's Champions League trip to Dynamo Kiev and had previously warned he would select a shadow side for the cup tie with Chelsea.
He was true to his word as goals from Diego Costa, Willian, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and Bertrand Traore saw Chelsea ease through.
Senior players Jesus Navas, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Eliaquim Mangala, Fabian Delph, Kevin de Bruyne and Bacary Sagna all missed the game with injury.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Pellegrini said: "I don't think I need to make a defence of my team selection. We played two rounds before this and won 3-0 at Norwich City and 4-0 at Aston Villa with strong teams."
City wrote to the Football Association to complain about the scheduling of Sunday's match, which was played three days before City travel to Ukraine.
"We did the correct thing and made the right decision," said Pellegrini. "The club tried everything possible to try and play it at a different time.
"We do not think the Champions League is more important than the FA Cup, but we had no choice."


"Cheat" Maria Sharapova should not have been allowed to play again, says 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Russian Sharapova has beaten Roberta Vinci and Ekaterina Makarova at the Stuttgart Open on her return from a 15-month doping ban.
In October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Sharapova was not an "intentional doper".
But Bouchard said: "She's a cheater and I don't think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play again."
Canadian Bouchard, 23, now ranked 59th in the world, told TRT World: "I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids: cheat and we'll welcome you back with open arms.
"I don't think that's right and she's not someone I can say I look up to any more.
"It's so unfair to all the other players who do it in the right way and are true."
When asked about the comments after her win over Makarova, Sharapova said: "I don't have anything to say - I am way above that."
Five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova, who was suspended in March 2016 after testing positive for meldonium, was given a wildcard for the tournament.
The 30-year-old has also received wildcards for the tournaments in Madrid and Rome and will find out if she has been given one for the French Open on 16 May - 12 days before the competition.
That decision has been defended by WTA chief Steve Simon, who said it was in keeping with how former dopers were treated in other sports.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Sharapova says she would "play in the juniors" if it meant competing in this year's French Open and Wimbledon.
She won her first grand slam title at Wimbledon aged 17 in 2004 and won the last of her five major titles at the French Open in 2014.
The Russian does not have a world ranking after her points expired during her suspension and would need to reach the final in Stuttgart to be eligible for French Open qualifying.
Speaking to BBC Sport, former world number one Sharapova said: "If I get the opportunity to be in a draw then I will take it.
"I'm being offered wildcards from tournament directors and I'm accepting them.
"I'm coming with no ranking and I'm not getting a wildcard to receive a trophy or a golden platter. I have to get through the matches and I still have to win them.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time," she said. "It's the best feeling in the world, those first few seconds before you enter the arena.
"I spent a long time without hitting any balls. I went to school, I grew my business and had a normal life. I put the racquet away for a little bit.
"There were a lot of things that I did that I probably would never have done in my twenties.
"I felt I had to grow as a person and I think I've done that. But this is what I've done for so long. I'm a competitor - that's when I'm at my best."


Super League side Leigh have joined up with League One club Whitehaven for a dual-registration partnership.

The Haven partnership complements the agreement the Centurions have with Championship side Sheffield Eagles.
Players from Leigh will be available for both teams when not required by their parent club.
"We were happy to also add to that to facilitate a game opportunity for where Sheffield weren't in need of any of our players," owner Derek Beaumont said.
Haven general manager Amanda Hewer said: "Leigh have a lot of depth in their squad and we have suffered immensely during the off season due to injuries and suspensions.
"This partnership will allow us to cover any shortfall in our squad."


Shift workers getting too little sleep at the wrong time of day may be increasing their risk of diabetes and obesity, according to researchers.

The team is calling for more measures to reduce the impact of shift working following the results of its study.
Researchers controlled the lives of 21 people, including meal and bedtimes.
The results, published in Science Translational Medicine
, showed changes to normal sleep meant the body struggled to control sugar levels.
Some participants even developed early symptoms of diabetes within weeks.
Shift work has been associated with a host of health problems.
Doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in the US, were trying to study its effects in a controlled environment.
The 21 health-trial participants started with 10 hours' sleep at night. This was followed by three weeks of disruption to their sleep and body clocks.
The length of the day was extended to 28 hours, creating an effect similar to a full-time flyer constantly getting jet lag.
Participants were allowed only 6.5 hours' sleep in the new 28-hour day, equivalent to 5.6 hours in a normal day. They also lived in dim light to prevent normal light resetting the body clock.
During this part of the study, sugar levels in the blood were "significantly increased" immediately after a meal and during "fasting" parts of the day.
The researchers showed that lower levels of insulin - the hormone that normally controls blood sugar - were produced.
Three of the participants had sugar levels which stayed so high after their meals they were classified as "pre-diabetic".
They also highlighted a risk of putting on weight as the body slowed down.
"The 8% drop in resting metabolic rate that we measured in our participants... translates into a 12.5-pound increase in weight over a single year," they wrote.
Lead researcher Dr Orfeu Buxton said: "We think these results support the findings from studies showing that, in people with a pre-diabetic condition, shift workers who stay awake at night are much more likely to progress to full-on diabetes than day workers.
"Since night workers often have a hard time sleeping during the day, they can face both circadian [body clock] disruption working at night and insufficient sleep during the day.
"The evidence is clear that getting enough sleep is important for health, and that sleep should be at night for best effect."
The research group called for more efforts to reduce the health impact of shift working.
Dr Matthew Hobbs, head of research at Diabetes UK, said: "This is an interesting study which shows that under extreme conditions involving sleep deprivation and 'tricking' the body clock, participants produced less insulin and therefore had higher blood glucose levels then when they were able to sleep normally and live according to normal daily rhythms."
He cautioned that the laboratory conditions were not the same as working nights.
"Clearly, this does not equate to the normal experience of shift workers who are able, for example, to use bright lights when not sleeping.
"The study also involved only 21 people. For these reasons, it is not possible to conclude that the findings would translate to real conditions in the wider public."


Nathan Tyson scored a brace as Doncaster twice came from behind to claim a point at Coventry.

Adam Armstrong coolly slotted into the bottom left corner to open the scoring for the League One leaders.
Sky Blues keeper Reice Charles-Cook could not hold Andy Williams' shot as Tyson pounced to equalise for Rovers.
The hosts' lead was restored when John Fleck rifled in a low 25-yard shot, before Tyson intercepted a pass and curled in for a second equaliser.
Coventry manager Tony Mowbray told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:
"We're a very frustrated dressing room. These days come along, I've tried to warn everyone about them.
"We didn't lose, but the nature of the goals we conceded was very disappointing.
"We had lots of good play and plenty of opportunities to put the game to bed. I think we did enough to get the three points. We have a little break now and get ready for the next game."


Psy's Gangnam Style is no longer the most-watched video on YouTube.

The South Korean megahit had been the site's most-played clip for the last five years.
The surreal video became so popular that it "broke" YouTube's play counter, exceeding the maximum possible number of views (2,147,483,647), and forcing the company to rewrite its code.
But the song has now been overtaken by another music video - Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's See You Again.
The heart-wrenching ballad has now been streamed 2,895,373,709 times; beating Psy's current count of 2,894,426,475 views.
Adding it up, that means See You Again has been streamed for a total of 21,759 years. If one person was to listen to each of those streams consecutively, they'd have to have started during the glacial peak of the last Ice Age.
"I joined YouTube in 2007 hoping to make a video that would reach 10,000 views," wrote Charlie Puth on Twitter. "Just heard about See You Again... Wow."
The song was written for the action movie Furious 7, playing over the closing credits in tribute to the actor Paul Walker, who died in a car accident before the film was completed.
With its unabashedly sentimental lyrics ("it's been a long day without you my friend/ And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again"), See You Again has become one of the most frequently requested pop songs at funerals in the UK.
It was the best-selling song worldwide in 2015, and received best song nominations at both the Grammys and the Oscars.
The music video features the final scene of Furious 7, in which the two main characters Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (Cody Walker, filling in for his brother, Paul), drive side-by-side, sharing a smile for the last time before they pull onto separate roads and drive into the sunset.
As the camera pans up into the sky, a title card reads "For Paul" and the video ends.
The video reached 1 billion views in six months, and hit 2 billion last September. However, its reign as YouTube's most-watched clip may be short-lived.
Luis Fonsi's summer smash Despacito has racked up 2.5 billion views in just six months, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
The Puerto Rican song - sung in a mixture of Spanish and English - has been number one in the UK for the last eight weeks, thanks in part to a remix featuring Justin Bieber.
Whoever takes the title, though, its good news for Universal Music, which owns all of the songs.
Meanwhile, 47 of the top 50 clips on YouTube are music videos, proving the importance of the streaming site to the music industry - despite the fact the two sides are locked in a battle over royalty payments.
According to analysis by Midia Research, every stream on YouTube generates $0.001 for the music industry.
If accurate, that means Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's song has earned $2.9m (Â£2.2m) from YouTube  - roughly the same amount it has made from 665 million plays on Spotify.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from Chile's port city of Valparaiso to escape a moving fire that has killed at least 12 residents.

Some 1,200 firefighters are battling the large blaze, which has destroyed hundreds of homes since Saturday.
President Michelle Bachelet put the army in charge of the evacuation after declaring the city, 110km (70 miles) west of Santiago, a disaster zone.
Security forces are on the streets to maintain order and prevent looting.
Earlier, the authorities said 16 residents had died, but it turned out that one family had been counted twice.
One official said it was the "worst catastrophe" he had ever seen.
"We fear that the fire will spread to the centre of the city, which would increase the severity of the emergency," regional governor Ricardo Bravo, a life-long resident of Valparaiso, said.
The old centre is a Unesco World Heritage Site, packed with old buildings that are vulnerable to fire.
Strong Pacific coast winds have pushed the fire deeper into the neighbourhoods of Valparaiso, hampering the battle to contain the blaze.
The city is built on a series of steep hills, separated by narrow winding streets, making the job of firefighters all the more difficult, says the BBC's Gideon Long in Santiago.
Large parts of Valparaiso are without electricity, and residents were said to be suffering from smoke inhalation.
President Bachelet is in the city to oversee an emergency committee's response.
"The people of Valparaiso have courage, have strength and they aren't alone," she said during a tour of the worst-hit areas.
"In some places the fires have started again so we're working on this and people will continue to be protected," the president added.
Temporary shelters have been set up for residents who were forced to flee.
The Chilean Red Cross has appealed for donations, such as food and other basic supplies, to help those who were left homeless.
"We will send all of this to the people because they lost everything," a Red Cross volunteer told the BBC.
The fire started on Saturday, and most of the damage was done overnight.
'Hell'
Those residents who managed to return to their homes discovered that they had been destroyed.
"It's all burned down. My sister's house also burnt to the ground," Rosa Guzman told the Reuters news agency.
Another resident said the blaze felt as if "hell encircled my family".
"The fire raced down the hills and destroyed everything in its path," Miguel Ramirez told the AFP news agency.
This is the second emergency that President Bachelet has had to face in the first month of her second term in office, after an 8.2 earthquake hit northern Chile on 1 April.
Fires are frequent in central Chile, where summer sends temperatures soaring.


An MP is making a bid to raise the age of army recruitment from 16 to 18 over concerns about the long-term impact on young recruits.

Liz Saville Roberts says young recruits are more vulnerable to mental health illness, suicide and death or injury than adult recruits.
The Ministry of Defence has no plans to raise the age, arguing enlistment could be beneficial for youngsters.
The Plaid Cymru MP is due to lead a Westminster Hall debate on the topic.
She said: "The outcomes, the future that happens to the young people who are recruited into the army in the United Kingdom, they are not good prospects.
"It concerns me that this country still recruits people under the age of 18 when, in all honesty, we are the only country in the EU, in Europe, that does so."
Ms Saville Roberts, who represents Dwyfor Meirionydd, refers to a report released by the medical charity Medact which found child recruits were more prone to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol abuse, self-harm, suicide, and death or injury during their career when compared to adult recruits.
The report also found child recruits were more likely to end up on the frontline, and that practices for recruiting children did not meet the criteria for full and informed consent.
Rhianna Louise from Forces Watch, which campaigns for raising the recruitment age limit, was involved in writing the Medact report.
She told BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales: "Some people who are young recruits do enjoy their army career and it works well for them.
"But there are other people who were recruited as children who are campaigning for the recruitment age to be raised.
"Overall, people who were recruited as children face greater risks than adults.
"People talk about the army and armed forces rescuing young people who come from a certain background but, actually, if you have an experience of childhood adversity in your background, that's actually a pre-service vulnerability which means you are more likely to suffer from long-term mental health risks such as PTSD and self-harm."
James Wharton, 30, joined the Army as a 16-year-old following a number of years in the army cadet force in Wrexham, where he undertook Duke of Edinburgh awards and learned "self-discipline".
He said: "It took me off the streets of north Wales."
After 18 months of training in north Yorkshire, he was posted to London to carry out duties for the Royal Family.
"It was a wonderful journey and experience to go from a council estate in the north of Wales to riding a horse down the Mall next to Her Majesty the Queen.
"It's all I ever wanted to do."
Mr Wharton said his army experience had set him up for later life.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "The armed forces offer young people opportunities that aren't available elsewhere, from basic literacy education and support for postgraduate degrees, to high quality accredited training and unique employment prospects.
"Like everyone who serves our country, under 18s - who can only sign up with formal written consent of a parent or guardian - are fully supported throughout their service career."
The Parliamentary Westminster Hall debate is due to take place on Tuesday afternoon.


US anti-abortion campaigner Troy Newman is to be deported from Australia after losing a high court appeal.

Mr Newman was detained in Melbourne on Thursday after entering Australia without a visa.
Australia had cancelled his visa while he was still in the US on the grounds that his presence in the country could incite violence.
Mr Newman has previously called for the execution of abortion doctors and said women who have abortions are murderers.
On Friday, Justice Geoffrey Nettle in Melbourne ruled that the cancellation of Mr Newman's visa was justified, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
While Mr Newman may have had a case to challenge the cancellation, he should not have boarded a plane to Australia without a visa, said the judge.
"Acting as he did means he does not come to this court with clean hands," he said.
Mr Newman, also known as Troy Newman-Mariotti, had been due to speak at events run by the group Right to Life Australia.
But he was prevented from boarding a connecting flight in the US city of Denver on Tuesday after Immigration Minister Peter Dutton cancelled his visa.
It came after it emerged he had called in a 2000 book for doctors who perform abortions to face execution .
His wife Mellissa had presented his appeal to the high court in Melbourne.
"I don't know what they're afraid of. I don't know what they think he's going to do here," she was quoted as saying earlier by ABC News.
In a posting on Facebook ahead of his arrival in Melbourne, he said the decision to revoke his visa "was based on a pile of lies, including the idea that I promote violence".
"My 25-year history of peaceful, prayerful action speaks for itself," he said.
Earlier this week, Australian Labor MP Terri Butler wrote to Australia's Mr Dutton to ask that Mr Newman's visa be denied, calling him an "anti-choice extremist".
But the website for Mr Newman's organisation, Operation Rescue, insisted that he "has never advocated violence and in fact, urges pro-life activists to work within the governmental and legal system to accomplish change".


A developer has submitted plans to build 800 houses in Londonderry in what would be the city's biggest residential scheme in over a decade.

South Bank Square aims to develop land close to the Caw roundabout with frontages to Crescent Link and Clooney Road.
If approved, the scheme would take about 10 years to complete.
House builders in Northern Ireland are beginning major schemes for the first time since the property crash.
Private house building collapsed when a house-price bubble burst in 2007 and 2008.
Official figures show just over 4,500 private housing units were completed in Northern Ireland in 2014-2015.
That compares to more than 16,500 completions in 2005-2006.
South Bank Square is controlled by Maghera businessman Seamus Gillan.
His main firm, BSG Civil Engineering, mainly carries out engineering work for public sector clients like Northern Ireland Water.
Mr Gillan said the proposed development had got "extremely constructive and positive feedback in consultation with local residents".
He said he knows the importance of addressing traffic issues at the Caw roundabout and the planning application "responds to these issues".
Brian Kelly, the director of Turley and the lead planner for South Bank Square, said recent statistics suggest that housing completions in the Derry City and Strabane Council area have been slower than elsewhere in Northern Ireland.
He added that the scheme would represent 18% of the housing needed to accommodate the projected growth of the city's population over the next 20 years.


Increasing yields produced in UK fields and using the spare farmland to plant trees and restore wetlands could greatly reduce emissions, says a study.

Combining this approach with strategies to cut food waste and meat consumption could help the farming sector cut its emissions by 80% by 2050, it adds.
Crop and livestock agriculture accounts for about 9% of the UK's annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Details have been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The study suggested that increasing yields would free up land currently used for growing crops and rearing livestock.
The researchers added that if this "spare land" was used to increase UK tree cover from 12% to 30% by the middle of this century and to restore 700,000 hectares of wet peatland, it would help the farming sector to deliver its contribution to the legally binding target of cutting carbon emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.
"Every sector has to lower its emissions - that's a commitment outlined in law and part of what we signed up to in Paris last month," said co-author Andrew Balmford, professor of conservation science at the University of Cambridge.
"Agriculture is no exception yet a report published in 2011 that looked at how farming could be made more efficient found that there was very little room for manoeuvre."
So the study asked a question from a "different point of view" and considered how much agriculture was able to boost its yield by using available or soon-to-be-available technologies," he said.
He explained that the increased yield would result in "land sparing".
"Land sparing is a concept based on how much land we need to use for agriculture depends on the yield, how much we are producing per unit area of land," Prof Balmford told BBC News.
"The higher the yield, the less area we have to devote to farming to meet a given level of demand.
"If we pursued higher yields as one of the primary goals in agriculture then we could free up quite a lot of land for other uses, including - in this case- greenhouse gas storage. But the key is not just to have high-yield farming but linking that to commitments or restore or safeguard remaining natural habitats."
In order to improve yields, the study did take into account that there would have to be higher inputs such as fertilisers and irrigation, he explained.
"We consulted a broad spectrum of experts across crop and livestock science, asking them to envisage what they considered to be feasible, They do include in many cases greater inputs per unit area but actually lower inputs per unit of production," the Cambridge University professor said.
Prof Balmford added that the study showed that areas showing the most promise were "improved crop plants" that were more efficient at capturing nutrients from the soil, more efficient at using water and photosynthesising.
"So if we went down the high yield route then it would be possible to say that some avenues will deliver on-farm savings in terms of emissions but the greatest part of the saving will come from the fact that the footprint needed to produce that food will be considerably reduced.
"Our models suggest that if we achieved the upper reaches of high-yield production then that would result in 30-40% of land currently being used for food production being used for carbon storage."
But the study also said that when it came to planting trees to sequester the carbon, it said it was not looking at vast monocultures of fast growing conifers. Instead, it considered mixed broadleaf woodlands.
"We have done a bit of sensitivity analysis to look at what it would mean if we went for the fastest growing species or if we went for very heavily managed woodlands with lots of coppicing," Prof Balmford observed.
"Those approaches do improve carbon storage levels but by not very much, whereas restoring native woodlands would be much better for biodiversity.
"This study does not go into much detail on that but we are doing other work looking at this and there are definite biodiversity gains from this approach."


Scotland will assess injuries to Jonny Gray and Finn Russell before deciding if the pair are fit for Saturday's final Six Nations match versus Ireland.

Gray is to have a scan on Monday after suffering a pectoral strain in the 29-18 victory over France on Sunday.
Russell was substituted just five minutes into the match after suffering a concussion while making a tackle in the build-up to France's opening try.
The fly-half will now undergo the graduated return-to-play protocol.
Gray completed the full 80 minutes as Vern Cotter's side ended a 10-year winless run against France.
Scotland go to Dublin looking to seal a third consecutive championship victory for the first time in 20 years.
Media playback is not supported on this device


Most councils have still not indicated whether they might raise the council tax next year despite gaining the power to do so.

Only around a quarter of Scotland's 32 local authorities have now publicly indicated they may put it up for everyone.
From next year councils will be able to raise the tax by up to 3%, ending a national freeze.
One intends to keep the freeze and there is speculation more will follow.
Borders, Highland, Edinburgh and Falkirk have all indicated they could do go for a rise although final decisions on whether to do this are weeks off.
It seems likely that Perth and Kinross, Dundee, Angus and Fife will also debate raising the tax.
But many appear to be playing their cards close to their chest and will not reveal their possible intentions for the moment.
South Lanarkshire Council has said it will definitely not raise the tax and there is speculation more will follow.
Most councils will still be exploring the option of higher council tax and what it would mean in practice.
There are several reasons why it cannot be presumed that all councils will raise the tax even though an increase could relieve some of the pressure on their budgets.
For example:
More councils are likely to spell out their full budget proposals in the coming weeks.
Most will take decisions by February. Any increases will take effect from April.


Two students at the University of California, Berkeley, have filed a legal complaint against a professor, alleging he sexually harassed them.

Kathleen Gutierrez and Erin Bennett took their case to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, saying the university had failed to act.
They say Blake Wentworth, an assistant professor, repeatedly touched them and made inappropriate sexual comments.
Mr Wentworth denies the allegations.
Ms Gutierrez and Ms Bennett, both graduate students, went public with their case at a news conference on the UC Berkeley campus, near Mr Wentworth's office, on Monday.
They say the university failed to take appropriate action against Mr Wentworth, who is an assistant professor of south and south-east Asian studies.
Several student groups held rallies on the campus to protest over a series of sexual harassment cases against Berkeley staff.
Since October, an astronomer, a law school dean and an assistant basketball coach have resigned from the university over harassment allegations.
Ms Gutierrez, 28, first reported Mr Wentworth to campus authorities a year ago and her allegations were substantiated by campus investigators in October, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Ms Bennett, 25, said she had suffered anxiety brought on by Mr Wentworth's presence on campus and was forced to suspend her studies.
"It's been debilitating," she told AP. "It's already derailed my future career, my education."
Dan Mogulof, a spokesman for UC Berkeley, said the allegations against Mr Wentworth were being investigated by the university.
Mr Wentworth has been suspended from teaching and barred from the graduate student office and lounge in his department, Mr Mogulof added.
Arabelle Malinis, the students' lawyer, said at least five other students had complained to the university about Mr Wentworth.


Fishermen in Devon have claimed they are being singled out for increased inspection by the Government.

Fishing industry leaders in Brixham say the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has become increasingly heavy-handed since new rules were brought in.
One trawler has lost about Â£15,000 in potential earnings because of the changes and is seeking compensation, its owner said.
The MMO has declined to comment while investigations were ongoing.
It closely monitors catches to protect fish stocks and unveiled a new strategy earlier this year.
Barry Young, from Brixham Trawler Agents, says fishermen have always cooperated with the MMO.
"We're told during a year the MMO is supposed board about 10% of vessels on a quayside," he said.
"But over the last six to eight weeks they have boarded 100% of vessels. Any vessel coming into Brixham has been boarded."
One trawler, the Kerrie Marie, was ordered back to port last month after one of 200 boxes of fish was not recorded in the log.
Its owners said they lost three days fishing and about Â£15,000 in potential earnings even though no offence was committed. They are now seeking compensation from the MMO.
Owner Dave Langdon said: "We feel like we're being persecuted by the MMO and it's not good. The fisherman is being treated like a common criminal."
However fishermen in Cornwall say they haven't noticed any change.
Elizabeth Stephenson from the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation said: "It's business as usual."
She added: "We haven't noticed any changes, and haven't heard any reports from the boats, out at sea or in the harbour."
The MMO said it has received correspondence in relation to enforcement action at Brixham.
A spokesman said: "The MMO can make no further comment because these matters are still under investigation."


Ghana have installed Maxwell Konadu as caretaker coach until a permanent successor to Avram Grant is appointed.

Konadu, 44, held the position in 2014 after Kwesi Appiah left, and he has also been Ghana assistant coach, Under-20 coach and Under-23 coach.
The Ghana Football Association announced its decision on Tuesday as well as the appointment of Professor Joseph Mintah as assistant coach.
Mintah will also continue in his role as the team psychologist.
Israeli Grant ended his time as Ghana coach after the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, which coincided with the expiry of his contract.
He led the Black Stars to fourth place at the tournament in Gabon.


Police are investigating allegations protected wildlife has been killed on a shooting estate in the Peak District.

Footage allegedly shows badgers caught in snares and shot on Moscar Moor, near Bamford, Derbyshire, earlier this year.
The Hunt Investigation Team (Hit), which recorded the film, claim the animals were deliberately targeted.
The Duke and Duchess of Rutland, who run the estate, said they were unaware of any alleged illegal activities on their land.
Snares, which are not illegal in the UK, are used to catch foxes and rabbits, but are not permitted for catching protected species like badgers.
Hit, which wants to see grouse driven shooting banned, said during a four week period in spring the group covertly filmed on open moorland near Bamford Edge, and claim they discovered "horrific wildlife persecution".
They filmed two badgers caught in snares. The first, they believe, was shot by a masked member of the estate staff and buried in a nearby wood.
The second trapped badger is approached by another armed man who is seen trying to shoot off the snare, but the bleeding animal then runs off into the moorland with the wires still attached, the group said.
A spokeswoman for Hit, who did not want to be identified, said: "The sad thing is grouse eggs are not even a major part of a badger's diet, they're just a small part of it, so the persecution is completely disproportionate.
"Driven grouse shooting is not compatible with wildlife protection.
"What has been peddled as a traditional and respectable custom is actually at the expense of so much of the wildlife."
A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, from the Belvoir Estate in Leicestershire, said in a statement: "They were not aware of any alleged illegal activities being carried out on the land.
"They are horrified by these allegations and will investigate them fully."
Derbyshire Police said it had begun an investigation and would be examining the footage.
The Peak District National Park has not yet commented.


Scotland are in good shape to reach the Women's World Twenty20 for the first time, claims head coach Steven Knox.

They play the Netherlands and the United States in Stirling this week in a double round-robin qualifier.
The top two sides advance to the main qualifying event next year, with the 2018 finals then hosted by defending champions West Indies.
"We're shaping up to be a proper international women's cricket team, which is pretty cool," said Knox.
"We played the Netherlands last summer in the 50-over qualifiers and we managed to beat them.
"If we can keep that form going into this T20 competition, then we've got a good chance of progressing.
"Just the fact they're playing at home and in front of families and friends makes a huge impact along with knowing the conditions pretty well."
The Scots missed out on a place at the 2016 Women's World Twenty20 after losing to Ireland at the semi-final stage of the qualifying event in Bangkok.
Ireland were in Scotland earlier this month playing in the Celtic Cup series, with the visitors winning all three Twenty20 games.
Ahead of the World Twenty20 qualifiers, captain Abbi Aitken hopes hosting the competition will encourage more girls to take up the sport in Scotland.
"We had this as a main aim throughout the whole summer so the girls are raring to go. It's the first time we've had a major tournament in Scotland for a number of years. It doesn't come around too often for us," she said.
"I was the only girl playing in an all-boys tournament, so the fact these tournaments are happening now is exciting.
"The Wildcats are great role models for younger girls. Year after year we see participation levels increasing and long may that continue."
After play was abandoned without an over being played because of rain on Monday, Scotland's matches against Netherlands and USA were rescheduled for Wednesday.
Fixtures:
All matches will be played at Stirling County cricket ground.
Tuesday, 15 August: USA v Netherlands
Wednesday, 14 August: Scotland v Netherlands & Scotland v USA
Thursday, 17 August: Scotland v USA & Netherlands v USA
Friday, 18 August: Scotland v Netherlands


Films tackling violent clashes in the Amazon, climate change and the potential for insects as a source of food are to be screened in Scotland as part of this year's UK Green Film Festival.
Glasgow Film Theatre will show How To Let Go of the World and Love All The Things Climate Can't Change on 8 May.
The Glasgow venue will have a screening of The Age of Consequences on 10 May.
The same two films are to be shown at Inverness's Eden Court on the same dates. The Highlands venue will also have a screening of Bugs: The Film on 8 May.
How To Let Go of the World and Love All The Things Climate Can't Change was made by Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning writer and director Josh Fox.
The Age of Consequences examines impacts of climate change on resources, migration and conflict. It features analysis from commanders in the US military.
Sundance award-winning film When Two Worlds Collide looks at clashes between powerful, opposing Peruvian leaders over tracts of the Amazon in Peru.
Bugs: The Film asks whether eating insects could help "save the world" by providing people with a new source of food.
In the film, director Andreas Johnson follows a team from Copenhagen-based Nordic Food Lab as they forage, farm, cook and taste insects around the globe.


Plastic bag use has plummeted in England since the introduction of a 5p charge last year, the government has said.

In the six months after the levy was brought in last October, 640 million plastic bags were used in seven major supermarkets in England, it says.
In 2014, the waste reduction charity Wrap estimated the same shops had used 7.64 billion bags over the full year.
If that trend were to continue over the year this would be a drop of 83%.
It follows the pattern seen in the rest of the UK since the introduction of charges for bags.
Wales introduced a levy in 2011, followed by Northern Ireland in 2013 and Scotland in 2014. They saw reductions in bag use of 76%, 71% and 80%, respectively, in the first year after the fee was established.
The charge means all retailers with more than 250 full-time employees are required to charge a minimum of 5p to customers for single-use, plastic carrier bags, but paper bags are exempt.
Over the six months since the charge was introduced, the government said:
Environment Minister Therese Coffey said the reduction in the number of bags being used was "fantastic news".
"It will mean our precious marine life is safer, our communities are cleaner and future generations won't be saddled with mountains of plastic taking hundreds of years to break down in landfill sites."
This reduction in plastic could benefit the environment, especially the oceans.
A report published in the journal Science in 2015 estimated that about eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in global waters each year.
Dr Sue Kinsey, from the UK's Marine Conservation Society, said: "Every year we survey our beaches, and last year we found over 5,000 bags over one weekend."
She said that birds and marine mammals ate plastic, and bags were also breaking down into smaller pieces and being consumed by tiny marine organisms.
However she said that England could do more to further reduce plastic pollution.
She said she wanted to see the exemption for small businesses on charging the levy removed.
"There's no exemption in Scotland and Wales, for instance," she told BBC News.
"If that exemption was removed, we'd see even more plastic bags removed from the environment, which has only got to be good news."
But extending the 5p charge would be too much of an administrative burden for smaller businesses, the government has previously said.
Meanwhile, Andrew Pendleton from climate change action group Friends of the Earth said plastic bags were only part of the problem.
He said that attention should now turn to the "millions of non-recyclable coffee cups that go to landfill, and to oversized boxes and excess packaging as a by-product of online shopping".


The Zimbabwe national team failed to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday morning as a stand-off over finances worsened.

The Warriors refused to attend a send-off dinner on Friday night in Harare, with the country's acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa present at the function.
Players are demanding payment of monies owed from the qualifiers, and they want a $5000 appearance fee for each game that they play at the Nations Cup finals in Gabon.
The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) is reportedly offering $2500 per game.
The team was due to depart for Cameroon in the early hours of Saturday, with a friendly against the Indomitable Lions scheduled for Tuesday, but the players are still in Harare.
Warriors captain Willard Katsande told Star FM Zimbabwe that despite the dispute, the team is not considering boycotting the tournament.
"Obviously we are going to play, but it's a matter of discussing, as we deserve better," he said.
"We're not asking for much, we know what want as a team, we submitted our proposal long back but nobody listened to us."
Zimbabwe have already had a troubled build-up to their Nations Cup preparations following a row over accommodation issues.
The Warriors begin their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a game against Algeria on 15 January in Franceville.


Every child in Scotland aged between two and 11 is to be offered the flu vaccine as a nationwide immunisation programme is rolled out.

The vaccine will be given as a nasal spray.
About 150,000 children aged two-five and about 400,000 primary school children will be eligible to receive it.
A campaign to inform parents about how their child can be vaccinated and the protection it can offer is under way.
Last year, every two and three-year-old and about 100,000 school children taking part in a pilot programme were offered the vaccine.
This is the next phase of a rollout that will eventually see all children aged two-17 covered. Health experts estimate this could prevent an additional 200 deaths a year and up to 1,100 hospitalisations.
Dr Nicola Steedman, the Scottish government's senior medical officer, said: "Flu can be very unpleasant for children, and in some cases it can develop into more serious health complications such as bronchitis, pneumonia and middle ear infection.
"Parents can make sure their child is safeguarded against flu by taking up the offer of this free vaccine. It's safe, quick and painless, and offers protection against the types of virus that are most likely to be circulating this winter."
Parents of primary school children have been urged to look out for and return consent forms sent home in school bags so that their child can be vaccinated.
Parents of children aged 2-5 should make an appointment with their GP practice from October.
Health Secretary Alex Neil added: "The scale of this vaccination programme, once fully implemented, is unprecedented.
"Immunisation is the best way of protecting against serious diseases, and the childhood flu programme is about ensuring more people than ever in Scotland are protected from the flu virus."


Campaigners fighting the dumping of dredged material from Devonport near a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) off Cornwall say their case is being taken to a judicial review.

Marine life in the area is the most protected in Europe, they say, but legal protections are being ignored.
The campaign has been ongoing for years.
Waste dredged in Devonport Dockyard is deposited in Whitsand Bay near Rame Head in southeast Cornwall.
The practice, approved by the Marine Management Organisation, allows larger ships to access the harbour.
Phil Hutty, Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for south east Cornwall, said: "We're very grateful we now have the support of the environmental law foundation and our solicitors, who have asked to take on our case for judicial review."
In a judicial review, High Court judges examine whether public authorities are acting within their legal powers.
They can order authorities to cease unlawful activities and can award damages.
The Marine Management Organisation, which regulates the marine industry, confirmed the campaigners have applied for a judicial review.


Anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman will be the first woman to appear on a US banknote for more than a century.

Tubman, who was born a slave around 1820 and helped hundreds of others escape, will feature on the new $20 bill, the US Treasury announced.
She will replace former President Andrew Jackson, a slave owner.
The Treasury has dropped plans to remove the image of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the US financial system, from the $10 bill.
It had faced a backlash over the plan.
While Ms Tubman will feature on the front of the $20 bill, President Jackson's image will move to the back.
US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said that Harriet Tubman was "not just a historical figure but a role model for leadership and participation in our democracy."
"Her incredible story of courage and commitment to equality embodies the ideals of democracy that our nation celebrates," he added.
Leaders from the women's rights movement - Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul - will be pictured on the back of the $10 bill.
The back of the $5 bill - which depicts Abraham Lincoln on the front - will show prominent leaders from US history including singer Marian Anderson, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
The women last depicted on US notes were former first lady Martha Washington, on the $1 silver certificate from 1891 to 1896, and Native American Pocahontas , in a group photo on the $20 bill from 1865 to 1869.
Harriet Tubman is best known in the United States for her role in smuggling slaves to safety via the Underground Railroad.
But her role in the US civil war was just as remarkable.
She operated as a scout for the Union forces, often behind enemy lines, most notably guiding the dramatic armed raid at Combahee Ferry in South Carolina in which three gunboats evaded Confederate positions and liberated more than 700 slaves.
"I nebber see such a sight," said Ms Tubman later, describing how slaves laden with children, pigs and chickens had rushed from the fields towards the boats. "We laughed, an' laughed, an' laughed," she recalled.
In 1863 this was an extraordinary military role for any woman, let alone for an escaped slave.
As for Andrew Jackson, his enduring numismatic role is ironic not only because the slave-trading president has been pushed to the back of the $20 bill by a freed slave but also because he regarded the very existence of paper money as a "deep-seated evil."
Harriet Tubman: Former slave who risked all to save others
Harriett Tubman was born into slavery in the 1820s. After suffering a serious head injury, she escaped and helped to free more than 70 slaves through the "Underground Railroad", a network of anti-slavery activists and safe houses.
Ms Tubman was the winner of an online poll run by campaign group Women On 20s.
Its executive director, Susan Ades Stone, told the BBC that the "freedom fighter" was "a fantastic choice."
"She is really quite remarkable," she said, noting the irony of moving Andrew Jackson to the back of a bill which would feature a freed slave on the front.
"It's not what we envisioned but I think that it will make for an interesting narrative and it will keep alive a lot of the history lessons that we can learn from his actions and his policies," said Ms Ades Stone.
Other potential candidates for the spot included Eleanor Roosevelt, civil rights activist Rosa Parks and leader of the Cherokee nation Wilma Mankiller.
Alexander Hamilton staying on the $10 bill was due in part to the popularity of Broadway musical "Hamilton".
Cast members visited the White House and spoke to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in March.
After the meeting, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the Broadway show, tweeted that Mr Lew told him he would be "very happy" after they announced changes to the US notes.
The Treasury Department also put out a statement after the meeting that reiterated Mr Lew's "commitment to continue to honour Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill".


Ricky Gervais, Downton Abbey star Jim Carter and others have been responding to receiving Emmy nominations - or, in some cases, to being overlooked.

Gervais tweeted that he was "over the moon" to be recognised for his Channel 4 comedy Derek, while Carter said he was "thrilled and delighted".
Carter's co-star Joanne Froggatt said she was "humbled" by her own citation.
Yet Lee Daniels, creator of Empire, has expressed disappointment at his hit show only receiving three nominations.
The director of Precious and The Butler posted a strongly-worded video on Instagram appearing to take aim at members of the Television Academy, organisers of the annual awards ceremony.
The show's only nomination in the acting categories was for Taraji P Henson, for outstanding lead actress in a drama.
Daniels has since released a new message suggesting he was "just having fun".
Five-time Emmy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus responded to her latest nomination in the voice of her latest character, Veep's Selina Meyer.
"As President, my staff and I are too busy doing the people's business to watch television," said the ex-Seinfeld star, who has now won three Emmys for Armando Iannucci's political satire.
"Nonetheless, we are thrilled to be a part of this celebration of creativity."
The actress finished her statement with the words "Go Jon Hamm!" - a reference to the Mad Man star's nomination for outstanding lead actor in a drama series.
The actor, who plays ad man Don Draper in the critically acclaimed series which has just come to an end, has been nominated for the award every year since 2008 but has yet to win.
Hamm's cast-mate Elisabeth Moss called her nomination for the lead actress in a drama award "the most amazing surprise" and "incredibly humbling".
Viola Davis, meanwhile, said "it would be great to bust through and make history" by becoming the first black actress to claim the lead actress in a drama prize.
The How to Get Away with Murder star is one of two African-Americans up for the award, the other being Henson for Empire.
Emilia Clarke, up for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series, said it felt "bloody amazing" to be nominated alongside her Game of Thrones co-star Lena Headey.
"To finally have two of us in a category, two women, it's very cool," said Headey, adding that she had learned about her own nomination on Thursday morning after being kept up all night by her new baby daughter.
"My new baby's been awake all night, so I feel like she may have known something I didn't," the British actress told Variety.
Game of Thrones is up for 24 nominations in all, five more than its nearest competitor, American Horror Story: Freak Show.
David Oyelowo, who missed out on an Oscar nomination last year for Selma, said it was "incredibly gratifying" to be nominated for lead actor in a limited series or TV movie for HBO drama Nightingale.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, meanwhile, said she was hoping to have "a glass of champagne or some tequila" to celebrate being recognised for her role in BBC series The Honourable Woman.
"I will celebrate by jumping up and down at every alley and every step of the way in Paramount Studios," said Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor when asked how he would mark his inclusion in the lead actor in a comedy series.
"I will make a spectacle of myself," he continued.
Jane Krakowski, meanwhile, said her supporting actress nomination for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt would give her "motivation to stay on [her] diet".
"When I got the call that I received a nomination, I thought I was being Punk'd," she told the Hollywood Reporter. "My heart has not settled down."
This year's Emmy awards ceremony, hosted by Saturday Night Live star Andy Samberg, will be held in Los Angeles on 20 September.


Data from the second 'black box' flight recorder belonging to the Germanwings plane that crashed in the Alps suggests that the co-pilot deliberately accelerated its descent, French investigators say.

They say Andreas Lubitz modified the automatic pilot system several times to increase the speed of descent.
The information they recovered also confirms earlier findings that Lubitz deliberately crashed the plane.
All 150 people on board died.
The plane had been flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf on 24 March.
The second flight recorder, recovered on Thursday, showed that "the pilot in the cockpit used the automatic pilot to put the plane on a descent towards an altitude of 100ft (30m)", the French BEA crash investigation agency said in a statement.
"Then several times the pilot modified the automatic pilot settings to increase the speed of the plane as it descended," it added.
Earlier findings from the cockpit voice recorder suggested Lubitz locked the pilot out of the cockpit.
On Thursday, German prosecutors said the co-pilot had researched suicide methods and the security of cockpit doors on the internet the week before the crash.
Germanwings also said it was unaware that Lubitz, 27, had experienced depression while he was training to be a pilot.
Lufthansa confirmed on Tuesday that it knew six years ago that the co-pilot had suffered from an episode of "severe depression'' before he finished his flight training.
``We didn't know this,'' said Vanessa Torres, a spokeswoman for Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings, which hired Lubitz in September 2013.
The second "black box" recovered is the flight data recorder (FDR) which holds technical information on the time of radio transmissions and the plane's acceleration, airspeed, altitude and direction, plus the use of auto-pilot.
Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said it was found near a ravine and was not discovered immediately because it was the same colour as the rocks.
He said 150 separate DNA profiles had been isolated from the crash site but he stressed that did not mean all the victims had been identified.
Mr Robin added that 40 mobile phones had been also been recovered and would be analysed in a laboratory, although were "heavily damaged".
The final minutes
Lubitz began the jet's descent at 10:31 (09:31 GMT) on 24 March, shortly after the A320 had made its final contact with air traffic control.
Little more than eight minutes later, it had crashed into a mountain near Seyne-les-Alpes.
What happened in the last 30 minutes of Flight 4U 9525?
Who was Andreas Lubitz?


The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, has announced he will resign next week, blaming politicians' failure to enact "real changes".

Mr Yatsenyuk, in office since former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February 2014, said he would inform parliament on Tuesday.
The current President, Petro Poroshenko, asked him to quit in February, saying he had lost support.
His government has been accused of inaction and corruption.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has threatened to withhold aid money if it does not carry out reforms.
Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Groysman has been nominated by Mr Poroshenko's party to replace Mr Yatsenyuk.
Announcing his resignation on Twitter, Mr Yatsenyuk called for the formation of a new government immediately to prevent "destabilization of [the] executive branch during a war".
The government in Kiev is signed up to an uneasy truce with pro-Russian rebels in two of Ukraine's eastern regions, with frequent ceasefire violations reported.
Russia itself annexed the southern region of Crimea two years ago after a controversial referendum on self-determination.
US Vice-President Joe Biden, in a call to Mr Yatsenyuk on Sunday, congratulated him on "accomplishments over the past two years", including economic reforms, but said "these changes must be irreversible".
Arseniy Yatsenyuk's resignation comes as no surprise. According to opinion polls, his party's popularity had plummeted and he narrowly survived a vote of no confidence in parliament in February.
President Petro Poroshenko could now consolidate his power if he can install Volodymyr Groysman, a member of his own party, as the next prime minister.
Mr Poroshenko and a new government will be under intense pressure, both from Ukraine's European and American partners, and the Ukrainian people, to implement real reform.
Several high-profile reformers have left the government in recent weeks, claiming it was failing to tackle corruption.
"As of today," Mr Yatsenyuk tweeted on Sunday, "my goals are broader: new electoral law, Constitutional reform, Judicial reform, Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO."
Ukraine's EU ambitions suffered a setback on 6 April when voters in the Netherlands roundly rejected a landmark EU trade deal with the former Soviet state in a referendum.
Mr Yatsenyuk came to power promising to tackle corruption and implement economic reforms but has increasingly become the focus of accusations of corruption, even though no concrete evidence was produced.
Western governments have expressed concern over the resignation of reform-minded figures from the government.
President Poroshenko himself came under scrutiny this week after leaked documents suggested he had set up an offshore company as a tax haven using Panamanian legal firm Mossack Fonseca.
He said he had done nothing wrong and Ukrainian prosecution officials said there was no evidence of a crime but there were calls for his impeachment.


Plans to run the newly-rebuilt Flying Scotsman steam locomotive on the Borders rail line have been stopped at the last minute by Network Rail.

Steam Dreams, which will operate the excursion, said the late notice cancellation - at 16:40 on Friday - was "an absolute disgrace".
The Flying Scotsman will operate between York and Edinburgh, before a diesel engine is expected to take over.
Steam Dreams said the trip has taken two years of planning.
It said Network Rail's explanation was that it did not have the right data to "gauge" the Flying Scotsman - a process which involves checking if the locomotive fits within structures such as platforms and bridges on the line.
A planned journey across the Forth Bridge has also been cancelled.
Steam Dreams chairman Marcus Robertson said: "For the passengers but also for all the people who've put in months and years of planning work to get the engine in the state it's in... they haven't put a foot wrong."
He added: "All that work, all that effort, all the dreams of the passengers, has been wasted by a bit of bureaucratic inefficiency or, as it's being described apparently by somebody at Network Rail, an 'administrative error'.
"Well that's a pretty mealy-mouthed way of putting it."
A letter from the company to intending passengers said: "During the next 24 hours we will be doing our utmost to get this situation sorted out, but if we can't then we very much regret that we will have to run this trip with vintage diesel locomotive.
"If this is the case than we will do our utmost to make it a highly memorable day on a vintage train."
Network Rail said it had not been able to carry out assessment work on the route in time.
A spokesman said: "The routes the Scotsman had planned to cover this weekend are new ones for the  locomotive and have to be individually assessed by our engineers in advance.
"Unfortunately we have been unable to carry out the work in time and cannot allow the engine to run when we are unsure if the unique design of the Flying Scotsman is compatible with the current railway infrastructure across the Fife and Borders routes.
"We understand the disappointment this will cause all those who had been looking forward to the iconic engine returning to these parts of Scotland and a full investigation will be undertaken into why these issues were not identified sooner."
A number of events had been planned along the route to mark the Flying Scotsman' return to Scotland.
A decision is now expected on Saturday about which of them will go ahead.
Scottish Borders Council leader David Parker said: "It is extremely disappointing that the Flying Scotsman's visit to the Scottish Borders cannot go ahead as planned on Sunday.
"A huge amount of work has gone into the planning of this event, and we know this news will leave thousands of people very unhappy and let down.
"Network Rail's failure to complete the necessary work is quite frankly unbelievable and unacceptable. Only discovering the position this evening makes the news even more shocking."


A man wearing a 'Scream' mask exposed himself to a girl in a Lincolnshire village, leaving her very distressed, police have said.

The incident happened at about 08:00 BST in Glentham, near Market Rasen, while the 14-year-old was walking to catch her school bus.
The suspect is described as white, around 5ft 8in tall, and of medium to plump build.
He was wearing a black and white mask and had cream coloured trousers.
Sgt Clive Farmer, from the local policing team, said while the incident had been "very distressing for the girl and her family, it is extremely rare".
He said officers would be maintaining a presence in the village and asked that anyone with information should contact the force.


Prosecutors in the US state of South Carolina say they will seek the death penalty for a white man accused of shooting dead nine black people at a church in Charleston.

Dylann Roof is charged with murdering the nine parishioners in June during their Bible study class.
Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson said the killings were "the ultimate crime" and deserved "the ultimate punishment".
The 21-year-old also faces separate federal charges of hate crimes.
The church where the killings took place is a nationally known historic black church, and federal prosecutors claim the killings were racially motivated.
After the shootings, photos emerged online of Dylann Roof holding the Confederate battle flag, sparking a backlash against the emblem, which to many is a symbol of slavery.
Ms Wilson said family members of the victims respected her decision to seek the death penalty, despite differing views on the punishment:
"Some family members of victims, because of their faith, do not believe in the death penalty under any circumstances. Some believe the death penalty is just too easy.
"Still others believe that the death penalty for the murders at Mother Emanuel Church is entirely appropriate.
"We all agree that forgiveness is an important part of the healing process but know that forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean foregoing consequences, even severe consequences," she said.


Sir Chris Hoy has been chosen to carry the flag for Great Britain at the opening ceremony of the London Games on Friday.

Media playback is not supported on this device
The four-time Olympic gold medal winner polled the most number of votes among the 542 members of the British team.
The 36-year-old cyclist also carried the Union Flag at the 2008 closing ceremony in Beijing.
"I'm absolutely delighted and honoured to have been voted as the flag bearer for Team GB," said Sir Chris.
"To lead out your team at a home Olympics is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and one that that I can't wait to experience in just a few days time."
Other Olympians who received support included archer Alison Williamson, who will compete in her sixth Games.
Hoy, who will compete in the team sprint and keirin at London 2012, is the first cyclist to have the honour of carrying the British flag at an opening ceremony.
The Scot will lead out Team GB when they become the last of the 204 competing nations to enter the arena.
Sir Chris Hoy was always one of the outstanding candidates for this role. His election was all but sealed when sailor Ben Ainslie, his main rival, was ruled out. Ainslie begins competing on Sunday, so will not attend the opening ceremony.
Sir Chris already has four Olympic gold medals and hopes to have increased that total to six by the end of the Games.
Hoy told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm still in shock, it's all sinking in. I'm just looking forward to Friday.
"To have the athletes vote for you it makes it even more special. This will be my first experience of an opening ceremony so for a number of reasons it will be very special."
It has been a remarkable few days for British cycling following
Brian Cookson, president of British Cycling, told BBC Sport: "Just when you think it can't get any better it does. It is the cherry on the cake for British Cycling after Bradley Wiggins's success on Sunday.
"Sir Chris is a brilliant athlete and a fantastic ambassador for the sport of cycling. Hoy is reaching his potential just at the right time in the sport and deserves this pivotal role at London 2012."
Hoy, who is Scotland's most successful Olympian, was named BBC Sports Personality of the year in 2008.
He won a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, a gold at Athens in 2004 and another three golds in Beijing four years ago.
Team GB's Chef de Mission Andy Hunt said: "Team GB could not have placed the flag in better hands.
"It is a great honour for Sir Chris and the team will be proud to march behind him. He is a fantastic ambassador for his sport and his country."
Hoy is not due to compete until the second week of the Games, when he will try to surpass rower Sir Steve Redgrave's British record of five gold medals.
The British Olympic Association asked each sport represented in Team GB to nominate one candidate. The team leaders of each sport then voted on the shortlist.


A human skull discovered on the doorstep of a Dorset church is more than 500 years old, tests have shown.

The remains were discovered in July, by the church warden of Lady St Mary's Church in Wareham.
Dorset Police said carbon dating had established the skull dated from the 15th Century.
The person who left the skull in a bag wrapped in tissue has not been traced. Dorset Police said it had since closed the case.
Vicar Jackie Maw said the find had been "curious".
"We're glad it has been resolved as much as it can be, although the mystery still remains," she said.