Twin car bombs have killed at least 43 people and injured at least 100 in the Turkish town of Reyhanli, near the Syrian border.

Interior Minister Muammer Guler told Turkey's NTV the bombs had gone off near the town hall and post office.
Video showed injured people being carried to safety amid shattered buildings and twisted wrecks of cars.
No group has said it had carried out the attack, but a senior Turkish official suggested Syrian involvement.
"Our thoughts are that their Mukhabarat [the Syrian intelligence agency] and armed organisations are the usual suspects in planning and the carrying out of such devilish plans,"  Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said shortly after the bombings.
Later on Saturday another Deputy Prime Minister, Besir Atalay, said initial investigations showed the attackers were linked to Syrian intelligence, NTV reported.
By Mahmut HamsiciBBC, Reyhanli
Reyhanli residents were in a state of shock after the attacks. But there was anger in the town as well. They were angry at the Turkish and Syrian governments, at Syrian refugees and the media.
One eyewitness shouted at the others: "Don't talk to media. They will not write anything against the government." Some who wanted to talk said: "We welcomed the Syrian refugees supported by our government but they destroyed our lives. They took our jobs, bullied us."
Another young boy said: "All of the Syrians have now gone into hiding. They know that people will attack them."
Leaving the town, I saw vehicles with Syrian plates damaged by rocks, their windows smashed in and bodywork dented - vandalised by residents. It is perhaps a sign that tension between locals and Syrian refugees may increase in the coming days.
Reyhanli is an entry-point for refugees from the war in Syria and local people attacked cars with Syrian number-plates and Syrian refugees after the attack, according to local media.
The Turkish government has been a key supporter of the Syrian opposition, and has allowed rebels as well as refugees on to its territory.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and others have condemned the bombing and offered their condolences.
Hours after the initial blasts, reports came in of a third blast in a residential area but the government said it was the fuel tank of a car exploding and not connected to the attacks.
It appears that the first bombs went off 15 minutes apart and video posted on Turkish media shows people running to help victims of the first when there is the sound of a second explosion.
Emergency services looked for possible victims buried under the debris.
"I was sitting in my pharmacy and suddenly we heard a massive explosion," eyewitness Ismail Akin told Reuters news agency.
"When I looked from my window I saw wounded people and dead bodies."
Another witness, Hayrullah Bal, said: "We were a bit far away from the explosions, it suddenly happened and everybody started to run. It was so strong that all the windows shattered."
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his country would protect itself.
Mr Davutoglu, who was visiting Berlin, said: "There may be those who want to sabotage Turkey's peace, but we will not allow that.
"No-one should attempt to test Turkey's power. Our security forces will take all necessary measures."
He added that the blasts had taken place to deflect attention from efforts to solve the Syrian crisis.
Mr Kerry said: "The United States condemns today's car bombings and we stand with our ally, Turkey.
"This awful news strikes an especially personal note for all of us given how closely we work in partnership with Turkey."
Mr Rasmussen described the bombing in a statement as "despicable" and said Nato stood by Turkey, a member of the alliance.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague sent a message of solidarity to the people of Turkey.
"Appalling explosions in Reyhanli, Turkey," he wrote on Twitter. "My thoughts are with family & friends of the victims. We stand with the people of Turkey."
The border area of Reyhanli has itself been attacked in recent months.
In February, an explosion near the town killed 17 people and wounded 30.
Five people were killed last October when a mortar round hit the Turkish border town of Akcakale.


A motorcyclist has died after being involved in a crash with a lorry in Fareham, Hampshire.

Two vehicles collided on the A32 Gosport Road shortly after 08:00 GMT, Hampshire Constabulary said.
The biker was treated by paramedics at the scene but later died from his injuries.
Motorists are urged to avoid the area as the road, which has been closed near Wych Lane, will remain shut for several hours.


Aberdeen's Hogmanay fireworks display will go ahead this year, despite earlier fears about funding.

The event had been facing the axe after sponsorship dried up.
However, councillors have now opted to spend Â£50,000 from the Common Good Fund to put on a display to see in the new year.
Fresh efforts will be made to attract private sector sponsors for future years.


The Scottish and UK governments have confirmed details of a £315m City Region Deal for Inverness and the wider Highlands area.

Highland Council had sought support for a raft of projects costing more than £400m.
The proposals include improvements to transport links, digital connectivity and creating new skills academies, mostly in Inverness.
The deal involves direct funding and greater borrowing powers.
The Scottish government has committed £135m of investment, the UK government £53m and Highland Council and its regional partners will contribute £127m.
The local authority has said the package, which will see money invested over 10 to 20 years, could attract £1bn in private sector investment over several years.
Projects proposed aim to boost the Highlands economy, create new jobs, attract professionals working in science, technology and engineering to the region and encourage young people not to move away from the Highlands for further education and work.
In a ceremony in Inverness, the deal was signed by Highland Council leader Margaret Davidson, Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown and also Lord Dunlop, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.
Highland Council, Drew Hendry, who is SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise have welcomed the announcement.
However, Highlands-based economist Tony Mackay and Rob Gibson, SNP MSP for SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, have criticised the spending plans.
Earlier, Ms Davidson told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that the package would bring years of "certainty and investment".
She said it would pay for major roads projects in Inverness. The new West Link has been designed to ease city centre congestion and travel to the A82, while the planned East Link would connect the A96 to the A9.
A flyover to take traffic up and over the Longman Roundabout at the Kessock Bridge could also be allocated money, said Ms Davidson.
She added that funding would also be directed towards improving the region's internet connections.
The Plan in the High Castle: Where the money is to be invested
Ms Davidson said: "What everyone, every community, is telling me is digital connectivity is what we are needing.
"That would penetrate every corner of the Highlands and we want the Highlands to be the best connected region in Europe."
The council leader confirmed that £15m had been sought for a project to transform Inverness Castle, currently a sheriff court, into a tourist attraction.
MP Mr Hendry said: "This deal offers us an opportunity to not only boost the economy and bring jobs, it allows us to plan growth, develop our vision and deliver for the people who live and work here.
"It is no secret that almost everyone in Inverness wants to see the castle open to the public. This will bring thousands of extra tourists and will significantly boost our tourism economy. It is a win for local people and visitors."
He added: "These infrastructure improvements, combined with the dualling of the A9, A96, improvements to the rail services and the SG commitment to 100% broadband coverage mean we will be better planned for, better connected and better able to take advantage of opportunities in the future."
Economist Mr Mackay said there was merit in some of the projects proposed, but described other ideas as "poor".
He told BBC Radio Scotland that turning Inverness Castle into a tourist attraction and improving roads would bring much-needed economic benefits.
But he added that money should also be invested in putting new businesses into empty shops in the city centre. Mr Mackay described building a velodrome, which had formed part of Highland Council's original investment plans, as a "waste of money".
Highland Council has since said a regional sports hub in Inverness did not form part of the City Region Deal.
The local authority said it would consider how to progress the plan and had an "indication of significant investment" from national body sportscotland.
The council had suggested the hub could have a velodrome and space for sports including gymnastics.
MSP Mr Gibson said some of the investment should have been committed to resolving a problematic section of the A890 in Wester Ross.
He said: "How can it be a city and region deal if the need for a bypass at Strome Ferry on the rock-fall prone section of the A890 is not a priority?
"Following a series of land slips and rock falls over decades the frequent closure of this A road which is a Highland Council responsibility could pose life and death issues for travellers.
"The school students going to Plockton High School from Lochcarron are exposed to danger every day. Keeping the dangerous section open has cost millions over decades."
City of Angles
By Steven McKenzie, BBC Highlands and Islands reporter
Ask anyone in Inverness and they will have a different angle on how hundreds of millions of pounds should be spent on the city.
There is support for the greater availability of sporting facilities because of the huge demand for what is already on offer at sites such as Inverness Leisure and Culloden Community Centre.
And while a traffic jam in Inverness is usually nothing like what can be experienced in Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen, it is the cause of frustration, especially at the Longman Roundabout, the octopus tentacle-esq Inshes Roundabout and Raigmore Interchange.
But the West Link, one of Highland Council's solutions to the traffic problems, has been controversial with a campaign opposed to the loss of green spaces to the new road.
Better digital connectivity would likely receive wide spread support with the most vocal support coming from places beyond Inverness. Highland Council's leader Margaret Davidson has said the whole of the Highlands would benefit from investment in improved broadband connections.
Wherever the millions of pounds is eventually committed it will be the cause of agreement and disagreement.
Similar deals have previously been secured by Glasgow and jointly by Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils.
The Scottish and UK governments provide funding and other support for the packages.
Highland Council said millions of pounds it has committed to building Inverness's new West Link road would form part of the deal.
The local authority said the package would benefit the wider Highland area.
During last week's Budget, Chancellor George Osborne said that negotiations would also begin on the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal bid
It aims to secure major funding to help better protect historic attractions in Scotland's capital, and also boost the wider area's overseas trade and opportunities for new businesses.
Those involved have calculated that an additional £3.2bn worth of private sector investment could be leveraged if the bid was successful.


There is no guarantee that investing billions in infrastructure will help the North of England, the man leading the "Northern Powerhouse" project says.

But former CBI chief John Cridland told the BBC that people should take a "leap of faith" on new roads and railways.
He said he believed reducing journey times between northern cities would improve the economy.
But critics say the money might be better spent on training and skills - or on transport within cities.
Mr Cridland's quango Transport for the North is due to publish its first report soon.
The chancellor's advisory National Infrastructure Commission also will make recommendations on Northern transport.
Five issues that will shape the Northern Powerhouse
The bodies have been considering transport options such as a motorway running under the Peak District from Sheffield to Manchester, or an HS3 rail link between Leeds and Manchester.
But Anne Robinson, from Friends of the Peak District, told BBC News: "These are just pie-in-the-sky schemes. We haven't been given the slightest shred of evidence that they will do any good."
She warned that the motorway scheme - running more than 30 miles underground - would cost a fortune, as well as creating congestion in roads at either end of the tunnel and potentially disrupting the ecology of the Peaks National Park.
Mr Cridland said ambitious infrastructure should be on the agenda: "I'm not claiming there is perfect science here.
"But I am convinced that after decades of under-investment, it's now time to close that investment gap - and it will lead to better travelling experiences and economic growth.
"Transport economics can't always prove this: sometimes, like the Victorian engineers, you have to take a leap of faith."
Ms Robinson said it was foolish to take a leap of faith with billions of public money.
It is likely, though, that both quangos reporting on transport in the north will concentrate their efforts on solutions which bring quick improvement for travellers - like electrifying the Leeds-Manchester route and putting on extra carriages.
Another likely favourite option will be to introduce hard-shoulder running by making all of the M62 a "smart" motorway.
The two bodies may also be anxious to keep hope alive for heroic inter-city infrastructure in the north so people have faith in the regeneration of the region.
There is already a degree of cynicism about ambitious words from Westminster. One Manchester business leader disparaged the term "Northern Powerhouse".
"It's a bit embarrassing isn't it? Frankly it looks like a brand in search of a product," he told me.
Mr Cridland maintains that already the Powerhouse slogan itself has created a sense of excitement and purpose.
The team making key decisions on train operation in the north has been shifted from the south to Leeds, he says - and this is making planners more responsive to local needs.
The big cities of the north are talking to each other, making plans, dreaming they can really breathe new life into the region, Mr Cridland says. Now, he confesses, some infrastructure has to follow.
Follow Roger on Twitter @rharrabin.


An accident report has raised concerns about watchkeeping on a ferry and boat which were involved in a collision which led to a teenager's death.

Daniel McNeil, 16, from North Shields, died after the incident involving the Scottish Viking and the Homeland prawn boat off the Borders coast last August.
The report said both crews had not determined at an early stage if there was a risk of collision.
It said actions had now been taken to tackle the safety concerns raised.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch report said the Homeland had left Eyemouth harbour at about 1845 BST on the evening of the collision.
The Scottish Viking had left Rosyth headed for Zeebrugge about an hour and a half earlier.
They collided at about 1945 BST a few miles off St Abb's Head in good visibility.
The Homeland quickly capsized and Mr McNeil's body was lost at sea before being recovered nearly three months later.
The MAIB report has concluded a number of factors led to the collision.
It said watchkeeping on the ferry did not monitor or plot the path of the Homeland sufficiently and, once a risk of collision was deemed to exist, failed to take sufficient action to avoid it.
It added the crew of the Homeland did not recognise the risk of collision until it was too late to take effective action.
The investigation also identified "complacency and lack of precautionary thought" on the Scottish Viking as well as "ineffective implementation of the company's navigation policy and procedures".
Concerns were highlighted about "restricted all-round visibility from the aft deck" on the prawn trawler as well as "conflicting task priorities and possible lack of watchkeeping proficiency".
However, it added that in light of actions taken following the accident, it had no safety recommendations to make.


Britain's America's Cup campaign got off to a strong start under the leadership of Sir Ben Ainslie on day one of the World Series in Portsmouth.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist won two of the three races with his Land Rover BAR team to finish top of the leaderboard with 26 points.
Groupama Team France are level on points but trail by one race win to the British boat's two.
Ainslie hopes to skipper Britain to a first America's Cup win in 165 years.
Portsmouth is the seventh stage of a lengthy qualification process that will count towards the 2017 America's Cup Challenger Series, the winner of which will take on Oracle in the 2017 America's Cup in Bermuda.
Ainslie said: "I was pleased with the way we regrouped for the final two races. We fought hard and kept going to come away with two wins.
"It was a day to keep your eyes open and keep fighting all the way because there were always opportunities to gain and lose."
Defending America's Cup champions Oracle Team USA are three points back on 23 alongside Softbank Team Japan.


US markets closed up on Wednesday, after the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting appeared to confirm plans by the Federal Reserve to raise rates next month.

However, share gains and losses were widely spread among a range of sectors making it hard to identify a pattern.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.25% to 2,404.39, while the Dow Jones gained 0.36%, reaching 21,012.42.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at 6,1463.02, up 0.4%.
Shares in US steelmakers jumped in morning trade, as the US Commerce Department started a hearing over possible restrictions on imports of the material. But most of those gains had evaporated by the end of the day.
Goldman Sachs closed the day up by nearly 2%, climbing rapidly in the afternoon.
Banks typically benefit from higher interest rates, however, the sentiment did not spread to all of its rivals.
JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America  both closed down slightly.
Intuit, which provides tax preparation services, rose more than 6%, on strong earnings. The firm reported revenue in the three months to the end of April was up 10%.


India's archaic and obsolete laws are seen by many as its most burdensome legacy.

Among those which remain on the books are more than 300 dating from the colonial era, as well as rules to manage issues arising out of the Partition of India. There are more than a dozen laws imposing redundant taxes that yield little and cost a lot to collect, as well as outdated laws relating to former princely states and the nationalisation of industries and banks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says one of his missions is to rid India of a "maze of useless laws".
During the election campaign he promised that for every law passed, his government would repeal 10 obsolete ones. More recently, in a speech at New York's Madison Square Garden, he said he planned to get rid of one such law every day. His government has already placed a bill in parliament, recommending 36 obsolete laws be revised. A Delhi-based citizens' group has gone a step further and compiled a list of 100 laws to delete from the statue books.
Here are 10 laws, picked at random, that India could easily get rid of:
The law defines treasure specifically as "anything of any value hidden in the soil" and worth as little as 10 rupees (16 cents; 10 pence).
The finder of such treasure, according to the law, will need to inform the most senior local official of the "nature and amount or approximate value of such treasure and the place where it was found".
Also, if the finder fails to hand over the booty to the government, the "share of such treasure ... shall vest in Her Majesty". It's worth remembering that the British left India in 1947.
Walter James McDonald Redwood, a priest in the southern city of Bangalore, solemnised many local marriages during his time, mistakenly believing that he was authorised to do so.
The law was introduced to validate those marriages.
It's less clear what relevance it has these days.
The law levies a cess - a tax imposed for special administrative expenses - on salt manufacturers at the rate of 14 paise (2 cents) per 40kg on all salt made in a private or state-owned salt factory.
The proceeds - after deducting the cost of collection -  are used to meet expenses of salt-making, labour welfare and research.
In 2013-14 collections from the tax amounted to $538,000 (Â£343,400), which was nearly half the cost of collecting it. Given that collections are so low, says the Delhi-based Centre for Civil Society, removing this act - and tax - would have little effect on the government's finances.
A High Level Salt Enquiry Committee set up in 1978 recommended that the tax should be scrapped since the "annual collection was very small" while the total cost of collecting it was more than half of the total collection. The recommendation is still pending.
Although 92% of salt in India is produced by private companies, its salt industry is controlled by what is called the Indian Salt Service, employing some 800 officers.
The law regulates possession of telegraph wires by Indians.
A person who possesses telegraph wires - with precisely defined diameters -  is expected to inform authorities about the quantity in his possession. Anybody possessing more than 10lb (4kg) of such wire has to convert the excess into ingots.
The problem with this law is India sent out its last telegram in July 2013, after which telegraph services were shut.
The law says only the federal government has the "exclusive privilege of conveying by post, from one place to another", most letters.
There are a few exceptions, including one particularly bizarre one: "Letters sent by a private friend in his way, journey or travel, to be delivered by him to the person to whom they are directed, without hire, reward or other profit or advantages for receiving, carrying or delivering them".
India's thriving courier industry circumvents this law by sending "documents" rather than letters.
The 145-year-old law deals with regulating public sarais (rest houses), including duties of the manager and "removal of noxious vegetation" on the site.
The law says sarais should also provide free drinking water to passers by  - reports say it is often misused instead to harass hotel owners.
The law was enforced to "prevent the dissemination of certain publications harmful to young persons".
A harmful publication is one that "tends to corrupt a young person" with pictures and stories which depict "violence or cruelty" or "incidents of a repulsive or horrible nature".
Many believe that words such as repulsive and horrible are "vague and subject to arbitrary interpretation, and consequently lead to widespread discretion and serve as an excuse for harassment".
For example, earlier this year, police in southern Kerala state raided shops selling Bob Marley T-shirts on the grounds that these encouraged youngsters to consume drugs - and shopkeepers were charged under the law.
The law defines an aircraft as "any machine which can derive support in the atmosphere from reactions of the air". So it includes "balloons, whether fixed or free, airships, kites, gliders and flying machines".
It also says only the government can make rules regarding "possession, use, operation, sale, import or export of any aircraft or class of aircraft".
By this logic, it would be illegal to fly kites and balloons without government clearance in India.
This law requires every foreigner staying in India for more than 180 days to report his/her entry, movement from one place to another and departure, to the authorities.
Introduced by the British to regulate the entry and movement of foreigners in India - particularly of Indian revolutionaries from abroad - the law also requires owners and managers of hotels and boarding houses, and aircraft or ships to report the presence of any foreigners.
Many say the law has become a tool to harass foreigners and is an impediment to India's efforts to boost tourism.
This discriminatory colonial law exempted areas populated by India's Sonthal tribespeople from general laws and regulations because they were an "uncivilised race".
The law, introduced to curb uprisings by isolating tribal populations, "violate the principles of equality under law adopted by our Constitution and give legitimacy to discrimination and ill-treatment of tribal populations in India", according to a citizens' group.


When popes travel, there are three levels of communication.

First there are the crowds, the gut reaction and the enthusiasm of the millions of faithful and of the simply curious who turn out to see the new man in white, the latest successor to Saint Peter.
In Rio, the welcome Pope Francis received on the streets and particularly along the Avenida Atlantica at Copacabana beach was rapturous. Three million people gathered on the sands to hear and see him project his image of a poorer, simpler church.
Then there's the religious message.
During his week-long visit to Brazil, Pope Francis laid down a revolutionary blueprint for the future of the Catholic Church, not only in Latin America but worldwide.
Using very simple, direct language - in contrast to the sometimes obscure and wordy "Popespeak" of his immediate predecessors -  he  challenged common notions of modernity and progress, and asked difficult questions of his more than 1.3 billion followers.
He spoke mainly in the language in which he feels most comfortable, his native Spanish, often eschewing Brazilian Portuguese, the language spoken by his hosts. But his message came across with startling clarity.
He told a crowd of 30,000 young Argentine Catholics attending World Youth Day in Rio to "make a mess" in their dioceses, to "stir things up", to shake up the comfort, self-satisfaction and clericalism of a Church closed in upon itself. "Don't forget to disturb complacency, but please don't water down the faith!" Francis said.
"The Church must be taken into the streets," he said in the cathedral of Rio. "If not, the Church becomes an NGO. And the Church cannot become an NGO."
This was not a call to revolution, simply an endorsement of the frustration experienced by millions of young people, both in the developing world and in industrialised countries, who have no jobs nor any immediate prospect of dignified work.
In the huge beehive-shaped Cathedral of Rio, illuminated by strips of brilliant stained-glass windows, he suggested that the Catholic Church should also slow down its pace a bit.
"People today are attracted by things that are faster and faster, rapid internet connections, speedy cars and planes, instant relationships," Pope Francis told the biggest gathering of Catholic bishops in half a century.
"At the same time, we see a desperate need for calmness, I would say even slowness. Is the Church still able to move slowly, to take the time to listen, to have the patience to mend and reassemble? Or is the Church itself caught up in the frantic pursuit of efficiency?"
The third level of communication is when the Pope talks off-the-cuff to journalists. Speaking on the plane which brought him back to the Vatican from Rio,  he fielded questions on a wide range of subjects ranging from how he intended to resolve the money laundering scandal at the Vatican Bank to allegations about a "gay prelates lobby" inside the Church's headquarters.
He was disarmingly frank. He said he didn't know yet how the story  of the Vatican Bank was going to end. A Vatican accountant is currently in jail being questioned by Italian prosecutors who believe that some Italian businessmen may have been using the Vatican as a sort of fiscal paradise and tax haven.
On the question of the existence of a so-called "gay lobby" inside the Vatican, Pope Francis quipped that he still had to find anyone whose Vatican ID described him as gay. He denied outright Italian media reports about a long-ago gay scandal involving a prelate who is now in charge of the Vatican residence which is the Pope's new home.
Pope Francis, the first ever pontiff from Latin America, has struck an unusual new tone at all levels of communication.
Now that he is back at his desk in his modest Vatican quarters, he has some important decisions to make about the future governance of his Church.
Normally the cardinals who run the Holy See are off on their long summer holidays at this time of year. But Pope Francis' seasons are not the same as those of his predecessors. In the Southern Hemisphere, where the bulk of his international flock now lives, it is winter.
Pope Francis plans to spend the month of August preparing for some radical changes in the future governance of his worldwide Church. Be prepared for some big surprises.


For four weeks, India and China have been involved in a stand-off along part of their 3,500km (2,174-mile) shared border.

The two nations fought a war over the border in 1962 and disputes remain unresolved in several areas, causing tensions to rise from time to time.
Since this confrontation began last month, each side has reinforced its troops and called on the other to back down.
It erupted when India opposed China's attempt to extend a border road through a plateau known as Doklam in India and Donglang in China.
The plateau, which lies at a junction between China, the north-eastern Indian state of Sikkim and Bhutan, is currently disputed between Beijing and Thimphu.  India supports Bhutan's claim over it.
India is concerned that if the road is completed, it will give China greater access to India's strategically vulnerable "chicken's neck", a 20km (12-mile) wide corridor that links the seven north-eastern states to the Indian mainland.
Indian military officials told regional analyst Subir Bhaumik that they protested and stopped the road-building group, which led Chinese troops to rush Indian positions and smash two bunkers at the nearby Lalten outpost.
"We did not open fire, our boys just created a human wall and stopped the Chinese from any further incursion," a brigadier said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
Chinese officials say that in opposing the road construction, Indian border guards obstructed "normal activities" on the Chinese side, and called on India to immediately withdraw.
Both India and China have rushed more troops to the border region, and media reports say the two sides are in an "eyeball to eyeball" stand-off.
The Chinese ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui told Press Trust of India news agency on Tuesday that India had to "unconditionally pull back troops" for peace to prevail. The statement is being seen as a diplomatic escalation by China.
China also retaliated by stopping 57 Indian pilgrims who were on their way to the Manas Sarovar Lake in Tibet via the Nathu La pass in Sikkim. The lake is a holy Hindu site and there is a formal agreement between the neighbours to allow devotees to visit.
Bhutan, meanwhile, has asked China to stop building the road, saying it is in violation of an agreement between the two countries.
Indian military experts say Sikkim is the only area through which India could make an offensive response to a Chinese incursion, and the only stretch of the Himalayan frontier where Indian troops have a terrain and tactical advantage.
They have higher ground, and the Chinese positions there are squeezed between India and Bhutan.
"The Chinese know this and so they are always trying to undo our advantage there," retired Maj-Gen Gaganjit Singh, who commanded troops on the border, told the BBC.
Last week, the foreign ministry said that the construction "would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India".
Indian Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also warned that the India of 2017 was not the India of 1962, and the country was well within its rights to defend its territorial integrity.
China has reiterated its sovereignty over the area, saying that the road is in its territory and accusing Indian troops of "trespassing".
It said India would do well to remember its defeat in the 1962 war, warning Delhi that China was also more powerful than it was then.
On Monday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that the border in Sikkim had been settled in an 1890 agreement with the British, and that India's violation of this was "very serious".
The Global Times newspaper, meanwhile, accused India of undermining Bhutan's sovereignty by interfering in the road project, although Bhutan has since asked China to stop construction.
Bhutan's Ambassador to Delhi Vetsop Namgyel says China's road construction is "in violation of an agreement between the two countries".
Bhutan and China do not have formal relations but maintain contact through their missions in Delhi.
Security analyst Jaideep Saikia told the BBC that Beijing had for a while now been trying to deal directly with Thimphu, which is Delhi's closest ally in South Asia.
"By raising the issue of Bhutan's sovereignty, they are trying to force Thimphu to turn to Beijing the way Nepal has," he said.
The region saw clashes between China and India in 1967, and tensions still flare occasionally. Commentators say the latest development appears to be one of the most serious escalations in recent years.
The fact that Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama resides in India has also been a sticking point between the two countries.
This stand-off in fact, comes within weeks of China's furious protests against the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian state that China claims and describes as its own.
Relations between the Asian giants, however, may not slide further as China has allowed 56 Hindu pilgrims, who entered through the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, to visit the Manas Sarovar site.
"They are heading for the lake and they are safe," senior tourism official Dheeraj Garbiyal said last week.
This, experts say, shows that the Chinese are not raising tensions on the whole border but specifically on the Sikkim-Bhutan stretch.


An ambitious mission to drill through 3km (1.8 miles) of Antarctic ice to a lake that has been sealed off for thousands of years has been cut short.

The team at Lake Ellsworth decided to call off the mission in the early hours of Christmas Day UK time.
They were unable to join the main borehole with a parallel hole that was to be used to recover drilling water.
The team is now "weatherising" the equipment and it is unclear when they will be able to resume the project.
The Â£8m ($13m) project, headed by the British Antarctic Survey (Bas), aimed to drill carefully down using near-boiling water to pierce the lake, which has been untouched for as much as half a million years.
The hope had been to find hints of simple life forms existing in the extreme conditions of pressure and temperature, and to find a record of climate in the lake's sediments.
By David ShukmanScience editor, BBC News
Searching for life in the hidden waters of Lake Ellsworth was one of the most ambitious British science projects of recent years, so this failure in the drilling programme will come as a huge blow.
The team knew that the risks were high, but the idea of exploring an ancient and mysterious body of water isolated for hundreds of thousands of years had inspired passion and determination.
The challenge of designing and engineering equipment that could remain sterilised on the long journey to Antarctica, and then down through the 3km of ice-sheet, was immense and involved hundreds of people.
So the disappointment will be felt far beyond the 12 men at their remote camp on the ice. Engineers, technicians, support staff  - and researchers eager for the results - will feel heavy disappointment. They may try again next year. But this was frontier science, a gamble, and it did not pay off.
The programme ran into trouble last week as the main boiler used to heat drilling water broke down, with a replacement part being flown from the UK reaching the remote site last Friday.
With the boiler working, the team aimed to make two parallel boreholes, intended to join 300m below the surface.
A first borehole was drilled and left for 12 hours to create a hot-water cavity. This was to be used to re-circulate drilling water and to balance pressures when the sequestered lake was finally breached.
However, the team were unable to reach the cavity during the course of drilling the second, main borehole.
"We kept trying for over 24 hours to reach that connection but we couldn't do it," said principal investigator of the project Martin Siegert, from the University of Bristol.
"All that time we were losing fuel and water from the ice sheet surface and we got to a critical condition where our calculations showed us we simply didn't have enough fuel to continue any further down into the ice sheet to hit the top of the lake," he told BBC News.
The team is now starting the long process of gathering up its equipment for eventual return to the UK, where it will be serviced.
Once back on UK soil, the team will have to develop a report on what went wrong, and only then can the thought of a return trip be considered.
"It will take a season or two to get all of our equipment out of Antarctica and back to the UK, so at a minimum we're looking at three to four, maybe five years I would have thought," Prof Siegert said.
But he remained hopeful about the future, and said that this year's mission was far from a complete loss.
"We still want to do that testing, they were compelling scientific drivers a few years ago and they remain so.  It's very important that we take stock of what we achieved here," he said.
Given the long time that it may take to fund and mount another mission to Ellsworth, it may be that other nations aim for other sealed-off Antarctic lakes in the nearer term.
"We have never depicted it as a race, but it may well happen that others get there first," Audrey Stevens, Bas spokesperson, told BBC News.


Heavily armed police have been sent to a prison on the outskirts of Melbourne following a major riot reportedly linked to a smoking ban.

Staff and visitors were evacuated from the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall after clashes involving hundreds of inmates began at midday.
Parts of the prison are in lockdown but the outer perimeter was not breached.
Victorian Corrections Commissioner Jan Shuard said it was one of Melbourne's biggest ever prison riots.
She said it might be linked to the smoking ban, due to come into effect on Wednesday, but the ban would go ahead regardless.
"Until I get a full debrief, I can't speculate about how it all came about," she told reporters.
But she said it was "very disappointing that it occurred today".
Other media reports quoted people in contact with prisoners who blamed the ban for the violence.
One man, David, told Melbourne's 3AW radio station an inmate had told him earlier in the week that "all hell was going to break loose" if their tobacco was removed.
Police and emergency services rushed to the Metropolitan Remand Centre in the afternoon afternoon after prisoners breached an inner perimeter.
There have been no reports so far of injuries but local media have reported police entering the prison and using a water cannon to subdue inmates.
Footage from the scene broadcast on Australian media showed prisoners in an outside yard with covered faces lighting fires and smashing windows.
Ms Shuard said several small fires started by the prisoners were quickly "contained".
Police secured the prison's perimeter while a police drone and police helicopter surveyed the scene from the air.
The riot, which broke out at about 12.30pm local time on Tuesday (02:30 GMT), was not a threat to public safety, said prison authorities.
The commissioner could not confirm reports the riot involved two rival prison gangs.
Earlier in the day, she said the state's prison system had been "very ready" for the smoking ban.
About 84% of Victorian prisoners are smokers, according to government figures, about five times the rate in the general community.
The government said it was introducing the ban to improve the health of prison staff and inmates.
Ms Shuard said the ban had been 18 months in the making.
"We've had a very long-term project in place to work with both our staff and the prisoners in preparing for [the ban]," Ms Shuard told the ABC on Tuesday.


The US Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by President Donald Trump to include grandparents and other relatives of US residents in his travel ban on people from six countries.

But the judges also gave the government the right to enforce a separate ban on refugees, pending a government appeal against a federal court order.
Both items were part of an executive order issued by Mr Trump on 6 March.
He says the move is vital for national security.
Critics counter that it is discriminatory and unfair.
A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration on both issues last week, leading it to seek the intervention of the Supreme Court.
Wednesday's Supreme Court decision means grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and siblings-in-law of those legally residing in the US are not covered by the current 90-day bar on the entry of people from from six Muslim-majority nations: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
'Grandparents, not terrorists'
Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin, who challenged both bans in court, said the Supreme Court ruling endorsed Hawaii's position.
"This confirms we were right to say that the Trump administration overreached in trying to unilaterally keep families apart from each other," he said in a statement.
The Supreme Court's decision on the refugee ban could prevent the entry of up to 24,000 refugees connected to a US Resettlement Agency. Mr Trump's 50,000 cap on refugee admissions for the year, part of the executive order, has already been reached.
This latest legal ruling is temporary while the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals considers the government's appeal against a lower court ruling that upheld Hawaii's challenge to the ban.
But Naureen Shah of Amnesty International USA said the decision "jeopardises the safety of thousands of people across the world including vulnerable families fleeing war and violence".
This is just the latest round in an ongoing battle over Mr Trump's executive order, which began after Supreme Court intervention last month partly reinstated the ban on refugees and travellers from the six Muslim-majority countries.
It said only those with "bona fide" family ties would be let into the US.
But the Trump administration decided that did not include grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and cousins.
The federal judge who ruled against this condemned the government's definition of a close relative as "unduly restrictive".
An initial version of the ban, published in January, sparked mass protests at airports and a series of legal challenges that prevented its implementation.
Mr Trump drafted a new version in March, dropping Iraq from the list of countries, clarifying the position of "green card" holders, removing priority for "religious minorities" in mostly-Muslim countries, and softening a tough stance on Syrian refugees.
But courts struck down the new version within days, with a Virginia court claiming it was "rooted in religious animus" against Muslims.
That prompted the Trump administration to go to the Supreme Court for a ruling, where conservatives hold a majority of five to four.
The nation's highest court allowed the ban to go ahead temporarily, until it makes a full decision in October.


Queen of the South have appointed East Fife boss Gary Naysmith as their new manager.

Naysmith, 38, will take over at Scottish Championship Queens following the Fifers' Scottish Cup replay against Edinburgh City on Monday.
The former Everton, Hearts and Scotland player took over at Bayview Stadium in 2013, having joined East Fife as a player earlier that year.
"I'm thrilled to be taking over at Queens," said Naysmith.
"They are a decent sized club with plenty of potential.
"I've loved my time at East Fife and thank them for giving me the opportunity, but I'm delighted to be making the move back to a full-time club and being able to work with the players on a daily basis.
"Queens have some decent players within the squad and I'm looking forward to working with them to achieve success."
The Palmerston club are currently sixth in the second tier, five points off the promotion play-off places, with coaches Jim Thomson and Graeme Robertson again looking after the team for Saturday's trip to Dumbarton following Gavin Skelton's resignation in early November.
East Fife are second bottom of League One, having won promotion last season.
Assistant manager Dougie Anderson is making the switch from Methil along with Naysmith.
Queens chairman Billy Hewitson added: "We are delighted to welcome Gary to Palmerston. With his involvement at another club, it's been a complicated process and not as straight forward as some would've liked, but we feel we have appointed the right person and we look forward to working with him."


People who developed a fatal lung disease after coming into contact with asbestos through family members have begun a campaign for compensation.

The victims, mainly women, were often exposed to asbestos while washing their spouse's clothing.
They fall outside a compensation scheme which only covers those who contracted the disease directly at their work.
Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma - a type of cancer that mainly affects the lining of the lungs.
Victims can attempt to identify the insurance policy for the company they worked for and then pursue a civil claim.
If that is not possible then the UK government diffuse mesothelioma payments scheme, introduced in 2014, can provide compensation.
However, neither of these options are open to the family members of employees who, for instance, brought home clothing covered with asbestos.
Euan Love, from Digby Brown solicitors who are representing some of the victims, said the government should consider extending the scheme to this group.
"The negligent act is identical for the man working in the premises and the man bringing home the overalls to his wife and her being exposed in that way," he said.
"There is a potential argument that it is discriminatory against women as they are disproportionately affected by their inability to seek compensation either through the insurance policy or through the diffuse mesothelioma payments.
"They are left to rely on state benefits funded by the taxpayer."
A DWP spokeswoman said the scheme was designed for people who contracted the disease because they were exposed to asbestos at work.
She added: "But we know there will be people who develop the disease after coming into contact with asbestos in other ways, which is why we have a separate scheme to provide people with the financial support they need."
Trish Doig is one of the women who are thought to have become ill because of exposure to asbestos brought home on the clothing of a family member.
"I think I came into contact with asbestos when I stayed with my aunt and uncle in the 60s," she said. "My uncle worked for a Dundee boiler company and they worked with asbestos all the time.
"I think the fibres came home on his clothes, he would give me a lift to work in his little van which was full of asbestos and I think that is where my contact came from in the 60s.
"I think the fibres were all around his van and anyone inside his van was exposed to these little tiny fibres that you couldn't even see."
Doctors initially assumed she must have worked with asbestos when they gave her diagnosis.
She said: "I was shocked. I'd never heard of this mesothelioma. Quite horrifying."
She's always breathless.
"I don't do very much now. I still try to do housework and I still cook but as far as doing anything energetic, I find that quite difficult.
"I find I don't have the energy for that. And when I do try to do too much then I just get breathless and I have to sit down."
Her husband Ally Doig insists their fight is "not about the money".
"My feeling about it is the sheer injustice of it, that the government recognised in 2014 that there were lots of people who were left unable to claim because companies had ceased to exist or their insurance companies couldn't be traced."
He agrees that the government deserves credits for at least introducing a compensation scheme.
"Unfortunately the eligibility criteria for it is limited to people who have acquired the disease directly through their own employment," he said.
"So anyone who has acquired it - for example women washing their husband's clothes - they're excluded, they're just not eligible for the scheme at all.
"I just think that really in this day and age that's just not right. I think all citizens should be entitled to expect the same treatment under the law."
Trish Doig said she cannot understand why people in her position receive so little.
"I think it's wrong that they do what they do, because the way I look at it is that I didn't ask to get this disease but I have it," she said.
"And if there is a way of some compensation, whether it's a lot of money or a little money, then it would be quite nice to think at least someone's listening out there."


A Patriot missile - usually priced at about $3m (Â£2.5m) - was used to shoot down a small quadcopter drone, according to a US general.

The strike was made by a US ally, Gen David Perkins told a military symposium.
"That quadcopter that cost 200 bucks from Amazon.com did not stand a chance against a Patriot," he said.
Patriots are radar-targeted weapons more commonly used to shoot down enemy aircraft and ballistic missiles.
"Now, that worked, they got it, OK, and we love Patriot missiles," the general said.
Recently, there have been reports that some groups, for example in Iraq, have taken to attaching weapons to small, commercial drones and using them against security forces.
However, Gen Perkins suggested deploying large surface-to-air missiles as a defence was probably not economically wise.
"I'm not sure that's a good economic exchange ratio," he told an audience at the Association of the United States Army's Global Force symposium in Alabama.
"In fact, if I'm the enemy, I'm thinking, 'Hey, I'm just gonna get on eBay and buy as many of these $300 quadcopters as I can and expend all the Patriot missiles out there'."
No further details of the encounter - such as where or how recently it took place - were given, but Gen Perkins did describe the party that launched the missile as "a very close ally".
"It is clearly enormous overkill," said Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute.
"It certainly exposes in very stark terms the challenge which militaries face in attempting to deal with the adaptation of cheap and readily available civilian technology with extremely expensive, high-end hardware designed for state-on-state warfare."
Mr Bronk also told the BBC that Patriot radar systems, while sophisticated, might struggle to target a small quadcopter effectively.
Patriot missiles were first produced in 1980 and are operated by 12 countries including the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The missiles themselves travel at five times the speed of sound, whereas a quadcopter drone typically has a top speed of 50mph (80km/h).


A non-molestation order had been made on the suspected killer of County Fermanagh woman Concepta Leonard, the Courts Service has confirmed.

Mrs Leonard, 51, was found dead in her home in Maguiresbridge on Monday, believed to have been stabbed by former partner Peadar Phair.
Phair's body was also found at the scene in Abbey Road.
Her son Conor, who is in his 30s and has Down's syndrome, was found with stab wounds to his stomach.
The family's priest said Conor is due to be discharged from hospital and he wants to carry his mother's coffin.
"He's said he wants to carry the coffin, so with the help of the family and the community I'm sure he'll be able to cope," Father Lawrence Dawson said.
The Courts Service said there was to have been a full hearing to confirm the non-molestation order, preventing contact with Mrs Leonard, in Enniskillen courthouse on Tuesday.
Police are treating the attack on Conor Leonard as attempted murder.
They are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
Mrs Leonard was well-known from her involvement with the Irish music organisation Comhaltas.
Sonny McDermott, from the organisation, said its members had been left shocked by her death.
"You couldn't believe it could happen, but I suppose these things happen - you can do nothing about it, the loss of a talented person like that," he said.
"It's a big loss to Comhaltas because she was very much involved and she was treasurer of the Lisnaskea branch and has been involved at different levels over the years."
Fr Dawson, the priest in Ms Leonard's parish of Aghavea, said a "wave of shock and grief" had spread through the area.
"I knew Connie very well, she was an active member of the parish, a great musician, an all-Ireland champion and she shared her talents in church services," he said.
"It affects everyone when they see how fragile life is and how easily it can be snuffed out.
"But it's a tight-knit community here and they're rallying around the family, and they'll help them pull through it and help them to face the future with faith and courage.
Mrs Leonard ran a catering business in Lisnaskea in County Fermanagh.


Interim manager Gary Locke hopes to land the Kilmarnock job permanently before Motherwell visit on Saturday.

The former Hearts boss has lost just one game since replacing Allan Johnston in early February.
And, last week, new chairman Jim Mann said Locke was in "prime position to be a contender" for the position.
"The board have kept me in the loop and my agent is in talks, so hopefully I'll get my future sorted out by the end of the week," Locke told BBC Scotland.
"These things always take time and the club has had a lot of applicants for the post."
Locke, who spent seven years as a player at Rugby Park, arrived as Johnston's assistant at the start of the season.
"I love it here and it's certainly a club I believe is on the up," he added.
"I know about the plans behind the scenes, which Jim and [director] Billy Bowie are involved in. They are trying to move the club in the right direction."
Locke was tight-lipped on speculation linking Kris Boyd with a return to the club for a third spell.
The striker scored 22 goals for Killie last season but has struggled for form since moving on to Rangers.
"It would be wrong of me to comment on any players at other clubs," said Locke. "The main thing for me is to get my own future sorted out then everything else will take care of itself.
"I'm looking at players all the time but it's hard because we'll be competing with other clubs for the same faces.
"Ask any manager, they want to work with people they trust.
"But I'm well aware the club is still in a precarious situation financially, so we know it's going to be a rigid budget."


7th-9th century - Namri Songzen and descendants begin to unify Tibetan-inhabited areas and conquer neighbouring territories, in competition with China.
822 - Peace treaty with China delineates borders.
1244 - Mongols conquer Tibet. Tibet enjoys considerable autonomy under Yuan Dynasty.
1598 - Mongol Altan Khan makes high lama Sonam Gyatso first Dalai Lama.
1630s-1717 - Tibet involved in power struggles between Manchu and Mongol factions in China.
1624 - First European contact as Tibetans allow Portuguese missionaries to open church. Expelled at lama's insistence in 1745.
1717 - Dzungar (Oirot) Mongols conquer Tibet and sack Lhasa. Chinese Emperor Kangxi eventually ousts them in 1720, and re-establishes rule of Dalai Lama.
1724 - Chinese Manchu (Qing) dynasty appoints resident commissioner to run Tibet, annexes parts of historic Kham and Amdo provinces.
1750 - Rebellion against Chinese commissioners quelled by Chinese army, which keeps 2,000-strong garrison in Lhasa. Dalai Lama government appointed to run daily administration under supervision of commissioner.
1774 - British East India Company agent George Bogle visits to assess trade possibilities.
1788 and 1791 - China sends troops to expel Nepalese invaders.
1793 - China decrees its commissioners in Lhasa to supervise selection of Dalai and other senior lamas.
1850s - Russian and British rivalry for control of Central Asia prompts Tibetan government to ban all foreigners and shut borders.
1865 - Britain starts discreetly mapping Tibet.
1904 - Dalai Lama flees British military expedition under Colonel Francis Younghusband. Britain forces Tibet to sign trading agreement in order to forestall any Russian overtures.
1906 - British-Chinese Convention of 1906 confirms 1904 agreement, pledges Britain not to annex or interfere in Tibet in return for indemnity from Chinese government.
1907 - Britain and Russia acknowledge Chinese suzerainty over Tibet.
1908-09 - China restores Dalai Lama, who flees to India as China sends in army to control his government.
1912 April - Chinese garrison surrenders to Tibetan authorities after Chinese Republic declared.
1912 - 13th Dalai Lama returns from India, Chinese troops leave.
1913 - Tibet reasserts independence after decades of rebuffing attempts by Britain and China to establish control.
1935 - The man who will later become the 14th Dalai Lama is born to a peasant family in a small village in north-eastern Tibet. Two years later, Buddhist officials declare him to be the reincarnation of the 13 previous Dalai Lamas.
1949 - Mao Zedong proclaims the founding of the People's Republic of China and threatens Tibet with "liberation".
1950 - China enforces a long-held claim to Tibet. The Dalai Lama, now aged 15, officially becomes head of state.
1951 - Tibetan leaders are forced to sign a treaty dictated by China. The treaty, known as the "Seventeen Point Agreement", professes to guarantee Tibetan autonomy and to respect the Buddhist religion, but also allows the establishment of Chinese civil and military headquarters at Lhasa.
Mid-1950s - Mounting resentment against Chinese rule leads to outbreaks of armed resistance.
1954 - The Dalai Lama visits Beijing for talks with Mao, but China still fails to honour the Seventeen Point Agreement.
1959 March - Full-scale uprising breaks out in Lhasa. Thousands are said to have died during the suppression of the revolt. The Dalai Lama and most of his ministers flee to northern India, to be followed by some 80,000 other Tibetans.
1963 - Foreign visitors are banned from Tibet.
1965 - Chinese government establishes Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR).
1966 - The Cultural Revolution reaches Tibet and results in the destruction of a large number of monasteries and cultural artefacts.
1971 - Foreign visitors are again allowed to enter the country.
Late 1970s - End of Cultural Revolution leads to some easing of repression, though large-scale relocation of Han Chinese into Tibet continues.
1980s - China introduces "Open Door" reforms and boosts investment while resisting any move towards greater autonomy for Tibet.
1987 - The Dalai Lama calls for the establishment of Tibet as a zone of peace and continues to seek dialogue with China, with the aim of achieving genuine self-rule for Tibet within China.
1988 - China imposes martial law after riots break out.
1989 - The Dalai Lama is awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.
1993 - Talks between China and the Dalai Lama break down.
1995 - The Dalai Lama names a six-year-old boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the true reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. The Chinese authorities place the boy under house arrest and designate another six-year-old boy, Gyancain Norbu, as their officially sanctioned Panchen Lama.
2002 - Contacts between the Dalai Lama and Beijing are resumed.
2006 July - A new railway linking Lhasa and the Chinese city of Golmud is opened. The Chinese authorities hail it as a feat of engineering, but critics say it will significantly increase Han Chinese traffic to Tibet and accelerate the undermining of traditional Tibetan culture.
2007 November - The Dalai Lama hints at a break with the centuries-old tradition of selecting his successor, saying the Tibetan people should have a role.
2007 December - The number of tourists travelling to Tibet hits a record high, up 64% year on year at just over four million, Chinese state media say.
2008 March - Anti-China protests escalate into the worst violence Tibet has seen in 20 years, five months before Beijing hosts the Olympic Games.
Pro-Tibet activists in several countries focus world attention on the region by disrupting progress of the Olympic torch relay.
2008 October - The Dalai Lama says he has lost hope of reaching agreement with China about the future of Tibet. He suggests that his government-in-exile could now harden its position towards Beijing.
2008 November - The British government recognises China's direct rule over Tibet for the first time. Critics say the move undermines the Dalai Lama in his talks with China.
China says there has been no progress in the latest round of talks with aides of the Dalai Lama, and blames the Tibetan exiles for the failure of the discussions.
A meeting of Tibetan exiles in northern India reaffirms support for the Dalai Lama's long-standing policy of seeking autonomy, rather than independence, from China.
2008 December - Row breaks out between European Union and China after Dalai Lama addresses European MPs. China suspends high-level ties with France after President Nicolas Sarkozy meets the Dalai Lama.
2009 January - Chinese authorities detain 81 people and question nearly 6,000 alleged criminals in what the Tibetan government-in-exile called a security crackdown ahead of the March anniversary of the 1959 flight of the Dalai Lama.
2009 March - China marks flight of Dalai Lama with new "Serfs' Liberation Day" public holiday. China promotes its appointee as Panchen Lama, the second-highest-ranking Lama, as spokesman for Chinese rule in Tibet. Government reopens Tibet to tourists after a two-month closure ahead of the anniversary.
2009 April - China and France restore high-level contacts after December rift over President Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama, and ahead of a meeting between President Sarkozy and China's President Hu Jintao at the London G20 summit.
2009 August - Following serious ethnic unrest in China's Xinjiang region, the Dalai Lama describes Beijing's policy on ethnic minorities as "a failure". But he also says that the Tibetan issue is a Chinese domestic problem.
2009 October - China confirms that at least two Tibetans have been executed for their involvement in anti-China riots in Lhasa in March 2008.
2009 January - Head of pro-Beijing Tibet government, Qiangba Puncog, resigns. A former army soldier and, like Puncog, ethnic Tibetan, Padma Choling, is chosen to succeed him.
2010 April - Envoys of Dalai Lama visit Beijing to resume talks with Chinese officials after a break of more than one year.
2011 March - A Tibetan Buddhist monk burns himself to death in a Tibetan-populated part of Sichuan Province in China, becoming the first of 12 monks and nuns in 2011 to make this protest against Chinese rule over Tibet.
2011 April - Dalai Lama announces his retirement from politics. Exiled Tibetans elect Lobsang Sangay to lead the government-in-exile.
2011 July - The man expected to be China's next president, Xi Jinping, promises to "smash" Tibetan separatism in a speech to mark the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist takeover of Tibet. This comes shortly after US President Barack Obama receives the Dalai Lama in Washington and expresses "strong support" for human rights in Tibet.
2011 November - The Dalai Lama formally hands over his political responsibilities to Lobsang Sangay, a former Harvard academic. Before stepping down, the Dalai Lama questions the wisdom and effectiveness of self-immolation as a means of protesting against Chinese rule in Tibet.
2011 December - An exiled Tibetan rights group says a former monk died several days after setting himself on fire. Tenzin Phuntsog is the first monk to die thus in Tibet proper.
2012 May - Two men set themselves on fire in Lhasa, one of whom died, the official Chinese media said. They are the first self-immolations reported in the Tibetan capital.
2012 August - Two Tibetan teenagers are reported to have burned themselves to death in Sichuan province.
2012 October - Several Tibetan men burn themselves to death in north-western Chinese province of Gansu, Tibetan rights campaigners say.
2012 November - UN human rights chief Navi Pillay calls on China to address abuses that have prompted the rise in self-immolations.
On the eve of the 18th Communist Party of China National Congress, three teenage Tibetan monks set themselves on fire.
2013 February - The London-based Free Tibet group says further self-immolations bring to over 100 the number of those who have resorted to this method of protest since March 2011.
2013 June - China denies allegations by rights activists that it has resettled two million Tibetans in "socialist villages".
2014 February - US President Obama holds talks with the Dalai Lama in Washington. China summons a US embassy official in Beijing to protest.
2014 April - Human Rights Watch says Nepal has imposed increasing restrictions on Tibetans living in the country following pressure from China.
2014 June - The Tibetan government-in-exile launches a fresh drive to persuade people across the world to support its campaign for more autonomy for people living inside the region.


Chaotic careers education in England's schools could jeopardise the UK's future economic prosperity, says education watchdog Ofsted.

Lack of an "overarching government strategy" means a generation is leaving school unready for work, it argues.
The UK's post-Brexit success depends on harnessing "home-grown talent", says chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw.
The government said its strategy was "to open young people's eyes to many opportunities and choices".
Earlier this month MPs accused ministers of "burying their heads in the sand" over careers education.
Ofsted's report wants the government to do more to promote "enterprise education" in schools "including the promotion of economic and business understanding and financial capability" among pupils.
Ofsted urges the government to "revisit" recommendations made in a report by Lord Young  published by the government in 2014, which urged greater emphasis on work-related learning in schools.
Lord Young said the economy was increasingly driven by small start-up firms employing fewer than 10 people and that young people would need greater self-reliance, creativity and an enterprising attitude to prosper in this new economic climate.
But of 40 secondary schools visited by Ofsted earlier this year, it said only four put enough emphasis on work-related learning.
Inspectors also found too many schools:
Poor co-ordination between schools and businesses on careers and enterprise education was particularly damaging for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, said Sir Michael.
"It is really important that schools are providing the right opportunities, working effectively with local businesses to offer their pupils the chance to understand how businesses work.
"This is even more important for people from disadvantaged backgrounds."
He said pupils from all backgrounds should "have access to an education that prepares them well for the next stage of their lives, be that higher education, entering employment or setting up their own business".
The report also said that the Careers and Enterprise Company, set up by the government two years ago to help co-ordinate relationships between schools and businesses, was still at "an embryonic stage" and schools and businesses were "largely unaware of its existence".
The report urges better government support for the Careers and Enterprise Company as well as the promotion of apprenticeships.
It also urges that:
Careers and Enterprise Company chief executive Claudia Harris said it had been set up only a year ago and had made rapid progression "from a standing start".
Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, said stronger relationships between schools and employers would be vital "in a period of massive change" and called for "a cultural shift within the education sector".
"Ofsted should put less of a focus on exam results," said Mr Walker.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said the government planned to invest Â£90m on careers guidance over four years, including The Careers and Enterprise Company and telephone support for thousands of teenagers through the National Careers Service.
"Every child deserves an excellent education and schools have a statutory duty to provide high-quality careers advice as part of that," she said.


An RAF pilot accused of causing his plane to nosedive while using a digital camera has been cleared of lying to investigators.

Flt Lt Andrew Townshend was accused of dishonestly claiming the dive was caused by a technical fault.
A court martial heard the Voyager aircraft plummeted 4,400ft (1,341m) over the Black Sea on the flight from RAF Brize Norton to Afghanistan.
The 49-year-old was found not guilty of perjury and making a false record.
But Flt Lt Townshend admitted negligently performing a duty in relation to the Nikon camera colliding with the aircraft's control stick.
A board of RAF officers at Bulford, Wiltshire, heard crew and passengers thought they were going to die during the flight from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, to Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, on 9 February 2014.
The experienced pilot - who has served with the RAF for 30 years and completed 5,500 flying hours - had been using his camera to photograph other aircraft from the cockpit and had taken 95 shots that day.
He also told the court that he had been viewing the star-filled sky moments before the incident, as he had a passion for star-gazing.
Flt Lt Townshend, from Ruislip, west London, filled in his flight log stating he believed there had been an issue with the autopilot, but said he now accepted his camera must have knocked against it and deactivated it.
He will be sentenced on Friday at the same court.


A security alert in north Belfast has ended.

The Woodvale Road was cordoned off and residents moved from their homes after a suspicious object was discovered on Saturday.
Police said that an Army bomb team carried out a check of the area and "nothing untoward was found".
The road has since reopened.


A woman featured in a TV advert saying she would holiday "anywhere but Skegness" has been offered a tour of the resort by the town's mayor.

In the advert for Lotto, a number of people suggest destinations where they would take their families if they won a large sum of money.
Gina Parkin, from Leeds, appears at the end and says "anywhere but Skegness".
She has now apologised for the off-the-cuff comment, saying she "hadn't meant to upset anybody".
More on this and other local stories from across Lincolnshire
Ms Parkin said she had previously been to the Lincolnshire resort at night and "there was a little bit too much alcohol for me".
She said she was now looking forward to seeing the resort in daylight and taking in some of the local attractions, accompanied by the town's mayor, Danny Brookes, who she said invited her after the story was featured in the local press.
Ms Parkin, who will visit the resort on Saturday at the mayor's invitation, said her comments were "just meant to be funny".
She said: "They just asked me some questions, and one of them I answered 'anywhere but Skegness'."
Skegness was previously labelled "tacky" in an edition of the Lonely Planet travel guide.
The guide described the resort as "the ABC of the English seaside - amusements, bingo and candy-floss, and added that "culture vultures will probably run a mile".
Tourism bosses in Skegness previously came under fire themselves for using unflattering images of Blackpool and Brighton in a bid to promote the resort.


A newly discovered species of dinosaur has been identified from an extraordinarily complete Chinese fossil almost destroyed by dynamite.

It was preserved raising its beaked head, with feathered wings outstretched in the mud it was mired in when it died 72 million years ago.
The new creature has been named Tongtianlong limosus, "muddy dragon on the road to heaven".
The discovery is published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
"It was found at a construction site by workmen when they were dynamiting, so they nearly blasted this thing off the hillside," said University of Edinburgh palaeontologist Dr Stephen Brusatte.
"We almost never knew about this dinosaur."
A few small parts of the fossil were in fact blasted off, but considering the circumstances of its discovery, the fossil is remarkably complete.
"It's about the size of a sheep, and it's part of a group of very advanced bird-like, feathered dinosaurs called oviraptorosaurs," said Dr Brusatte.
"They were basically the last group of dinosaurs to blossom before the asteroid hit."
The specimen comes from rocks belonging to the Nanxiong Formation in Jiangxi Province, southern China.
The researchers, from China and the UK, say the fossil is particularly special for the insight it provides into the evolutionary transition from dinosaurs to birds.
"Modern birds came from dinosaurs," said Dr Brusatte, "and its dinosaurs like Tongtianlong that give us a glimpse of what the ancestors of modern birds would have looked like.
"Fossils like these capture evolution in action."
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Gareth Bale scored a late winner as Wales moved to within three points of qualifying for Euro 2016 with victory in Cyprus.

The visitors had found themselves frustrated for large periods but Gareth Bale headed home from Jazz Richards's cross to secure the win.
How well did the Wales players perform out of 10 at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia?
The out-of-favour Crystal Palace goalkeeper dealt with crosses well and was generally solid, but did not have to produce any outstanding saves.
Kept his place after impressing in June's win against Belgium and the right wing-back caught the eye again with an excellent cross for Bale's winner.
Had little to do defensively but tracked opposition runners diligently and remained calm on the ball.
An imposing presence and calming influence at the heart of Wales' defence, extinguishing the fleeting moments of danger with some assertive challenges.
Despite a couple of nervous moments as he tracked back, the Tottenham defender was neat in possession on his return from injury.
Offered Wales width with overlapping runs on the left wing and accomplished his defensive tasks efficiently.
Asked to play a holding role in Joe Allen's absence, the Leicester midfielder offered defensive cover but was occasionally a little sloppy in possession.
Brought in as a late replacement for Joe Ledley, the Wolves midfielder was also careless with the ball at times but stuck to his defensive duties well.
Impressed in the first half having been given licence to roam in front of King and Edwards but his influence waned in a disappointing second period.
Below par for 82 minutes, Wales' talisman came alive in the nick of time to provide the game's defining moment.
Worked tirelessly with very limited service but could have done better with his passing on the rare occasions he found himself in space in Cyprus's half.
Robson-Kanu was replaced by Sam Vokes and Simon Church replaced Bale with 90 minutes on the clock, while Shaun MacDonald came on for Ramsey deep into stoppage time as Chris Coleman looked to see the game out.
None of the three had enough time to make an impression on the match.


The priest conducting the funeral service for a former Provisional IRA member shot dead in east Belfast has said "violence doesn't solve problems".

Kevin McGuigan Sr, 53, was murdered at his home at Comber Court in the Short Strand last Wednesday.
Three men, aged 53, 44 and 41, were arrested on Tuesday morning over the murder.
Fr John Nevin spoke out against the murder during the Requiem Mass at St Matthew's Church in Belfast.
"The only thing that all of us can take from this terrible tragedy and from today's funeral Mass is that violence does not solve problems," Fr Nevin told the hundreds of mourners.
"Violence and war and revenge do not solve problems, but create more - the circle goes on."
Fr Nevin said he had visited the victim's family on Monday and they had questioned the killing.
"I have no answers for these tragedies that wreck families," the priest said.
He added that there had been hundreds of cards at the house and that "this says something about Kevin and his family".
"There is a lot of love, gratitude, appreciation for all the good Kevin did in life."
Police believe two men shot Mr McGuigan several times in the head and chest at point blank range before running off.
He was buried in the City cemetery.


Thomas Muller once again made the difference as Germany qualified as winners of Group G with victory over the United States, who also reached the last 16 at the World Cup.

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Story of the match:
The Bayern Munich forward scored his ninth World Cup goal in as many games to give Germany a routine win at a rain-soaked Arena Pernambuco in Recife.
The rate at which Muller is scoring in World Cup games is matched only by Brazil legend Pele, who also found the net nine times in his first nine matches in the tournament.
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The 24-year-old German is now just six goals behind the all-time scoring record, which is jointly held by Muller's team-mate Miroslav Klose and former Brazilian striker Ronaldo.
This was a frustrating afternoon for the United States and their travelling army of fans. They failed to force Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to make a save of note but their qualification was assured by Portugal's 2-1 victory over Ghana in Brasilia.
The US will now travel to Salvador to take on the much-fancied Belgians on Tuesday. Germany will play the runners up of Group H in Porto Alegre on Monday.
Before the game, much had been made of the suggestion that both sides might play for a convenient draw that would take each of them through. But with US coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who previously managed Germany, facing off against his protege Joachim Low, neither team took a backward step from the first whistle.
Germany, playing their familiar passing game at a patient tempo, carved out a series of early chances.
On three occasions Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng found space wide on the right flank and fizzed fierce low crosses into the penalty area, while Arsenal's Mesut Ozil came closest to scoring, stepping away from Matt Besler's challenge to test United States goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Germany had to wait until the 55th minute to make the breakthrough, however, having seen Ozil and substitute Miroslav Klose go close.
It was a cross by the former that created the goal with Arsenal team-mate Per Mertesacker heading powerfully at goal and forcing Howard to push the ball into the path of Muller.
It is an unbelievable day for US soccer. They were not outstanding on the pitch today but they will always give 100% and be organised. The people back home will love this - we've finished above one of the best teams in the world and Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo are going home. The next game is going to be a massive occasion.
The forward struck his shot first time and it flashed beyond Howard before he could react to put Germany ahead.
The United States did show spells that suggest they will not be easy to beat in this tournament. Michael Bradley was at the heart of their best work, setting the tone with his tenacity in the tackle and his ability to keep possession under intense pressure.
The Toronto midfielder created the USA's best chance of the game, finding Kansas City forward Graham Zusi, whose shot curled narrowly over the bar, but Bradley's touch let him down just as a shooting opportunity presented itself moments before half-time.
The midfielder allowed his frustrations to get the better of him as he caught Muller with his studs raised and was fortunate to escape a booking.
After half-time the USA improved. Alejandro Bedoya saw a shot blocked after a fluent move down the USA right, while Clint Dempsey headed just over late on.
And although Germany closed out the game, when the result was confirmed in Brasilia, the United States also had something to celebrate.
USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann: "It's huge for us to reach the last 16. We wanted at least a tie out of the game and maybe at the beginning we had too much respect.
"But overall there was tremendous energy and effort from all of the side. It's huge for us to get out of group - everyone said we had no chance but we took that chance. Now we want to prove a point."
Germany coach Joachim Low: "I knew it would be difficult today and it was. USA defended deep, they were well organised, but I have to say we dominated, denying them good chances in the process.
"Our midfield was great today - they were dynamic and never stopped running.
"It wasn't easy for USA - everyone thought Portugal would qualify, but they've done it. They're tough opponents and they've deserved it."
Germany forward Thomas Muller: "We were dominant. All the Americans did was sit back deep in their own half, and when that happens, it just becomes a patience game.
"But sometimes even I manage to have a bright idea - I spend the whole day training like I'm obsessed anyway."
Match ends, USA 0, Germany 1.
Second Half ends, USA 0, Germany 1.
Attempt missed. Clint Dempsey (USA) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses the top right corner.
Attempt blocked. Alejandro Bedoya (USA) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Clint Dempsey.
Attempt blocked. André Schürrle (Germany) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Thomas Müller.
Offside, Germany. Manuel Neuer tries a through ball, but Thomas Müller is caught offside.
Substitution, Germany. André Schürrle replaces Mesut Özil.
Thomas Müller (Germany) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by DaMarcus Beasley (USA).
Mario Götze (Germany) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Michael Bradley (USA).
Offside, Germany. Mario Götze tries a through ball, but Miroslav Klose is caught offside.
Substitution, USA. DeAndre Yedlin replaces Graham Zusi.
Foul by Benedikt Höwedes (Germany).
Omar González (USA) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Germany. Conceded by Omar González.
Attempt saved. Benedikt Höwedes (Germany) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Mesut Özil.
Hand ball by DaMarcus Beasley (USA).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Substitution, Germany. Mario Götze replaces Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Delay in match Jermaine Jones (USA) because of an injury.
Foul by Philipp Lahm (Germany).
Michael Bradley (USA) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  USA. Conceded by Philipp Lahm.
Foul by Mats Hummels (Germany).
Jermaine Jones (USA) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Miroslav Klose (Germany) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kyle Beckerman (USA).
Foul by Mesut Özil (Germany).
Fabian Johnson (USA) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Kyle Beckerman (USA) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Kyle Beckerman (USA).
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Alejandro Bedoya (USA).
Substitution, USA. Alejandro Bedoya replaces Brad Davis.
Philipp Lahm (Germany) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jermaine Jones (USA).
Foul by Miroslav Klose (Germany).
Kyle Beckerman (USA) wins a free kick in the defensive half.


Lorin Maazel, widely seen as one of the greatest modern conductors of classical music, has died in the US, aged 84.

The American occupied top positions at the Vienna State Opera and the New York Philharmonic, which he accompanied on a 2008 tour of isolated North Korea.
In 2009, he and his wife founded the Castleton Festival, which aims to showcase classical musicians at the start of their careers.
Maazel was admired for the precision and rigour of his conducting.
According to a 2011 profile in The Guardian newspaper, he had a powerful memory and became known for performing without a score.
"In fact the hardest part is trying to forget music when I'm not conducting it," the newspaper quotes him as saying.
"I don't want to be conducting Mahler with my head stuffed full of 10 million notes from other composers."
Maazel was born in France in 1930. As well as conducting, he also composed music, producing an opera based on George Orwell's novel, 1984.
He died as a result of complications following pneumonia, according to the website of the Castleton Festival.


The UK's EU referendum represents a "once-in-a-lifetime decision", Chancellor George Osborne has said.

He told Newsnight it was "unrealistic" to assume the poll - likely to be held later this year - would be repeated.
Mr Osborne, who described himself as a Eurosceptic, said he was "optimistic" about reaching a deal on EU reforms.
The chancellor's comments come as Leader of the Commons Chris Grayling said staying in the EU under the current terms would be "disastrous".
The in/out referendum on EU membership has been promised by the end of 2017.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said he wants to campaign for the UK to stay in a reformed EU, but says he "rules nothing out" if his demands are refused by other EU leaders - a line Mr Osborne reiterated in his interview.
"I think anyone who votes out on the assumption that a year or two later you can have another vote to vote back in... is being unrealistic about the nature of the choice," Mr Osborne said.
"And I think it's really important that the British people focus on the fact this is the once-in-a-lifetime decision."
Timeline: What will happen when?
Guide: All you need to know the referendum
Explained: What does Britain want from Europe?
Analysis: Cameron tries to avert slanging match
More: BBC News EU referendum special
Mr Cameron has said he hopes to reach a deal on his reform demands, which include curbs on EU migrants' welfare entitlement, at next month's European Council meeting, .
His proposal for a four-year freeze on some payments has been resisted by other EU leaders, but Mr Osborne said he saw "the essential pieces of the deal falling into place".
Some of the alternative arrangements to remaining within the EU "do not look very attractive", added Mr Osborne.
He said: "I want us to be able to stay in a reformed European Union.
"And so establishing these principles - that Britain can't be discriminated against because it's not part of the euro, can't pick up the bill for eurozone bailouts, crucially can't have imposed on it changes the eurozone want to make without our consent - these things really matter and they're part of that resettlement."
The chancellor - who has a key role in the UK's negotiating team - said the Treasury was "100% focused" on the talks, rather than planning for a UK exit from the EU.
He also said the UK would be demanding a permanent guarantee that it would not have to contribute to future eurozone bailout payments.
He added: "I've been concerned about some of the things that have happened in the European Union, that's why I want to make those changes.
"It's a perfectly respectable position to say 'let's seek those changes, let's achieve those changes, let's have that new settlement, and then we can have the best of both worlds'.
"We can be in the European Union, but not run by the European Union."
Mr Cameron has said his ministers will be able to campaign for either side in the referendum, but must back the government until negotiations are complete.
Leader of the Commons Mr Grayling, writing in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, said remaining within the European Union under the UK's current membership terms would be "disastrous".
He intervention has been seen as the first sign of a minister preparing to campaign to leave the EU in the UK's referendum.
Mr Grayling said the UK was at "a crucial crossroads" and "cannot be left in a position where we have no ability to defend our national interest" within the EU".
He backed Mr Cameron to secure the reforms he is demanding, a stance supported by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
Mr Johnson has said he remains "very confident" the prime minister will "get a good deal" for the UK in his renegotiation with EU leaders.
Asked about Mr Grayling's article in the Telegraph, Mr Johnson said: "He's totally right to say unless you get reform, Europe will continue to be a zone of low growth and stagnation."
You can watch Newsnight's full interview with George Osborne on iPlayer .


United Technologies has rebuffed another merger offer from Honeywell International on concerns it will not be approved by antitrust regulators.

Honeywell is said to have offered $108 (Â£76) per share for United Technologies last week, a more than 20% premium to the share price at the time.
United Technologies said the two firms only held "preliminary" conversations.
A tie up would have created one of the aerospace industry's largest companies worth more than $160bn.
However, United Technologies broke off talks because a deal "would face insurmountable regulatory obstacles and strong customer opposition".
"[It] could either be blocked outright or conditioned on significant divestitures after a lengthy and disruptive review period that would destroy shareholder value," it said in a statement.
This isn't the first time Honeywell and United Technologies have held merger talks.
The two firms explored combining in 2000 but United Technologies ended discussions after General Electric submitted a rival bid.
The subsequent GE and Honeywell deal was rejected by European regulators on fears it would lead to higher prices for airlines and consumers.


Premium Bonds will no longer be sold over the counter in Post Office branches from the end of July.

National Savings and Investments (NS&I), which runs the savings lottery, said all sales would be online, by phone, by post or by electronic transfer.
It will be writing to people who have previously bought Premium Bonds over the counter to tell them of the change.
NS&I said 65% of contact with customers occurred online or on the phone.
"Moving to 100% of direct sales is a natural next step for NS&I. It should also be intuitive and straightforward for these customers, given that they already manage and repay their Premium Bonds with us directly," said Jane Platt, chief executive of NS&I.
"After such a longstanding relationship, we know it is important that we help our customers with the transition."
The service has been available at post office counters since 1956. From August, customers who do not have access to the internet will have to make an application through the post or on the telephone.
A spokesman for the National Federation of Subpostmasters said: "This is very disappointing news, particularly for our elderly and more vulnerable customers who rely on face-to-face support from subpostmasters with handling these types of transactions."
The maximum permitted investment in Premium Bonds recently rose to £50,000 from the previous limit of £40,000.
Every one of the 54.2 billion bonds has an equal chance of winning one of the two top prizes of £1m, but the chances are the equivalent of flipping a coin and getting 34 consecutive heads. The odds of winning any prize of between £25 and £1m with a single £1 bond are 26,000 to one.
People need to be aged 16 years old or over to buy Premium Bonds, although parents, guardians and grandparents can invest on behalf of their child or grandchild.


The Philippines has submitted evidence to a UN tribunal hearing its case against China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Both sides have overlapping claims in the sea, leading to severe tensions.
China has refused to take part in the arbitration and warned that the case will damage bilateral ties.
The latest move comes a day after a Philippine ship evaded Chinese vessels to bring supplies to troops stationed on a disputed shoal.
China claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea - creating multiple overlaps with areas claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The Philippines says that China's claims are illegal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In January, the Philippines asked the UN's Permanent Court of Arbitration to consider its case. It is thought that the court may not reach a decision before the end of 2015.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said that more than 40 maps and "nearly 4,000 pages" of evidence had been submitted to the tribunal.
"It is about defending what is legitimately ours... it is about guaranteeing freedom of navigation for all nations," he said, adding that it would help "preserve regional peace, security and stability".
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said last week that China would not accept the arbitration, and that the Philippines should "stop going any further down the wrong track so as to avoid further damage to bilateral relations".
China was "committed to managing and resolving relevant issues... through dialogue and consultation," he added.
On Saturday, a Philippine government ship slipped past Chinese coast guard vessels to reach the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ayungin in Manila and Ren'ai Reef in Beijing.
Philippine troops are stationed on a beached, rusting military ship that analysts say has become a symbol of the country marking its territory.
On 9 March, China prevented two Philippine vessels from reaching the shoal. Philippine officials said the ships carried supplies for the troops on the shoal, but China said the ships carried construction supplies.
Following the incident, Philippine planes air dropped supplies onto the shoal.


The water firm that was blamed for the cancellation of the Sheffield half marathon claims water supplies were not delivered because it had not been paid.

Water Direct said race organisers had made an order but the contract stated payment had to be made before delivery.
In a statement it said that despite sending reminders to organisers no payment was received.
Race organisers said the claim conflicted with their information and an investigation was still under way.
The event, on Sunday morning, was called off after organisers said they were "let down" by Water Direct because it had failed to deliver supplies.
Despite the cancellation many of the 4,100 entrants who had gathered at the race's starting line still ran it.
Water Direct, which has supplied water for the event for the last two years, confirmed organisers had placed an order on the 21 March but it refuted suggestions it had "let them down".
In a statement, it said: "After amending their requirements a number of times they did indeed place an order on 21 March accepting our offer, the terms of which, as always, clearly state that full payment is required in advance of delivery.
"It is that payment that confirms the contract and triggers our process of scheduling the assets for delivery.
"In the absence of that payment, despite our reminding them of the need to pay, the scheduling did not occur."
The company added as a gesture of goodwill it has offered to provide water services free of charge for next year's event.
Organisers have launched an investigation into the circumstances which led to the cancellation of the event.


Ministers have not been clear in explaining why an extra £180m has been earmarked for the NHS, a committee of AMs has said.

The cash has been added to the budget for the current financial year to meet winter pressure costs and help two health boards balance their books.
But AMs warned there was no incentive for health boards to implement stronger controls if they are bailed out.
The Welsh Government said it had been "transparent".
The criticisms were made in a report published by the finance committee.
The extra £180m, included in the second supplementary budget for 2016/17, would be used to support Hywel Dda and Betsi Cadwaladr health boards which would otherwise not balance their books by the end of the financial year, with an extra £50m allocated for winter pressures.
Simon Thomas, chairman of the committee, said: "We want to see more detail in the Welsh Government's plans, including why two health boards need an extra £70m to make up the shortfalls - something the NHS Finances Act, which allowed health boards to plan over three years was designed to avoid."
Committee members asked why, given the strains health services are under every winter, the Welsh Government had not worked with health boards to ensure effective planning takes place.
"Should the Welsh Government continue to bail out health boards who overspend, there is no incentive for these health boards to implement stronger spending control to ensure they remain within budget," the report said.
AMs called for ministers to review whether there were structural factors that affected health boards' ability to deliver services within their resources.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We have been clear and transparent about why additional funding is needed in the health service and more information is readily available on our website.
"The extra £50m we put into the Welsh NHS to sustain performance and meet the increased demand into the winter is being used to continue the good progress made towards improving waiting times.
"This is benefitting patients across Wales.
"It is important to recognise that six out of 10 NHS organisations have approved medium-term plans in place.
"However, some organisations' financial planning regimes have been more successful than others - those who are struggling are receiving focused intervention from the Welsh Government."