Australian victims of child sex abuse who are in Rome watching the testimony of Cardinal George Pell have said they want a meeting with Pope Francis.

Cardinal Pell is being questioned by an Australian Royal Commission over what he knew about sex abuse by priests in Australia.
He is testifying via videolink, after he was excused from returning home due to ill health.
He has said he would be happy to meet with the survivors.
In a statement Cardinal Pell proposed meeting small groups of survivors without lawyers or media present on Thursday.
He also said he would be "happy to assist with requests to meet Pope Francis", but warned he had to "rely on the officials responsible for considering these requests".
Representatives for the survivors, who earlier said they had lost interest in talks with the cardinal, said they would be prepared to meet him on condition that it was "a level playing field".
But they said a meeting with Pope Francis was more important to them.
"George Pell has made it very clear he does not have the ability, the power or the interest... so we need to speak to the boss," abuse victim David Ridsdale said.
Cardinal Pell was questioned over his knowledge of the priest Peter Searson on day three of his testimony on Tuesday.
Searson died in 2009 without facing charges, despite a litany of complaints against him ranging from sexual abuse of children to animal cruelty.
One complaint was that Searson, of the outer-Melbourne parish of Dovetown, stabbed a bird to death with a screwdriver in front of children.
Cardinal Pell told the inquiry he was not adequately briefed by the Catholic Education Office, who told him about the allegations against Searson in a "non-specific way".
Other senior church members were told of the specific allegations. Cardinal Pell said information may have been hidden from him because of his tendency to ask "inconvenient questions".
Commissioner Peter McClennan said the cardinal's evidence did not make sense, because if the Catholic Education Office did not want questions raised they would not have told the other senior figures about Searson's behaviour.
Counsel assisting Gail Furness said Cardinal Pell's position that multiple senior figures deceived him was "extraordinary".
Cardinal Pell responded: "This was an extraordinary world. A world of crimes and cover ups. And people did not want the status quo to be disturbed."
"You put yourself in this world as being the person who would disturb the status quo, do you?" Ms Furness replied.
Cardinal Pell said: "I not only disturbed the status quo but when I became archbishop, I turned the situation right around so that the Melbourne Response procedures were light years ahead of all this obfuscation and prevarication and deception."
When asked whether he could have done any more during his time as an auxiliary bishop, the cardinal conceded only that he should not have ascribed the resignations of paedophile priests to ill health.
He also said he was not in favour of creating a "corporate model" Catholic Church with extra layers of management.
Speaking at a press conference after the hearing, David Ridsdale said Cardinal Pell "accused everybody of being a liar and deceitful".
"If he is telling the truth that would make him an extraordinarily ignorant man," Mr Ridsdale said.
A fourth day of testimony will be held on Wednesday, with the cardinal answering questions from lawyers representing abuse victims and the church.


A 19-year-old California man has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for shining a laser pointer at two aircraft.

In March 2012 Adam Gardenhire aimed a green laser pen at a business jet and then shone it at a Pasadena police helicopter sent to find the source.
He is the second person in the US to be sentenced for aiming a laser at an aircraft.
The act has been considered a federal crime in the US since February 2012.
Gardenhire pleaded guilty in October.
Commercially obtained laser pointers project just a tiny beam, but its diameter grows much bigger as the distance increases and can result in temporarily blindness if shone in someone's eyes.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the high intensity light can dazzle pilots during the crucial phases of take-off and landing.
The pilot of a Cessna Citation plane preparing to land at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank suffered "vision impairment that lasted for hours" after the incident, according to a statement from the Office of the United States Attorney Central District of California.
The helicopter pilot, who had been wearing protective eye gear, was uninjured.
Glenn Stephen Hansen, of Saint Cloud, Florida, was sentenced to six months in prison for a similar offence in August 2012.
Laser pen attacks on aircraft seem to be on the rise in many places around the world. In the past three years, there have been more than 4,500 reports of pilots being targeted by lasers.


Gallai cwmnïau bach fod yn agored i "sioc yn sgil Brexit" oherwydd diffyg gweithredu ar ran Llywodraeth Cymru, yn ôl un AC Plaid Cymru.

Mae Steffan Lewis wedi cyhuddo gweinidogion o beidio ag ymgysylltu'n llawn gyda chwmnïau sydd ar y cyrion, tra bod y llywodraeth yn Iwerddon wedi cysylltu gyda mwy na 1,400 o fusnesau.
Mae Ysgrifennydd yr Economi, Ken Skates wedi rhybuddio busnesau Cymru i baratoi ar gyfer y "sefyllfa waethaf".
Ychwanegodd Mr Skates fod Brexit yn "rhan bwysig o drafodaethau rheolaidd gyda busnesau ledled Cymru".
Bydd Mr Lewis, sy'n llefarydd Plaid Cymru ar faterion allanol, yn Kilkenny ar gyfer cyfarfod o Gynulliad Seneddol Prydain ac Iwerddon ddydd Llun.
Dywedodd fod atebion yr Ysgrifennydd Economi i gyfres o gwestiynau ysgrifenedig diweddar yn dangos fod gweinidogion Cymru "yn cerdded yn ddiarwybod i gyfeiriad Brexit", ac yn gadael cwmnïau bach a chanolig eu maint i lawr.
"Mae 67% o allforion Cymru yn mynd i weddill yr UE, gyda chyfran sylweddol o allforion yn dod o fusnesau bach a chanolig yng Nghymru," meddai.
"Mae'n warthus bod y llywodraeth Wyddelig wedi ymgysylltu â dros 1,400 o gwmnïau, ac mai dim ond efo'r prif gwmnïau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi llwyddo i ymgysylltu'n llawn â nhw.
"Mae hyn yn gadael busnesau bach a chanolig yng Nghymru yn agored i sioc Brexit."
Dywedodd Mr Lewis nad yw Mr Skates yn "gallu darparu data ar faint o fusnesau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi siarad â nhw er mwyn rhoi cefnogaeth Brexit, neu faint o gwmnïau o Gymru fydd fwyaf agored i effaith Brexit".
Mae Mr Lewis hefyd wedi cyhuddo'r Ysgrifennydd Economi o "aros yn ei unfan", ac mae'n galw am "raglen ymgysylltu ar raddfa lawn".
"Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn gamblo gydag economi Cymru a dyfodol ein cenedl," ychwanegodd.
Mewn ateb ysgrifenedig at Mr Lewis dywedodd Mr Skates: "Rydyn ni wedi gwneud ymdrechion cryf i ddeall goblygiadau Brexit ar draws busnesau yng Nghymru a'r UE, ac mae'r broses yn rhan bwysig o'n trafodaethau rheolaidd gyda busnesau ledled Cymru.
"Oherwydd y dull eang hwn, nid ydym yn casglu data ar nifer y busnesau rydym yn ymgysylltu â hwy ar y pwnc penodol hwn.
"Fodd bynnag, rydym ar hyn o bryd yn gwneud gwaith ymgysylltu wedi'i dargedu gyda chwmnïau rhanbarthol ac mae ein rhwydwaith yn helpu i fireinio a thargedu ein cefnogaeth wrth symud ymlaen.
Ychwanegodd: "Os bydd angen unrhyw gymorth wedi'i dargedu a'i anelu at faterion yn ymwneud â Brexit yn unig, fe fydd hynny yn dod yn gliriach yn y man."


It's had more unexpected twists and turns than many a roller-coaster ride.

So why shouldn't Stoke Central culminate in an epic weather event. The day of storm Doris blew to smithereens so many of Paul Nuttall's brave words: "Stoke Central is the Brexit Capital".
Oh really?
When I questioned him during the only live television debate on Sunday Politics (Sunday 12 February, still available on the iplayer) I reminded him that UKIP's 'unique selling point' was no longer unique. The Conservatives were a Brexit party too these days, and they were in a position to deliver it.
"Stoke Central is Brexit Central and it wants a true Brexiteer", he told me. "That's me".
So how does that square with his declaration, at the moment of his defeat in the early hours of Friday morning, that Stoke Central was only seventy-second on his party's 'hit list' of target seats?
Mr Nuttall took a huge risk in standing in this by-election so early in his leadership.
If UKIP couldn't win here, how now can they hope to neutralise the growing number of very pointed questions: "What's the point of UKIP now that Brexit's happening anyway?"
And even more awkwardly: "What's the point of Paul Nuttall himself?"
It will be hard for him to dispel suspicions that the party's best days are behind it now that Nigel Farage is no longer leader.
As his successor (but one) Mr Nuttall has sustained not only an election defeat but also some self-inflicted damage: first, over that house and the claim that he lived in Stoke and then, more damagingly, over Hillsborough and his false claim that he had lost close friends in the disaster.
Paradoxically, a constituency which voted two-to-one to leave the EU has now returned, in Gareth Snell, a Labour MP who has compared Brexit with a pile of something unmentionable.
Can it really be, as he said throughout the campaign, that it was more about "NHS Central" than the EU? The city's major acute hospital has recorded some of England's longest trolley waits. Significantly, Mr Snell identified the Royal Stoke University Hospital's budget deficit as his number one priority as the incoming MP.
In reality, of course, NHS and Brexit are both still major factors here. A year after Stoke Central registered a turnout of under 50% in the 2015 General Election (the lowest in the UK), the turnout in last summer's referendum was significantly higher, with an 80% Leave vote among those who ventured to the polling stations on the city's Bentilee housing estate.
It is hard to imagine such an emphatic expression of public sentiment simply vanishing into thin air.
So how are we to account for this?
Look a little more closely into the result and you see that it was the Conservatives who succeeded in turning this from what was originally billed as a two-horse race into a genuine three-party contest. They increased their share of the vote to finish third with only 80 fewer votes than UKIP.
Which takes us back to the question I posed at the beginning about UKIP no longer being the only Brexit party in town.
The Conservative candidate Jack Brereton went out of his way, time and again, to stress Theresa May's commitment to "a Brexit that works for everyone".
In the process, he helped to blunt the UKIP challenge sufficiently for Labour to hang on to a seat which has been one of their strongholds since its inception 67 years ago. Add together the UKIP and Conservative votes and you have a combined total of 10,387 against Labour's 7,852.
On this analysis, Brexit certainly doesn't look like a busted flush. But UKIP will have to work hard to dispel suggestions that they could well be.
What's more, any Conservative strategist would far rather see Gareth Snell taking his seat on those famous green benches than Paul Nuttall.
It all sets the scene for a vintage edition of Sunday Politics Midlands this weekend.
I will be joined live in the studio by Stoke Central's victorious MP-elect Gareth Snell for his first major televised interview. Also live from UKIP's Black Country heartlands, we'll hear from one of their three Midlands MEPs Bill Etheridge: what does the future hold for him and for them now that they are confirmed as  still just a one-man-band at Westminster?
Also with me will be the Conservative MP for Cannock Chase, Amanda Milling and the Labour MP for Wolverhampton South West, Rob Marris.
And I hope you will join me too, in our usual 11.00 slot on BBC One this Sunday morning (Sunday 26 February 2017)


The chief executive of the Co-operative Group has blamed past mismanagement of the organisation for the problems it has faced.

Richard Pennycook told BBC Radio 5 live that the group had been "let down" by its former management.
However, recent changes to its structure and governance should rectify that situation, he said.
The organisation had been "undermanaged" in the past, according to Mr Pennycook.
"We let the co-operative movement down in a fairly significant way, after 150 proud years where the Co-op had a reputation for doing the right thing."
It now needed to become "better at business" and return to making profits, he said: "Just applying good management disciplines and taking out costs can improve profitability."
It had been necessary to go through the "painful" process of selling some businesses to repair the balance sheet, Mr Pennycook said.
The group is focusing on its grocery shops and funerals, and retains a 20% stake in the Co-operative Bank, which is now controlled by US hedge funds.
The Co-op was second to Tesco in the convenience food market, he said, and the quality of its products had increased markedly: "We can absolutely compete with the best."
Mr Pennycook was appointed as the Co-op's interim chief executive early last year before assuming the role permanently.
Allan Leighton, chairman of the Co-operative Group, is in the process of rebuilding the board after being appointed in February as its first independent chair.
His appointment followed the record Â£2.5bn loss for 2014 that was caused largely by the crisis in the group's banking business.
The former Royal Mail chairman will preside over his first annual meeting of the Co-op on Saturday.
Co-op members will vote on appointing three directors to the board. They are: former Labour minister Hazel Blears; Ruth Spellman, chief executive of the Workers' Educational Association; and Paul Chandler, former chief executive of the fair trade group Traidcraft.
Mr Pennycook said he was both "surprised and delighted" that three candidates had been found.
"The first principle of the governance reform is that anybody going onto the board had to have the requisite skills and experience," he said.
However, he said the Co-op was yet to take its seat on the board of the Co-op Bank.
An external candidate may be appointed to the position if no one on the Co-op board had the necessary skills, Mr Pennycook said.
"We don't know yet whether we will have somebody on our group board with the qualifications to go on to the banking board. If we do, then that would be the right solution to take up our seat. If it happens that we don't, then we'll seek to appoint an independent suitably qualified non-executive," he said.
"We would hope in future years that we have a healthy pipeline of a people who we'd like to represent on the board."
Despite no longer owning the Co-op Bank, Mr Pennycook said it and the Co-op Group shared a name and many members.
Co-operative ethics and values had been enshrined in its governance and he said it could no longer be called the Co-operative Bank in the future if that were ever to change.


UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he faced "unacceptable" pressure to remove the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a blacklist over child casualties.

Mr Ban said a number of countries had threatened to cut off vital funding for many UN  programmes.
He said the decision to remove them from the UN list of violators of children's rights was "one of the most painful" he'd had to make.
Saudi Arabia denies the threats.
The UN announced on Monday that it had temporarily removed the Saudi-led coalition from the child's rights blacklist which was published last week.
In his first public remarks following the announcement, Mr Ban said he decided to do so after Saudi Arabia along with some other Arab and Muslim countries threatened to cut off funding to UN humanitarian programs.
He said he "had to consider the very real prospect that millions of other children would suffer grievously if, as was suggested to me, countries would de-fund many UN programmes."
"It is unacceptable for member-states to exert undue pressure," Mr Ban told reporters at UN headquarters.
Human rights groups had sharply criticised the decision to take Saudis off the list, saying the UN chief's office had "hit a new low".
The Saudi Ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Mouallimi, denied that his government had exerted pressure on the UN.
"We did not use threats or intimidation and we did not talk about funding," said Mr Mouallimi.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia vigorously protested against the released UN report which said the coalition was responsible for 60% of child deaths and injuries in Yemen last year.
Saudi officials said the casualty figures were "wildly exaggerated".
Later that day, Mr Ban accepted a Saudi proposal to remove the coalition from the blacklist pending a joint review of the cases and numbers cited in his report.
A year that has set Yemen back decades
No end in sight to war in Yemen
Practising medicine under fire in Yemen
A young girl and a city struggling for life
The coalition - which comprises Saudi Arabia and nine other Arab and Muslim nations, supported by the US and UK - began fighting the Houthis in March 2015, two months after the rebels drove Yemen's government from power and took full control of the capital, Sanaa.
Last Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued his annual report on children and armed conflict, which described the situation in Yemen as "particularly worrisome".
It said there was a five-fold increase in the number of children recruited and used by armed groups in 2015 and that six times more children were killed and maimed compared with 2014.
The report attributed 510 child deaths and 667 injuries last year to the Saudi-led coalition, most of them caused by air strikes, and 142 child deaths and 247 injuries to the Houthis.


A head teacher accused of having underage sex with two boys said she was "devastated" when she learned of the allegations in an email, a court heard.

Anne Lakey, 55, from Stanley, County Durham, denies 13 counts of indecent assault on two teenagers, aged 15 and 13 or 14, in the 1980s.
The younger complainant said she had sex with him after he watched her bathe, Teesside Crown Court heard.
When asked if the claims were true, she replied "absolutely not".
Ms Lakey told the court she learned of the accusations when one of the complainants emailed her school in December 2012, branding her a "disgusting sexual monster".
She was then suspended from her role as chief executive of the Durham Federation, in charge of two secondary schools.
The court heard the younger teenager played a dare game with her and exposed her breasts during a visit to her home in the late 1980s, before they repeatedly had sex.
Ms Lakey's voice cracked with emotion when Tim Roberts QC, defending, put the claims to her.
"Did anything like that ever occur between you and [the complainant]?" he asked her.
"It did not," she replied.
The older complainant said Lakey took his virginity in a tent.
Giving evidence, she denied the claim and said (he) "did not visit me in the night" and the boy "certainly did not" get in her sleeping bag, "did not kiss and cuddle" her or have sex with her.
The head teacher admitted she developed a sexual relationship with the older complainant when he was 18.
In 2012, Ms Lakey said she rang her ex-lover after the first complainant's email dropped at her school because he had been named in it.
She said: "I hadn't seen (him) for nearly 20 years. I said 'I'm really sorry, I'm having some problems at school. There is a malicious email at school, you have been named in it'."
Lakey denied she asked him not to talk to police.
"I suppose I just felt awkward and embarrassed that he was being dragged into this and that he had been named in an email," she said.
She said she wanted to "give him the heads up".
The second complainant told the court she used "A Level psychology 101" on him when she rang him up after the allegations emerged, and she told him about her sick father and her mother who had died.
Ms Lakey cried and said: "That is probably the most rotten thing of everything that he said."
She said it was "not out of emotional blackmail" and what he said "beggared belief".
The teacher said she did not know why the pair were making the "false" allegations against her.
The trial continues.


Defending champion Stuart Bingham suffered a 10-9 first-round defeat by Ali Carter at the World Championship in Sheffield.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Carter saw an 8-5 lead disappear in the evening session but won the last two frames to end the champion's reign, after Bingham's shock victory in 2015.
Bingham's 88 and 113 clearance gave him a 9-8 lead, before Carter's century forced a tense decider which he won.
"I'm gutted to be going back home," said Bingham.
"I battled to 9-8 and missed a couple of chances to wrap the game up. Fair play to Ali, it just wasn't meant to be for me.
"It was a tough draw and I just came up short. I hope he goes on to win it now."
Carter said: "Stuart had everything to lose today and nothing to gain, that was evident at the end. I am delighted to win.
"I let him off the hook in the first session being 5-1 up. At 8-5 again, I felt I was going to win easily but he had other ideas. I just felt it was my turn."
The other match in the opening evening session saw Hong Kong's world number 14, Marco Fu, beat 2002 champion Peter Ebdon 10-2.
Introduced into the arena as the champion, world number two Bingham received a raucous ovation from the crowd on the first morning of play.
Having spoken beforehand about "playing with enjoyment", his body language instead betrayed a battle with his emotions, as he shook his head and smiled to himself in an opening session littered with errors.
Bingham was an unlikely winner last year, having started the tournament as a 50-1 outsider, but this time he was on the receiving end of a surprise result.
His fifth first-round exit at the tournament meant the 'Crucible Curse' struck again, as no first-time winner has gone on to defend their title the following year.
"I didn't really get a clear cut chance in the last frame but I can't believe I went 9-8 in front," added Bingham. "I battled away but I didn't feel comfortable at any time.
"No first-timer has won it the next year but it is an honour to have won it, which won't be taken away from me. I did enjoy myself, it just didn't go my way. I tried keeping a smile on my face throughout the match.
"I wish could do Groundhog Day and start the match again."
Two-time finalist Carter's stunning result comes having been given the all-clear in December 2014 following treatment for testicular cancer, in addition to his ongoing battle with Crohn's disease.
The world number 31 produced excellent form to win three matches in qualifying and continued his brilliance on the main stage.
Bingham admitted when the draw was made he "wished he didn't face him", and he was right to be wary as Carter extended his winning streak in their personal rivalry to seven matches.
"I thought Stuart was a good draw for anyone," said Carter.
"He hasn't had the best of season and having the pressure with the Crucible Curse. It was all set up for it to go wrong for him and that was evident at the end."
Frame three - Nerves: Trailing 58-41, Bingham missed the yellow allowing Carter to clear the colours. He also took the next frame with a 78 break to lead 3-1.
Frame seven - The twitch: At 5-1 up, Carter potted the remaining red but failed to pocket a relatively easy green as Bingham came to the table to snatch the frame. He managed to take the next two as well.
Frame 12 - Game changer: A tactical 42-minute exchange was pinched by Carter on the black ball to gain a 7-5 advantage. A huge frame to win.
Frame 15 - Turning point? 50-39 behind, Carter missed a tricky brown after a red as Bingham cleared from yellow to pink to close to 8-7. He took the next two to stand one away from victory.
Frame 19 - Decider drama: Having made a century in the previous frame to force the decider, Carter broke down on 39 in the 19th, but got his reprieve as Bingham twice missed the pink in the same middle pocket.


Prehistoric remains on Skomer Island date from at least the early Iron Age, say archaeologists.

Ancient settlements were found on the nature reserve off the Pembrokeshire coast using a number of techniques, including taking "X-rays" of the land.
Tests on a mound of stones used for cooking date one site to around 500 BC.
Experts from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) said the island appears to have been "well settled and farmed".
Skomer, famed for its bird life and particularly its puffins, also has some of the best preserved prehistoric field systems and hut settlements anywhere in Britain.
A geophysical survey carried out in 2012 used technology to measure through the earth, creating an "X-ray" picture of what is under the ground.
It found that unrecorded prehistoric fields and settlements survive beneath the modern fields in the centre of the island.
In April 2014 a small team had permission to cut an excavation trench at a prehistoric mound of burnt and fire-cracked stones outside the remains of a roundhouse on north Skomer.
Such mounds are found at these dwellings as the stones were heated in a fire and then dropped in a trough of water to bring it to boil for cooking purposes.
Dr Toby Driver from the RCAHMW said: "Despite half a century of modern archaeological interest, we still had no scientific dates for the roundhouses and fields on Skomer.
"Our excavation discovered a cattle tooth from within the mound of stones, which has now been radiocarbon dated to the late Iron Age.
"Beneath the mound we found a sealed land surface containing Neolithic or Bronze Age worked flint tools.
"A second radiocarbon date from blackthorn charcoal in the upper soil layers gave an early Iron Age date."
The tests -  dating the mound to between 520-458 BC - are accurate to within 62 years, he said.
Dr Driver added: "These new dates confirm pre-Roman settlement on Skomer.
"Even so, the burnt mound covers a substantial earlier field wall showing that the island was already well settled and farmed in previous centuries."


A photo of Pope Francis has gone viral on social media after he was captured in a classic rapper pose during a visit to the Central African Republic (CAR).

The now famous photo was taken during a speech in the capital, Bangui, and has been tweeted more than 100,000 times.
Tweeters have been making thousands of imaginary rap lyrics, known as bars, under the hashtag #PopeBars.
The Pope was in the CAR as part of a three-nation tour to Africa which also took him to Kenya and Uganda.
The visit was Pope Francis' first to the continent and he spent six days in the three countries where he was greeted by thousands of the faithful.
In Bangui he also addressed Muslim worshippers in a mosque where he said that "Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters".
The country has experienced after nearly three years of violence between Christians and Muslims.
After the Pope left the CAR for Rome, Twitter users began to imagine what subjects the pontiff could be rapping about:
Read more about the Pope's visit to Africa:


Match ends, Bradford City 1, Walsall 0.
Second Half ends, Bradford City 1, Walsall 0.
Nathaniel Knight-Percival (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Simeon Jackson (Walsall).
Corner,  Walsall. Conceded by Nathaniel Knight-Percival.
Rory McArdle (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mitchell Candlin (Walsall).
Rory McArdle (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Simeon Jackson (Walsall).
Corner,  Bradford City. Conceded by Scott Laird.
Attempt blocked. Mark Marshall (Bradford City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Corner,  Bradford City. Conceded by James O'Connor.
Attempt blocked. Mark Marshall (Bradford City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Substitution, Walsall. Mitchell Candlin replaces Adam Chambers.
Substitution, Bradford City. Nicky Law replaces Alex Jones.
Attempt saved. Kieron Morris (Walsall) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Attempt missed. Charlie Wyke (Bradford City) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Foul by Alex Jones (Bradford City).
Scott Laird (Walsall) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Bradford City. Timothee Dieng replaces Billy Clarke.
Substitution, Walsall. Simeon Jackson replaces Andreas Makris.
Charlie Wyke (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Adam Chambers (Walsall).
Attempt missed. Charlie Wyke (Bradford City) header from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Foul by Tony McMahon (Bradford City).
Franck Moussa (Walsall) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Billy Clarke (Bradford City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Billy Clarke (Bradford City).
James O'Connor (Walsall) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Walsall. Conceded by James Meredith.
Josh Cullen (Bradford City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Scott Laird (Walsall).
Goal!  Bradford City 1, Walsall 0. Billy Clarke (Bradford City) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Alex Jones.
Attempt missed. Romain Vincelot (Bradford City) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right.
Corner,  Bradford City. Conceded by Neil Etheridge.
Attempt saved. Charlie Wyke (Bradford City) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal.
Foul by Romain Vincelot (Bradford City).
Kieron Morris (Walsall) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Bradford City. Conceded by Matt Preston.
Attempt missed. Kieron Morris (Walsall) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.


Pupils at Wick High School in the Highlands have created an award-winning app designed to engage young people in politics.

The One Click Politics app has won the information category at the national Apps for Good Awards.
The students and their teachers will attend an awards ceremony at The Barbican in London on Thursday.
A Dragon's Den-style judging panel of 14 experts picked the winners.
Wick High School computer science teacher Chris Aitken said: "I am personally very proud of all our teams that have taken part this year.
"They have shown real focus and dedication and I am sure they will use the skills they've learned in their future school career and beyond."
Alasdair Allan, Minister for Learning and Science, added: "Taking part in a competition like this is an excellent way to show the real practical application of what is being learned in the classroom.
"I would like to congratulate the pupils and staff of Wick High School for winning through and wish them all the best for the launch of their app."
The Apps for Good programme has the backing of Digital World, a campaign promoting careers in the digital technology industry.
Skills Development Scotland has been involved in developing the campaign.
Two years ago, Wick High School held what was thought to be the first wearable technology competition of its kind in Scottish education.
Working in teams of two or three, S2 pupils were challenged to design an app for use with Google Glass eyewear or Samsung Gear 2 and Pebble smartwatches.


It is a story where he says one thing, she says another and an uncomfortable spotlight falls on a party that would much rather be talking about something else.

It is a scenario that could happen anywhere: the apparent frailties of human nature, played out in the workplace.
But the reality is that this scenario, this time, involves UKIP.
What we have seen, read and heard in the last 48 hours is what scrutiny looks like for a party on the rise.
There are two central, unanswered questions:
Firstly, did Roger Bird, the currently suspended general secretary of the party and a former Conservative councillor, sexually harass Natasha Bolter, a recent recruit from Labour hoping to stand for UKIP at the general election?
Secondly, did his actions amount to an abuse of his position?
He strongly denies both allegations.
So what do we know?
Plenty of the central facts are disputed, but here goes.
I understand Roger Bird, who is also UKIP's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster, first met Natasha Bolter on Wednesday 10 September.
He met her to conduct a test as part of her assessment to become a UKIP parliamentary candidate.
She failed that test and so they met again that evening at the Oxford and Cambridge private members club in central London so she could re-take the test.
The day after, Thursday 11 September, Ms Bolter became an approved UKIP parliamentary candidate, leaving her free to apply for the nomination to be UKIP's candidate in constituencies she deemed suitable.
Shortly afterwards, Roger Bird claims he began a consensual sexual relationship with Natasha Bolter, something she denies.
"There was certainly no sexual harassment in it. We were in a relationship briefly and that relationship developed well after she had been admitted to the approved candidates list, so her selection was not connected to that and so far she has not been selected for any seats," Mr Bird told me.
I understand he offered Ms Bolter mentoring support, including re-drafting her speech to UKIP's conference in Doncaster at the end of the month.
On Friday 26 September, Roger Bird was chairing proceedings at UKIP's conference in Doncaster.
He introduced Natasha Bolter to the stage, where her speech was greeted with cheers and applause.
Mr Bird says the relationship with Ms Bolter continued for around another month after the conference, but has now ended.
Natasha Bolter denies any such relationship ever happened, which has prompted Mr Bird to hand text messages he says he received from Ms Bolter to me and other journalists.
Sep 27 09.48: "R u still cool with me leaving suitcase here and coming home with u? Xx"
Oct 14, 09.31: "U r a really great mentor bird"
Oct 19, 21.09: "...PS thanks u for 2nd chance but will probably screw it up!"
Oct 28, 19.20: "...it's so lovely to hear from u x"
Oct 30, 18.12: "I am really looking forward to c bird x"
Nov 1, 09.27: "But I love u and miss u and think u r sort of perfect..."
Nov 2, 23.45: "I love u bird and wish u let me look after u. Hope u feel better xx"
Nov 6, 00.24: "U r not coming back and accordingly my life will go back to a meaningless void and it was chance that I met u. But I didn't invent u - u were real..."
Nov 6, 19.05: "I have sang you praises to Nigel for 12 minutes"
Nov 9, 17.26: "I am really missing u bird..."
The text messages do suggest the two were close, but don't definitively prove they were in a sexual relationship.
So what does Natasha Bolter have to say?
She insists she never slept with Roger Bird.
So one of them is lying.
In her interview with BBC Newsnight, she was asked directly, did Roger Bird proposition her?
"Yes," she said, adding: "But when I said no, nothing happened. I think he is a gentleman. I never felt scared of him, I just felt pressured that if I maybe did the right thing, my career would go faster and further."
"He wasn't taking me seriously as a candidate, he was looking at me as a sex object," she added, claiming "if I had slept with him, I think I would probably have had an easier time in UKIP".
"I know he is lying, no doubt. Because, I did not sleep with Roger Bird, end of," she said.
"Yes she did," Roger Bird told me.
Her interview with Newsnight was recorded before Mr Bird handed me a record of his text messages, but the interviewer, Tom Mangold, did ask about any records of their communications.
"There are texts between us, often I send a kiss after a text, I think that is a girl thing to do, I don't think that is particularly intimate," Ms Bolter told him.
Next: what has UKIP as a party and as an employer done about all this?
They are at pains to point out they have acted quickly and decisively throughout, desperate to shed any perception of being amateurish or condoning serious allegations.
I'm told they first became aware of the allegations on Wednesday 5th November, three days after Natasha Bolter told Roger Bird "I love u" and the day before she sent him a text saying their break up meant "my life will go back to a meaningless void".
The following Tuesday Ms Bolter met a senior party official and made her allegations.
UKIP regarded them as sufficiently serious to refer them an external Human Resources Consultant.
The consultancy drew up a draft report which was handed to UKIP last Sunday, 7 December.
When UKIP officials read the report, Roger Bird was immediately suspended.
The case will now be examined by an internal party disciplinary committee, which will decide what to do about it before Christmas and possibly within the coming days.
Roger Bird maintains he behaved properly and claims his evidence proves he is telling the truth.
He is currently suspended from his post as General Secretary on full pay.
Natasha Bolter says Roger Bird acted inappropriately.
Some sources within UKIP agree.
UKIP, a party plagued by internal turbulence and infighting for much of its life, aches to be seen as anti-establishment yes, but professional too.
So what will it do next?


Barrow have signed defender Danny Rowe on a one-month loan from League Two side Wycombe Wanderers.

Rowe, 20, has made 10 appearances for Wycombe since joining from Rotherham last summer, but has not played since their win against Oxford in December.
"By not having a reserve team, we can't give match practice to lads who aren't involved on a Saturday," Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth told the club website.
"Danny's part of my plans but this move is to let him play more football."


A spoof bid to host the football World Cup in 2026 has been launched by non-league club Macclesfield Town.

It predicted the Cheshire town could provide the tournament at "a total cost of £249.99" ($382.30) following Fifa's current woes with corruption claims.
The bid boasts a 6,335-capacity stadium for the opening ceremony, an average June temperature at "a whopping 14.1°C" and free Wi-Fi in the local library.
Fifa is due to select the host nation for the 2026 tournament in 2017.
The Macclesfield bid proposes to host matches at various playing fields across the town, the biggest of which has a capacity for "200 people and 14 dogs".
Training pitches would be available for participating nations but organisers stressed each association must ensure they are "clear of dog foul prior to the start of each session".
"According to Trip Advisor there are up to six hotels in Macclesfield, as well as 16 B&Bs. More than adequate for a World Cup," the club added.
"A budget of £40 has also been set aside for gifts to the FIFA family."
Local resident David Dickinson, best known for presenting TV antique shows and catchphrases such as "cheap as chips", would be on hand to officiate at the opening and closing ceremonies with current Macclesfield Town manager John Askey, according to the bid.
James Beckett, media manager at Macclesfield Town, told BBC Radio Manchester that the spoof proposal had received feedback from Japan and New Zealand after details spread on social media.
"When we finished putting the bid together, it was probably more credible than the Qatar bid.
"We've got a special promotion that anybody who buys a season ticket is going to get special access to [World Cup] tickets if the bid is successful."


A former master of the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin has resigned from its board over plans for a controversial move to another hospital owned by an order of nuns.

Dr Peter Boylan's resignation takes immediate effect and follows a week of heated debate about the plans.
It has been proposed that the Sisters of Charity will be sole owners of the new facility at the St Vincent's site.
The order are major shareholders in the firm that owns the land.
It has been argued they will have no say in what medical procedures are provided.
The order has so far failed to pay its share of a compensation scheme for victims of institutional abuse.
Dr Boylan is one of a number of people in public life who have questioned the deal.
Speaking on the Newstalk radio station, he said: "I can't remain a member of a board which is so blind to the consequences of its decision to transfer sole ownership of the hospital to the religious Sisters of Charity and so deaf to the concerns of the public which it serves."
Nicholas Kearns, the deputy chairman of the National Maternity Hospital's executive board, had previously asked Dr Boylan to resign after he criticised the move from the current location on Holles Street.
Dr Boylan had said that the Catholic ethos of St Vincent's could in future interfere with the independent operation of a maternity hospital.
That claim is disputed by the current master of the hospital, by St Vincent's Hospital and by the Irish Health Minister Simon Harris.
Many people believe the deal raises fundamental issues about church-state relations in such areas as health and education, where religious organisations remain the largest service providers.
That arrangement dates from an era when church-state relations were much closer during the early period of Irish independence.
But, in the wake of a number of scandals involving the Catholic Church and religious-run institutions, there is now more public debate about its role in the state.
The Sisters of Charity was one of 18 religious congregations investigated by the Ryan Commission over allegations that children were abused in residential institutions.
In 2002, the order was party to a 128m euros (£107m) indemnity agreement with the Irish state.
After the publication of the Ryan Report in 2009, the Sisters of Charity offered to contribute a further 5m euros (£4.2m) towards the 1.5bn euros (£1.2bn) redress costs incurred by the state.
The offer has been criticised by some as far too small.
The board of the National Maternity Hospital passed a motion of continued support for the move and the St Vincent's group is also expected to maintain its support for a deal that arose from third-party mediation.
The health minister, Mr Harris, has appealed for a period of calm reflection on the issue, which is expected to go before Irish cabinet again at the end of May.


Twitter has reported its slowest quarterly sales growth in three years, as the firm fends off competition from a growing number of social media sites.

Revenue for the second quarter was up 20% to $602m, far slower than the same quarter last year when it rose 61%.
But the micro-blogging site managed to shrink its quarterly loss to $107m(Â£84.7m) from $136m last year.
The company also reported a 3% increase in monthly active users (MAU) an important metric for advertisers.
Twitter attracted 313 million MAUs up from 310 million in 2015.
"We continue to believe that, with disciplined execution against our priorities, we can drive sustained engagement and audience growth over time," said Twitter chief financial officer Anthony Noto.
The company's stock fell over 9% in after-hours trading.
Twitter has been increasing its efforts to attract users in the face of competition from Snapchat and Instagram.
In April, Twitter announced a partnership with the US National Football League to stream 10 games in the upcoming season. Media experts say this could have a marked impact on long term user engagement.
Twitter shares plunge on weak earnings
Twitter scraps 'unengaging' homepage
Stolen Twitter logins put on sale
In a letter to shareholders, Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said: "We are confident in our product roadmap, and we are seeing the direct benefit of our recent product changes in increased engagement and usage".
As expected by some analysts, Twitter saw a seasonal uptick in advertising revenue which rose 18% to $535m. But without strong user growth attracting advertisers becomes harder.
The sombre results have called into question the leadership of Mr Dorsey who is one of the company's co-founders.
He re-joined Twitter as chief executive last year as part of an effort to turn the struggling social media site around. In Twitter's history, it has never produced a profit.
But since his return the company has added just 9 million monthly active users.
Mr Dorsey has made changes to try and make the micro-blogging site more appealing. The firm has loosened its 140-character limit and begun showing tweets in order that users will find more interesting rather than chronologically.
But analysts said the changes had not had much impact.
"Clearly, the turnaround is still a work in progress and the question of whether being a platform for a mass audience versus a niche audience needs to be answered," said James Cakmak, analyst at Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co.
Patrick Moorhead, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, was also critical: "We are a year into Dorsey coming back and there is really no end in sight of when it is going to start picking up to where investors are going to be happy."


Prisoners have taken over part of a meals on wheels service for elderly people after a council scrapped it.

Vale of Glamorgan council said the number of meals needed fell from a daily average of 112 in 2012 to 45.
The Food Shed, which works with HMP Parc in Bridgend, is one of the social enterprises which has stepped in.
Prisoners prepare and cook meals but do not deliver them and G4S, which runs Parc, said these skills helped break the "vicious cycle" of offending.
The freshly-cooked meals made by the prisoners are delivered to people who are unable to cook for themselves.
Councillors agreed to start working with The Food Shed to provide meals in the western part of the county before it expands across the area.
It is not a contract but The Food Shed was one of the social enterprises which was recommended as an alternative when the council service ended.
The decision came after the council's former Labour administration decided to stop providing the service in January.
The council said meals on wheels ran at a loss and cost the social services department Â£50,000 a year.
People affected had their needs reassessed, were written to about the change and were also called or visited in person.
If they were happy to make the switch to a new provider, council staff passed their details to the relevant organisations.
Lisette Saunders, G4S deputy director at HMP Parc, said: "Our partnership with The Food Shed provides quality food for vulnerable people and supports our work with prisoners to develop skills, provide training and improve job prospects, ultimately helping the men in our care break the vicious cycle of offending."
G4S said one former prisoner who was involved with The Food Shed while serving his sentence was given a job with them after his release.
Ms Saunders added: "Programmes like The Food Shed encourage prisoners to be involved with the local communities, to be good neighbours and to give something back to those who are in most need."


A man who was arrested after munitions from World War One and World War Two were found at a house in Newport Pagnell faces no further police action.

The 37-year-old was arrested on suspicion of stealing from heritage and protected sites after the items were discovered at an address in Little Linford Lane, in September.
Objects were taken to a park to be destroyed.
Munitions had also been found in Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire.


Ghana forward Andre Ayew has joined Swansea City on a free transfer, signing a four-year contract at the Premier League club.

Ayew, 25, has been at Marseille since 2006 but his deal with the Ligue 1 side expired this month.
The former BBC African Footballer of the Year scored 52 goals in 181 appearances for the French club and has 62 caps for his country.
"I felt this was the right place for me," Ayew said.
"I felt that my desire to play in the Premier League and wanting to grow as a player meant that Swansea was the best solution for me in every way.
"Seeing the honesty and desire of the club made me feel that they really wanted me to come. They have proved that in all ways."
Swansea sold striker Wilfried Bony to Manchester City in January.
The Ivory Coast international's short-term replacement, Nelson Oliveira, has returned to Benfica following his loan spell at the Liberty Stadium.
Ayew's departure from Marseille brings to an end his family's 28-year association with the club.
His father, Abedi Pele, signed in 1987 and was part of their Champions League-winning team in 1993.
Younger brother Jordan also started his career at the State Velodrome, before joining Lorient.
Ayew had held talks with QPR, who were relegated from the top flight, in January.
In May the Ghanaian said he was weighing up options to join clubs in England, Italy and Germany and admitted the Premier League was attractive to him.


British number two Kyle Edmund beat American Ernesto Escobedo in two tie-breaks to reach the second round of the Brisbane International.

Edmund finished a breakthrough 2016 as the world number 45.
But the South Africa-born 21-year-old was pushed hard in a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (8-6) win over Escobedo, whom Edmund also beat at the US Open in September.
Escobedo had a set point in the second tie-break, but Edmund set up a match with Lucas Pouille or Gilles Simon.


A one-week-old baby squirrel was rescued after a nest was discovered in a felled tree in Aberdeenshire.

The Scottish SPCA is now caring for the tiny red squirrel - which has been named Billy - after the find in Insch earlier this month.
Billy is being hand-reared at the charity's National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fishcross.
Centre manager Colin Seddon said: "Billy currently needs fed by syringe every few hours."
He explained: "He should open his eyes at around five weeks old, and that's the same time the weaning process will begin.
"Billy will remain in our care until he is completely independent.
"Ideally, he'll be part of a group of red squirrels that can be returned to the wild together, at a supported release site.
"Nesting season for both squirrels and birds is well under way so we urge people to take care when cutting down trees/trimming hedges. It's best to check for nests first to avoid any accidents."


A gunman who shot another man outside a Glasgow primary school was pushing a child's buggy when he approached his victim.

The man he shot, 35-year-old Ross Monaghan, was discharged from hospital after treatment for a shoulder wound.
Mr Monaghan was cleared of a gangland murder in 2012.
He had dropped his child off at St George's Primary, Penilee, shortly before the shooting happened in Muirdykes Road at about 09:05.
Five years ago., Mr Monaghan was cleared of killing Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
A police spokesman said the man appeared to have been targeted and they were not ruling out a gangland-related attack.
He said there would be extra police presence in the area over next few days to provide reassurance to the public.
The man suspected of shooting Mr Monaghan has been described as wearing a blue padded jacket, blue jeans, a dark woollen bobble hat and a woollen scarf covering his face.
Their was no child in the buggy he was pushing.
Police officers confirmed they were treating the attack as attempted murder.
Det Ch Insp John Kennedy said: "This was a particularly distressing incident for the local community, given it took place close to a primary school.
"Although our investigation is at an early stage, we are carrying out a number of inquiries to establish the exact circumstances of the incident but I do believe that this was a targeted attack focused on one intended victim.
"Whilst forensic and ballistic examinations continue to take place at the scene, detectives are carrying out door to door inquiries in the area and reviewing CCTV. This is a highly-populated, residential area and I am appealing to anyone who may have seen the man with the buggy before or after the incident to come forward with any information."
Additional uniformed officers have been sent to the area following the shooting.
Ch Insp Simon Jeacocke said: "People in the community are shocked and alarmed at this morning's incident and I have high-visibility officers patrolling the area to provide reassurance.
"We are also working closely with our colleagues in Education Services at Glasgow City Council to ensure that pupils, staff and parents are provided with support and information and we have specialist resources such as the mounted branch providing visible, additional support."
A passer-by told BBC Scotland that she heard a bang as she dropped her son off at nursery.
"I heard a big bang and I thought it was like an air rifle going off," she said.
"The kids were asking what had happened."
She added: "All the birds came flying up."
Glasgow City Council had said it was aware of an incident outside St George's Primary School.
A spokeswoman said all staff and pupils were safe and the school remained open.
St George's Primary School tweeted: "All pupils and staff are safe at St George's primary. Police dealing with an incident which happened outside school grounds."
Gangland figure Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll, 29, was shot dead in the Asda car park in Robroyston, Glasgow, on 13 January 2010.
Mr Monaghan was tried for the killing, but was acquitted after it emerged there was no evidence which placed him at the Asda store at the time of the shooting.
He was also cleared of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of the two guns used in the shooting and torching the getaway car.
William Paterson was convicted of Mr Carroll's murder following a two-week trial in May 2015. He was told he must serve a minimum of 22 years in jail.


A cafe owner criticised after she said she would deal directly with unruly children says she has been "overwhelmed" by support.

Kim Christofi received abuse after a post on the South Kiosk, Felixstowe, Facebook page said she would step in if parents were "too scared to discipline their children".
She said there was a queue of well-wishers ahead of the kiosk's reopening.
"I received flowers and cards," she said. "It was so emotional."
The Facebook post, which was made on Sunday morning and has since been removed, was shared more than 500 times and had some 600 comments, many of which said it was not the cafe's place to discipline children.
Ms Christofi, who put the kiosk up for sale a couple of weeks ago, said she had received "nasty" texts and "unsavoury messages on Facebook" after word of her initial post spread.
"I probably wouldn't have been so bold with that statement, given the onslaught of the hate speech, but generally I still stand by what I say," she said. "What I said on Facebook I would say to the parent's face."
Ms Christofi said she had been surprised by people's reactions and reiterated that the cafe was a family friendly place. She said if a young customer was being noisy she would deal with the issue "sensitively" and in a way that did not "embarrass or humiliate" the child.
"I would try and comfort the child, give them a cold drink or a colouring book and ask them to draw me a nice picture," she said. "That normally does the job, and peace comes."
The cafe was closed on Monday while food was prepared for the following day.
"I was apprehensive about opening," Ms Christofi said. "But the support eventually filtered through and there was a queue of people, saying we've never been here but we heard about your story and wanted to show their support.
"I was very grateful."


Being on the geographical periphery of the county cricket scene makes any journey an arduous one.

But Somerset County Cricket Club have just received a boost from their own director of cricket. Matt Maynard has passed his Public Service Vehicle test and is now licensed to drive the team bus.
"It's something I thought about last year" he told BBC Somerset. "Because many of the journeys were long, we'd often have to stop and collect another driver."
"It was for my own personal development, but now I can help Nick [the team bus driver] out."
Somerset's County Championship season features round trips to Lancashire, Yorkshire and Durham - the latter is around 700 miles in total.
Their T20 Blast series begins against Kent - travelling from the far West to the South East of England.
"The first assignment is against Kent on Friday, although we'll travel on Thursday," added the former Glamorgan and England batsman.
However, his PSV licence does not signal the end of his tenure at Somerset.
"I love cricket and I'd love to be at Somerset for a good number of years yet," he added.
"But if that doesn't happen then maybe I can become the bus driver."


Germany's Marcel Kittel dominated a sprint finish to win the second stage of the 99th Giro d'Italia.

The Etixx-Quick Step rider pulled ahead in the final 150m of the 190km stage between Arnhem and Nijmegen before easing over the line.
Frenchman Arnaud Demare (FDJ) finished second, with Italian Sacha Modolo (Lampre) third.
Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) retains the leaders's pink jersey after winning Friday's opening stage.
No British riders are competing in the race for the second year in a row.
Sunday's third stage - taking the riders 189km from Nijmegen to Arnhem - is also expected to be won in a sprint finish.
Stage two result
1.  Marcel Kittel (Ger/Etixx-Quick-Step) 4hrs 38mins 31secs
2.  Arnaud Demare (Fra/FDJ) same time
3.  Sacha Modolo (Ita/Lampre)
4.  Moreno Hofland (Ned/LottoNL)
5.  Nicola Ruffoni (Ita/Bardiani Valvole)
Overall classification
1.  Tom Dumoulin (Ned/Giant) 4hrs 49mins 34secs
2.  Primoz Roglic (Slov/LottoNL) same time
3.  Marcel Kittel (Ger/Etixx - Quick-Step) +1sec
4.  Andrey Amador (Crc/Movistar) +6secs
5.  Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe/Giant) +8secs


President-elect Donald Trump's position on the conflict in Syria has been a confusing assortment of positions, the latest of which - his call for a safe zone in Syria - seems informed by his most recent conversations with candidates he interviewed for the position of secretary of state.

But all of his statements carry within them an inherent conundrum, two contradictory perspectives that will be hard to reconcile in Syria: his stated desire to work with Russia, or at least please Vladimir Putin, and his expected efforts to contain Iran.
Beyond the question of whether Trump will try to rip up the nuclear deal there is also the issue of Iran's ascendant power in the region.
Trump made no secret of his admiration for Russia's president during the US presidential campaign, and his willingness to deal with Vladimir Putin.
But Trump's appointments of Lt Gen Michael Flynn as national security advisor, James Mattis as secretary of defence and Mike Pompeo as CIA chief, form a trio that looks geared for a fight with Iran. Tehran has played a pivotal role in Syria to keep Bashar al-Assad in power and crush the rebels in Aleppo.
But Russia and Iran are working closely together in Syria, even if they don't see eye-to-eye on everything, including the outcome of a deal.
Randa Slim, an analyst with the Washington think-tank Middle East Institute, said there's no indication from any of the people around Trump that they have a formula whereby Trump would square these two contradictory positions, that are diametrically opposed in Syria.
"Trump can negotiate with Russia but unless he's willing to accept a formula in Syria that keeps Assad in power, (it) will be a hard sell to the Iranians," she said.
He would also need to strike a deal that would be accepted by the Saudis and other Gulf countries that have a stake in the conflict.
Last week, and for the first time, Trump called for safe zones in Syria.
Rather than a fully-formed proposal, it seems more like a position adopted after gleaning information and views from conversations with potential candidates for the position of secretary of state, like former CIA chief David Petraeus, who was recently still advocating the introduction of safe zones.
"We're going to try and patch that up and we're going to try and help people," Trump said during a rally in Florida. "We're going to build safe zones. We're going to get the Gulf states to pay for the safe zones."
This statement puts him at odds with both the Russians and the Iranians as they move forward with the Turks on steps towards a political settlement in Syria. Neither Tehran nor Moscow would be willing to consider safe zones, which would de facto help the rebels establish areas where they can regroup and continue battling Assad.
During the presidential campaign, Trump's focus was on the fight against so-called Islamic State and he indicated he would give up supporting the Syria rebels. This was welcomed by Syria's President Bashar al-Assad immediately after Trump's victory.
"If (Trump) is going to fight the terrorists, of course we are going to be ally, natural ally in that regard with the Russian, with the Iranian, with many other countries," Assad told Portugal's RTP state television on 9 November.
A de facto division of labour could emerge in Syria whereby Iran and Russia finish crushing the rebellion, while the US intensifies its campaign against IS.
But this would further embolden Iran - and again run counter to the strong views of Trump's national security team on how to deal with that country: Mattis has said that the three greatest threats to the US are "Iran, Iran, Iran".
But already Iranian officials are gloating about their advances in Aleppo.
"Aleppo was liberated thanks to a coalition between Iran, Syria, Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah," said Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military adviser to Iran's supreme leader, in Tehran on 14 December.
"Iran is on one side of this coalition, which is approaching victory, and this has shown our strength. The new American president should take heed of the powers of Iran."
Saudi Arabia could be willing to cut a deal with Russia that helps the kingdom extricate itself from the Syrian quagmire - where it has backed rebel groups for five years with little success.
But for Gulf countries, an ascendant Iran remains a key concern, as fears grow about a Shiite crescent from Iran to Lebanon, through Iraq and Syria.
Faisal bin Farhan, a Saudi analyst and businessman in Riyadh said that "the Russians and Americans can agree to a deal where Iran's influence is mitigated in Syria. It would be an incomplete, unsatisfactory resolution but better than a conflict that keeps grinding on."
The key to such a deal would be Trump's advisers telling him "let's do something that stops Iran from being the key power in charge in Syria." The formula for such a deal would be hard to find: Iran has no incentive to agree to such an agreement and it's unclear whether Russia could impose it on Tehran.
But Trump's appointments of Flynn, Mattis and Pompeo have reassured America's allies in the Gulf who felt that Obama's eagerness to reach a nuclear deal with Iran came at their expense, and emboldened Tehran - which has fed regional conflicts, including in Yemen.
"We are not comforted by the fact they are aggressive against Iran, but that they have a more realistic view of Iran's role in the region, in the sense that Iran has a negative role in the region," said bin Farhan "This team is less likely to turn a blind eye and tell us we have to share the region."
But the central conundrum of how to combine that approach towards Iran with a desire to work with Russia in Syria remains intact.


Notts County officials hope hosting the first senior international fixture at Meadow Lane in the ground's 106-year history will lead to more England matches being played there in future.

England Women will play their final home Euro 2017 qualifier in Nottingham against Estonia on 15 September.
Notts Ladies chief executive Matt Alexander said: "I'd like to think if we get a good turn out that we may get another one and other England games.
"It's fantastic news for the city."
Meadow Lane has been home to Notts County - the world's oldest Football League club -  since 1910, while the Women's Super League side by the same name moved to the ground in 2014.
Since their relocation to the city venue, with a capacity of nearly 20,000, Notts County Ladies have had one of the biggest average attendances in England's top flight competition.
The Lady Magpies are averaging crowds of just under 1,000 this season.
Last year Notts set a club attendance record of 2,057, while the biggest crowd at a women's football fixture in the city is 24,582, set across the River Trent at Nottingham Forest's City Ground for the 2008 Women's FA Cup final.
"It's good to have something like this on your doorstep," Alexander told BBC Radio Nottingham.
England Women have already qualified for Euro 2017 in the Netherlands.


An outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed at Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset.

Nine dead swans have tested positive for the H5N8 strain of the disease.
The swannery said about 80 birds had died so far this winter when it would normally expect about 30 to 40. The cause of most of the swans' deaths is not known.
The virus, which is different to the H5N1 strain that affected the colony in 2008, is considered low risk to humans.
Bird flu outbreak: What you need to know
Tourism general manager John Houston said: "It is spread through bird droppings. It has been in Europe on a wide scale for the last few months so we have expected it because you can't stop migratory birds crossing from the continent.
"This time of the year is a very difficult time of year for wild birds anyway and we would normally expect to see 30 to 40 [swan deaths] over the winter period but, as of Saturday, we have had 80 so far which is above the norm and is distressing for the staff who are very close to these wonderful birds."
There are about 600 birds at the site, the world's only managed colony of nesting mute swans.
The attraction, which is closed for winter, said it routinely sent any bird that died to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) for testing.
Avian flu has also been detected at other sites around the UK, including the Wildfowl and Wetlands Slimbridge reserve in Gloucestershire.
In December, poultry keepers were ordered keep their birds inside to protect them from the strain.


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has delivered an emotional address to tens of thousands of people in Istanbul on the anniversary of a failed coup.

Mr Erdogan said: "People that night did not have guns, they had a flag and more importantly, they had their faith."
He backed the death penalty for coup plotters and said they should wear Guantanamo Bay-style uniforms.
Some 250 people died and 2,196 were wounded fighting the coup attempt by an army faction on 15 July last year.
The government has since dismissed more than 150,000 state employees, saying it is rooting out coup supporters.
Critics say the dismissals, and a wave of 50,000 arrests, are part of an attempt to purge dissent.
Mr Erdogan was addressing tens of thousands of Turks who had rallied to the bridge over the Bosphorus where civilians had confronted pro-coup soldiers last year.
He said: "I am grateful to all members of my nation who defended their country."
Mr Erdogan said that 250 people had lost their lives but the country had won its future.
"Putschists who closed off the bridge on that night wanted to show the world that they were in control," he said, but were countered by "millions who took to the streets that night to defend the honour of their nation".
He said he would "break the heads of the traitors" who plotted the coup.
Mr Erdogan also said he had spoken to Prime Minister Binali Yildirim about the coup plotters, saying: "When they appear in court, let's make them appear in uniform suits like in Guantanamo."
The president then unveiled a "martyrs' memorial" at the bridge, which has been renamed the Bridge of the Martyrs of July 15.
He is now returning to Ankara to address parliament after midnight (21:00 GMT), at the exact time last year it was attacked by coup plotters.
The president will end proceedings by unveiling a monument to the coup's victims at his palace in the capital at dawn.
The date of 15 July has been declared an annual holiday.
Earlier Mr Yildirim told a special session of parliament that 15 July 2016 was a "second War of Independence", following the conflict that led to the creation of the modern state in the 1920s.
"It has been exactly one year since Turkey's darkest and longest night was transformed into a bright day, since an enemy occupation turned into the people's legend," Mr Yildirim said.
However, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the head of the main opposition Republican People's Party, condemned the government's actions since the coup.
He said: "This parliament, which withstood bombs, has been rendered obsolete and its authority removed. In the past year, justice has been destroyed. Instead of rapid normalisation, a permanent state of emergency has been implemented."
Turkey's trauma after night of the tanks
On 15 July last year, the coup plotters, armed with tanks, warplanes and helicopters, declared that they had taken over on state media, and bombed parliament and other key locations.
They tried to detain Mr Erdogan as he holidayed in an Aegean resort, but he had left and the coup was thwarted by civilians and soldiers loyal to the president.
The Turkish authorities accused a movement loyal to the Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, of organising the plot.
Mr Gulen, who remains in the United States, denies any involvement.
Washington has so far resisted calls from the Turkish authorities to extradite him.
The BBC's Turkey correspondent, Mark Lowen, says that, a year on, the unity against the coup has faded, and divisions over the rule of law have widened. For half of the country, he says, 15 July was its rebirth; for the other half, its aftermath is killing off what was left of Turkish democracy.
Critics say Mr Erdogan is using the purges to stifle political dissent, and last week hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Istanbul at the end of a 450km (280-mile) "justice" march against the government.
The president accused the marchers of supporting terrorism.
On Friday, the government continued its dismissal of state employees, sacking another 7,395 for alleged links to what it calls terrorist groups.


Sam Burgess' return to England's squad for the Four Nations is a lift as he is among the world's elite, says international team-mate Liam Farrell.

The back-rower returned to South Sydney Rabbitohs for 2016 and played 23 games, scoring five tries in the NRL.
Burgess left rugby union side Bath last November, after England's disappointing union World Cup campaign.
"You can't not miss a player of Sam's calibre, rugby league is where he belongs," Farrell told BBC Sport.
"To play rugby union and put pressure on himself, is something I admire but he's one of the best in the world and it's great to have him back."
Before his exit, Burgess' performances put him among the league code's elite, winning a premiership with Souths in 2014 and the personal honour of the Clive Churchill Medal in the Grand Final.
Sam links up with brothers Thomas and George in the England squad, along with fellow NRL-based Englishmen James Graham, Josh Hodgson, Elliott Whitehead and Gareth Widdop.
Farrell, who won Super League's Grand Final with Wigan on Saturday, is joined by team-mates John Bateman, George Williams and Gold Coast Titans-bound Dan Sarginson for the tournament which starts on 28 October.
"I'm very excited, it's a fresh squad," Farrell continued. "It's a bunch of lads coming together from Super League and the NRL and it'll be very special."
The 26-year-old capped his year with the Harry Sunderland Trophy in the Grand Final win against Warrington,
"I'm proud because I've had a tough year, I didn't think I'd be involved, I was out injured and only played 10 games or so I'm proud to be in."
Brisbane Broncos head coach Bennett was appointed in the England role in February, replacing the out-going Steve McNamara.
The 'Supercoach' who has won premierships with Brisbane and St George Illawarra in the NRL, was selected ahead of home-based candidates Shaun Wane, Daryl Powell and Keiron Cunningham.
Wane, who was then linked with a post in Bennett's coaching staff, is impressed by the pool selected for the forthcoming tournament and the fact most of the players were born in England.
"I'm really glad they've done that," Wane added. "It's a true England team and I'd have picked pretty much the same.
"There's a good balance in the squad and some really good players who are all in form.
"I don't think anyone could argue about selections in that team."


A teenager has been shot dead in a Birmingham street.

A man, 22, has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the 18-year-old was found in St Marks Crescent, Ladywood, at 18:45 GMT on Thursday.
The victim, named locally as Kenichi Phillips, was from Birmingham but had moved away, said police.
It is the fourth fatal shooting in the city since October, but "it is too early to speculate if it was gang-related," said Det Supt Mark Payne.
"There were a group of people in the street we want to come forward."
Latest on the shooting and more Birmingham stories
Mr Phillips had been driving a black Seat Leon before his death, said police.
In January, police expressed "great concerns" over a spike in gun crime in Birmingham.
Chief Constable Dave Thompson said he had not known such frequent shootings during his five years with the West Midlands force.
However, overall gun crime figures for the city dropped from 524 in 2014 to 357 in 2015.
Det Supt Payne said while there has been a recent surge of gun crime in the city he could not pinpoint a single root cause.
The force has secured 80 firearms-related convictions since the beginning of the year and taken 38 guns off the streets, he said.
The victim's family was "devastated" said Det Supt Payne.
"This is the loss of an 18-year-old child. It's a tragic event. We've seen too many of these events and too many distraught families in these circumstances," he added.
Talking to the BBC at the scene, community campaigner Desmond Jaddoo said: "This is a residential area. It's where [families] are and it's happening in the street. It's a concern.
"There are times when [gun crime] appears to be treated as the flavour of the month.
"There are knife [amnesty] bins all around the place but if anyone knows someone who has a gun, we need them to encourage others to hand them in."


More than 3,700 jobs have been created or safeguarded following investment in small and medium businesses in Wales.

Finance Wales invested more than £56m in businesses in 2015-16, up by £10m on the previous year, and £79m was raised from private sector funding.
Of those jobs, 1,163 were created and 2,555 were safeguarded.
Companies that benefited included Tomlinson's Dairies in Wrexham, Peerless Gas in Flintshire and Siltbusters in Monmouthshire.
Finance Wales, which uses money from the Welsh Government and other investors, makes investments in Welsh-based businesses, from £1,000 to £3m.
Chairman Gareth Bullock said: "We fill a gap left by mainstream lenders, offering flexible finance solutions to companies who may struggle to get the package they need from the traditional sources of finance.
"Where there is decreased risk appetite in the wider investment market, we're able to step in and take that risk burden to help support ambitious Welsh businesses.
"I'm proud of that, I'm proud of our flexibility and the approach our staff take to tailor deals for micro to medium companies."


Canada's new Liberal government has promised that the country will be "smart and caring"  while promising tax cuts for the middle class and a commitment to peace.

The government also promised a better relationship with indigenous peoples under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
That relationship will be based on "rights and respect".
The new government's legislative agenda was delivered in a speech in parliament by Governor General David Johnston.
Mr Johnston, the Queen's representative in Canada, said the country will have a better future by being "smart and caring on a scale as never before".
"The times we live in demand nothing less," he said.
The speech improved education for First Nations children and a government investigation into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau won a parliamentary majority in a general election on 19 October.
Who is Justin Trudeau?
Seven things Justin Trudeau believes
Justin Trudeau off to a flying start
The speech, known as the throne speech, called for many Liberal campaign platform ideas, such as government process reforms, investing in clean energy, fighting climate change, enhancing pension plans, the legalisation and regulation of marijuana sales and removing weapons from the streets.
Under the Liberal government, more investments will be made in public transit, green infrastructure and social infrastructure as well.
The Liberal government will renew its commitment to United Nations peacekeeping and work with allies to fight terrorism, said Mr Johnston.
Canada is "fundamentally a safe and peaceful country" and the government will work to keep Canadians it that way, he said.


Rio 2016 will not be devalued by the absence of some Russian athletes, says British Olympic Association chief executive Bill Sweeney.

An International Olympic Committee panel will decide which Russian competitors can take part in the Games, amid claims of state-sponsored doping.
"I don't think it devalues the Games in any sense," Sweeney told BBC Sport. "You'll see fantastic competition and see records tumble."
The Olympics begin in Brazil on Friday.
Initially, the IOC said individual sports' governing bodies must decide if Russians could compete, but has since ruled the new panel "will decide whether to accept or reject that final proposal".
More than 250 Russian athletes have so far been cleared.
"It's not unsettling for us," Sweeney said. "It's a shame the whole thing wasn't sorted out a lot earlier before the Games got started.
"We fully support the strongest possible sanctions for athletes who have been cheating."
The IOC's decision not to apply a blanket ban on Russian athletes was criticised by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which called for such a sanction after its independently commissioned report found evidence of a four-year "doping programme" across the "vast majority" of Olympic sports.
Sweeney said: "It's not an easy decision to make.
"You've got the question of collective responsibility against individual justice and I'm sure the IOC president Thomas Bach had a number of very difficult legal issues to consider there."
Sweeney indicated the presence of Russian athletes at the Games would make little difference to Team GB's medal chances.
"It doesn't impact us so much actually when you look at the Russian athletes and where we are strong," Sweeney said.
"From a medal point of view, the impact upon us is quite marginal."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.


A mother accused of murdering her toddler said bruising on the girl's body came from a fall off the potty.

Ayeeshia Jane Smith died aged 21 months of a tear to her heart caused by a forceful stamp, prosecutors allege.
It was "feasible" some of the bruising was caused on the potty "if she'd fallen back with enough force", a forensic scientist told a jury at Birmingham Crown Court.
Kathryn Smith, 23, and her partner Matthew Rigby, 22, deny murder.
They have also pleaded not guilty to allowing or causing a child's death and child cruelty.
Smith, of Sandfield Road, Nottingham and Rigby, of Sloan Drive, Nottingham, are accused of murdering Ayeeshia at the flat they shared in Burton-upon-Trent, on 1 May, 2014.
In all, 16 injuries were found on the toddler's body including a historic bleed on the brain, the court heard.
Jurors have already been told the child was known to social services.
Ms Smith and Mr Rigby were "uncooperative" and "hostile" to police at Queen's Hospital in Burton-on-Trent, officers told the court.
The child's mother balled her fists at one officer, while her partner allegedly shouted the police just "wanted an excuse to arrest" her, the court heard.
Det Con Sonia Milligan said: "Parents present all sorts of different emotions, but I have never experienced such hostility as was presented that evening at hospital."
She added:  "[Ms Smith's] initial account of how the injuries were sustained was to do with (falling off) the potty."
The couple were also upset at being told they would not be allowed to go home, as the home in Britannia Drive would need to be searched.
Smith's own mother had earlier told officers her daughter was "concerned" because there was cannabis at the home.
A quantity of the drug was later found inside a Tommee Tippee baby mug in a bedroom.
The trial continues.


Stormont faces collapse after Sinn Féin refuses to nominate deputy first minister.

16 January 2017 Last updated at 13:09 GMT
Nominating officer Michelle O'Neill said the DUP's actions had "diminished the credibility" of the political institutions and said it was now "over to the people to have their say".


A man who was walking on a motorway has died after being hit by a car.

The pedestrian was struck on the inside lane of the M60 anti-clockwise at junction 12, the Eccles Interchange, at about 20:35 GMT on Thursday.
The 37-year-old died at the scene. The driver stopped and is helping police with their inquiries.
Police are not treating the death as suspicious and have appealed for anyone with information to contact them.


A former worker at the Byron hamburger chain, who was arrested and deported after immigration raids last month, says he feels "used".

Rafa told the BBC's Today programme: "They used us and threw us away."
The Brazilian, 24, who admits using false documents to get the job, said he had been called to a meeting on 4 July, where immigration staff arrested him.
Byron said it had been unaware workers had used fake papers until it was informed by the Home Office.
People from Brazil, Albania, Nepal and Egypt were arrested following raids at Byron restaurants across London.
The Home Office said that of the 35 people who were interviewed by immigration officials, 25 have since been deported.
Rafa said he came to the UK in May 2015 to "try his luck" at getting work, and used a false National Insurance card and a fake Italian identity card to get a job at Byron.
On the morning of the raids, he said he was told to attend a meeting at the restaurant where he worked.
The woman conducting the meeting looked "nervous" and "strange", he said, adding that immigration officers arrived 10 minutes later. He was then interviewed and deported that night.
Rafa said he knew what he had been doing was wrong - but said the way he was arrested "is what bothers me".
"I felt very bad, because we didn't expect it. I could be caught at any moment - in the street, or in one of the operations by the immigration office.
"But the way it was done was what bothered us, what made us sad."
He added: "We had been using fake documents, but we paid our taxes normally. That's what made us the saddest - they used us and threw us away."
Rafa said the immigration officials treated him well, giving him the opportunity to go home and collect his belongings. He knew the risks he faced and that "if something happens you can be arrested or deported".
But he added: "That's not the point. The question is, how they did it," adding that he hopes to return to the UK in future and will apply for a visa.
In a statement, Byron said it was completely unaware that any of its workers were in possession of false documentation until the Home Office raids.
The restaurant chain, which has 65 outlets across the UK and more than 1,500 employees, said it carried out rigorous right-to-work checks, but the false documentation was "sophisticated."
The Home Office said the operation was carried out with the full co-operation of the business, who had carried out the correct checks on staff members.
As a result, the chain would not face any legal action itself, the Home Office confirmed.


As the sun rose over Singapore General Hospital, paralympic athlete William Tan arrived in his wheelchair at a tribute area for Mr Lee Kuan Yew and bowed his head in silence.

He told the BBC that as a child, he had watched Mr Lee cry on television as he announced one of the country's most traumatic moments: its separation from Malaysia in 1965.
"It's a sad day for all Singaporeans. I lived in the era where he built Singapore, and I've seen it progress," said the 58-year-old.
For Sayeed Hussain, who brought his two teenage children to pay respects before they headed off to school, Mr Lee's legacy was social harmony. "He did a lot for us, helped to shape a multi-racial and multi-cultural Singapore," he said.
Mr Lee was a towering figure in the lives of many Singaporeans, leading a team that transformed Singapore to a rich, stable country.
He has also been strongly criticised for his human rights record, his ruthless pursuit of political opponents and views on race and genetics. But in the immediate hours after his death, few Singaporeans were willing to touch on the more controversial aspects of his legacy.
Even opponents, such as politician Chee Soon Juan who was sued for defamation by Mr Lee, expressed only condolences. Low Thia Khiang, the leader of Singapore's main opposition party in parliament, Workers' Party, said Mr Lee's contribution would be "remembered for generations to come".
Online and offline, the country mourned. Radio and television played tributes and downbeat music, newspapers darkened their mastheads, digital billboards were blanked out, and television stations ran tickers announcing his death.
On Facebook, people turned their display pictures to stylised icons mourning Mr Lee.
By mid-morning, several residents of Lee Kuan Yew's Tanjong Pagar constituency had arrived at the local community club to pay their respects.
As a boy growing up in the area, L Kalaiselvan, 57, attended many of Mr Lee's election rallies.
"When it would be his turn to speak, it was like a bull or a lion charging onto the stage. His voice was so commanding. You felt like you were in safe hands," he said.
Many also showed up at the iron gates of the Istana, the compound housing the president's official residence and the prime minister's office. Officials had set up a tented booth with boards where people could post messages.
They came, young and old, bearing bouquets, cards and solemn expressions. Some stayed behind to read what others had written, and several had tears in their eyes.
"We've never had a leader who worked so tirelessly for us. He sacrificed a large part of his life for the country," said Carolyn Chia, 40.
Among the older Singaporeans who spoke to the BBC, there was an anxiety that younger citizens would forget Mr Lee's legacy, and the hardships that earlier generations had faced, and grow complacent.
"He was our founding father, he gave us government housing and education, I owe everything to him. Life was hard back then... I don't know if younger ones will remember that," said Sum Choi Yoke, 65.
But 35-year-old lecturer W Chai said it was the duty of his generation "to do more to show the country that we do care...  it's our job now to move things forward."
"Whichever direction the current leadership takes now, it will have to be a more open one, and it's been happening. The people now want more say in this country."
Younger Singaporeans said they respected Mr Lee, even if they would not support some of his strong-armed tactics, such as crackdowns on critics, if he was still in politics today.
"It would be difficult now, because the political field has changed," said Wong Chee Wai, 34. "But Mr Lee did what was best for Singapore at that time."
"It's not always possible to be the good guy and also do what's necessary."


The latest weather data suggest that the Earth's average temperature is close to breaking the record set in 2010.

Even more striking is the fact that if this occurs, then fourteen out of fifteen of the warmest years on record will have occurred since the turn of the century.
However, while record-breaking warmth is consistent with the general trend of global warming, it's not always the case that each year is warmer than the previous one.
There are temporary ups and downs that ride on top of the overall warming trend.
It's quite possible for a few years to elapse before the next record year, and the warming can speed up or slow down for runs of years, as happened for example in the slowdown of warming since the end of the last century.
So what makes one year warmer or colder than its predecessor? The answer to this depends on a number of factors.
Large volcanic eruptions can cause a temporary dip in temperatures for a few years due to reflection of sunlight by the resulting atmospheric particles. This happened following the eruption of Mt Pinatubo in 1991, for example.
Fluctuations in the ocean can also cause temporary ups and downs, and the massive heat release during an El Nino event in the tropics can temporarily raise global temperatures, such as occurred in 1998.
This year, the tropical ocean has indeed warmed up in both the Pacific and the Atlantic but both of these ocean basins have also been very warm in northern latitudes, compounding the effect on global temperature.
While the oceans exhibit record warmth, it is the average temperature over land regions and in the Arctic that has risen most.
It is worth noting that this is consistent with predictions from computer models of climate change, which have suggested for many years that warming over land, and over the Arctic, will outstrip the increase in global average temperature as climate change progresses.
The WMO report highlights a number of record-breaking weather events around the world:


England all-rounder Ben Stokes has put himself forward for the lucrative Indian Premier League.

The 25-year-old will now go into the IPL auction on 4 February.
The Twenty20 tournament runs from 5 April to 21 May, but Stokes is likely to be involved in England's one-day series against Ireland on 5 May.
"It's a good opportunity to go away and experience different competitions," said Stokes, who has played 18 T20 internationals.
England begin a one-day series against India on Sunday.
Stokes' international team-mates Sam Billings and Jos Buttler are already contracted to IPL teams, while Jason Roy has put himself forward for the auction.
Alex Hales and limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan are also expected to be in the auction, although it is not yet clear how long England will allow them to play for.
After the Ireland series, England host the Champions Trophy in June, but Stokes said he would he happy to return early from the IPL for England duty.
"If they want us to come back and report for England, which is our job, then we'll come back and have no complaints," he said.
"This year's IPL is a chance for not just myself but other England guys to experience what it's like and see a different side to T20 cricket."


MK Dons have revealed plans to build a training facility with 20 football pitches in Northamptonshire.

The club said it had recently bought land for a club and community training centre to the north of Milton Keynes at Cosgrove.
It would include four first-team, 11 academy, three community and two 3G artificial pitches.
Pete Winkelman, club chairman, said: "It's been a long missing component of the development of the club."
The facility would also mean building a new access road linking it to the A508.
Mr Winkelman said: "This is the start of a long journey to develop an international standard club and community training centre and, as part of that, we will be looking to build partnerships and relationships.
"Although it's still early days, we are extremely excited about the project."
The plan will be submitted to South Northamptonshire Council at a later date.


Lebanese authorities have arrested a fugitive radical Sunni preacher as he was trying to leave the country, officials say.

Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir was detained at Beirut airport early on Saturday.
He had been on the run since clashes with the Lebanese army in 2013, which left at least 17 soldiers dead.
The cleric organised followers to fight alongside rebels in Syria in response to Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia group which backs President Bashar al-Assad.
Sheikh Assir is wanted over an incident in June 2013 in which one of his men was caught with unauthorised weapons in his car at a military checkpoint in Sidon, 40km (28 miles) south of the capital, Beirut.
Witnesses at the time said machine guns and rockets were used - and when the army went to Mr Assir's compound, it found heavy weapons and military-style uniforms.
Lebanese officials said he was arrested trying to fly to Egypt using a false passport, having "changed his appearance".
Unconfirmed reports said he had shaved off his beard and undergone facial surgery.
BBC regional analyst Sebastian Usher says the media-savvy sheikh has been one of the fieriest voices in Lebanon, stoking up sectarian tensions as the Syrian war has raged next door.
Sheikh Assir built his reputation on television talkshows as a self-proclaimed defender of Sunni rights against the Shia movement, Hezbollah, and its backing of Syria's President Assad, our analyst says.
Despite being on the run for two years, he has continued to issue video and audio messages.


Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh is mystified by Emmanuel Emenike's decision to retire from internationals.

The 28-year-old striker revealed this week he would no longer be available for the Super Eagles.
"When I first heard about it I made a phone call to Emenike to clarify the situation but there was no answer," Oliseh told BBC Sport.
"It's shocking and surprising because we've worked together in my first four matches as Super Eagles coach."
Oliseh added: "He is part of our rebuilding process and I did not see signs of misunderstanding or issues working with a great player like Emenike."
Reports had suggested Emenike would be left out of Nigeria's squad for next month's World Cup qualifier against Swaziland because he has not scored at international level for two years.
But Oliseh, who succeeded Stephen Keshi as coach in July, insisted there was no truth to the speculation.
"It's a figment of someone's imagination because it did not come from me," he said. "I've not spoken to any journalist about my squad or the World Cup game that will only take place in November.
"My coaches and I have been fully focused on the CHAN qualifier [against Burkina Faso], so I don't know where they got that [plans to axe Emenike] information from."
Emenike is the second player to announce his retirement from Nigeria's senior squad this month, following Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama - Nigeria's most-capped player - who quit after he was replaced as captain.
Emenike made his international debut in a friendly against Sierra Leone in Lagos in February 2011 and was top scorer at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, helping Nigeria lift the trophy.
He made 37 appearances for the Super Eagles and scored nine goals.