Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona struck three times in the final 13 minutes of the first leg to whisk their Champions League semi-final tie away from a stubborn Bayern Munich side.

The hosts seemed set for a frustrating night before Messi fired a low shot home from the edge of the area.
Three minutes later he skipped past Jerome Boateng and dinked home coolly.
Led by ex-Barca boss Pep Guardiola, Bayern pushed for an away goal and were punished again as Neymar raced clear.
Until the devastating conclusion, the Germans had produced an excellent tactical display.
Stripped of the twin attacking threats of the injured Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, they frustrated the hosts for large periods and could have had a goal of their own had Robert Lewandowski connected cleanly with Thomas Muller's cross.
But while Guardiola's four trophy-filled years at the Nou Camp had been based on monopolising possession and patient build-up, the Barcelona that has emerged in his absence is a more dynamic animal.
Their attacking trio of Luis Suarez, Messi and Neymar - while never entirely shackled - had seemed well-guarded after an open initial 15 minutes, but they burst into life at the end.
Guardiola predicted before the match that it was "impossible" to stifle Messi, but goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's hurried free-kick that gifted Barcelona the lead was very avoidable.
As possession turned over the Argentina forward took advantage of a pocket of space to fire home.
If Messi's first was preventable, his second was irresistible as he left Boateng floundering and deftly lifted the ball over the giant frame of Neuer.
Guardiola's opening gambit on his return to Catalonia had been a back three of Rafinha, Boateng and Medhi Benatia, but that was hastily re-jigged as an under-staffed defence was initially stretched horribly out of shape.
If that tactical mistake went unpunished, Barcelona were more ruthless as Bayern pushed forward late on and Neymar scampered clear in injury time to seemingly end the tie as a contest.
Bayern require more of the fighting spirit that saw them recover from 3-1 adrift against Porto in the previous round.
Ominously for English teams it was a match that suggested a chasm in class - rather than a statistical anomaly - is behind their recent absence from the latter stages of the competition.


Embattled comedian and actor Bill Cosby has said he will not testify at his trial next month in Pennsylvania, where he stands accused of sexual assault.

Former Temple University employee Andrea Constand alleges the 79-year-old entertainer drugged and molested her.
Cosby suggested to Sirius-XM radio that racism could have played a role in his treatment over the claims, in his first extended public comment in two years.
At least 50 women have come forward to accuse him of sexual assault.
But Cosby will only face charges in Ms Constand's case due to statutes of limitations.
He has maintained all of his sexual encounters with women were consensual.
The comedian told Sirius-XM radio host Michael Smerconish on Tuesday he would not testify at the trial near his home, in Philadelphia, adding lawyers could twist his words on the stand.
"When you have to deal with examination, cross-examination, et cetera, et cetera, more than two sides to every story - sometimes it's four or five," he said.
Why is there a time limit on bringing sexual assault cases to US courts?
Bill Cosby sex assault case: Five questions answered
One of the actor's daughters, Ensa Cosby, recently said in a statement she believed her father was innocent and "racism has played a big role in all aspects of the scandal".
When he was asked whether he agreed, Cosby said: "Could be, could be".
He later added: "I just truly believe that some of it may very well be that."
Cosby also described the allegations as "nefarious".
In 2004 Ms Constand was 31 when she visited Cosby's home seeking career advice after befriending him through Temple University, where he served on the board of trustees.
She said Cosby gave her three blue pills which made her legs feel "like jelly" and that he then began to touch her inappropriately.
In 2006, the comedian settled with Ms Constand after providing an undisclosed cash sum to her.
But a criminal case was opened last year after a newly elected county prosecutor vowed to bring charges against him.
Once known as America's Dad, Cosby was the first African-American to host a primetime television programme on his eponymous show.
During the 30-minute interview, the former The Cosby Show star said he felt compelled to break his silence for people who still believed he was innocent.
"I decided that I think it's time for me to do something so that the people who still have faith in me, the people who are still wondering what I sound like as opposed to The National Enquirer, which is very interesting reading when they write about me," he said.
Cosby, who has disappeared from the public eye over the last two years, said he plans to return to performing after the trial.
"I still feel that I have an awful lot to offer in terms of my writing, in terms of my performance," he said.
The trial is set to begin on 5 June.


The BBC 100 Women team have hosted a coding competition with Facebook UK to give female developers the chance to create a unique social media product.

The winners - Bunmi Aworanti, Ola Taylor and Simi Awokoya - spent two days working on an idea which they then presented to the 100 Women team.
They came up with "I am", an app that helps you match your emotions with the qualities of some of our 100 Women.
Ms Aworanti, 25, said "Winning was amazing - I didn't expect it all."
The Nigerian software developer, who now lives in London, said it was her first hackathon. "We thought we were the least experienced so it just shows what you can achieve with hard work," she said.
"When I saw the hackathon [advertised] I was very excited because I am passionate about celebrating women's achievements. It is something very dear to me as when I was an engineering student women made up only around 10% of the class. I am passionate about showcasing what women can do in the industry."
Ms Taylor said it was hard work but worth it.
'We did this while working on full time jobs and at one point while in three different continents... At times we even used the app to inspire us when we were working on it - 'I am Ola and I am resilient!'"
Ms Awokoya added that she "loved every minute of working on this, we had a very interesting dynamic which made the three weeks very productive".
To find out who your match is from our list of BBC's 100 Women 2016 go to the app at 100women.bbcnewslabs.co.uk/


The head of an under-pressure NHS trust who has been on sick leave since April has resigned.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Penny Venables has been unable to work since 13 April.
The trust was criticised in June in a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection for putting emergency patients "at risk". Inspectors said patients had been left in corridors.
The trust said Mrs Venables would be remembered as an "effective leader".
It was unable to provide further details of her illness.
Harry Turner, trust chairman, said: "I am most grateful for all the work Penny has done.
"She will be remembered as an effective leader who put patients and staff at the heart of her decisions.
"There have been some issues over the winter but I have had no conversation with Penny about that. This is entirely a personal decision."
He said acting chief executive Chris Tidman would continue in the role for the present.
The trust runs the Worcestershire Royal, Redditch's Alexandra Hospital and Kidderminster Hospital.
In an "unprecedented" move in April, West Midlands Ambulance Service demanded the trust bring in a doctor who is usually on call for major disasters to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
Patients were queuing in the corridor and being looked after in ambulances rather than being admitted to the emergency unit.
In June, the CQC said there were no security measures in place at Worcestershire Royal's emergency department, and equipment was dusty or past its expiry date.
Inspectors said one child had been waiting two hours for pain relief and other patients were left in corridors.
In February, the entire consultant team running A&E services at the Alexandra resigned amid claims of a "bullying culture" and a breakdown of the relationship between medical staff and management.
However, the trust said it had made a number of "significant improvements".
Mr Turner said: "The focus of the board and myself is to continue to build on our improvement and build an NHS Trust that is continuing to deliver excellent care."


A man has been arrested after road rage attack in Surrey left a lorry driver with a fractured cheekbone.

The lorry driver was allegedly assaulted by another motorist on the A320 by a roundabout with Woodlands Road, near Slyfield industrial estate in Guildford on 5 February.
A 26-year-old man from Farnborough has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.
He has been released on bail until 2 May.


A rave at a former RAF base should have been stopped by police earlier, according to angry sleepless residents.

Four hundred people gathered at the former RAF Swinderby near Lincoln in the early hours of Sunday.
People living nearby said they were kept up all night, and could still hear "thumping bass" while having breakfast.
But Lincolnshire Police defended the actions of officers, saying the unlicensed rave was dealt with as quickly as possible.
Lisa Whitehead, who lives nearby, said she was woken by the music which made it sound like the rave was "in her bedroom".
She said it continued through the night and could still be heard at eight o'clock in the morning.
Another resident thought it "ridiculous" the rave was allowed to continue when people using the village hall had to keep the windows closed so noise from inside did not annoy anyone.
Insp Phil Taylor from Lincolnshire Police said: "We are acutely aware of the disruption this caused to the local community and want residents to know we did all that we could to bring this event to a safe and peaceful end as swiftly and effectively as we could."
Five men, all in their 20s, were arrested and later bailed.
Three were held over for drug related offences, one for refusing to comply with police and another over an unrelated matter.
In 2014 the force was criticised for taking 15 hours to close down a rave on farmland at Dunsby, near Bourne.
On that occasion police said it was not safe to intervene due to the size of the event which attracted about 300 people.


David Cameron should have focused his EU renegotiations on boosting workers' rights and ending austerity, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said.

Mr Corbyn told a meeting of the Party of European Socialists in Brussels the talks were a "theatrical sideshow".
The Labour leader, who has been a critic of the EU, said his party would campaign for the UK to stay in whatever the outcome of the negotiations.
Mr Cameron is hoping to win support at the EU Council summit in Brussels.
If a deal is reached with other leaders, he will hold the UK's referendum on whether it wants to remain a member of the EU, with June 23 seen as the most likely date.
Mr Corbyn has also travelled to Brussels where he joined a meeting of the Party of European Socialists (PES) parliamentary bloc.
He said: "David Cameron's negotiations are a missed opportunity to make the case for the real reforms the EU needs: democratisation, stronger workers' rights, an end to austerity, and a halt to the enforced privatisation of public services."
Mr Corbyn voted to leave the European Economic Community, as the EU was then known, in the 1975 referendum, when the UK voted strongly to remain in.
During last year's Labour leadership campaign, Mr Corbyn said he had "mixed feelings" on the union and suggested there were circumstances in which he would advocate a vote to leave.
In September he confirmed Labour would campaign to stay in the EU but criticised it over free trade, agriculture and Greece.
Speaking after the PES meeting, Mr Corbyn said Mr Cameron had "brought an internal Conservative Party dispute to international proportions".
He said Labour had made its backing for EU membership "very, very clear" saying this was supported by the "vast majority" of its membership.
His desired reforms, he said, were "rather different" to Mr Cameron's.
"It has to be based on the rights of people all across Europe," he said.
"I don't think David Cameron has that on his agenda."


One of the most baffling political quotes of all time was the former American Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld's response to questions about weapons intelligence on Iraq back in 2002.
He was lampooned at the time, but in the months and years that followed, his bizarre syntax became rather a shorthand for a situation so complicated and fluid that it is almost impossible to rule anything in or out.
Just in case you had forgotten - and you can watch it here - here is how he put it at the time.
"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."
Of course the situation in respect of Brexit is different indeed, very very different.
But I can't help thinking of that quote as right now, we hear government ministers trying, or indeed not trying to give MPs full answers on their plans for Brexit that there are indeed known knowns but also many more known unknowns
And indeed, that there are probably unknown unknowns about how we extricate ourselves from the EU, what our relationship with the rest of the EU looks like, and indeed the rest of the world.
Frankly, we know almost as little about the plan for Brexit that's concrete as we did that momentous morning after the referendum itself.
But there have been plenty of hints, implications and suggestions of priorities that are worth noting, even if just to reveal how much that we can't be sure of. It is not by any stretch an exhaustive list, and without concrete proposals, everything is still open to interpretation.
First off, on immigration, which came to dominate the referendum debate.
Theresa May evidently believes, whatever else we end up with, that the British government needs to have more say over how many people come to live here from the rest of the European Union.
She's ruled out a points system to determine who gets in and who doesn't, even though we use elements of that to control the numbers of people who move here from other parts of the world. There are plenty of suggestions floating around the place over what a new system might be - for example a work permit system as put forward by the former Cabinet Minister Iain Duncan Smith.
Under this option, students, tourists, and people being transferred by their employer for work (known as intra company transfers) can come here without limit, but others must have a job offer before they arrive. But people with particular skills, scientists for example, could be exempt from control altogether.
Other ideas have been put forward, regional visas for example by the London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
In truth, there isn't a clear position from the government yet, but a clear determination that when we get to the end of the Brexit process, there is a political imperative for Theresa May to be able to say she is able to exert more control over the levels of European immigration.
That is what makes the second fiendish issue so politically difficult. Is the government going to try to keep our full membership of the single market - the European Union's giant free trade area where businesses can deal with companies right around the union, with a market of 500 million people, without any obstacles.
During the referendum campaign, Vote Leave said that we would indeed leave the single market. Other EU countries have said that we can't stay in the single market if we are intent on restricting European immigration.
It's not just a real, but a philosophical point - for the EU single market, countries accept four 'freedoms' - goods, services, people and capital - basically cash, trade and people.
So in theory, if we want to control immigration from the EU, we can't stay inside.
But, so far ministers hedge around this. In fact three different cabinet ministers have told me they believe that we might keep our membership of the single market if British negotiators can find a cunning wheeze, a way round it.
Others believe it is helplessly optimistic to believe that's possible, other ministers suggest it's not even desirable and we'd be better off trying to go it alone within the rules of the World Trade Organisation.
Again, the government just hasn't made its position clear. Theresa May is the kind of politician who genuinely wants to look at all the evidence, even if there is swathes of it, before making a decision.
And it's worth remembering this is not as binary as it sounds. Being a member of the single market is not like being a member of the AA or the local gym - you don't just stop paying your direct debit and cut up your membership card.
There are lots of different models like the deal Norway has, or Switzerland, that allow it to trade with varying expectations of how many of the rules they have to obey.
But more to the point, while most EU leaders seem implacably opposed to the UK following Boris Johnson's oft-quoted aspiration of "having its cake and eating it" - keeping all the goodies of the single market and getting more control on immigration - it is always worth remembering that although there are EU regulations and precedents, as one senior Conservative put it, 'there is literally nothing that is unchangeable about the EU if the political leaders want it".
In this instance, that is a huge if, but it'd be wrong to think that anything about the government's attitude to the single market has been set in stone, and importantly in the next twelve months, many European leaders risk losing their perches in their own elections. They could be replaced by others who are more sympathetic to the UK's case, or in reverse, far more willing to be punitive.
But it is also well worth remembering that the UK has over the years managed to exclude itself from some of the biggest EU projects - the single currency and the Schengen border free travel zone.
What about the cash we have to stump up? Ministers have been oh so careful not to rule out having to contribute anything to the EU, even after we leave, despite the promises of the Vote Leave campaign that we'd get billions back.
You might argue that voters, and certainly many Tory MPs will be furious if under the deal we end up shelling out. But it is a very real possibility that ministers may end up pursuing a deal where we would continue to pay a certain amount to Brussels in return for a trading relationship.
It's another known unknown. Equally we know that ministers would rather be able to allow all EU nationals currently living here to stay.
But they are miles from committing to that, insistent, rightly or wrongly, that they will only give that guarantee if British citizens who live in EU countries are given the same, racking up something else we are yet to know.
So far, I'm afraid, so unclear. There are a few issues however that are clear as crystal. It's unambiguous, that the prime minister is intent on taking us out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
This was one of the clues that suggests we'll leave the single market, as the ECJ polices its rules. But then again, Norway is in the market, but is not under the Court, even though its equivalent authority takes much of its guidance from the ECJ.
The European Courts will no longer be the ultimate arbiter of our laws once we have left the EU. Under the Great Repeal Bill, which will be discussed and voted on in Parliament next year, at the moment we leave, all EU laws go into British law. And then, our MPs can, as they see fit, unpick them, replace them, or scrap them one by one.
And as David Davis told MPs today, there'll be no possibility of veto, that Brexit means Brexit and we will be leaving the European Union.
And very few of the MPs who today so passionately pleaded for more say over how our departure unfolds, would now argue to unpick the result.
There are already countless interpretations of all the above, other readings of the nudges and hints we've had from central government.
And there are so many other factors in all of this - what happens about the Customs Union, what happens about EU structural funds, what happens to the Northern Irish border, what happens to benefits paid to expats, the list goes on and and on and you guessed it, most of the items on the list are, yes, known unknowns.
And as Mr Rumsfeld suggested all those years ago, there are indeed, unknown unknowns. We are only at the very beginning of a process that is going to take years, not months, that will change our relationship with the rest of the continent, and ultimately the rest of the world.
There may well be consequences that right now, we can't even imagine, for good or for ill. Right now, there is very little that we can be sure of - the government is yet to come to a concrete position on what it wants to achieve.
And even when ministers can agree on their specific aims, that's when the rest of the EU will start to grapple with the detail of a process. The British government reaching its own conclusions is only perhaps the start.


Arbroath moved to within four points of Scottish League Two leaders Forfar Athletic by beating Cowdenbeath at Central Park.

Second-half goals from Josh Skelly and Steven Doris gave the visitors victory over bottom placed Cowden.
Berwick Rangers slipped to second bottom after losing 3-1 to Annan Athletic while Montrose and Stirling Albion drew 2-2.
Leaders Forfar host fourth-placed Clyde on Boxing Day.
It was 0-0 until the 74th minute at Cowdenbeath when Skelly stroked home the opener and Doris made sure of the points three minutes later when he converted a Skelly set piece.
Annan bounced back from two straight defeats with David McKenna's early strike giving them the lead against Berwick, only for Patrick Scullion to reply for the visitors.
However, Peter Watson's header and Rabin Omar's shot - both before half-time - gave Annan the three points.
A first-half own goal from Andrew Steeves gave Stirling the lead at Links Park but headers by Terry Masson and Gary Fraser - the first set up by Steeves - turned the match in Montrose's favour.
However, Ross Smith nodded Albion level and they had Angus Beith sent off deep into stoppage time for foul and abusive language.
Stirling and Berwick are two points above Cowdenbeath.


Sir Dave Brailsford has quit as performance director of British Cycling to concentrate on running Team Sky.

Media playback is not supported on this device
The 50-year-old led Great Britain to eight gold medals at both the Beijing and London Olympics and has transformed the sport during his 10-year reign.
Chief executive: Ian Drake
Technical director with responsibility for rider performance: Shane Sutton
Programmes director responsible for development: Andy Harrison
Head of performance support: To be appointed
"It's a big step but the right decision for the team and for me," he said.
Head coach Shane Sutton will now become technical director responsible for rider performance ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Since taking charge of Team Sky in 2009, Brailsford masterminded Tour de France wins for Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and Chris Froome last year.
The success of Team Sky has taken more and more of his time, leading to his decision to now concentrate all of his efforts on the road-racing team.
He is currently preparing for this year's Giro d'Italia, which starts in Belfast next month, and the Tour de France, which starts in Yorkshire on 5 July.
Andy Harrison will continue as British Cycling's programmes director and, along with Sutton, will work alongside a new "head of performance support".
London 2012
Men's Road Time Trial: Bradley Wiggins, Men's Keirin: Chris Hoy, Men's Team Sprint: Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny, Chris Hoy, Men's Sprint: Jason Kenny, Women's Keirin: Victoria Pendleton, Women's Team Pursuit: Laura Trott, Dani King, Joanna Rowsell, Men's Team Pursuit: Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas, Peter Kennaugh, Steven Burke, Women's Omnium: Laura Trott,
Beijing 2008
Road Race: Nicole Cooke, Sprint: Chris Hoy, Keirin: Chris Hoy, Sprint: Victoria Pendleton, Individual Pursuit: Rebecca Romero, Individual Pursuit: Bradley Wiggins, Team Pursuit: Bradley Wiggins, Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas, Paul Manning, Team Sprint: Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny, Jamie Staff
Athens 2004
Bradley Wiggins: Individual Pursuit, Chris Hoy: Kilo
Steve Peters, meanwhile, has stepped down as the team's psychiatrist.
Brailsford told BBC Radio 5 live: "It's been a little bit like running Liverpool and England, to use a football analogy, and it came to a point where it was getting so stretched that I felt it was the right time to step to one side and let the next team to step up.
"There are brilliant coaches who are still in place so there will be continuity and a smooth handover and I won't be far away. I'm still in the sport and hopefully at hand if anybody needs any help or advice."
He added: "I'd like to thank all the great staff who I've worked with, and of course the amazing athletes who ultimately deserve all the credit for their success.
"I have some extraordinary memories - not just from Olympic Games and World Championships but also just day-to-day, seeing cycling go from a fringe activity to a mainstream sport.
"I've always said that, more than any of the medals, the transformation of cycling in Britain is the single thing I'm most proud of having helped achieve."
British Cycling chief executive Ian Drake paid tribute to the contribution of Brailsford and Peters, and added: "In Shane and Andy, I'm confident we have the right management team to take us into Rio and beyond.
"The sport of cycling in this country has travelled a long way in the last few years but the best is yet to come."
Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins, who has worked closely with Brailsford, was also full of praise for his achievements.
"He has taken us from a team in Atlanta in 1996 who had to pay for their own kit and not medalling, to the best, most feared track team in the world," he said.
Brailsford joined British Cycling in 1997 and took over as performance director when Peter Keen left in 2003.
He revolutionised the sport with his attention to detail and focussing on "marginal gains" which brought Team GB 30 Olympic medals - mainly on the track - between 2004 and 2012.
He was made MBE in 2005, CBE in 2009 and was knighted after the London Olympics.
In December 2012 he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award for a second time.


Scotland is developing a different approach to race equality to the rest of the UK, a new report has said.

Matters of equality are reserved to the UK government at Westminster.
But the report said successive Scottish governments had developed distinctive Scottish policies.
It said considerable progress has been made in tackling racism but a significant proportion of the black and ethnic minority (BME) community had experienced discrimination.
The report, Scotland and Race Equality: Directions in Policy and Identity, was produced by the Runnymede Trust, an independent think tank on race equality and race relations.
Professor Nasar Meer of Strathclyde University, who edited it, said the Scottish government controlled health and education, so was responsible for ensuring equality polices were applied in these areas.
He said: "Because health and education are devolved, the Scottish government also takes on equality duties there. These include equal opportunities monitoring, such as the number of BME workers in the NHS and the rest of the public sector."
But he said there was still much to do, with 'ethnic penalties' continuing to permeate life-chances in education and employment. .
"If we look at the data, we find consistently that young men from BME backgrounds are more likely to be unemployed or in lower-paid work in Scotland than in other parts of the UK," he said.
"And while pupils from black or ethnic minorities show better educational outcomes than white children, they are considerably under-represented in the workplace, in management or supervisory positions."
The researchers called for the delivery of racial equality initiatives to be assessed in the context of the new Race Equality Framework Scotland.
Announcing the 15-year programme, in March 2016, the Scottish government said it was determined to show leadership in advancing race equality, tackling racism and addressing the barriers that prevented people from minority ethnic communities from realising their potential.
It set out how this would be progressed from 2016 to 2030.
Carol Young, of the Coalition of Race Equality and Rights (CRER), said: "Scotland's public sector needs to get to grips with some concepts it may find uncomfortable.
"Stronger, bolder commitments from our public authorities are needed to ensure Scotland's approach to race equality is successful to challenge racial inequality effectively."
Omar Khan, director of the Runnymede Trust, said: "Race equality hasn't featured centrally in the reinvigorated debates about Scotland's identity and its place in the UK.
"Runnymede is delighted to publish this important volume outlining the distinctive debates and policies on race equality in Scotland, but also their relevance for the rest of the United Kingdom."


UKIP leader Nigel Farage has rejected claims he might have abused EU expenses, describing them as a "politically motivated attack".

The Times said a former party official had filed a complaint to the EU's anti-fraud body over his use of the "general expenditure allowance".
The UKIP leader rejected suggestions he had broken the rules on MEP allowances.
The Electoral Commission has said it is to write to UKIP for "clarification" about Mr Farage's constituency office.
The Times said Mr Farage received £15,500 a year to run the small office near Bognor Regis - but it had been provided rent-free by UKIP supporters.
The Electoral Commission's records suggest the property, a converted grain store, has not been declared since 2004 when two donations totalling £1,100 were registered.
The donation of a "benefit in kind" worth more than £1,500 a year to an MEP - like a free office - should be reported to the Electoral Commission.
The Electoral Commission said it did not consider this to be an investigation.
The Times said a former office manager had claimed the premises cost only about £3,000 a year to run.  The office manager later disputed the figure, saying he had been misquoted, but the Times stood by its story.
The EU does not demand a detailed breakdown of office expenditure but Mr Farage insisted the running costs were about £1,000 a month.
The UKIP leader told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was taking "legal advice" about The Times story, adding: "I think this is completely and utterly outrageous."
He said MEPs were given recommendations about what the allowance can legitimately be spent on, such as the running of an office, mobile phone or hotel bills, but did not have to provide receipts.
"We do not claim expenses for running an office or any other activity that takes place within the United Kingdom.
"We get an allowance, a fixed-rate allowance, and we can spend it how we see fit," he told Today.
He said he had been always been open and "unashamed" about using the allowances and expenses provided to him as an MEP to campaign for Britain's exit from the European Union but that he would "do so within the rules of the Parliament".
He described the Times report as "yet another politically motivated attack from what is the establishment newspaper".
He said he would be happy for his accounts to be audited by an independent accountant "if that would solve the argument", adding: "UKIP don't want any of these allowances. We don't want British MEPs costing the taxpayers all this money."
Earlier UKIP issued a statement saying the allegations "lack substance" and said the office allowance was used in part to pay for additional premises.
The Times says a former UKIP official has filed a formal complaint about Mr Farage to the EU anti-fraud office OLAF.
An OLAF spokesman told BBC News it had received a complaint and was considering whether it fell within the organisation's remit and, if so, whether there was sufficient suspicion of fraud or corruption to launch an investigation.
"Please note that the fact that OLAF assesses information does not mean that individuals in question are guilty of any wrongdoing. OLAF fully respects the presumption of innocence," added the spokesman.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, a committee of MEPs responsible for overseeing the European Parliament's rules has decided not to investigate allegations that UKIP was misusing EU funds.
The Times reported allegations in March that UKIP had channelled public money intended for the pan-EU political group of which it is a member, the Europe of Freedom and Democracy, into the salaries of the party's staff, against parliamentary guidelines.
But the Bureau of the European Parliament "did not find grounds for the accusation made", according to minutes of its meeting on Monday.


Mortgages are now more affordable than they have ever been, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

In September, the average homeowner - excluding first-time buyers - spent 17.7% of his or her monthly income on mortgage repayments, the CML said.
Eight years ago, when interest rates were much higher, they spent 23.7% of their income on repayments.
The CML said the figures represented a historic low, and should help more people to buy their own home.
First-time buyers are spending 17.8% of their income servicing their mortgages, compared with 24.7% in November 2007, a recent high.
The proportion of household income being spent on repayments would have been even higher in the 1970s and 80s, when interest rates were as high as 17% a year, the CML said.
The improvement in affordability follows the Bank of England's decision to cut base rates to 0.25% in August, which resulted in many lenders cutting mortgage rates further.
Two-year fixed rates are now available for as little as 0.99%.
"Mortgage affordability reached an historic low in September, for both first-time buyers and home movers, which partly reflects the re-pricing of mortgages following August's base rate cut," said Paul Smee, the director general of the CML.
"This should help turn strong appetite for home-ownership into a reality as we approach the closing months of the year."
The days of the ultra-cheap mortgage could be numbered.
Banks and building societies are keen for us to celebrate the fact that loans for homes have never been more affordable.
But Donald Trump's victory may mark a turning point for the lowest fixed rate offers.
The price of fixed rates depends on the deals which lenders can negotiate in the City, called swap rates.
And swap rates - which were already creeping up - have leapt since Trump's triumph.
It's part of a dramatic shift in expectations about interest rates, if the President-elect delivers on his promise to double the growth rate of the US economy.
People are predicting much higher US rates in the long run, with a knock-on effect across the world.
Mortgage experts here are talking about increases of around 0.25% in five- and 10-year fixed rates over the next few days, with more rises to follow.
However, rising house prices mean the total value of loans has risen dramatically over the last few years.
Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics, released on Tuesday, said the average UK house price rose by 7.7% in the year to September, unchanged from the previous month.
Where can I afford to live?


The front of a former girls' school could be restored to its former glory to create a new library hub in Doncaster.

Doncaster Girls' High School's facade on Chequer Road would be attached to a new Â£15m building, housing the central library, museum and art gallery, archives and school library service.
If Doncaster Council's plans are approved, the hub could be open by the spring of 2020.
The plans will be considered on 4 July.
More stories from across Yorkshire
The museum and art gallery, and the central library are in two separate 1960s town centre buildings, with the archives in a former school in Balby, and the school library service at Barnby Dun.
Doncaster Council said all four buildings needed "significant repairs" and even money spent on them would not make them fit for purpose.
However consolidating all four into one unique building would create a "cutting edge space" and a wonderful resource for residents, Mayor Ros Jones said.
Doncaster Girls' School was built in 1910 and extended in 1935.
It merged with Doncaster Boys' Grammar in 1971 to become Hall Cross Comprehensive, but was mostly demolished by 2013. A boutique hotel promised for the site never materialised.
The council said a new hub would "inspire creativity" and encourage new visitors to the town.
Exhibits not seen in public for years could be displayed, including the Danum Shield, Royal Borough Charters and collections celebrating Doncaster's links with railways, horseracing, mining and Roman history.
Bob Fitzharris, chair of the Freemen of Doncaster, said it would be "absolutely marvellous" to see the school frontage restored to its former glory with all services together under one roof.
Ms Jones said the "landmark building" would enhance Doncaster's cultural heritage and be "a total step change to what is currently being offered."


Birmingham City Ladies have signed Germany international Isabelle Linden from Champions League holders FFC Frankfurt.

The 25-year-old forward has been signed for the second half of the Womens Super League season, which will resume for Blues on 29 June at home to Arsenal.
"It further outlines our intentions and vision of what we want to achieve at the club," said manager David Parker.
Blues fought off competition from some major European sides to sign Linden.
"It's a signal of the development the club is making not just in England but also in Europe that we are now attracting the top European players," added Parker.
She is the third German to join this season following the signing of Corina Schroder from Liverpool and the arrival in April of defender Marisa Ewers from Bayer Leverkusen.
On the back of two wins in three matches, Blues have climbed to third in WSL 1, seven points behind leaders Manchester City.
Linden said: "The conversations with David, (assistant manager) Marcus Bignot and (chief executive) Tim Andrews convinced me about the project and ambitions at the club.
"I'm looking forward to the new challenge to play in another country. I have always wanted to play in England."
Linden, who played at SGS Essen and Bayer Leverkusen before joining Frankfurt for the 2015-16 season, has represented Germany at every level.


A rider is critically ill in hospital after crashing during a race at the Tandragee 100.

He was injured in the last lap of the Senior Support race in County Armagh on Saturday afternoon and was taken to Craigavon Area Hospital.
The remaining classes, including the Supertwin and main Superbike race were cancelled.
The Old Clare Road junction of the Markethill Road has been closed to Bellcross Road following the crash.


The Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Harry have paid tribute to Britain's fallen soldiers as they opened Westminster Abbey's Field of Remembrance.

The pair spoke to veterans and their families beside the annual display of more than 100,000 small wooden crosses, each with a poppy and personal message.
They honour service personnel who have lost their life since World War One.
The Last Post was played before a two-minute silence and the duke and his grandson planted their own crosses.
It was the third time Prince Harry, who who served in Afghanistan, has visited the Field of Remembrance. The Duke, who was in the Royal Navy during World War Two, has been attending since 2003.
The prince spoke to nine-year-old Rhiannon Lewis, from Essex, who attended the event with her family to remember her late uncle, Lt Aaron Lewis, who lost his life in Afghanistan in 2008.
He also chatted with Liam Young, a former corporal, who served with the Light Dragoons in Afghanistan. The 29-year-old, who was also deployed to Iraq, planted a cross for six of his comrades killed in Afghanistan in 2009 and another who died later in a civilian accident.
The first Field of Remembrance, planted by The Poppy Factory, was set up in the grounds of Westminster Abbey in November 1928.
There are now further fields in Cardiff; Lydiard Park, near Wootton Bassett; Belfast; Gateshead; Edinburgh, and Inverness.


A council is being asked to open a leisure centre on the Hebridean island of Lewis on Sundays.

The leisure centres on Lewis and Harris have been traditionally closed on Sundays in observation of the Sabbath.
Islands local authority, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, decided in October against a year-long trial of Sunday opening for cost and "operational reasons".
A crowdfunding campaign, backed by the National Secular Society, has now secured Â£11,400 to fund a trial.
The comhairle said it had taken a "democratic decision" not to open on Sundays and its councillors were best placed to decide on local demand for a service.
It said the National Secular Society (NSS) was incorrect in its assumption that the sports centre was not open on a Sunday for Sabbatarian reasons.
Leisure centres in other parts of the Western Isles run by the comhairle, including on Benbecula, are open on Sundays.
Lewis-based campaign group Families into Sports for Health (FiSH), backed by the NSS, ran the online fundraising drive.
Pauline Matterson, of the campaign group, said: "FiSH has worked respectfully within the council's processes and procedures for the last decade in raising the issue of Sunday opening.
"While FiSH is a health-focused, community organisation, the Western Isles has a history of Sabbath observance, and some councillors have stated that the issue of Sunday opening is one with religious connotations.
"Prior to the introduction of the Equality Act in 2010, the local council stated religion as a reason for the absence of Sunday operations. Recently, it has stated the reason for not opening is financial.
"FiSH is pleased to help the council overcome their stated financial shortfall."
Ms Matterson added that campaigners hoped the comhairle would now run the trial on Lewis.
Alistair McBay, the National Secular Society's spokesman for Scotland, said: "As secularists, we have no objection to Sabbatarians staying indoors on Sunday and observing the Sabbath according to their custom, but they need to understand that not all islanders share their religious beliefs.
"The local council now has no option but to open the leisure facility for the trial year."
However, the council said: "The Comhairle considered this matter in October of this year and agreed not to proceed with a trial Sunday opening.
"This is a democratic decision by the local authority based on an objective assessment of the likely costs and the employment and operational issues involved - not just purely financial issues.
"It is a local matter which should be determined locally by elected councillors who are best placed to assess the issues and the local demand for a service.
"It should be noted that the Lewis Sports Centre already has generous opening hours - amongst the longest in the north of Scotland."
The Sabbath has traditionally been observed on the isles of Lewis and Harris.
In 2010, there was strong opposition to the start of a Sunday ferry service between Stornoway on Lewis and Ullapool on the west Highland coast.


Lewis Hamilton trailed team-mate Nico Rosberg as Mercedes dominated the second practice session at the German Grand Prix.

Hamilton was 0.394 seconds adrift of the German after a messy lap simulating qualifying and 0.2secs clear of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in third.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were fourth and fifth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.
Jenson Button was eighth but was taken to hospital with an eye "irritation".
The 2009 world champion went to Mannheim hospital "to have a precautionary check-up", but later said on social media: "On my way back to Hockenheim from the Mannheim hospital for an eye examination, foreign body found & removed. All good for tomorrow."
Button had also complained of an overheating cockpit earlier in the session.
The Briton's team-mate Fernando Alonso, whose 35th birthday is on Friday, was 10th fastest, 0.138secs adrift of Button. The Spaniard also seemed to be unhappy with the car and had an untidy lap.
Hamilton appeared to be on the back foot throughout the day, lagging a couple of tenths of a second behind Rosberg in the first session, on the qualifying simulation runs and on both the super-soft and soft tyres on the race-simulation runs.
But it turned out that Mercedes had warned him to take it relatively easy through Turn One after he received some warnings from race control about exceeding track limits.
The team did not want him to risk receiving a reprimand because he has already had two this season and a third would mean an automatic 10-place grid penalty.
That means his lap times are not fully representative of his potential performance.
Hamilton took the lead for the first time with his victory in Hungary last weekend, his fifth in six races - a run which has turned a 43-point lead for Rosberg into a six-point lead for Hamilton.
Ferrari and Red Bull look set for another close fight for best of the rest, with Vettel and Raikkonen sandwiching the two Red Bulls, with Verstappen only 0.034secs quicker than Ricciardo.
Behind the Red Bulls, Force India and McLaren look closely matched, with Nico Hulkenberg setting seventh fastest time, ahead of Button and the German's team-mate Sergio Perez ahead of Alonso in ninth.
Williams had a disappointing day but can be expected to join that fight over the weekend.
German Grand Prix second practice results
German Grand Prix coverage details
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The jury is still out on the effectiveness of methods to control the hospital superbug MRSA, according to an international report in the Lancet.

Researchers suggest there is poor evidence to support screening and isolating infected patients - standard practice in hospitals worldwide.
But good hand hygiene and bathing with antibacterial solutions are key to reducing infections, they say.
Experts warn more studies are needed before any change in protocols.
Despite rates of Meticillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) falling in many countries, concerns about its spread remain.
The bug is resistant to most antibiotics and while it is can be carried harmlessly on the skin it may lead to serious wound infections - particularly in people who are already unwell.
Hospitals have used a varied combination of methods to tackle it, including:
Scientists reviewed studies over the last decade.
But most investigated several infection control measures in combination, making it difficult to tease out which ones worked best.
Researchers say the limited evidence focusing solely on isolation or screening suggest they may not reduce spread of the disease and could do more harm than good.
Prof Gerd Fatkenheuer, from the University Hospital Cologne, Germany, who was part of the research team said: "In the haste to do something against the rising tide of MRSA infection, measures were adopted that seemed plausible but were not properly assessed, bundling the effective and harmless with the ineffective and harmful.
"We know for example that isolating patients can result in anxiety and depression and fewer visits by doctors and nurses."
The scientists emphasise evidence backs good hand-washing and suggests people with the bug should bathe daily using antibacterial solutions.
Prof Peter Collignon at the Canberra Hospital, Australia said: "Certain countries, however, that take all of these combined approaches - such as the Netherlands and Denmark - have the lowest rates of MRSA spread in healthcare facilities.
"So we need to make sure that studies clearly show that we will not do harm by stopping some or all of these isolation methods."
The report authors say as MRSA levels continue to drop this provides a good opportunity to reassess how best to tackle the problem.
And they recommend scarce resources could be redeployed to combat other infections - rather than singling out MRSA.
Recent figures for England suggest 862 cases of MRSA were recorded in the year 2013-14, a substantial reduction from the 4,451 cases reported in 2007-08.


No exercise, no talking, no eye contact, no mobile phones - just 10 straight days of meditation in rural India.

It is not what you might imagine a professional footballer would get up to on their summer break.
But that is how Yeovil Town left-back Nathan Smith, "bored of the usual party holidays", chose to spend his close season.
"My best night's sleep was on the first night," the 29-year-old told BBC Sport. "After that, some nights I had no sleep whatsoever.
"Each day, the meditation lasted until 9pm. Being a vegan, the diet was hard too. I stayed away from anything that might have milk in it."
But why would a League Two full-back put themselves through such an experience?
"It is not religious," explained Smith. "It is a universal meditation to help people eradicate all impurities that they face in life at a deeper, subconscious level, to rid the impurities.
"With no reading, no writing, no mobiles - you learn a lot.
"My friend and soul coach, Selina Brown, suggested that I look into it and I am so glad I did. It was very intriguing.
"Now I'm hoping to help others back here now. I'm looking for projects that will help raise awareness for a healthier lifestyle among youth and adults in all types of communities, and outreach with youth charities."
Despite the lack of exercise and rapid weight loss, Smith says he feels extremely healthy, as Yeovil's squad resume pre-season training.
"It will hopefully help me be calm and perhaps diffuse certain situations on the pitch," said Smith. "I learned a lot about respect too.
"A few of the [Yeovil Town] lads have been joking about it but also I think they understand it. They've been curious, interested."
Smith, who signed a one-year contract extension in May, made 48 appearances in all competitions last season as the Glovers finished 19th in League Two, 14 points clear of the relegation zone.
He has high hopes for 2016-17, adding: "We're looking at promotion, no less. Since [manager] Darren Way came in, he has installed a personality in the team. We believe in him."
Smith is not the only footballer to have spent time in India this summer, with West Bromwich Albion defender Jonas Olsson having visited the Premier League club's 'Pass it forward' project in one of Delhi's slums.
But, while Smith and Olsson's trips will have been both personal and emotional, others in the game have endured some more unusual close-season experiences.
In 2013, then-Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino had his squad walk on fire during pre-season.
The Saints walked over hot coals as a team-building exercise, though to what extent the experience led to their impressive start of six wins and just one defeat from their first 11 games of that season remains unclear.
Striker Rickie Lambert did, however, later hail the exercise as one of the reasons behind his subsequent form and call-up to the England national team.
Ex-Ipswich Town manager Roy Keane attempted to improve the squad's fitness by spending two days undertaking army exercises.
Keane's side reportedly joined Paratroopers in an attempt to build their endurance before the 2009-10 season, in which they would eventually finish 15th in the Championship.
Meanwhile, former Bristol City boss Steve Cotterill took the Robins on a pre-season tour of Botswana in 2014, becoming the first British club to visit the country.
But the trip did not go entirely to plan, as defender Karleigh Osborne suffered a serious injury as a result of a challenge that reportedly prompted a mass brawl and Cotterill to withdraw his team from the pitch before full-time.
However, the experience was soon forgotten as Cotterill guided the club to a lower-league double in 2014-15, winning both League One and the Football League Trophy.
Smith's trip to India seemingly offered a significantly more peaceful environment than that.
"Eleven-plus hours per day of meditation," he says, "it sounds tough but I'd recommend it to anybody."


Three men have been ordered to leave the Shetland islands following an alleged disturbance in Lerwick.

Neil Barr, 33, from South Shields, Lee Donnelly, 40, from Jarrow, both in South Tyneside, and 33-year-old Michael Ward, from Pontefract in West Yorkshire, were granted bail.
Honorary Sheriff Willie Shannon said they must only return in connection with the court proceedings.
They denying behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
'Walking around naked'
At Lerwick Sheriff Court, Mr Barr was accused of shouting, swearing, behaving aggressively, threatening a female member of staff, removing his clothes and walking around the Lounge Bar on Mounthooly Street naked.
Mr Barr is also charged with resisting, obstructing or hindering and struggling with three police officers in the town's Law Lane.
Mr Donnelly is alleged to have threatened a female member of staff.
Both Mr Donnelly and Mr Ward deny that they resisted, obstructed or hindered three police officers and attempted to release a man from custody at Law Lane.
Mr Donnelly and Mr Ward are also alleged to have shouted, sworn and acted aggressively.


Britain's three-time Olympic silver medallist Frances Houghton has announced her retirement from rowing.

The 36-year-old competed in five consecutive Olympics in a 16-year career, winning silver in the quadruple sculls in Athens and Beijing.
At Rio 2016, Houghton was part of the crew who delivered Britain's first ever women's eight Olympic medal.
"Having achieved my goal of going to five Olympic Games, this is the right time for me to retire," she said.
Houghton, who made her Olympic debut in 2000, added: "To row at an elite level was my dream since the age of 11, and winning silver in Rio with such an inspiring, fun and motivated team was the perfect end."
In addition to her Olympic success, Houghton was part of four World Championship-winning crews in the quadruple sculls.


Three Staffordshire Police inquiry desks will close and 28 posts will be axed in a bid to save the force money.

The desks at Tunstall, Stoke and Chasetown police stations will close by the end of October. Six other inquiry desks will have their hours cut.
The force said some of the reductions would be achieved through voluntary redundancies and other workers would be deployed elsewhere.
Unison said fewer workers would be affected than originally feared.
Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis said the force's priority was frontline policing.
"There will still be ample face to face counter services including the ability to formally present documents and other legal requirements, just not quite as many as there are now," he said.
The inquiry desks at Hanley, Longton, Tamworth, Cannock, Stafford and Burton will have their hours cut.
Unison branch secretary Susan Wall said the decision followed a one-year review of the force's estates.
"It was always mentioned some desks would close," she said.
"We thought it could be more. We have had more staff indicate they want to leave than we are going to lose."


An 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an alleged attempted murder in Paisley.

The attack took place in the town's New Street, near to its junction with Weighhouse Close, at about 03:00 on Saturday.
A 33-year-old man remains in a critical condition in the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
Police Scotland said a report would be sent to the procurator fiscal.


Who can tell me what exactly is the Garman Ryan Collection?

If you can't, you probably have that in common with roughly 99.999% recurring of the population.
Need a clue?
It includes the work of, among others, Delacroix, Ruskin, Sickert and Freud.
None the wiser? Maybe not. But better-informed.....
So here goes:
The Garman Ryan Collection comprises 365 paintings, drawings and sculptures donated to the people of Walsall in 1973 by Kathleen Garman, the widow of the sculptor Jacob Epstein, and his pupil Sally Garman, who had grown up in the Black Country.
For 26 long years this internationally-recognised collection was tucked away in the Reference Room of Walsall Library. But after a concerted campaign for it to be showcased in a setting befitting its importance, Walsall's purpose-built a New Art Gallery was opened, fanfares blaring, by the Queen in May 2000.
It had cost £21 million of public money, mostly in the form of National Lottery grants.
In return came confident predictions that it would be the catalyst for an epic renewal of the town centre, embracing its canal basin, much in the  way that the rejuvenated Gas Street Basin had proved such a tonic for nearby Birmingham.
Walsall felt entitled to believe it was in good company: other towns and cities had tried and tested the concept of prestige cultural gambits in this civic equivalent of Bruce Forsyth's (Re)Generation Game. Down the road in West Bromwich, plans were well advanced for the £72 million digital creative centre, 'The Public', which was to open, two years, late in 2008.
But what had seemed to be very much the vogue in the 'noughties met its reality check soon enough. In the roll call of casualties, the first, and still the most spectacular,  was 'The Public' itself, axed by Sandwell Council who could no longer justify the £30,000 in subsidies each week in the face of dwindling visitor numbers.
It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to report that Walsall's magnificent gallery now faces the real possibility of going the same way.
After the financial crash has come the austerity "squeeze" on public spending. Our local authorities' vaulting ambitions have given way to the apparently unending grind of budgeting for the care of their  aging populations while making sure the bins still get emptied.
Walsall's Labour-controlled council proposes to axe its £470,000 a year subsidy to the New Art Gallery. This would mean, in turn, that Arts Council England could no longer make good the loss, leaving the town's first major new public building  since its Victorian Town Hall facing the distinct threat of closure in four years' time.
"How can this be?" I asked myself when the realisation dawned.  I had bought wholesale into the grand vision of a 'cultural  treasure trove' which was bound to be a prime attraction for local people and would also bring arts aficionados flocking to the town with their wallets open.
I was even more surprised to discover in a recent article in 'The Sunday Times' (13th November 2016) by the BBC's former Arts Correspondent Rosie Millard that the gallery's annual visitor numbers, far from being  calculated in the millions I had expected, were actually running at a paltry 172,000 a year. Compare that with the new Library of Birmingham's 2.5 million visitors-a-year which puts it among  Britain's top ten attractions.
I realise I am being controversial when I say this, but maybe that's the difference between a mid-sized industrial town and one of the UK's most-visited cities outside London. Discuss!
This week's planned public protest in Walsall against the threatened funding cuts is a relatively rare rare display of public support for the New Gallery: one of my colleagues at BBC WM found it hard work to finding people at street level in the town who knew or cared much about it.
A prominent figure in the arts community told me privately: "It's a pity Walsall is not a tourist destination, and never will be: local people aren't bothered about the gallery and the people who are bothered don't go to Walsall".
Ouch!
If that's got your hackles rising, I hope you'll join us for this weekend's "Sunday Politics Midlands" when we'll have more on this.
We'll be in our usual 11.00 slot on BBC One this Sunday 4 December 2016.


Removing invasive exotic plants from natural areas can act as a boost for wildlife, a study suggests.

Bees, butterflies and birds returned to remote mountaintops in the Seychelles only six months after exotic plants were removed.
Taking out exotic plants seems to make native plants more accessible to pollinators, say scientists.
Plants have been moved around the world for centuries, meaning native and exotic plants often grow side-by-side.
There has been debate over the loss of plant biodiversity in some parts of the world, as "alien" plants invade ecosystems.
The study was carried out on the tropical island of Mahé in the Seychelles, an island archipelago in the Indian Ocean off East Africa.
International researchers monitored pollinators at eight isolated areas on the top of mountains.
Four of them had all exotic shrubs (about 40,000 woody plants) removed, while the others remained unchanged.
Over an eight-month monitoring period, the removal of exotic plants appeared to improve pollination.
In restored sites, plants produced more flowers and attracted more visits from pollinating animals, which was linked with the production of more fruit.
Meanwhile, the number of pollinator species (including bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, birds and lizards) was higher in the cleared areas six to 14 months after exotic species had been removed.
"Ecosystem restoration resulted in a marked increase in pollinator species, visits to flowers and interaction diversity," said a team led by Christopher Kaiser-Bunbury of TU Darmstadt in Germany.
"Our results show that vegetation restoration can improve pollination, suggesting that the degradation of ecosystem functions is at least partially reversible. "
The research is published in the journal Nature.
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A burglar who bit a man trying to defend his home was caught after his tooth ended up in some dirty washing.

Lee Francis broke into the West Midlands home of mother and son Rose, 93, and Ron Parker, 66, biting Ron during a struggle.
Rose Parker also joined in the fray, hitting Francis with her walking stick as the pair tussled on the floor.
A tooth was found two months later in the washing machine of their home and DNA matched it to Francis.
Francis targeted the house in Manor Park Road, Castle Bromwich, on 8 May fleeing with property worth Â£2,000.
Mr Parker tackled him but was bitten with such force he was left with a fractured finger.
See more stories from Birmingham and the Black Country here
"I think my rugby training kicked in," he said.
Rose Parker said: "I came in and they were lying on the floor and he was biting my son so I got my stick and I was poking him and hitting him."
On 18 July they found a tooth in their washing machine, which Det Insp Darren Lee from West Midlands Police described as a "breakthrough".
A police spokesman said: "During the scuffle a washing basket was upended and it seems that one of Francis' teeth âˆ’ which fell out due to the ferocity of the bite âˆ’ ended up mixed in with the dirty washing.
"It stayed undetected for several weeks until the residents heard it rattling around in the washing machine."
Francis, 39, admitted burglary and assault and was jailed for six years and four months at Birmingham Crown Court.
He also admitted a charge of drugs production after a small cannabis factory was uncovered in his loft, in Timberley Lane, Shard End.


Bayern Munich's progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League was "about life or death", according to manager Pep Guardiola.

The Germans overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Porto, winning 6-1 to advance 7-4 on aggregate.
Guardiola's side scored five goals in a thrilling first half at Allianz Arena.
"I know how very important it was," the 44-year-old ex-Barcelona boss told ZDF Television. "It is about winning just like at Barcelona."
He added: "It's easy to love my players now. I am the coach of extraordinary players. I didn't expect such a first half.
"We can still play better. We lost the ball here and there and we can improve on that. We had a few problems in the second half. They had only a few chances in the second half but you should never relax in the Champions League."
Speaking before the game, Guardiola admitted the expectation at the Bundesliga club was to win the Champions League, and not just settle for domestic league and cup glory.
Striker Robert Lewandowski scored two and Thiago Alcantara, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller and Xabi Alonso also netted as Bayern dominated their Portuguese visitors.
Porto barely troubled Bayern in the first half, and Guardiola added: "We played a different game. We knew Porto better after the first game.
"Now we have to fight otherwise we will not achieve what we set out to do."
Bayern scored their first four goals inside 28 minutes and their fifth in the 40th minute, and even prolific goal-scorer Lewandowski was surprised at the half-time scoreline.
"Many people thought we couldn't do it, but we are FC Bayern Munich," said Lewandowski. "We knew we had to step on the gas, but to go five goals up at half-time is really crazy."
Germany striker Thomas Muller added: "It couldn't have gone better. Sometimes it's fun to play with your backs against the wall. We all had hopes, but no-one expected that."
BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin at the Allianz Arena: "Bayern were ruthlessly efficient in the first half. They were brilliant, scored great goals against a poor team.
"But they made some tactical changes and looked bordering on anaemic in the second half. They didn't look up for it. They could have been pulled back in the end but there's more to come from this team.
"The Champions League got predictable a long time ago. It's a little bit of a shame. We try not to be biased during commentary but Porto were the last of the little teams and they've been absolutely whacked, swatted like flies out of the way.
"There's always Spanish and German teams in the semi-finals, the odd time an Italian or English team but that's it. And even then it's the same teams. But it doesn't mean it's not exciting."
Porto coach Julen Lopetegui accepted his side were beaten in a disastrous opening spell.
"We are very disappointed because we had a lot of expectations," he said. "But it just turned bad very early on and it became difficult for us to play our game against such a good team. We lost the game in those 20 minutes in the first half.
"We tried to change things in the second half and I think we improved a bit but it was too late.
"We are sad, but we made a great campaign in this Champions League. In 11 matches this was our only defeat.
"Bayern is one of the best teams in the world and the favourite to win the title."
Bayern boss Guardiola ripped his trousers during the game. Story and pictures here.


The photo sharing service Instagram announced it will start placing ads in US users photo streams in a posting on its website.

"We have big ideas for the future, and part of making them happen is building Instagram into a sustainable business," it said.
Ads will appear in a few months and involve just a handful of firms.
Instagram was bought by Facebook for $1bn (Â£619m), but has never made a profit.
The company, which now has 150 million users, has been a favourite among consumers but has long left analysts wondering how it could turn enthusiasm among photographers into a business model.
Early efforts by Instagram to generate revenue were met with user backlash, such as when the company changed the terms of service to seemingly indicate that it would own user images and could sell those images to advertisers.
The failure of this move was acknowledged in the company's posting.
"As always, you own your own photos and videos. The introduction of advertising won't change this," it said.
In an interview earlier this year with the BBC, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said that Instagram must "fund its own future."
Social media advertising is a booming business in the US.
According to research firm eMarketer, advertisers will spend $9.5bn on social network ads worldwide this year.
Facebook has boosted its efforts to gain a larger share of this ad spending.
This year, the company's share of global mobile ad revenues will rise to 15.8% from 5.35% last year.


A 71-year-old woman faces seeing her caravan home demolished after a long-running dispute with Flintshire council planners.

Beryl Larkin has lived in her field at Treuddyn, near Mold, for 19 years.
The council said she has twice been prosecuted for failing to comply with an enforcement notice dating back to January 2001.
The former nurse said a council letter advises her to remove her possessions by 9 May for the bulldozers to move in.
She said she was told she could make her own arrangements to remove the caravan rather than have it flattened.
Mrs Larkin said she was taking legal advice and hoped the council would have a change of heart.
She said she cannot understand why the council will not grant her personal planning consent so she can end her days in the home she loves.
Planners said she made no attempt to comply with the prior enforcement notice and, in October 2013, the planning committee resolved that direct action should be taken.
The council said it had sought voluntary compliance but Mrs Larkin has been reluctant to cooperate.


Bristol City goalkeeper Ivan Lucic has joined Danish Superliga side Aalborg on loan for the remainder of the season.

Lucic, 21, has made only two Championship appearances for the Robins since arriving from German champions Bayern Munich in July.
Bristol City recently signed Schalke keeper Fabian Giefer, with Frank Fielding also vying to be first-choice.
Lee Johnson's side are 21st in the Championship following a club-record eight successive league defeats.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here.


Body found in search for four people missing after explosion at Cheshire wood mill on Friday, police say

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A bridge in Tadcaster, England, collapsed on Tuesday night with concerns that a nearby gas pipe has broken.

30 December 2015 Last updated at 12:35 GMT
The area around the bridge in North Yorkshire, over the River Wharfe, has been evacuated.
Shops and businesses in the main street of the small market town have been badly affected by flooding since the weekend.
The bridge had been closed for the past two days.
Video courtesy Sarah Topping.


Two Transport for London (TfL) bosses will say they should not receive an annual bonus for the last financial year because of the Croydon tram crash.

Commissioner Mike Brown and managing rirector of surface transport Leon Daniels are to tell TfL's board they should not get a performance award for 2016/17 when it meets on 19 September.
Their plan was revealed as TfL released its annual report on remuneration.
Seven people died when the tram derailed in November 2016.
The report also showed the transport authority has reduced day-to-day operating costs by Â£153m.
Mr Brown said the costs reduction, which is the first in TfL's history, had been achieved "by reducing management layers and reliance on agency staff and eliminating duplication".


He is the man who led the campaign to save Hearts Football Club from administration - winning over fans across Edinburgh.

And now he has become Scotland's only Labour MP by retaining his Edinburgh South seat in the face of an SNP landslide in the Westminster election.
As the chairman of the Foundation of Hearts, a supporters group which helps to fund the club via monthly donations, Mr Murray had a central role in getting the club out of administration.
He was first elected for the seat in 2010 after serving as an Edinburgh councillor between 2003 and 2010 for the capital's Liberton and Gilmerton ward.
Mr Murray has served in parliament as a Parliamentary Private Secretary and Shadow Business Minister. Up until the election in May he was the Shadow Minister for Trade and Investment.
Murray was born to a cooper father and shop worker mother in August 1976.
Brought up in the Wester Hailes area of Edinburgh, he went to Dumbryden primary school, then Wester Hailes Education Centre.
Mr Murray studied social policy and Law at Edinburgh University and graduated with an Honours degree at the age of 20.
He worked to fund his studies with a part-time job in a local fish and chip shop, where he then set up and ran a pizza delivery service.
After graduating in 1997, Mr Murray worked in financial services before setting up an internet television station.
He then started his own event management business running large festival events.  He has also owned a small bar and hotel business, running several premises.
In 2004, Mr Murray organised a charity concert for a Landmine Free World with artists Billy Bragg, Chrissie Hynde, Steve Earle, Joan Baez and Emmylou Harris, which raised more than Â£100,000.
Mr Murray, who lives with his partner Hannah, also organised a student exchange programme in Nepal to fund school buildings and staff.


Great Britain must grab their chance when they take on Belgium in their first Davis Cup final for 37 years, says Andy Murray.

Britain will try to win the competition for the first time since 1936 when they face Belgium in Ghent from Friday.
The draw for the best-of-five format will take place at Flanders Expo at 13:00 GMT on Thursday.
"It means a lot to everyone to be in this position," the British number one told BBC Sport.
"Five years ago we were way, way behind in this competition - I think it was the lowest position we'd ever been in, so five years later to be playing and competing in the final is a great opportunity."
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Britain were playing Turkey in Eastbourne to avoid relegation to the fourth tier of the Davis Cup when Murray's fellow Scot and former coach Leon Smith took over as captain in 2010.
The subsequent rise through the divisions to reach the final has been the fastest in the competition's 115-year history.
Murray, 28, is hopeful tennis in the UK will benefit from increased interest as a direct result of the team's efforts on court.
"This might attract new fans who can see the team and how pumped up everyone gets in a different format and different atmosphere," said the world number two.
"It's a great opportunity to promote the sport in the UK and hopefully if we can get the win at the weekend that would be huge for tennis.
"But it's not our job to capitalise on the success of the team, that's the job of the governing body and that's what they've got to do."
Smith has until one hour before the draw is made on Thursday to decide between Kyle Edmund and James Ward as his number two singles player.
He will also have to lose one player from his five-man squad, which includes doubles players Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot.


Halloween may be considered more for children in the UK with the ubiquitous trick or treaters, but in the US it is big business.

Warning: This story contains horror themed images, including clowns.
According to the National Retail Federation, American consumers will spend $6.9bn (Â£4.5bn) on Halloween costumes, decorations and related items this year - so it's unsurprising many attractions are cashing in on the event.
Not content with just one night to dress up for spooky fun and frolics, it has been drawn out to a whole season at many attractions.
In Florida alone - the second most-visited US state after New York for British tourists - some 80 Halloween events are being held this year, including at its most popular theme parks Disneyland, Busch Gardens and Universal Studios.
Their popularity has helped give the state a tourism boost in recent years, with 23.7 million people visiting during the Halloween quarter in 2014 - an 8.5% increase on the same period in 2013.
Universal Studios has been running its Halloween Horror Nights Orlando attraction for 25 years, transforming the park after hours into a mix of haunted house mazes and "scare zones".
What started out as a three-night event with one maze and one scare zone has turned into a six-week run with nine mazes and five zones, attracting thousands of visitors a night - many of them British. And with general admission tickets at around $100 (Â£65) for a single night's entry, it's easy to see how the money adds up.
The premise of the haunted house is simple - visitors file into each 360 degree immersive maze, where they are pounced upon and scared witless at every turn, with each experience lasting around five minutes.
So why would they want to do that to themselves?
"A lot of people really enjoy it," says Mike Aiello, who heads up Universal's entertainment creative development team.
"I've always perceived someone being scared or wanting that adrenalin rush as the same as someone who wants to laugh or find something funny. They're two ends of a really dramatic, emotional spectrum - the laugh and the scare - there's a rush either way. And for those few moments when you're experiencing that you're not thinking about anything else at all."
But although visitors willingly put themselves into the horrific scenarios, their reactions sometimes can't be anticipated.
"I've seen people soil themselves," Aiello says. "It's not often and certainly not something we want to occur, but in some cases it is a by-product of the content of what we do.
"I've seen people run out of mazes or crawl out on their hands and knees. Part of me is a little bit sorry, but part of me thinks it's a job well done."
Putting on the event is not as simple as hanging up a few skeleton decorations and dotting some pumpkins around - it takes around 13 months to design and build the mazes in the giant studio sound stages around the theme park.
With the event already in full swing, ideas for next year's event have already started. In the coming months, treatments will be written to detail the visitor experience and room sketches drawn up in December. Construction will then begin in April, with each house taking four to six weeks to make.
With houses this year based on popular franchises including The Walking Dead, Insidious and Freddy v Jason, millions of dollars are spent on creating the mazes to movie quality standard by Hollywood set builders and special effects experts.
"There's a great amount of detail that goes into each maze," Ailleo says. "In Insidious, the interior of the home used in the movie had a distinct wallpaper that didn't exist and was made for the film, so we recreated the wallpaper ourselves.
"We want people to feel like they've been transported into those films or TV shows. We'll go to great lengths to make sure it looks and feels as authentic as it can be.
"Universal created the horror genre with the classic monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein - we want to make sure we're honouring that horror legacy it has."
Around 700 "scare actors' are also brought in and transformed each night with masks, make-up and prosthetics to terrify unsuspecting visitors in the mazes and scare zones.
I was given the rare chance to join the scare actor ranks for a night to frighten the beejeezus out of visitors.
Made over by make-up designer Michael Burnett - who has worked on films including Evil Dead, Aliens and Universal Soldier - my face was bruised and "cut" up, while conditioner was put in my hair to make it look greasy.
Stage manager Billy Mick gave me my scenario: I'm a criminally insane patient from a fictional asylum who has escaped. I was given a foam - but very real looking - monkey wrench and free rein to do what I wanted, but I had to follow three rules: Don't touch anyone, don't swear and have fun.
Out in the park, it was fascinating to see people move away from me as I shuffled towards them with my most menacing glare. Michael gave me the tip of stamping my foot close to my victims while screaming at them. It worked a treat.
I couldn't help but laugh after the first couple of scares (after all, it's funny to make grown men and women jump and scream) but I managed to compose myself while terrorising and chasing the masses.
Scaring seemed to come remarkably naturally to me - perhaps I might audition for a part next year.
The job is not without its hazards though - scare actors have been accidentally punched after being surprised.
"Everybody reacts differently when they get scared, just like everyone's laugh is different," says Ailleo. "But our actors are trained to realise who can be scared safely and effectively, and who should be avoided."
Part of the success of Universal's event is its relationship with already popular franchises to attract new visitors to the park. Past houses have seen tie-ins with Saw, Alien v Predator, Halloween, Evil Dead, Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Thing.
"We work with our marketing team to find out what brands really identify with the public and then we figure out how we can translate it to be really good for the business of the event," Ailleo says.
"The Walking Dead has brought a lot of new fans to our event who love the show, but have never been to Halloween Horror Nights before - and now they do because they love the programme."
Ailleo has worked on Halloween Horror Nights since 1997, when he first worked as a scare actor and jumped out of a washing machine for six hours every night.
From there he has worked every job possible from both a performing and creative standpoint, but he hopes people will look back fondly on his legacy in the top job.
"Yes, we do haunted mazes and scare zones, but I want people to still have that sense of Halloween tradition," he says.
"It's still trick or treating for adults, but it still feels like a really great Halloween party."


James Rodriguez was presented with the Golden Boot for finishing as top scorer at the World Cup on Friday - but says his only thought now is to secure a starting berth at Real Madrid.

The Colombia forward, 23, received the award in Madrid in recognition of his six goals in five games for Colombia.
Rodriguez's exploits persuaded Real to sign him from Monaco for £71m.
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"I have big hopes," said Rodriguez. "But first I have to train well and earn my place in the team."
Rodriguez's volley against Uruguay in the last 16 was hailed by many as the tournament's most spectacular goal but the player himself says he favoured his run and chip against Japan in the group stage.
"It was something so special that will always stay with me," Rodriguez said of his goal against Uruguay, before adding on Fifa's website: "Personally I preferred the one against Japan.
"Those are goals that stay in the memory."
Rodriguez's exploits were the catalyst for Colombia's run to the quarter-finals, where they were beaten 2-1 by the hosts.
"I was hoping to win it because I have always dreamed of winning something like this," he added. "And this is also a source of happiness to my country Colombia. They gave me lot of strength so I could win the award."
Looking ahead to the challenge to come during his six-year contract at Real, Rodriguez said: "I hope to win titles here.
"I am now in a club that is always hungry for titles. And I think that if you want to play here you must always keep a high level of performance.
"And I am prepared for that. I hope I can win everything here."