The speed of broadband in southern Scotland has provoked some intense discussion.

Earlier this week, a councillor in the Scottish Borders said she believed people were being short-changed by the rollout of the service.
BT has said it has invested heavily in providing services in areas where it was not commercially viable to do so.
It has also pointed out that there are a wide range of factors at play in determining the speeds received.
The BBC Scotland news website asked for your experiences of the service in the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.
Iain Rennie emailed: I live in the village of Ednam. Barely 2 miles from Kelso. We get a max of 1.5Mb.
It is frustrating in the extreme to see constant TV adverts for high speed broadband when ours is too slow to stream or watch BBC iPlayer etc.
As far as I'm aware there is no date or plan to upgrade this area.
Byron Raistrick, of Ruthwell, emailed: Since the announcement by the Scottish Executive that the initiative was up and running, I've not seen any evidence of the Â£126m being distributed fairly and efficiently to the areas that need it most - rural locations.
Major cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh would have been upgraded as a matter of course by BT Openzone to cater for the businesses there and in turn the residential areas would have benefited, yet (they) have been upgraded first with the money.
Linda Lonsdale emailed: We pay extra money to get superfast broadband and it is not any faster load of rubbish conned again.
Susan Cook emailed: Broadband speed in our village  0.9Mb and sometimes even lower. We have been told by BT that it will be four to six years before we get anything better! And we pay the same as all their other customers.
There are  people living in the Borders other than in Melrose and Galashiels yet no consideration is given to them.
Siobhan Liehne emailed: We live on the Mellerstain Estate near Gordon. We keep reading of ministers complaining that constituents in some Borders areas are "only getting 2Mbps". Frankly I would give my eyeteeth for that kind of speed.
We get 0.7 Mbps if we are lucky and sometimes it drops out altogether. Then we have to see signs up telling us that towns only a very short distance away are getting superfast. When we ring BT to try and find out when things are going to improve we get someone in India telling us that it must be our computer.
If it is, then it's every computer on the estate, no matter how new it may be.
Andrew Gray emailed: I live near Chirnside in the Scottish Borders which is enabled for fibre broadband. However only those residents who live within a mile of the cabinet can get anything like the speeds advertised.
My house is two and a half miles from the cabinet so the fibre signal does not reach it at all. According to most comparison websites (including BT's) I can receive broadband speeds of up to 40Mb but in practice I get just over 2Mb, if I'm lucky.
There should be further scrutiny of how public money has been spent on improving broadband services, particularly in rural areas, to ensure that everyone can benefit in the future.
Henry Sinclair emailed: I live in Earlston and have what the major players call "superfast" broadband - ie fibre to the cabinet, which is 100m away or just over 200m of copper wire.
The actual speeds I get vary between 20 and 70Mbps download and 15 to 20Mbps upload.
My grandson who lives no more than 400m from me and 300m from a cabinet can only achieve a max of 6Mbps and pays the same as me.
Copper is a 19th century answer to a 21st century question but BT continues to squander taxpayers' money on using it to provide an inadequate or in some cases no service while the solution is staring it in the face.  As the internet moves from a consumer model to an interactive one the pathetic download speeds and risible upload speeds will hold us all back and eventually our interconnection system will have to be re-engineered using fibre.  Why not do it now rather than throwing billions at a known fatally flawed approach?
Brian Telfer emailed: I have had issues since BT started to enable the Hawick exchange well over a year ago. I was getting better speed and reliability before the exchange was enabled for fibre.
I am now on fibre at double the price, with continual buffering drops in service and regular visits from engineers who contradict each other - speed can be from 1.52Mb to 20Mb - not the 52 Mbps I am paying for.
Uploads are a joke - I now use my phone tethered to the computer to upload anything!
Peter Dorward emailed: I read your report with interest particularly the part that referred to over Â£8m being invested in super fast broadband by SBC and that 94% of homes will have it.
At the moment why not focus attention on getting something like 'normal' broadband speeds to all households.
We have struggled at trying to conduct work when at home when only being able to access broadband internet with speeds that are barely any better than a dial up service!
Any pressure that can be brought to get us to first base is welcomed.
Carole emailed: We live in Bonnington Road in Peebles in a modern house and our broadband speed is very poor we are with BT and get 2Mb which is a joke. Believe one of our neighbours gets better speed. When you try to raise it with BT you don't get anywhere. Poor show ... what's fibre optic? Even a bit better speed would be appreciated fibre optic is a dream for us.
David Jeffrey emailed: I work in broadband provision for local councils in the south of the country. I believe the councillor is correct in her assertion of expecting speed provision to be constant.
Both BT and the industry are living in the last century of squeezing the last penny of investment out of the copper infrastructure in the ground.
Admittedly fibre is not cheap, but the trial in York proves that fibre to the home is achievable with the right partnerships (CityFibre, Sky and TalkTalk in that case)
Digital Scotland should be delivering more, but as long as BT have the monopoly over the infrastructure, nothing will change.
However, this constant and reliable speed will come at a cost, and there is the rub. Will subscribers pay for it?
I expect not. It is worth noting that businesses in south of Scotland (and anywhere else in rural UK) have enjoyed fibre services for many years, but have had to pay top whack for the privilege.
Brian Heslop emails: I live in Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway. We're on a farm, so were considered too remote for coverage, the cabinets are located within a few hundred yards of the exchange so the cabinet is still 2.5 miles from the house.
As the exchange is one where the one broadband provider is BTopenreach, so all the advertised cheap offers from EE, TalkTalk, Sky etc are not available. So the double hit of slow broadband and the highest prices.
Part of the problem is the politicians not understanding what BT are selling them, it was never going to give a good service to all, using an urban solution in a rural environment.
Lindsay Lewis emailed: We are lucky if we get 1.5Mb because we are several miles from the exchange.  BT have not upgraded our exchange (Yarrow)  and seem unlikely to do so.  Why?  Because there aren't enough people/customers to make it worth their while.  It is a disgrace - we pay the same as someone getting up to 50Mb, and what makes it even more galling is that BT are continually sending us marketing material urging us to sign up to BT Infinity!  So for the foreseeable future we will continue to live in the digital dark ages.
Jason W emailed: BT need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Copper phone lines are dead assets - they will need to be replaced with fibre optic right to the premises sooner or later. If the cost of upgrading to actual fibre to the premises wasn't so outlandish, I'd do it in a heartbeat.


At precisely midday in Washington on 20 January, Barack Obama's eight years as US president will end.

Mr Obama will join 11 previous two-term presidents in a dead heat as the nation's second longest serving head of state.
They include:
But each of these men trails Franklin Roosevelt, whose record of 12 years in office (1933-45) preceded the introduction of two-term limits.
Is it possible to find a way of breaking this 12-way tie for second place?
A combination of clock tampering, delayed oath taking, constitutional amendments, medical procedures and the slowing of the earth's rotation around the sun means that each of the second place presidents has exercised his powers for a different amount of time.
There are two ways to calculate the length of a president's service: the clock and the oath.
The clock is the date and time that the law fixes for the start and end of a president's term.
The oath is the 35-word sentence that the new president must swear before he enters "on the Execution of his Office".
The clock makes the president. The oath allows him to use the powers of the office.
Until 1933, the clock was set at the 4 March following the previous November's election. Frustratingly for our purposes, the 1792 Presidential Succession Act made no mention of an exact time of day for the transfer of power.
In 1821, Chief Justice John Marshall suggested that the new presidential term began at the stroke of midnight. But this was incredibly inconvenient. Either the country would have to stay up until midnight to watch the new man take office, or everyone could go to bed at a normal time and the president-elect would become president in his sleep.
He would also need to take the oath. The chief justice insisted that the new president might be sworn in at anytime after midnight.
"Undoubtedly, on any pressing emergency the President might take the oath in the first hour of the 4th of March," Marshall wrote, "but it has never been thought necessary so to do, and he has always named such hour as he deemed most convenient."
By convention, this hour was noon on the 4 March. It seemed logical to let the outgoing president hold onto his office until then. The clock and the oath could both wait.
It is often hard to work out the exact time of the start of the president's term in the 19th Century.
On inauguration day on 4 March 1889, business was running late. At 11.52am, President-elect Harrison and outgoing President Cleveland had yet to enter the Senate chamber. So, Senators resorted to an old trick.
"Old Capt Bassett therefore went up to the clock and with a long stick deliberately turned the minute hand back 10 minutes. A storm of laughter greeted this time-honored method of cheating Old Father Time."
In this way, the US Capitol managed to live in two time zones - real time and Senate time.
This clock tampering makes calculations from this era impossible to make with any degree of accuracy. In the absence of better evidence, we are forced to declare an unsatisfactory honorary tie for the first six presidents on our list.
After that, calculations get easier.
The end of clock tampering and the advent of a more officious standard of time-keeping in the 20th Century makes it simpler to measure presidential term lengths.
On 4 March 1913, Woodrow Wilson took the oath of office at 1.10pm- some 70 minutes beyond midday. By contemporary standards, this was an unremarkable delay.
Eight years later, Wilson had the chance to make up these minutes by stringing out his successor Warren Harding's inauguration.
But Wilson, who was still suffering from the effects of a major stroke, decided to leave Capitol Hill shortly before Harding's swearing in. At 11.55am, Wilson was driven home.
Perhaps this final act was a micro-abdication. Warren Harding himself was not officially sworn in until 1.18pm. Woodrow Wilson had given up the chance to make up for his lost time.
Wilson total: Eight years minus 1 hour, 10 minutes
By 1933, America was getting rather fed up with the lengthy four-month transition period between presidential election and presidential inauguration.
So the constitution was amended in order to move up the start of the next president's term and to fix with precision the midday transfer of power: "The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of Januaryâ€¦ and the terms of their successors shall then begin."
"The president-elect, by dint of the explicit command of the Twentieth Amendment, legally becomes president at the precise stroke of noon on January 20," writes Professor Akhil Reed Amar in his book America's Unwritten Constitution.
He argues that it is "the clock, not the oath, that does the work".
Despite this, the oath continues to be the centrepiece of all inauguration ceremonies. There is no countdown clock to the 12pm assumption of the office, a moment which often passes unnoticed.
In 1937, Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to be affected by the new timings. His four successive election victories later provoked his Republican opponents into passing the 22nd Constitutional Amendment restricting presidents to two terms.
By law, Dwight Eisenhower's presidential term began at 12pm on 21 January 1953. But he wasn't sworn in until 12.32pm. During this gap, Eisenhower was legally president, but he wasn't yet able to exercise the powers of his office. We therefore deduct 32 minutes from his total.
Eisenhower total: Eight years minus 32 minutes.
Post-Eisenhower, the precise timings of presidential powers were affected by two separate developments.
Firstly, in 1967, the constitution was changed again. The 25th Amendment laid out the procedure by which a president might temporarily transfer his powers to his vice president.
Secondly, in 1972, occasional leap seconds were introduced worldwide in order to compensate for the earth's slowing rotation around the sun.
Mr Reagan shrewdly avoided losing early minutes of power by putting the oath before the clock. He was sworn in at 11.57am.  Three minutes later, he inherited both the office and the powers of the presidency.
On 13 July 1985, Ronald Reagan went to hospital for a colon operation. As a precaution, he handed over his powers to Vice President George HW Bush for eight hours. Although Reagan was still president during this period, he was unable to exercise the powers of his office, so we deduct the eight hours from his total.
There may be some consolation for Mr Reagan in the five leap seconds he accrued during his two terms. It's not clear how he spent them.
Reagan total : Eight years minus 7 hours, 59 minutes, 55 seconds
Mr Clinton followed Mr Reagan's example in being sworn in early - in his case at 11.58am. He survived impeachment, never handed over his powers to his vice president, and benefited from five leap seconds.
Clinton total : Eight years plus 5 seconds
Mr Bush was sworn in at 12.01pm - losing only one minute of the exercise of his presidential powers.
He twice invoked the 25th Amendment, for minor surgery in 2002 and 2007. Each time, Mr Bush's powers went to Vice President Dick Cheney. On the second occasion, Mr Cheney couldn't resist documenting his temporary promotion. He wrote a letter to his grandchildren and helpfully signed it "Richard B. Cheney, Acting President of the United States, (Grandpa Cheney)".
In all, George W Bush transferred the powers of his presidency for a total of four hours and 20 minutes. His only compensation was a meagre two leap seconds.
George W Bush total : Eight years minus 4 hours, 20 minutes, 58 seconds
Everyone missed the moment in which Barack Obama became America's first black president.
At the stroke of midday on 20 January, guests at his inauguration were busy watching a quartet of musicians perform the composition Air and Simple Gifts. Mr Obama took up his position as America's head of state whilst he was craning his neck, trying to get a good view of the musicians playing behind him.
By contrast, the White House website dutifully followed the clock to the second. On the stroke of noon, President Bush's homepage was replaced by President Obama's homepage.
But Mr Obama had to wait another five minutes before he could exercise his powers. At 12.05pm, the Chief Justice, John G Roberts, addressed the new head of state by his old job title, "Are you prepared to take the oath, Senator?"
Memorably, the chief justice and the president then proceeded to ham fist their way through the simple oath - forcing a re-do the next day. We'll count Obama's exercise of power from his first oath.
For his eight years in office, Barack Obama only gets three leap seconds.
Obama total : Eight years minus 4 minutes, 57 seconds
The Winner isâ€¦ (drum roll)
Excluding the first six presidents who lived in an age of inaccurate time-keeping and occasional clock tampering, the final table is as follows:
1) Bill Clinton: Eight years plus 5 seconds
2) Barack Obama: Eight years minus four minutes, 57 seconds
3) Dwight Eisenhower: Eight years minus 32 minutes
4) Woodrow Wilson: Eight years 8 minus one hour, 10 minutes
5) George W Bush: Eight years minus four hours, 20 minutes, 58 seconds
6) Ronald Reagan: Eight years minus seven hours, 59 minutes, 55 seconds
So, Bill Clinton wins the unofficial contest for second place by a little over five minutes. This may provide some degree of micro-consolation as he watches the man who defeated his wife take office on 20 January.
In order to beat Clinton's record, Mr Trump must hope for re-election, perfect health and a slowing earth.


A winding-up petition against rugby league club Crusaders has been dismissed at London's High Court, after the club went into administration.

The case was adjourned a week ago amid confusion over whether the Wrexham-based club had paid its tax debts.
That hearing was told the debts which led to the petition order had since been paid.
The club went into administration on 12 November, claiming inherited debt had "made the business untenable".
Registrar Jaques was told by Cathryn Addy, counsel for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs that the club went into administration under a court order.
The registrar formally dismissed the winding up petition, with costs to be paid as part of the administration.
Joint administrators Peter O'Hara and Simon Weir were appointed to handle the club's affairs last week.
Mr O'Hara said: "We are currently pursuing a number of options and are talking to interested parties and the RFL [Rugby Football League] in the hope that a solution can be found to the club's current difficulties which would enable it to go forward and maintain rugby league in Wales."


UKIP could win as many as nine seats in the 2016 assembly election, according to expert analysis of a new poll.

On constituency votes, the ITV/Wales Governance Centre poll puts Labour on 35% (-4), the Conservatives on 23% (no change), Plaid Cymru 20% (+2), UKIP 15% (+2) and Lib Dems 5% (-1).
Analysis suggests Labour would be short of a majority on 27 seats, down three.
It gives the Tories 12 seats (down two), Plaid 10 (down one), UKIP nine, and Lib Dems two (down three).
The analysis, by Prof Roger Scully from Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre, takes into account regional list voting for the 20 of the 60 AMs elected using a form of proportional representation.
That data puts Labour on 34%, Conservatives 23%, Plaid Cymru 18%, UKIP 16% and the Lib Dems and Greens both on 4%.
Were Labour to win 27 seats in Cardiff Bay, it would face a choice between governing as a minority or reaching a deal with one of the other parties.
The election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader in the summer appears not to have a led to a sustained improvement in the party's poll ratings.
Prof Scully said: "Labour remain some way ahead of the field.
"But we see their support for the devolved election slipping notably since September.
"The main thing to jump out from these findings, however, is that UKIP are currently projected to win nine list seats in the assembly: two in every region of Wales except for South Wales West.
"We should note that these list seat calculations are subject to change on quite small variations in support: with only small changes in public preferences UKIP might be projected to win several fewer seats."
The poll for ITV and the Wales Governance Centre had a sample of 1,005 Welsh adults and was carried out by YouGov from November 30 to December 4 2015.


Great Britain must win both singles matches against Argentina on Sunday to extend their reign as Davis Cup holders and reach a second final in 12 months.

Andy and Jamie Murray won Saturday's doubles contest, but Argentina lead 2-1 going into the last day of the best-of-five tie in Glasgow.
Andy Murray is scheduled to face Guido Pella at 13:00 BST, followed by Kyle Edmund against Juan Martin del Potro.
However, team captains can change their nominations up to an hour before play.
GB skipper Leon Smith could choose to bring Dan Evans in for Edmund, should Murray beat Pella and force a decisive fifth match.
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And there is a question mark over the involvement of Del Potro, who was a surprise inclusion in the doubles after his gruelling five-hour match with Andy Murray on Friday.
Del Potro hinted after the doubles that he might not play on Sunday, should a fifth and final rubber be required.
"I have to be smart," said Del Potro. "I want to play for more years not just one more match."
Andy Murray is clearly fatigued after a gruelling summer but hopes he has enough energy left to produce a win to keep GB's hopes alive.
The 29-year-old Scot said: "Whether I win or not, I don't know, but I can definitely guarantee I'll give my best effort and hopefully I can.
"I'll be tired and I have to accept that and deal with it and try to play the match on my terms if possible."
Speaking about the doubles success, he added: "I didn't know how I was going to feel when I woke up.
"I saw my physio this morning and he checked some of the things he checks if I'm not feeling great or if I'm tired, and he said I was looking decent.
"It was tough, obviously. In doubles there's not as much running but you need to be very sharp."
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent:
"Juan Martin del Potro's appearance on the doubles court was a huge surprise, given Argentina's position in the tie, and it may turn out to be his last match of the week.
"Both del Potro and Andy Murray have now spent eight hours and two minutes on court in Glasgow, and although mind games are often an important ingredient, Del Potro has hinted quite strongly he may not play on Sunday should a fifth and final rubber be required.
"The travelling Argentine media are inclined to take his words at face value - and suspect he won't play.
"Dan Evans is likely to play in any fifth match for GB - but that will only be necessary if an equally exhausted Murray can first beat Guido Pella, who will be feeling a lot, lot fresher."


The families of two students who were killed by a driver with a history of blackouts have begun moves to bring a private prosecution against him.

Mhairi Convy, 18, and Laura Stewart, 20, died after William Payne passed out and his Range Rover hit them on North Hanover Street, Glasgow, in 2010.
An attempt to prosecute Mr Payne was later dropped by the Crown in 2013.
The girls' families have lodged a Bill of Criminal letters with the Crown Office in a bid to start a prosecution.
The news came the day after the family of three victims of the Glasgow bin lorry crash launched a similar bid to bring a private prosecution against the driver, Harry Clarke.
Lawyers for the families of Ms Convy and Ms Stewart delivered the papers to Scotland's top law officer, Lord Advocate Frank Mullholland, seeking his agreement for the move.
Even without his approval, they can seek permission from High Court judges.
The lord advocate now has seven days to respond.
A Crown Office spokesman said: "The Lord Advocate has received a Bill of Criminal Letters and will give it due consideration.
"The Crown position on this will be made clear to the families and the court when appropriate."
A Scottish government spokesman said: "The decision on whether to allow a private prosecution to proceed is for the High Court however before an application can be made to the court, the lord advocate, Scotland's senior prosecutor, must be asked whether he agrees that the prosecution should go ahead."
Ms Convy, of Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, and Ms Stewart, of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, were accounting students at the former Central College of Commerce.
The friends were on a free period when they headed towards the city centre to do some Christmas shopping on 17 December 2010.
They were fatally injured after being struck by Mr Payne's 4x4 Range Rover, which had mounted the kerb. Both students died of their injuries at the city's Royal Infirmary.
Following the crash, Mr Payne was charged with causing death by driving while uninsured but the case was  dropped.
A fatal accident inquiry later concluded the women's deaths were an accident which was caused by Mr Payne suffering a blackout while driving.
The inquiry heard that, in the three years before the accident, he had suffered six blackouts.
It concluded the deaths may have been avoided had Mr Payne disclosed his history of blackouts to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and for doctors to have advised him not to drive.


A suspected paedophile who went on the run and became one of Britain's most wanted fugitives has been arrested in France after crashing his car.

Stephen Carruthers, 43, from Bury, was wanted by Cumbria Police in connection with 18 offences of making indecent photographs of a child.
He was missing for three years and was living in France under a false name, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
His capture was "a huge slice of luck" they added.
Mr Carruthers was found after he was admitted to Cahors Hospital with minor injuries following a car crash on Saturday.
He was kept in for observations where checks by the French authorities revealed his real identity.
After officers executed a European Arrest Warrant at the hospital, Mr Carruthers appeared before the general prosecutor of the appeal court of Agen where he was remanded in custody.
Matt Burton, head of the NCA's International Crime Bureau, said: "The majority of our most wanted fugitives are captured as a result of intelligence-led operations, but with Mr Carruthers his days on the run ended thanks to a huge slice of luck.
"He will be returned to the UK to face justice."
Mr Carruthers was originally arrested in March 2014 at an address in Ambleside. A computer recovered was found to contain 5,332 indecent images of children.
After being interviewed he was given bail to re-attend the police station but failed to return.
Mr Carruthers was among 10 British fugitives named as the most wanted by the NCA as part of their Operation Captura.


Police in Fife have released CCTV images of two men they wish to speak to in connection with an armed robbery in Kirkcaldy.

A sum of money was stolen from the TSB branch on Dunearn Drive at about 10:40 on Friday.
Bank staff were threatened by thieves wielding a handgun and a crowbar during the robbery. No-one was injured.
Detectives said the two men shown in the CCTV may be able to help them with their investigation.
Officers are urging any members of the public who recognise the men to contact the police.
The first man is white, in his late 20s or early 30s with dark stubble on his face.
At the time of the incident, he was wearing a dark coloured baseball cap and dark coloured clothing.
The second man is white, 5ft 9ins, about 30 years old, of medium build and with stubble.
At the time of this robbery, he wore a dark coloured baseball cap, dark blue tracksuit bottoms, dark blue/grey hooded top and dark coloured trainers.
Both men were seen riding on two bikes on Alford Avenue at about the time of the incident.
Det Insp Colin Robson, of Police Scotland, said: "Today we have released images of the two men who we are very keen to speak with as part of our ongoing investigation into this armed robbery.
"Both men were observed on bicycles on Alford Avenue and I would be interested to hear from anyone who can help us establish their movements or identities.
"We are continuing to carry out various lines of inquiry in relation to this matter and I would like to thank everyone in the local community who has assisted with our investigation up to this point."
Ch Insp Stevie Hamilton, added: "There will be an ongoing police presence in the area for the foreseeable future while our inquiries continue.
"In the meantime, local officers will continue to engage with the community, who have been extremely cooperative and supportive of what we are doing and I thank them for their patience.
"We are working tirelessly in an effort to trace those responsible as quickly as possible and I urge anyone who can help identify the males shown in the images to come forward.
"What may seem like trivial piece of information could have a huge impact against the wider context of our investigation."


England had to settle for a silver medal in badminton's mixed team event after losing to Malaysia in the final at the Emirates Arena.

Mixed doubles pair Chris Adcock, 25, and wife, Gabby, 23, gave England the lead but Rajiv Ouseph, 27, lost narrowly in the men's singles.
Chris Adcock and Andrew Ellis, 27, lost the men's doubles and Sarah Walker, 24, was beaten in the women's singles as Malaysia took an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Singapore beat India 3-2 for bronze.
England, who beat India 3-0 in the semi-final on Sunday, got off to a perfect start against the gold medallists in Delhi 2010 and Melbourne 2006, with Chris and Gabby Adcock saving six game points in the second game against Peng Shoon Chan and Lai Pei Jing to take the rubber 2-0.
Ouseph lost the first game to Chong Wei Feng, but rallied to claim the second and led 11-7 at the mid-game interval in the deciding third game before losing it 21-19.
Chris Adcock and partner Ellis ran Tan Wee Kiong and Gohn V Shem close before succumbing 21-19 21-14.
Walker put up a brave fight in the fourth rubber but eventually lost 21-16 21-17 to the more experienced Jing Yi Tee.


A 21-year-old man has appeared in court charged with murdering a three-month-old baby from Broxburn.

Traherne Eifion Williams is accused of murdering Sophia Williams, who died in June at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
He made no plea or declaration and was released on bail.
An 18-year-old woman who was arrested in the case has been freed from custody pending further inquiries.


Two men have been arrested over the death of a 15-year-old girl who died after apparently suffering an allergic reaction to a takeaway meal.

Megan Lee, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, died on 1 January, two days after she was admitted to hospital.
The men, both staff at the Royal Spice Indian takeaway on Union Road, are being held on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter by gross negligence.
A Lancashire Police and trading standards investigation is continuing.
The arrested men, aged 37 and 38 and from Rossendale and Blackburn respectively, remain in custody for questioning.
A post-mortem examination has been carried out but police said the full results would not be known "for some time".


Chicago has been celebrating after the Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking the team into the baseball World Series for the first time since 1945.

They partied outside Wrigley Field stadium after the Curse of the Billy Goat - supposedly placed on the Cubs by a disgruntled fan - was finally lifted.
The team's decades in the wilderness had become the stuff of legend.
In the 1989 film Back to the Future II, a 2015 World Series win for the Chicago team was dubbed a "long shot".
That long shot came one step closer on Saturday when the Cubs beat the Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.
They will now meet the American League champions, the Cleveland Indians, for the first game of the World Series on Tuesday.
Most of the fans celebrated peacefully, with many taking selfies in front of the stadium, but one person was arrested after climbing a traffic pole, and several others were detained after letting off fireworks.
The win is a boost for a city with a more sombre reputation in recent years, overtaking Los Angeles and New York  in terms of gang murders.
"My grandpa's been alive for so long, and he's never experienced this," Adam Lewickas, 31, told AFP news agency.
"You've seen tears here tonight," said fellow Chicagoan Anthony Madrano, 43. "You've seen people just so emotional about it."
On social media, people jokingly thanked President Barack Obama, a former Illinois senator who lived and worked in Chicago, for gifting the city a Cubs breakthrough "on his watch".
The Cubs had not won a World Series since 1908 but had some near-misses up until 1945.
In that fateful year, tavern owner William Sianis and his pet goat were turned away from Game 4 of the World Series because other fans had complained about the smell.
Sianis is said to have cursed the Cubs, so that they would never win a World Series game again, or even reach the World Series again (different versions of the story exist).
As the city celebrated this weekend, Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh wrote: "The weight is lifted. The wait is over, at last."


The winner of the Man Booker Prize is announced later with British author Neel Mukherjee the bookies' favourite to take the £50,000 prize.

Mukherjee's The Lives Of Others, a sweeping account of life in 1960s Calcutta, is 5/2 favourite to win with bookmakers William Hill.
It is the first year that the prize is open to all authors writing in English, regardless of nationality.
The winner will be announced at London's Guildhall on Tuesday night.
Former Booker winner Howard Jacobson is among three British writers, two Americans and an Australian on this year's shortlist.
Also on the list are Ali Smith, Joshua Ferris, Karen Joy Fowler and Richard Flanagan, who is next in the betting at 3/1.
Jacobson, who won in 2010 for his comic novel The Finkler Question, is nominated for his futuristic love story J.
It features two main characters who inhabit a world where the past is not spoken about and is shrouded in suspicion, referred to as "What Happened, If It Happened".
Mukherjee's The Lives of Others begins in Calcutta in 1967, and which focuses on the secrets and rivalries within a family against a backdrop of political activism.
Inverness-born Smith's How To Be Both tells two interlinking stories, one about a renaissance artist in 15th Century Italy, the other about a child of the 1960s - and the reader can decide which half to read first.
She has been shortlisted twice before, with 2005's The Accidental and Hotel World in 2001.
American Ferris's third novel, To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, looks at atheism through the eyes of a New York dentist, who is puzzled when someone sets up an online Facebook and Twitter account in his name.
The other American is Fowler, who is nominated for We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. The book, narrated by a college student Rosemary, tells the story of her  family: two parents and three children - one of whom turns out to be surprisingly special.
Australia's Flanagan is the only non-British representative of the Commonwealth on the shortlist. He is nominated for The Narrow Road to the Deep North, a love story set against the construction of the Thailand-Burma Death Railway in World War Two.
Of all the shortlisted novels, Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is by far the best-selling. Since it was published in March it has sold more than 55,000 copies, according to figures from Nielsen.
The next closest is Ferris's To Rise Again at a Decent Hour with just over 6,000 sales since it was published at the end of May.
The announcement of the final six on 9 September caused a sales spike for all the books on the shortlist.  Mukherjee's The Lives of Others, which sold 97 copies in the week before the announcement saw sales leap to 507 a week later.
"It's a weak list that is more notable for the novels it has omitted than for those that have made the cut," said David Brauner, professor of contemporary literature at the University of Reading.
"The strongest book on the list is Howard Jacobson's J, but I fear there may be some reluctance to make him a two-time winner so soon after Hilary Mantel's double win (with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies).
"John Sutherland's mischievous (or perhaps malicious) nomination of J at the top of his list of The Top 10 Unfinishable Novels in The Guardian last week won't have helped its chances either.
"It revives the perennial debate about whether the prize should be awarded on literary merit alone or whether it should only reward what Stella Rimington called 'readable' books."
This year marks is 46th year of the Booker Prize. The judging panel, chaired by AC Grayling, consists of Sarah Churchwell, Jonathan Bate, Daniel Glaser, Alastair Niven and Erica Wagner.
Last year, the Booker was won by New Zealand's Eleanor Catton for The Luminaries. At 28, she was the youngest-ever winner.
The shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book.
Coverage from this year's ceremony, where the prize will be presented by the Duchess of Cornwall. will be on the BBC News Channel from 2130 BST and on BBC Arts.


A man was beaten to death by four drunken teenagers in an underpass before they went to a party, a court has heard.

Michael Green, 23, of Muskham, Bretton, was found near Tyesdale in Bretton, Peterborough, in the early hours of 28 May.
Post-mortem examination results showed he died from head injuries.
Three boys, who were aged 15, 16 and 17 at the time, and a girl, who was aged 16, all deny murder.
Cambridge Crown Court heard Mr Green was heavily drunk at the time of his death and was also affected by medication he was taking.
The four teenagers had also been drinking heavily before the attack. Two had been drinking vodka bought for them by Mr Green and had spent some hours with him at his home.
During the attack, Mr Green was hit twice with a vodka bottle by the 16-year-old boy. The other boys then kicked and stamped on him repeatedly, the jury heard.
The girl then stamped on his face in revenge after he had accidentally struck her earlier in the evening, the court was told.
Prosecuting, Jane Bickerstaff QC, said: "It began with a vicious assault by the 16-year-old using a weapon inflicting brute force to Michael Green's head and causing him to fall to the floor. He never got up from that blow.
"The other three defendants saw that blow and saw its effects clearly," she said.
"They then got in on the act using... either their fists or their feet while Michael Green remained on the floor defenceless."
The court heard that while drinking at his home earlier with the 16-year-old girl, the 17-year-old boy and a 15-year-old female friend of theirs, Mr Green became very drunk and came on to the 15-year-old, making her feel "uncomfortable", and urging her to dump her boyfriend, the then 16-year-old defendant.
When the 17-year-old defendant told Mr Green to stop he became violent, pinning him by the throat.
The court heard Mr Green was on antidepressants and painkillers after fracturing his collar bone and should not have been drinking while taking them.
Mr Green's mother was at home at the time and when she told him to stop drinking he became abusive and accidentally hit the female defendant.
The three friends then left Mr Green's house to meet the two other defendants who had been at a party.
The court heard that the victim followed them and when they met at the underpass the 16-year-old confronted him about his actions at the house.
Mr Green offered to fight all the boys before shoving the 15-year-old girl out of the way, the court heard.
This prompted her boyfriend to "whack him" with the bottle, the prosecution claims, starting the attack.
The group robbed Mr Green of his wallet, mobile phone and a neck chain and bracelet, the court heard, before going on to the nearby party.
The four defendants cannot be named because of their ages. Three are now aged 17 and one is 16 years old.
The four also all deny grievous bodily harm.
The girl also denies a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice after allegedly trying to make a witness change her evidence.
The trial continues.


Former Australia batsman Justin Langer will take temporary charge of the one-day team for next year's triangular series in the Caribbean.

Coach Darren Lehmann will sit out matches against South Africa and West Indies from 6-26 June.
The 45-year-old will resume control for July's tour of Sri Lanka.
Ex-Australia assistant coach Langer, also 45, coaches Western Australia, and Lehmann has said he believes his former team-mate will succeed him.
It is the third time Australia have appointed an acting coach during Lehmann's reign.
Steve Rixon led the one-day side in India in 2013 and current England coach Trevor Bayliss was put in charge for the Twenty20 series against South Africa last year.


The scene at the Security Council in New York on Tuesday afternoon was worth thousands of words about the failure of diplomacy in Syria.

Let's not forget that these were top diplomats talking about the gravest humanitarian emergency of our time and the most dangerous crisis in the world's most unstable region.
The UN's founders wanted the horse-shoe desks in the chamber of the Security Council to be the heart of global diplomacy.
Instead, in a blizzard of bitter criticism and recrimination, the assembled representatives of the world's most powerful countries demonstrated why the international response to a crisis like the one in Syria will always be paralysed when the permanent members of the Security Council are in deadlock.
US Ambassador Samantha Power, who made her name with a memorable book about genocide, compared what was happening in Aleppo to other scenes of slaughter "that define modern evil, that stain our conscience decades later. Halabja, Rwanda, Srebrenica and, now, Aleppo".
No journalist or diplomat has been able so far to investigate what is happening in Aleppo. But the reports coming from the city, if true, are horrifying.
Ambassador Power asked Syria and its allies Russia and Iran a series of questions: "Are you truly incapable of shame? Is there literally nothing that can shame you? Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child that gets under your skin, that just creeps you out a little bit? Is there nothing you will not lie about or justify?"
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin was scornful, accusing Ms Power of speaking "as if she was Mother Theresa".
He told her to remember the record of the United States, suggesting that she had no right to the moral high ground. Ambassador Churkin said he had no information about reports of mass arrests and unlawful killing in Aleppo.
The collapse of rebel resistance in Aleppo does not mean the end of the war in Syria. The war will change shape, and will continue.
Anti-Assad rebels, of varying ideological hues, still control substantial territory in Syria. The jihadists of the so-called Islamic State hold a big chunk of the country, and took advantage of the distraction of Aleppo to recapture parts of Palmyra, the ancient city in the desert from which they were ejected earlier in the year.
But as important is the fact that around a dozen foreign countries have intervened in the war. Bigger powers have broader agendas than the Assad regime or the militias that exist only to fight it. If they consider their interests are served by continuing the fight, in whatever form, then they will.
But even though the war has not ended, the Assad regime and its allies have scored their biggest victory. It is a significant moment, which has prompted more agonising about the mistakes that have been made.
In the House of Commons in London came the remarkable sight of the former Chancellor, George Osborne, disavowing the Syria policy of the government of David Cameron, in which he was a powerful number two to the prime minister.
"The Syrian civil war has been raging since 2011 and therefore it is something that we should have foreseen and done something about," Mr Osborne said.
"I think we are deceiving ourselves in this parliament if we believe that we have no responsibility for what has happened in Syria."
"The tragedy in Aleppo did not come out of a vacuum - it was created by a vacuum. A vacuum of Western leadership, of American leadership, of British leadership."
What could loosely be called the Western response to Syria's war has been a failure. Russia and Iran, along with the Lebanese fighters from Hezbollah, had a much clearer idea of what they wanted, which is why their side has won in Aleppo.
Russia and Iran will not want to lose their much enhanced position in Syria. Many rebel fighters might be yearning to put down their guns. But in a destroyed country that could be dominated by foreign intervention, warlords and militias for years, it might be easier to fight on than stop.
And there are those who do not want to stop. Here's a sample comment from the top JFS [Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front]-aligned cleric, Abu Yaqzan Al-Masri, in Aleppo: ""We won't compromise over our religion.  We'll leave Aleppo on our own terms."


Eleven people in China have been arrested for their alleged role in the Shenzhen landslide disaster.

Shenzhen prosecutors, late on Thursday, said a dispatcher and supervisor of the landfill, the chief and deputy manager of a company in charge of it, and seven other people were arrested.
They said they have been charged with negligently causing a serious accident.
The landslide happened when a hill of construction waste collapsed, leaving 74 people either missing or dead.
The formal arrests come three days after the police took what Chinese media called "coercive measures" against 12 people. It is thought the 11  arrested today were among those.
Officials have described the 20 December disaster as man-made, raising the possibility of severe punishments for those they consider responsible.
One official, whose job involved regulating construction sites, apparently jumped to his death a week after the landslide. It is not clear if he was being investigated for his role in it.
Officials have appealed for police and the public to help them find other suspects apparently on the run.


Manager Alan Stubbs is sure Hibernian can arrest a dreadful slump and end the season on a high.

Saturday's 1-0 loss at relegated Alloa means the Easter Road side have collected a mere four points from their last seven Championship games.
Falkirk, six points ahead in second place, visit on Tuesday.
"You look for responses and there's a lot of big characters in the dressing room and at times like this we need them to shine through," said Stubbs.
Stubbs said he was "surprised" by a "disappointing performance" at part-time Alloa, adding: "We need to move on very quickly.
"I'm glad we've got a big game that can pick us up."
The former Everton defender also insisted he would have no difficulty lifting his players for the match against Falkirk, who have played two more games in the league.
"The players have pride and that pride has been dented," Stubbs told BBC Scotland.
"But they know it's just a matter of time before it changes again.
"There's a lot of quality in the dressing room and that's what give me the confidence to know that as well losing a few games you can very easily win a few."
Hibs finished a distant second behind Hearts last year only to fall against this season's champions Rangers at the semi-final stage of the play-offs.
Failing to overhaul Falkirk would mean two legs against Raith Rovers, with the Bairns waiting in the semi-final to decide who meets the 11th-placed side from the Premiership.
"Obviously, we would like to finish second," said Stubbs. "How important that is, I don't think anyone can tell.
"We had it last year and it didn't necessarily point to us having a better opportunity to get promoted.
"Some will say not having that break can work in your favour and it's another chance to build momentum."
Hibs lost the League Cup final to Ross County last month and will be back at Hampden on Saturday for a Scottish Cup semi-final with Dundee United.
"Our priority is promotion," said Stubbs. "It has been from the beginning.
"But we have an opportunity to get to another major final. Our attention is on Falkirk first, then we look forward.
"I can't emphasise this strongly enough; we have, potentially, a very exciting end to the season.
"While that's in front of us, we're going to be doing our upmost to make that possible."


Olympic gold medal winning boxer, Nicola Adams, is no stranger to massive success in the ring.

9 March 2016 Last updated at 06:51 GMT
Now she's on a new mission to inspire kids to get healthy in the kitchen.
What the children at one school in Sheffield didn't know, was that Nicola was about to surprise them and take on one of their cookery lessons.
Jenny went along to the school to catch their reaction.


A champion boxer who was jailed for breaking into his ex-girlfriend's flat and attacking her has had his sentence suspended.

Jamie Cox was sentenced to 26 weeks for common assault after he attacked Viktoria Gribovskaja at her home in Lambeth, south London last year.
The Swindon-based WBO European super-middleweight title holder had denied assault.
His sentence was suspended at an appeal at Croydon Magistrates' Court.
The 29-year-old boxer, who appeared in court under his real name Jamie Russan was told his conviction still stands, but that his prison sentence will be suspended for 18 months.
Recorder Joseph Boothby told him he should treat the suspended sentence as "a turning point" and said: "Change your ways and think before you get angry with a girlfriend, or anyone else for that matter."
Cox had been sentenced to 26 weeks in prison for the assault and harassment charges, 20 weeks for violence to secure entry and 12 weeks for criminal damage, to run concurrently.
He is currently ranked number four in the world and is also a Commonwealth Games light welterweight champion.
After the hearing, Cox said: "I just want to get back to normal and to fight for world titles. I do not really treat today as a success."


A man charged with attempted murder after a stabbing in Antrim has been remanded in custody.

Paul Catherwood, 27, from Mourneview Park, Lisburn, is accused of attacking another man at a house party at Rathmore Gardens on Saturday morning.
Mr Catherwood claimed he acted in self-defence after he was targeted in a hammer attack.
He is also charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and having an offensive weapon.
On Monday, Belfast Magistrates' Court was told that the man who was stabbed required surgery for multiple wounds and that the most severe was when his chest was punctured close to his heart.
The court heard that Mr Catherwood also slashed a woman on the arm, adding:  "Another said she had to take evasive action to stop him when he was approaching her with the knife, making a slashing motion."
A detective constable said the incident was aggravated by alcohol and involved an alleged element of sectarianism.
Mr Catherwood's lawyer said he was acting in self defence following a hammer attack.
He is due to appear again in court by video-link on 6 June.


The leaders of a far-right political group have been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and banned from visiting Luton.

Britain First leader Paul Golding and deputy Jayda Fransen were arrested by Bedfordshire Police.
The arrest was in connection with a demonstration in Luton on 23 January.
Mr Golding and Ms Fransen have been bailed until 30 May. Bedfordshire Police confirmed the Luton ban was one of the bail conditions.


School uniform, school shoes, sports kit, stationary, dictionaries, notebooks, transport - the necessities for the new school year put a strain on most parents' wallets.

But they can create more serious problems for those on low incomes.
Research from Family Action suggests the combined back-to-school costs per pupil in autumn 2011 are £113 for primary school pupils and £191 for those attending secondary school.
These figures obviously double, triple or more, depending upon how many children a family has.
The research claimed that for some families, back-to-school costs can represent 40% of their monthly income.
As Family and Parenting Institute research has shown, even without the added financial hit of the new school year, many UK parents are struggling financially.
They have seen a painful package of cuts to entitlements which helped families live, work and get their children educated.
These included the end of universal Child Benefit, the scaling back of tax credits, the scrapping of the Child Trust Fund, the Health in Pregnancy Grant and the Education Maintenance Allowance.
This is in addition to the increased threat of unemployment, and finances taking a battering from surging inflation on essentials such as food and fuel.
So where can struggling parents find help meeting back-to-school costs?
Firstly, low-income families should turn to their child's school for help.
Provisions on offer vary, and are usually arranged by parent-teacher associations (PTAs) and governors.
The School Admissions Code of 2010 states that "all schools which have a uniform policy should have arrangements in place to ensure that no family feels unable to apply for admission on account of high uniform costs".
Secondly, low-income parents can potentially apply to local charities and other trust funds for help.
The UK still has a vibrant and strong family charity sector, despite the ravaging effects of the current economic climate.
For example, children in Bedford who receive free school meals and are progressing from middle to upper school can apply for a £50 uniform grant from the Bedford Charity.
Charities with a wider reach include Family Action, which works in more than 130 schools in England providing help with uniform and other back-to-school costs.
Another is Family Fund, which helps low-income families who face the additional financial strain of caring for a disabled child.
Parents should visit their local Citizen's Advice Bureau to find out what exists in their area.
Thirdly, some low-income families can apply to their local council for financial assistance.
Councils are obliged to provide free bus transport to primary and secondary pupils attending their nearest suitable school.
That applies if the pupils live further away than statutory walking distances - two miles for pupils under eight and three miles for those aged eight or more.
Councils must also provide free lunches in schools for the children of parents on Income Support, Job Seekers' Allowance or certain other benefits.
Some local authorities - only some - also help with uniform costs.
For example, Tameside Council in Greater Manchester offers clothing grants to families on certain benefits of £25 per year for primary school children, and £40 per year for secondary school children.
The grants are issued as a book of vouchers that can be used at certain local shops.
Some authorities, such as Enfield council in North London, do not offer year-on-year assistance, but give a grant for the first year of primary school and the first year of secondary school.
In Northern Ireland, parents on income support and other benefits can receive a uniform grant for their children from the education and library boards.
But many other UK councils offer no such assistance.
For example, Surrey County Council only recommends to parents that they contact the school to see if it can help with second-hand uniforms.
Evidence shows that many local authorities have ended previous financial support for uniforms.
Even before the financial crisis, Citizens Advice found in 2007 that 57% of local authorities did not offer any uniform grant.
Low-income parents face, to use the cliche, a postcode lottery when facing school costs, and even the limited help that is available is shrinking.
Again, they should visit the CAB to find out more.
Parents with young children preparing to start primary school can also ask at their local Sure Start centre.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has defended his practice of attending fundraisers with wealthy donors.

Mr Trudeau said he and his cabinet members make themselves available to a broad range of Canadians.
Critics say the "cash-for-access" events allow special access to cabinet ministers. The Liberal Party says it is following political fundraising rules.
But Conservatives say the practice goes against the Liberal party's own "open and accountable" ethics code.
Last week the opposition party asked the federal ethics and lobbying watchdogs to look into whether any of the events potentially broke federal conflict of interest and lobbying rules.
Trudeau faces 'cash-for-access' criticism
Mr Trudeau fielded numerous questions from journalists on Monday over the Liberal Party practice of charging people up to CA$1,500 ($1,140; Â£900) to attend fundraisers with him and senior cabinet members.
"I can say that in various Liberal Party events, I listen to people as I will in any given situation, but the decisions I take in government are ones based on what is right for Canadians and not on what an individual in a fundraiser might say," he said.
Mr Trudeau said he is "always open to discussions and suggestions on how we can improve the confidence people have in our political system".
In Canada, political contributions to federal parties were capped at CA$1,525 in 2016.
Union and corporate donations to political parties are banned. Only Canadian citizens can donate.
During Monday's wide-ranging, year-end news conference, Mr Trudeau also spoke emotionally about his personal "low point" over the last 12 months, which was his first full year as prime minister.
He said it was the death of two Canadians held in the Philippines by Abu Sayyaf militants.
Robert Hall and John Ridsdel were killed by the Abu Sayyaf group after a multi-million dollar ransom deadline expired.
The two men had been kidnapped by the Islamist group in September 2015, along with Filipina Marites Flor and a Norwegian, Kjartan Sekkingstad. Both were later released.
It is official Canadian government policy not to pay ransoms for Canadians kidnapped abroad.
Mr Trudeau said it was "personally difficult" to have the responsibility of "directing and articulating the Canadian position" and to speak with the bereaved families.


England lock Joe Launchbury has been banned for two weeks for kicking an opponent during his side's victory over Fiji, ruling him out of the remaining autumn internationals.

The incident occurred when Launchbury, 25, tried to kick the ball away at the base of a ruck but made contact with Fiji centre Asaeli Tikoirotuma.
The ban rules him out of England's Tests against Argentina and Australia.
Launchbury accepted the act, missed by the officials, warranted a red card.
The kick was deemed reckless rather than intentional by an independent disciplinary committee, resulting in what would have been a four-week suspension.
However, this was reduced to two weeks because of mitigating factors, including the Wasps forward's guilty plea, his previous clean record and good conduct at the hearing.


The number of registered voters in Scotland has fallen by more than 145,000 from the high point just before the independence referendum.

In March this year there were 4,138,345 people on the electoral register, the Electoral Commission has revealed.
That was a drop of 3.4% - or 145,593 registrations - from the high point of 4,283,938 in September 2014.
The figure was still down by 75,592 when 16 and 17-year-olds were excluded.
Sixteen and 17-year-olds were allowed to vote in the referendum but do not have a ballot in May's general election.
The number of registered voters in Scotland remains higher than it was in March 2013, having increased by 0.4%.
The report said this slight increase compared to a "decrease of approximately 2% in England and Wales, where the December 2014 registers contained approximately 920,000 fewer entries than the registers published in February/March 2014".
The Electoral Commission report said that the position last September "represented a high point against which any subsequent registers were more likely to decrease than increase".
It added: "The lack of comprehensive household canvass activity since the end of the 2013 canvass is likely to be a key reason for this fall."
Electoral Commissioner for Scotland John McCormick said: "The registers published on 2 March are a snapshot of the electorate at that time and work is continuing to get as many people as possible registered in time for the May election.
"There is still time to register before the 20 April deadline and we would urge anyone who is not registered to take action now by going to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.  It's easy and only takes a few minutes."


Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar has died in a hospital in the US, aged 92.

His family said he had been admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego last week, but had failed to recover fully from surgery.
Shankar gained widespread international recognition through his association with The Beatles.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described him as a "national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage".
In a statement quoted by Reuters, Shankar's wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka said he had recently undergone surgery which would have "potentially given him a new lease of life".
"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery," they said.
"We were at his side when he passed away.
"Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives. He will live forever in our hearts and in his music."
Anoushka Shankar is herself a sitar player. Shankar's other daughter is Grammy award-winning singer Norah Jones.
George Harrison of the Beatles once called Shankar "the godfather of world music".
He played at Woodstock and the 1967 Monterey Pop festival, and also collaborated with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.
Shankar also composed a number of film scores - notably Satyajit Ray's celebrated Apu trilogy (1951-55) and Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) - and collaborated with US composer Philip Glass in Passages in 1990.
Talking in later life about his experiences at the influential Monterey Pop festival, Ravi Shankar said he was "shocked to see people dressing so flamboyantly".
He told Rolling Stone magazine that he was horrified when Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire on stage.
"That was too much for me. In our culture, we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God," he said.
In 1999, Shankar was awarded the highest civilian citation in India - the Bharat Ratna, or Jewel of India.
Life in pictures: Ravi Shankar
Tributes pour in
Western musicians praise Shankar
On Wednesday morning, shortly after his death, the Recording Academy of America announced the musician would receive a lifetime achievement award at next year's Grammys.
The Academy's President Neil Portnow said he had been able to inform Shankar of the honour last week.
"He was deeply touched and so pleased," he said, adding, "we have lost an innovative and exceptional talent and a true ambassador of international music".
Born into a Bengali family in the ancient Indian city of Varanasi, Ravi Shankar was originally a dancer with his brother's troupe.
He gave up dancing to study the sitar at the age of 18.
For seven years Shankar studied under Baba Allauddin Khan, founder of the Maihar Gharana style of Hindustani classical music, and became well-known in India for his virtuoso sitar playing.
For the last years of his life, Ravi Shankar lived in Encinitas, California, with his wife.


A shortage of hospital consultants has left a health trust in Lincolnshire paying £20m for emergency cover.

The United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust faced the bill for filling its vacant consultant posts over the past financial year.
The trust had an overspend of £14m in its £384m budget for the past year.
It has 22 consultancy vacancies, but five new consultants have been recruited while another six positions were being advertised, the trust said.
Roswyn Hakesley-Brown from the Patients' Association said it was a problem that needed to be addressed quickly.
"They are already in deficit in relation to their existing budget... money is going to be reduced in terms of front-line services to patients and the impact on patients could be considerable."
A trust statement said: "Over the past 12 months we have actively engaged with international recruitment initiatives to help recruit to our hard-to-fill posts, including those in A&E, paediatrics, haematology and emergency medicine.
"We have significantly reduced the number of consultant vacancies in our hospitals over the past few months, and are continuing to recruit to consultant posts in the coming months."
Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants committee, said the current shortage of hospital consultants was probably "a blip" and should resolve itself.
"From time to time you are going to get an occasional mismatch … but that will probably resolve itself in a short while … just by the swings and roundabouts of the way that planning for workforce graduates goes."
Unison representative David Kirwan said the main problem facing the trust was that it cannot attract enough consultant candidates because of budget constraints.
The trust has three main hospital sites in Grantham, Lincoln and Boston.


Sale Sharks have been taken over by an investment group led by Simon Orange, brother of ex-Take That member Jason.

They will replace majority shareholders Brian Kennedy and Ian Blackhurst, who were both co-owners at the Sharks.
The pair took over in 2000 and helped build a side that won the European Challenge Cup in 2002 and 2005.
Sale, who will play European Champions Cup rugby next season after finishing sixth, also won a maiden Premiership title in 2006 during their tenure.
Talks about a potential deal have been ongoing since the start of the year.
"Sale have performed resiliently over the past 16 years under the ownership of Brian Kennedy, and now we believe we can build on this success and take Sale Sharks to another level," Orange said.
"With our planned investment, I think we can close the gap between Sale Sharks and the teams above us."
He continued: "I hope rugby fans from the region will support Sale Sharks and help us to build a dominant northern powerhouse both on and off the field."
Director of rugby Steve Diamond predicted a "very bright future" for the club following the takeover deal.
"We want to grow this club and coming off the back of a good season is a great time to do it," he added.


Deontay Wilder retained his WBC world heavyweight title with a fifth-round stoppage of Gerald Washington.

Wilder, 31, participating in his first fight since breaking his right hand in his July victory over Chris Arreola, showed some rustiness on Saturday in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.
But he sprang to life in the fifth, flooring fellow American Washington with a right-left combination.
"I'm still here," said Wilder. "We're going to keep the fights coming."
Wilder, who won the title in 2015 with a unanimous 12-round decision over Canadian Bermane Stiverne, now has a 38-0 win record, 37 of which have come by knockout.
For Washington, it was a first defeat in 19 bouts.
The 34-year-old had stepped in to the fight after Wilder's planned opponent, Poland's Andrzej Wawrzyk, tested positive for a banned substance,
Wilder's latest victory sets up the prospect of future unification fights.
Britain's unbeaten Anthony Joshua and Ukraine's Wladimir Klitschko meet on 29 April in London for the WBA and IBF titles, while unbeaten WBO champion Joseph Parker of New Zealand is set to face another Briton, Hughie Fury, on 1 April in Auckland.
"I am ready for Joseph Parker. Are they ready for me?" Wilder added.


Organisers of a festival where hundreds of cars were left stranded following flooding say they will move the park and ride and reduce capacity to prevent future problems.

Vehicles were stuck for hours and people were forced to stay at a leisure centre after heavy rain at Gwynedd's Festival No.6.
Measures are also being introduced to protect the Portmeirion festival site.
Capacity is being reduced to "allow the site to breathe" and cut bottlenecks.
The new locations for the park and ride will be announced in early 2017.
Portmeirion's managing director Robin Llywelyn previously told BBC Wales "lessons needed to be learned" from the problems at this year's event.
He added there were perhaps "too many people" at the festival, which is held near Porthmadog.
In a statement on the Festival No.6 website, organisers said: "We have spent the last two months listening to feedback and working on improvements to many areas.
"We are absolutely committed to making the best festival experience for every single customer.
"We will be reducing capacity slightly to avoid bottlenecks and allow the site space to breathe.
"It is hugely important to us that the festival retains its intimate feel."
The statement also said there would be more floorings in venues to protect the ground and walkways; and work would be undertaken to "improve the access and flow of audience".
Portmeirion's historic buildings, including Castell Deudraeth, will also be better protected by limiting access to those with VIP weekend tickets, it said.
Organisers have also said they will encourage lift shares, add more shower facilities, and move some events to other venues.
The festival will also feature a new information centre, following complaints from festival-goers.


It's been a year since Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth from his 340-day visit to the International Space Station.

4 March 2017 Last updated at 08:01 GMT
Scott has an identical twin brother, Mark, and they're helping scientists plan for future space travel.
Researchers are studying them both to find out how being in space affected Scott's body - and compare it to Mark's on Earth.
Nasa wants to use the twins' information to help work out how to keep astronauts healthy if they ever send them to Mars in the future.
Here's Jenny with what they've found out so far...


Leonardo has resigned from his position as sporting director of Paris St-Germain and will leave the club at the end of August.

The former Brazil midfielder, 43, was  for pushing a referee in May.
He later  - ruling him out for all next season - but has now decided to leave.
PSG said: "We regret his choice but respect his decision and wish him all the best for his future career choice."
Leonardo was filmed using his shoulder to make contact with referee Alexandre Castro in the tunnel after being angered by Thiago Silva's red card in PSG's 1-1 draw with Valenciennes.
He appealed but was then banned from all official duties until 30 June, 2014.
The French champions were also given a suspended three-point deduction for the 2013-14 campaign.
A club statement said: "Leonardo has informed Paris St-Germain of his desire to resign from his position as sporting director at the end of the current transfer window.
"We thank him greatly for his important contributions towards the project of building a top European club in Paris."
Leonardo, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994, denied barging the official but was found guilty of pushing him. He had claimed that another official accidentally pushed him into Castro.
French champions PSG  last month, as Carlo Ancelotti left to take over at Real Madrid.


Controlling parties largely stood firm in council elections across the North East and Cumbria.

Labour retained majorities in Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead and North and South Tyneside.
In Cumbria, the Liberal Democrats came out on top in South Lakeland again while the Conservatives took control of Eden Valley for the first time.
On Teesside, control of Redcar and Cleveland Council will be decided by a recount on Monday.
Thirty seats are needed for a majority with Labour currently holding 27 and opposition parties a combined 29.
A recount will be held for the Skelton ward, which has three seats.
Elsewhere on Teesside, Labour held Darlington and Hartlepool, and became the biggest party in Stockton where there was previously no party in overall control.
Following a drawn-out count for the post of Middlesbrough's elected mayor, the council had still to declare the results of some wards at 21:45 BST.
It was due to announce the results on its website.
In Cumbria, Labour retained its position as the largest party in Copeland and also held Barrow and Carlisle.
There was no change in Allerdale where no party is in overall control. Labour has 28 of the 56 seats.


Council house sales in Scotland rose by 26% following the decision to scrap tenants' right-to-buy, according to official figures.

After years of decline, the number of public authority homes sold in the year to March rose from 1,209 to 1,526.
Ministers announced last year that right-to-buy, previously abolished for new tenants, was to end altogether.
Statisticians concluded that the announcement was "likely to be responsible" for the upturn in sales.
Over the same period, 1,140 new council homes were built in Scotland, the highest total in 25 years.
The number of affordable homes also rose by 17%, with 7,012 completed.
Housing minister Margaret Burgess said: "Over 4,000 new council houses have been delivered through the Scottish government's council house building programme since 2009.
"The supply of affordable housing continues to be a high priority for us and we are working with the entire sector to increase the supply of affordable homes and deliver vital support for construction and housebuilding companies throughout Scotland.
"Since 2011 we have delivered more than 21,000 new affordable homes, bringing us over two-thirds of the way towards our five-year target of 30,000 new homes."
Across Scotland the total number of new homes increased by 7% over the past year to 15,957 - with Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh and Glasgow accounting for more than a quarter.
The increase is the first since 2007/08 but the supply of new homes still remains well below pre-recession levels.
Ms Burgess said: "This is the first annual increase since before the recession, reflecting the growing confidence within the housing market, which the Scottish government has helped to stimulate through investment in initiatives designed to support the sector and help people into home ownership.
"Nonetheless, new housing supply remains well below pre-recession levels and I recognise that the housebuilding industry continues to face a number of challenges."
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) broadly welcomed the new statistics.
It said: "The recognition, however, that we still have a very long way to go to recover from the 42% decrease in completions since then, is sobering and reflects the challenge to all providers of new housing.
"The drop in housing association completions represents the time lag between the introduction of the new subsidy levels in 2013 and the time taken to kick-start many projects previously unviable because of lower grant levels.
"However, the increase in approvals for housing association projects - up from 1,620 in 2012/13 to 2,875 in 2013/14 - gives some hope that we are beginning to recover from a devastating slowdown in the construction of social housing, at a time when almost one million Scots can't afford adequate housing conditions."
Responding to the figures, trade body Homes for Scotland warned that sustained increases in production were now under threat after last month's announcement that the Scottish government's Help to Buy scheme had run out of money for this financial year.
Chief executive Philip Hogg said: "The figures show that the increase in supply was driven by the private sector and this clearly demonstrates the huge impact made by the very successful Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme, which has generated over 4,300 sales and reservations since launch less than a year ago.
"Whilst we applaud the Scottish government for introducing the scheme, funding for this year has already run out, leaving both buyers and builders very frustrated.
"The industry has effectively had the rug pulled from beneath it before any firm recovery has had the opportunity to take hold.
"And the impact is already apparent with significant drops in sales in the weeks since the budget expired in July.  We therefore fear a return to decline in the months ahead.


Double Olympic gold medal winner Mo Farah fired the starting pistol on a series of one-mile races in Westminster.

Thousands of athletes of all abilities took part in the new day-long event around St James' Park.
Paralympic athletes David Weir and Richard Whitehead also took part in the race which finished outside Buckingham Palace.
The Bupa Westminster Mile featured more than 30 races.
Farah said: "I am very happy to be part of this new event taking place on the most famous mile in the world, following the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in London.
"Such an event inclusive of all age groups and abilities, is a great legacy from the (Olympic) games and an inspiration to all."
Lisa Dobriskey - who in 2009 broke the four minute barrier to move second behind Kelly Holmes on the British all time ranking list for a 1500m race - also took part.
The event was organised by the London Marathon in partnership with Westminster City Council.
London Marathon race director Hugh Brasher said: "Britain has an amazing heritage in the mile, with Sir Roger Bannister being the first person to run under four minutes and more latterly the 1980s world record holders Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram.
"We believe that this exciting new event can carry on the great work that London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games did to inspire a generation."


Two Bronze Age gold rings which were found by a metal detectorist on farm land in Wrexham have been declared treasure by a coroner.

The lock-rings - worn either as earrings or in the hair by a person of wealth and status about 3,000 years ago - were discovered in Rossett.
The ornaments will now go on display in Wrexham County Borough Museum.
It is thought the prized rings were buried as gifts to the gods, perhaps at the end of their owners' lives.
In Wales, lock-rings have previously been found at Gaerwen, Anglesey, the Great Orme, Conwy and Newport in Pembrokeshire.
National Museum Wales said the largely coastal pattern hinted at possible trading and communication links between late Bronze Age communities living in Wales and Ireland.
They were declared to be treasure by the coroner for north east Wales.


Police hope football fans can help pinpoint the last movements of a man found murdered in Denbighshire.

Liam Hill, 44, was seen at the Bar Bow pub in Rhyl on the night it was screening the Everton-Manchester City 2-1 game on Wednesday 6 January.
Officers are hoping Wednesday's League Cup semi-final return match could jog the memories of fans and drinkers.
North Wales Police have also released CCTV images of Mr Hill whose body was discovered two days later at his flat.
Area commander, Supt Mark Pierce said Mr Hill sustained significant head, upper and lower body injuries consistent with a sustained and deliberate attack.
"This is a murder enquiry and we need the local community and public to come forward and help identify who is responsible," he said.
"Whilst there may be some within the community who did not witness any act of violence we still need help to piece together Mr Hill's movements and whereabouts in the two days leading up to the discovery of his body on the Friday 8 January.
"Any piece of information, no matter how insignificant, you may think it is, may help."
Mr Hill was also seen on Thursday 7 January at Asher Indian Restaurant close to the town's police station.
The CCTV images show he was wearing black denim jeans and a dark blue Columbia embossed jacket.
People with any information are asked to call police on 101 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111


A man who inflicted horrific brain injuries on his friend after they argued over a woman at a party has been jailed for nine years.

Raymond Bell, 29, repeatedly kicked and stamped on David Black's head during the attack in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, on 1 November last year.
Mr Black was left in a persistent vegetative state and requires round-the-clock nursing care.
Bell denied the attack but was convicted of attempted murder.
Jailing him at the High Court in Livingston, temporary judge John Morris told Bell: "The jury convicted you of attempted murder and as you'll appreciate that's a very serious offence.
"In this particular case you'll also appreciate the consequences of your actions were very grave indeed for the victim.
"Although the victim is still alive he'll continue to have no quality of life whatsoever. In those circumstances, you'll appreciate only a substantial sentence is appropriate in your case."
Bell was also told he would be supervised for three years following his release from prison.


Funding to improve school buildings and create apprenticeships has been announced to help revive the economy.

The destination of a stimulus package worth nearly £39m was agreed as part of the Welsh government's budget deal with the Liberal Democrats.
Finance Minister Jane Hutt said it would help "generate immediate benefits" for the economy.
But Plaid Cymru said it was "completely inadequate" and the Conservatives said it should go to council tax payers.
Labour and the Lib Dems announced a budget deal on Friday night, ending weeks of negotiations between ministers and opposition parties.
With 30 of the assembly's 60 seats, Labour needs the help of at least one other party to approve its spending plans.
The £38.9m windfall - to be spent over two years - also formed part of budget discussions.
The money is coming down from the Treasury as a result of a council tax freeze in England.
A programme to help businesses hire young recruits is among projects receiving funding. The government said an extra £4.9m would create 1,800 more apprenticeships.
Some £9m will go towards upgrading school buildings, with the same amount spent on delivering an additional 130 homes.
The government will spend £3.5 improving roads in places where it is planning to create enterprise zones. Five parts of Wales have been earmarked as zones where businesses will get help to grow.
First Minister Carwyn Jones has said that copying the UK government by using the money to keep down council tax would not significantly benefit the economy, adding that tax bills for band D homes were lower on average in Wales.
Labour has faced criticism from opponents, particularly Plaid Cymru, for not doing enough to respond to a deteriorating economic situation.
Ms Hutt pointed to other government spending commitments, intended to help growth.
She said she had considered proposals to spend the money from across the government.
She said: "This package builds on those actions to boost the economy and develop public services, generating immediate benefits for our economy while complementing our long term aims."
Conservative shadow finance minister Paul Davies said he was disappointed ministers were using additional resources to "top up" existing policies.
He said: "There is nothing new in this package other than a fresh attempt by Welsh Labour ministers to be seen to act on the economy, while spending money which would be better spent by taxpayers themselves."
Welsh Lib Dem leader Kirsty Williams said her party will also work with the government on how to spend any money allocated to Wales as a result of Tuesday's Autumn Statement by Chancellor George Osborne.
"The Welsh Liberal Democrats approach will be to continue to get our economy moving and improve the quality of life for people in Wales," she said.
Plaid Cymru economy spokesman Alun Ffred Jones said: "For over six months, Labour has sat back and done nothing - exposing Wales to the full force of this economic crisis.
"Now, they're trying desperately to create the impression that this small sum of money will do what's needed. Quite simply, it will not."


A woodland ravaged by a suspected arson attack has been redesigned to limit the effects of any future fires.

3 June 2016 Last updated at 15:36 BST
Trees more resistant to fire have been planted as part of a redesign of Swinley Forest near Ascot, Berkshire.
More than 100,000 trees were destroyed in the 2011 blaze which lasted for about a week.
Five years after the event, the Forestry Commission say they have changed their practice guidance on wild fire resistance.


US aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson has started what it calls "routine operations" in the South China Sea, with a fleet of supporting warships.

The deployment comes days after China's foreign ministry warned Washington against challenging Beijing's sovereignty in the region.
China claims several contested shoals, islets and reefs in the area.
It has been constructing artificial islands with airstrips in the South China Sea for a number of years.
The aircraft carrier was last in the South China Sea two years ago, for exercises with Malaysia's navy and air force and has made 16 voyages to the region in its 35 years of US navy service.
US Defence Secretary James Mattis said during a recent trip to Japan that the Trump administration saw no need for "dramatic military moves" at the stage.
The statement appeared to repudiate comments on the subject from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who told senators during his confirmation hearings that China should be prevented from reaching the disputed islands.
On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: "We urge the US not to take any actions that challenge China's sovereignty and security."


DreamWorks Animation's shares have surged almost 19% after reports that US cable giant Comcast is in talks to buy the Hollywood studio for $3bn (£2.1bn).

While there is no certainty of an offer, the talks are "serious", according to the Financial Times.
DreamWorks is behind a series of animated hit films including Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, and a deal would pit Comcast directly against Walt Disney.
Comcast did not return a request for comment.
Shares in DreamWorks were up 17.9% to $31.98 in early trade.
MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said Comcast was likely to be interested in DreamWorks' content library and intellectual property, which could help boost Comcast's theme parks.
Comcast is the owner of Universal Studios theme parks, which it acquired as part of its purchase of  NBCUniversal in 2011. That deal also included NBC and the Universal Pictures studio behind the Despicable Me and Minions movies.
"Theme parks must be viewed as a foundational element of the Comcast story, and no doubt is a big part of their interest in DreamWorks," Mr Moffett said.
The cable firm, which is the largest provider in the US, reported better-than-expected first quarter results on Wednesday, boosted by a big jump in pay-TV customers,
Net income rose 3.6% to $2.1bn, with total revenues up 5.3% to $18.8bn.


Lost false teeth were found taped to a tree by an amused runner who said it was the "most unusual thing" she had ever come across.

Lois Slocombe was out running with friends on Wednesday when they spotted the dentures sealed in a plastic bag on a tree in Skegness.
Posted alongside them was a note saying: "Have you lost your teeth?"
Ms Slocombe said the teeth had since been removed and she hoped they had been reunited with their owner.
The unusual find on Hoylake Drive prompted dozens of comments from people after Ms Slocombe posted a picture of the teeth on the Skegness Skegness Skegness Facebook page.


Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy says his side's third consecutive defeat of the Pro12 season was a learning curve for the younger players.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Tandy's team were beaten 20-9 by Edinburgh and remain without a win.
The Welsh region are without 20 players through either injury or World Cup duty.
"A lot of these guys are learning. It's a tough place to come when you look at the experience in the Edinburgh team," he said.
"It's something the boys are going to have to go through to understand what it takes to win away from home.
"Ultimately it wasn't good enough."
Ospreys were Wales' higher placed team in last season's Pro 12 but are yet to score a try this campaign.
Their next game sees them travel to Italy to face Treviso on Saturday, 17 October.


A teenager has admitted sex crimes against two children, including the rape of a four-year-old girl, in Moray.

Connor Ballantyne, 18, pleaded guilty to raping the child in Dufftown between December 2011 and October 2012.
He also admitted sexual offences involving a 10-year-old boy in Elgin between November and December 2012.
Ballantyne, of Elgin, admitted the offences at the High Court in Edinburgh. Judge Lord Stewart deferred sentence to a hearing on 9 July.


The chief inspector of schools in England has accused staff at the Department for Education of briefing against his organisation.

Sir Michael Wilshaw spoke after the Times said two right-leaning think tanks were to criticise Ofsted - and one would call for it to be scrapped.
He told the Sunday Times he was "spitting blood" and blamed Michael Gove's department for briefing on it.
A source close to Mr Gove said no-one close had encouraged the attacks.
The two think tanks both confirmed they were working on reports on Ofsted, but denied their work was being done with encouragement from the Department for Education.
The Times on Friday reported that Policy Exchange - which was set up by the education secretary - and Civitas were preparing to call for a radical overhaul of the Ofsted inspection regime, claiming it was trapped by 1960s "progressive" approaches to learning.
It said Civitas would say Mr Gove's wish for schools to develop their own approaches to teaching was being held back by child-first orthodoxies among inspectors, who were stifling innovation.
Policy Exchange, the paper said, would say the current inspection regime placed disproportionate pressure on teachers, while its judgments were too inconsistent.
Sir Michael told the Sunday Times he suspected the think tanks were being "informed by the Department for Education" - "possibly" Mr Gove's special advisers - and that he was "displeased, shocked and outraged".
By Sean CoughlanBBC News education correspondent
Opponents used to talk about "the Two Michaels", such was the assumed unity of purpose between Sir Michael Wilshaw and Michael Gove.
Teachers' unions routinely accused the Ofsted chief of lacking independence from the education secretary.
But this row, in the shadows of briefings and think tanks, suggests some of the fault lines.
Apart from Sir Michael's hackles being raised by the criticism of Ofsted, he is sending a signal about his intentions not to give any special treatment to academy chains or free school providers.
Sir Michael, a former academy head teacher, has said the chains which run groups of academies must be open to scrutiny by Ofsted, in the way that local authority services can be inspected.
This Ofsted boss has turned around tough schools. He's been there, done it - and in his case, not so much got the T-shirt as got the crisp suit and tie.
And no one would doubt his single-mindedness or willingness to challenge vested interests if he believes it will raise school standards.
"I am spitting blood over this and I want it to stop," he said.
Asked whether he wanted Mr Gove to call off the "attack dogs", the newspaper reported, he replied: "Absolutely."
He added: "It does nothing for [Michael Gove's] drive or our drive to raise standards in schools.
"I was never intimidated as a head teacher and I do not intend to be intimidated as a chief inspector."
Sir Michael, who inspects children's services as well as schools in England, was appointed by the coalition and he and Mr Gove have been thought of as allies.
Sir Michael has also drawn criticism from teachers' unions  in the past , and defended his organisation, saying it had done "more to raise standards in 21 years of existence than any other organisation".
He also said that in parts of the country no-one was effectively monitoring free schools and academies, the newspaper reported.
"If I see things going wrong in an academy chain I will say so," he said.
"If people tied to the free-school movement think I will not do that, they have another think coming."
"As long as we exist and have the job of raising standards, we will do the job fairly without fear or favour."
Sir Michael also expressed his concern at right-wing critics of the education system who, he said, wanted "children to be lectured for six hours a day in serried ranks".
Such rote learning, he said, was not enough to produce successful learners in the 21st Century.
A source close to Mr Gove told the BBC it definitely was not the case that the education secretary or anyone near to him had encouraged the attacks.
But shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt accused Mr Gove of "playing politics".
"Michael Gove should not seek to discredit Ofsted because Ofsted has given negative judgements to under-performing free schools," he said.
"Michael Wilshaw is right that there is a complete lack of local oversight of free schools to prevent the sort of failure Ofsted has identified."
Civitas director David Green said: "The idea that Michael Gove is in any way directing our criticism of Ofsted is well wide of the mark.
"We have had serious misgivings about Ofsted for many years, driven by the testimony of teachers and their concern for school standards.
"The fact is, whatever Sir Michael Wilshaw's intentions, we know schools that would like to innovate are scared to do so because of the misguided notions of many Ofsted inspectors. It would not be in Michael Gove's power to 'call off' our criticism whether he wanted to or not."
A spokeswoman for the Policy Exchange confirmed that it too was working on a report on Ofsted, but said: "We haven't been told to do that and if we were we wouldn't."


Meet the "RoboBee", a tiny robot which can fly, and perch on the ceiling like a real-life insect!

It was designed by scientists from Harvard Microbotics Laboratory and is about the same size as a ten pence coin.
The robots are special because they use something called 'electrostatic adhesion' to perch on the ceiling.
That's the same thing that happens when you rub a balloon on your jumper and it sticks to walls.
Perching on things allows the robots to save their energy on longer journeys.
Scientists think these robots could be used to help search and rescue teams get to hard to reach places after a natural disaster.
This got us thinking about some of the other incredible animal-inspired robots we've met on Newsround...
Scientists are turning to the animal world for inspiration for their latest robot designs.
We sent Ricky to check out some of those robots that have been made with a helping hand from the animal kingdom.
He discovered robots which have been inspired by ants, bulls, cheetahs and even fleas!
These tiny robots can carry up to 2,000 times their own body weight, that's the same amount of power as a human pulling along a blue whale!
The scientists from Stanford University who invented them, were inspired by the way that certain animals move.
They looked at the way a gecko's feet allow it to stick to surfaces, and how an ant's feet can help it to carry up to 100 times its own body weight.


The body of a man has been found following a house fire in Lincoln.

The blaze broke out at the property on Derwent Street, off Carholme Road, at about 03:30 GMT on Saturday.
Two people escaped from the house but the body of a man, who has not been named, was found after the fire was brought under control.
Lincolnshire Police said a joint investigation with the fire service had been launched into the cause of the blaze.


More than 30 people had to be evacuated from their homes in north London while firefighters tackled a warehouse blaze.

The clothing warehouse and an adjacent building in Pretoria Road, Tottenham, were gutted in the blaze that started at about 21:50 GMT on Friday night.
No one was injured and more that 100 emergency calls were made to report the fire, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.
About 120 firefighters were called to tackle the fire. Its cause is under investigation.
Bill Dunn from the fire service said: "Our crews faced a large, well developed fire and they worked incredibly hard in what were extremely challenging conditions to successfully prevent it from spreading to two neighbouring warehouses."
He said those people evacuated from nearby properties had since returned home and fire crews were damping down the site.


A spinning helicopter left gouge marks on a North Sea platform after total loss of control of the tail rotor due to internal damage, investigators have said.

The S92 incident happened on the West Franklin Platform last month.
An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) bulletin has revealed when panels were removed it was immediately clear a tail rotor piston was damaged.
The helicopter came to rest having rotated more than 180 degrees.
No-one was injured.
Sikorsky S92s began undergoing specific tail rotor safety checks worldwide on Tuesday due to the incident.
The bulletin said a bearing was in a "severely distressed condition", and initial findings were the failure had been "rapid".
Further disassembly founds "signs of severe overheating with extreme wear".
The report said there was a "consequential total loss of control of the tail rotor".
Initial investigations show the S92 helicopter spun 187 degrees when landing on the West Franklin platform.
The AAIB said the incident took place on 28 December and it was made aware of it on 5 January.
Its investigation is continuing.
A phased return to service of the fleet after the checks got under way on Tuesday, although bad weather was limiting flights on Wednesday.