Two Kenyan runners have been suspended after testing positive for doping at the World Championships in Beijing, the International Association of Athletics Federations has announced.

Joyce Zakary, 29, and Koki Manunga, 21, have accepted provisional bans after "targeted tests" by the governing body.
The pair, who competed in the 400m and 400m hurdles, were tested at their team hotel on 20 and 21 August.
Zakary set a national record of 50.71 seconds in the 400m heats on Monday.
However, Zakary did not start in her scheduled semi-final on Tuesday.
Manunga finished sixth in her heat of the 400m hurdles after recording a time of 58.96.
"Athletics Kenya (AK) has already met with the IAAF and the athletes involved, and has begun investigating the situation which led to these results," said the national governing body. "Follow-up action will be taken in Kenya."
Thirteen Kenyan athletes are currently serving suspensions for doping offences.
Earlier this month, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) announced it would begin an "urgent" investigation into allegations of widespread doping in athletics.
The Sunday Times published data from 5,000 athletes, which it says reveals an "extraordinary extent of cheating".
BBC athletics commentator Steve Cram said the suspensions of Manunga and Zakary are a "double-edged sword" for the sport.
"It is disappointing that people are still trying to cheat but it is great that we're catching them," said the 54-year-old former world, Commonwealth and European 1500m champion.
"It is not good for the Kenyan team because leading into these championships there were a lot of allegations in the situation around blood doping - and a lot of fingers pointed at Kenya."
The IAAF said that, according to rules, it is only able to make a public disclosure once the provisional suspension is in place, adding: "The IAAF will not discuss the details of the cases as they progress through the results management process."


Donors at a conference in Geneva have pledged nearly $1.1bn (Â£857m) to Yemen to help relieve the "world's largest humanitarian crisis", the UN says.

The UN had previously asked for $2.1bn this year, as aid groups warn the country is on the brink of famine.
Two years of war between a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's government and Houthi rebels have devastated the country.
Even before the conflict, Yemen was the poorest country in the Middle East.
Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the conference had been a remarkable success.
But he warned that the money had to translate into effective support for Yemenis.
"That is why we basically need to make sure that there is unhindered access for all humanitarian actors to reach all the people in need, everybody in need, and everywhere inside Yemen," he said.
The UN hopes to get the remaining $1bn it asked for soon, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva reports.
The sheer scale of the deprivation is staggering: of Yemen's 25.6m people, almost 19m are in urgent need of assistance, the UN says.
Almost 7m are "severely food insecure", meaning they need food aid immediately. Two million children are acutely malnourished.
"The situation is nothing short of catastrophic," says Robert Mardini from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who recently returned from Yemen.
"What everyone tells you is that life has become unbearable."
Despite the aid pledges, the challenges for aid agencies will remain immense, our correspondent says.
Save the Children would like funding specifically for education, pointing out that more than 2m children are unable to go to school because of the conflict.
The ICRC, which has been trying to support hospitals in Yemen, would like more attention to health care, which is said to be on the verge of total collapse.
Fewer than half Yemen's hospitals are functioning at all, and those that are face daily shortages of staff, medicines, and electricity.
But even with the extra funding in place, there the delivery of aid poses huge challenges.
The key port of Hudaydah, which aid agencies describe as the country's "lifeline", is now virtually closed due to a partial blockade by Saudi-led coalition forces and the destruction of cranes in air strikes.
This means that about only 30% of the supplies Yemen needs are getting into the country at all.
The ICRC has given up trying to get anything through Hudaydah and is sending supplies through the smaller southern port of Aden.
This means more restrictions and delays as there are "100 checkpoints" between Aden and Sanaa, Mr Mardini says.
The UN has repeatedly called on Yemen's warring parties to keep Hudaydah open, amid fears the Saudi-led coalition may be preparing an all-out assault on the port to try to deal the rebels a major blow.
"People in Hudaydah are already on the edge of famine," says Caroline Anning of Save the Children. "An attack would tip them over."


"Part of the beauty of me is that I'm very rich," Donald Trump once said, but according to Forbes magazine he's much less rich than a year ago.

The business magazine has reappraised the Republican White House hopeful's personal wealth and found it has haemorrhaged $800m since 2015.
Forbes now estimates the real estate magnate's net worth at $3.7bn (Â£2.7bn).
The publication said the decrease was mainly due to the "softening" of the New York property market.
Mr Trump, who once wrote a book called Midas Touch, has said the country needs a dealmaker-in-chief in the White House.
At Monday's presidential debate, he said: "I have a tremendous income â€¦ it's about time that this country had somebody running it that has an idea about money."
Forbes, which has been counting Mr Trump's wealth for more than three decades, cites the decline of the New York retail and office real estate market for the slump in his wealth.
Of the 28 buildings that Forbes assessed, 18 declined in value, including his flagship Trump Tower on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.
His property at 40 Wall Street and Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, also lost value, according to Forbes.
But seven Trump properties, including San Francisco's second-tallest building, increased in value.
A central tenet of Mr Trump's candidacy has been that his ability to fund his own White House run meant he was not beholden -  like his rivals - to major donors.
He has invested about $50m of his own money so far in his presidential bid, but has clawed some of that back by, for example, locating his offices in Trump Tower and billing his campaign for rent.
Forbes estimates his controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants during his campaign launch cost him about another $100m in lost deals with NBC Universal, Univision and Macy's, among others.
This is the great unknown. When Mr Trump filed his financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission this year his campaign said he was worth "in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS".
But Forbes says he is worth $3.7bn, Bloomberg puts it at $3bn and Fortune says it's $3.9bn.
One reason for the discrepancy is that Mr Trump counts the value of his brand - by his own estimate worth some $3.3bn.
Critics also accuse him of routinely overstating his income by conflating business revenue and income.
Mr Trump's refusal to disclose his tax return has fuelled speculation that his bank balance is not as huge as he claims, or that perhaps he's not paying his fair share of taxes.
Hillary Clinton suggested at Monday's debate that the return may reveal "something really important, even terrible, that he's trying to hide".
But even if he did release his tax returns tomorrow, they would be unlikely to give a true sense of his real wealth.
Tax returns report income and taxes paid on that income, but would not provide a full picture of the value of his assets or his debt.


Jim Murphy has confirmed he will stand for the Scottish Labour leadership, pledging to unite the party and unite Scotland after the independence referendum.

The party certainly needs uniting after former leader Johann Lamont resigned, saying senior Labour figures had "questioned" her role and that the UK leadership ran Scotland like a "branch office".
Whether or not Mr Murphy was one of those doing the questioning, there had been intense speculation since the referendum that he could run for the leadership.
As soon as Ms Lamont was gone, he was seen by many as the front-runner to replace her, with one figure saying "if Jim doesn't stand it will be a disaster".
The East Renfrewshire MP gained a high profile as he fought a tough referendum campaign, touring 100 towns in 100 days to deliver the "No" message.
The 47-year-old would bring experience of government and street campaigning to the job, but could a Westminster MP who is widely seen as a Blairite reach out to Labour's disaffected Scottish heartlands?
Born in 1967 in Glasgow and raised in a housing scheme on the city's south side, James Francis Murphy emigrated with his family to South Africa when he was a boy.
He returned to Scotland in the 1980s in order, he said later, to avoid having to serve in the South African army.
His involvement in student politics led to him becoming president of NUS Scotland in 1992 and NUS UK from 1994 to 1996.
The NUS dropped its opposition to the abolition of student grants during Mr Murphy's leadership, a move that was in line with Labour party policy but saw him condemned by student activists and some Labour MPs.
The NUS leadership is often a one-way ticket to a safe Labour seat, and Mr Murphy's graduation to Westminster was exceptionally fast.
He was elected MP for Eastwood (later renamed East Renfrewshire) in Labour's 1997 general election landslide, with a majority of more than 10,000.
A government loyalist, Mr Murphy became a party whip, then a junior minister, before finally gaining a cabinet role as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 until Labour fell from power in 2010.
Briefly moving to the shadow Scotland brief, he became shadow defence secretary in 2010, suggesting his star was still on the rise within the Westminster party.
However, he was reshuffled to the shadow international development brief in 2013, which could be seen as something of a demotion.
Mr Murphy's current profile in Scotland is in part down to the key role he played in the campaign ahead of September's referendum on independence.
But he was also known for helping survivors after a police helicopter crashed onto the Clutha pub in Glasgow late last year.
The MP was in the area at the time of the crash and said he ran into the pub to help before emergency services arrived.
Interviewed at the scene by the BBC, he said: "Like other people, you just do what you can to help."
With the referendum campaign under way, Mr Murphy embarked on his 100 Towns in 100 Days tour, on behalf of the Better Together campaign to keep the Union.
This was old-fashioned soapbox politics, or Irn Bru crate politics in the case of Mr Murphy.
The tour did not quite run for 100 consecutive days, as it was suspended for 72 hours in late August, after Mr Murphy was hit by eggs while campaigning in Kirkcaldy, Fife.
He blamed "co-ordinated abuse" from "Yes" voters for the decision to suspend the tour, though the Yes Scotland campaign said it condemned "all forms" of abusive behaviour.
While Mr Murphy's brand of street politics earned him much praise and gave him a high profile, it also marked him out as a divisive figure on the campaign trail.
Just days after the referendum, the Daily Mail ran a story claiming that he was being lined up to replace Johann Lamont as Scottish Labour leader.
The paper said Labour Party sources had told them Mr Murphy would stand for the top job while still an MP - like Alex Salmond did with the SNP in 2004 - and then switch to the Scottish Parliament at the 2016 election.
In the leadership race Mr Murphy, seen as being on the right of the party, so far faces competition from MSPs Sarah Boyack and Neil Findlay, who are both seen as being on the left.
He has announced that he intends to stand in the next Scottish Parliament election "if not before", but has not yet indicated whether he will contest his UK Parliament seat in the general election next year.
BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor said that although Mr Murphy would be the front-runner, the timing would be "exceptionally difficult".
He says: "If Jim Murphy is to stand and say 'my future lies at Holyrood', what exactly does he say to his constituents who are about to re-elect him, or possibly someone else, in May next year?"
After announcing his candidacy, Mr Murphy told the BBC: "I'm determined to bring the Labour Party together and end the period of self-harm that we've had in the Scottish Labour Party and get on and improve our country."
If Mr Murphy wins, it remains to be seen if an MP seen as a former Blairite, who backed controversial policies such as student fees and the Iraq War, will be able to reach out to the Scottish voters Labour has lost in recent years.


The SDLP leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell has accused the social development minister of breaching his code of office.

In the assembly, Mr McDonnell asked the speaker what he could do to address Nelson McCausland's attitude to what he called recent events in north Belfast around parading.
The speaker said the issue was outside his authority.
Dr McDonnell said the SDLP will be proposing a motion of censure.
He said they were taking the action over what the SDLP regard as Mr McCaulsand's failure to condemn breaches of lawful determinations relating to recent parades.
"The minister failed to condemn the sectarian actions of the Young Conway Volunteers outside St Patrick's Church on the Twelfth," said Mr McDonnell.
"He has since hidden behind a deeply disingenuous line on civil disobedience to mask his failure to condemn the illegal actions of lodges and bands who flagrantly breached the Parades Commission determinations on August 25.
"The minister is quick to publicly judge on breaches by the nationalist community - it is time he exercised balance in his work.
"In his failure to uphold law and order and promote good community relations, we believe he has breached points 1.4 and 1.5 of the Ministerial Pledge of Office.
"The speaker has informed the assembly that he has no authority to rule on such breaches - it is a matter for the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) - but we believe the minister's behaviour to have caused such serious damage to the reputation of this assembly that the SDLP will be bringing a motion of no confidence before the house.
"If our community is to move forward, it must do so in a spirit of partnership and reconciliation and the least we can expect is for those at the heart of government to uphold that spirit - Mr McCausland has manifestly failed to do so and action must be taken."


Writer and humourist Shovon Chowdhury gives his perspective on a recent advert featuring lesbians in India, arguing that we shouldn't be surprised, given India's ancient liberal tradition, which accepted all forms of sexuality and sexual expression.

"They did an ad about lesbians!" said a friend.
I heard "librarians", so initially I was confused. It seemed like a good thing. I often worry about reading habits in this country. But then he showed me.
It's an ad for a brand of women's clothing, and it shows two women in love.
I thought it was very well directed and acted and annoyingly difficult to make fun of. Was this a giant step?
It seemed like one, until I remembered Parveen Babi.
Parveen Babi was an actress who brightened our youth. She also made the country proud by appearing on the cover of Time magazine.
This whole lesbian thing is not as new-fangled as people are making it out to be.
In the motion picture Razia Sultan, produced in 1983, she and Hema Malini recline on a luxurious boat in gay abandon, Hema Malini half-asleep, Parveen Babi gazing at her intensely, singing a lullaby.
At one point, Hema Malini wakes up and they kiss. The kiss itself is hidden behind some feathers. This was the norm for any kind of kiss at that time. Feathers, flowers and dupattas were the preferred methods of keeping a lid on it.
What this TV commercial provides us is a more modern milieu, with less feathers. It makes the whole thing more relatable. "That girl could be my cousin," you think, "or my best friend's sister".
But cinema was there first. In general, cinema has been a strong force for social change in this country.
The post-independence filmmakers felt the warmth of freedom on their cheeks, and they were unashamed about putting positive social messages in their films. It was a part of nation building.
Until the 1990s, when we discovered a crucial fact about television. You don't have to leave the house. This has led to a decline in the importance of cinema.
More TV has meant more advertising, and this is where economics plays a role.
Most producers of TV serials are notoriously cheap, as a result of which people speak very slowly, and an arrow fired in one episode reaches its target several episodes later. TV writers are poorly paid. Advertising people are paid much more.
Consequently, the ads are often better than the programmes. Some of the copywriters do want to do good things, and sometimes, clients support them. So there have been quite a few positive social messages in Indian advertising.
We've seen three broad phases.
We're a very poor country, and some products have had to build their markets from the ground up.
Early on, in the 1970s and the 1980s, advertising taught us simple things, like the benefits of bathing, the virtues of brushing teeth, and why you should be nice to your wife. This was the phase during which I saw a woman in a bikini for the first time, in an ad for Liril soap. It marked me indelibly, and I can still remember her name.
As society evolved, so did the lessons.
In the next phase, women continued to play a big role. Advertising showed us that women can actually do things, such as buy clothes, own credit cards, and drive cool convertibles.
In phase three, which is now, socially conscious advertisers are addressing stuttering, cancer survivors and partition [the 1947 partition that made Pakistan a separate state]. And also lesbians.
But why all this fuss about lesbians, you may ask. Is it a plot against women? Is it forbidden in the Kama Sutra? Has Indian society traditionally frowned upon gay people? Not really.
For example, in the Laws of Manu, which are more than 2,000 years old, and lay down rules for everything, the prescribed punishment for homosexuality is taking a bath with your clothes on, after which you are purified.
In case you think this is extreme, consider that the prescribed punishment for forcible intercourse was the immediate removal of two fingers.
Kautilya's Artha Shastra, an economic and political treatise, takes a more economic view of the matter, and suggests a small fine. The Kama Sutra provides detailed instructions for homosexual acts, as it does for everything else.
The Sushruta Samhita was a medical treatise written around 600 BC by Sushruta, one of the greatest medical men in history. He figured out how to reconstruct noses, amongst other things. He defines types of homosexual behaviour, and states clearly that sexual orientation is something that is determined at birth. He drew a distinction between transgenders and homosexuals.
Transgenders themselves have not always had the easiest of times in India, but they have a place in our society. They have hosted TV shows. We have voted for them in elections, sometimes to show other leaders what we think of them.
The temples of Khajuraho, built around 1000 AD, feature a wide variety of people getting lucky, in every possible combination, including some that are pretty implausible.
So what went wrong, you may ask? When did we become such prudes?
The primary cause was a small, plumpish white woman. It would be unfair to put all the blame on Queen Victoria, though.
We also had a role to play.
Unable to see the benefits of British rule, we revolted in 1857. Once the revolt was suppressed, a new Indian Penal Code (IPC) was developed, which came into force in 1861.
It was designed to ensure that the natives would never raise their heads again.
The creators of this document also took into account the wishes of their sovereign.
Queen Victoria disapproved of sex, and the IPC of 1861 acknowledges this. It criminalises almost any kind of sexual activity, barring the missionary position.
Nearly 75 years after independence, it looks like the natives still cannot be trusted, which is why the IPC is still in force.
This means that this film that millions of people have liked on YouTube is more than just a film.
It's an act of civil disobedience. It depicts a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison, under Section 377.  I don't know what the punishment for directors is, but if the police do their job, as mandated by her majesty, we ought to be finding out soon.
Shovon Chowdhury is a Delhi-based amateur humourist and advertising professional. Murder with Bengali Characteristics is his second novel.


Sounds made by the Humber Bridge have been worked into a piece of music which visitors can listen to as they walk its 1.4-mile (2.2km) length

The Height of the Reeds is an installation created by Opera North for Hull's City of Culture celebrations.
Hull-born actors Maureen Lipman and Barrie Rutter read a commentary over the top along with narration by seven-year-old Hull schoolgirl Katie Smith.
Norwegians Arve Henriksen, Jan Bang and Eivind Aarset composed the music.
Sounds from the bridge were recorded by Hull-based sound artist Jez Riley French.
They include the sound of the railings being "played" and vibrations captured from within the structure.
He used microphones so sensitive they could pick up sounds the human ear usually cannot hear.
He climbed into the vaults of the suspension bridge to record the noise of the traffic overhead.
Jan Bang said the challenge was "how could we blend the sound of different instruments into that?".
He said he then built melodies on top, with chords and sounds.
"The music just felt like it was a natural blood running through your veins," he said.
Opera North's project manager Jo Nockels said listening to the music as you walk across the bridge was a magical experience.
"What's particularly amazing about it is that it makes you look at everything completely differently when you're listening as well," she said.
"You look at everything much more carefully - it's really great."
As people walk across the bridge wearing the special headsets, they will pass certain trigger points which will play music and narration.
The narration comes from schoolgirl Katie Smith, who was chosen from many who auditioned at Bude Park Primary School in Bransholme, Hull.
The Height of the Reeds opens on 1 April and runs until the end of the month. Tickets have already sold out.
You can see more of the BBC's exclusive access to the project on BBC Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on BBC One on Friday 31 March at 19:30 BST, or later on the iPlayer.


Ben Stokes hit an imposing century to put England in a dominant position on day two of the first Test against India in Rajkot.

The all-rounder was twice dropped by wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha on the way to 128 as England racked up 537.
Moeen Ali moved from 99 overnight to 117, while Stokes shared 99 with Jonny Bairstow, who made 46.
On a true surface, India reached 63-0 by the close, 474 behind, with Gautam Gambhir on 28 and Murali Vijay 25.
India's comfortable progress in the evening session highlighted the size of England's task if they are to take the 20 wickets required to end the hosts' run of 12 wins and two draws in their past 14 home Tests.
However, England's batting effort has them in control and wickets early on day three would put the world number ones under severe pressure.
"There is no shame in saying that at the end of the day, nothing happened. India played nicely, steadily. You can't blame anybody - the pitch is good," said former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott on BBC Test Match Special.
"Tomorrow might be different. Somebody might play down the wrong line, nick it and there's a clatter of wickets. There's nothing really there where you could say England bowled poorly - they haven't."
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With England 311-4 overnight, Stokes, who began on 19, attacked the second new ball in the company of Moeen, who got the single he required for a hundred in the first over.
After Moeen was bowled shouldering arms to Mohammed Shami, Stokes added 99 in 21.1 overs with Bairstow as England piled up 139 runs in the morning session.
Bairstow's loose edge behind was the signal for England to lose three wickets for 23 runs, but Stokes found an ally in Zafar Ansari.
After mixing leg-side power - two thirds of his runs came on the on side - with beautiful straight drives, Stokes brought up his fourth Test century, each scored on a different continent, by cutting Ravi Jadeja for four.
Eventually, the scoring dried up and the Durham all-rounder seemed to suffer with cramp, but by the time he was caught down the leg side off Umesh Yadav, England had a huge total.
"It was a curious innings - a superb innings," said former England spinner Vic Marks on TMS. "The first half of it was just majestic but then he had a series of wobbles.
"Towards the end he looked pretty exhausted and was moving gingerly."
India dropped three catches on the first day, none of which proved too costly, only for the hosts to be punished for reprieving Stokes.
The left-hander was put down on 60 and 61, in successive overs, with wicketkeeper Saha spilling edges off paceman Yadav.
India's ground fielding was also shabby and, with Stokes enjoying the further fortune of miscues landing safely and one catch being carried on to the boundary by Vijay, captain Virat Kohli struggled to hide his frustration.
Kohli's spinners also failed to make much of an impression, with leg-spinner Amit Mishra ineffective and Ravichandran Ashwin, the world's number one bowler, neutralised by the tourists.
The off-spinner took two wickets before lunch on day one but then went without success for 34 overs, while the 167 runs he conceded is his most expensive Test return since England last visited India in 2012.
"Kohli has had so much success as captain and player, but what would happen when things start to go wrong?" asked Boycott.
"He's a fiery character, even though he's tried to curb it a bit. It's easy to do that when things are going your way. If he has a couple of failures and India lose, I reckon the wheels could come off."
India were under the weight of scoreboard pressure when they finally got the chance to bat after tea.
They were aided by a surface that remains flat - there were fewer signs of uneven bounce than on day one and only minimal turn - and some slightly wayward England new-ball bowling.
With seamers Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes too wide or too straight, the watchful pair of Vijay and recalled 35-year-old Gambhir cashed in on anything loose.
Spinners Moeen, Ansari and Adil Rashid were tidy, while Stokes did not bowl after spending time off the field following his innings.
Still, England have the luxury of knowing that India are likely to have to bat well into the fourth day before they can feel like they are back in the match.
England's Moeen Ali, who was 99 not out overnight, told TMS: "I felt it was going to be dangerous with the new ball but I backed myself to get over the line and get that hundred.
"The seamers will have a role to play with reverse swing but the spinners will be the most dangerous on that wicket.
"The last 45 minutes gave us confidence as spinners. The cracks are a little bit bigger and there is a bit more rough for the spinners. The good thing is not every ball is spinning so that keeps us more in the game."
England will wear poppies on their shirts on day three to mark Armistice Day.
The poppies will be on the right collar of the players' shirts and will be worn during the first session of the day's play.
Shortly before the start of play on Friday, at 03:54 GMT, the England players and management will observe a minute's silence.
"It's important for the national team to pay their respects," said England captain Alastair Cook.
The England women's team, playing in a four-match one-day international series against Sri Lanka, will also observe a minute's silence during their scheduled practice in Colombo on Friday.


China has held a lavish parade in Beijing to mark the defeat of Japan in World War Two, showcasing its military might on an unprecedented scale.

President Xi Jinping in his opening speech paid tribute to "the Chinese people who unwaveringly fought hard and defeated aggression" from Japan.
He also said the People's Liberation Army would be reduced by 300,000 personnel, but gave no timeframe.
China's growing military power is being keenly watched amid regional tensions.
China has several territorial disputes with neighbours in the South China Sea, as well as with Japan in the East China Sea.
Ahead of the parade, the US said five Chinese ships had been spotted in the Bering Sea off Alaska for the first time.
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the world's largest military, with 2.3 million members. China also has the second biggest defence budget after the US.
More than 30 foreign government officials and heads of state including Russia's President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon attended the event.
But many Western leaders and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have stayed away.
Some 12,000 troops and 200 aircraft, as well as tanks and missiles, were on display in Tiananmen Square, including the anti-ship "carrier killer" missile Dongfeng-21D.
Most of the war machinery on display was being shown to the general public for the first time, according to state media.
Mr Xi, also the commander of the armed forces, was centre stage at the parade's proceedings.
Despite the repeated assurances from China that the message of today was one of peace, the crowd seemed to see a different symbolism in the V-shaped lines of jets and bombers.
"We have the ability to announce to the world that we are a big country, we are a great country," one onlooker told me. "It is the proper time to show to the world that we are strong now," a young woman agreed.
China believes that its suffering and sacrifice during World War Two have been largely forgotten.
But 70 years on there are questions over whether the Communist Party is basking in reflected glory - after all it was the Nationalists who did most of the fighting and dying - and whether a contribution to world peace is really best marked by such an extraordinary display of military might.
Mr Xi made the troop reduction announcement in a speech where he reassured the global community that "China will remain committed to peaceful development".
"No matter how strong it becomes, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any nation," he said.
BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie, who was at the parade, says the army cuts will not mean a weaker China.
It is also upgrading its naval and air forces, she says, so does not need as many boots on the ground to project its power around the world.
Alexander Neill from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore, says the move shows China's "determination to have a modern fighting force".
In the build-up to the event, state media have published commentaries reinforcing Chinese patriotism and views on historical events.
Entertainment shows were also suspended on television to make way for the coverage.
Beijing's normally smoggy skies were unusually blue, after factories were closed, barbecues banned and cars stopped from travelling to reduce pollution.
But concerns about China's growing military assertiveness and the tone of the parade meant many Western and Asian leaders stayed away from the event.
"During a period of strained relations between China and Japan, as well as increasing military tension in the Asia-Pacific region, some leaders are reluctant to be associated with what they may view as a nationalistic, anti-Japanese mass rally," says Mr Neill.
Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China in 1937 and, according to Beijing, eight years of fighting claimed 14 million Chinese lives.
China also claims that it is the "forgotten ally" and that its role in defeating Japan has been underplayed in the post-war narrative.
Nationalist forces led the fight against Japan in China. They were defeated by Mao Zedong's Communists who proclaimed a people's republic in 1949.


Britain's 2010 European steeplechase bronze medallist Hatti Archer is in line to be upgraded again after Russian silver medallist Lyubov Kharlamova was found guilty of doping.

Archer, who competed as Hatti Dean, was promoted to bronze in 2015 after Marta Dominguez was found guilty of doping.
The 35-year-old Briton also competed at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.
Kharlamova was one of six Russians punished for drugs offences by the country's anti-doping agency.
Five other Russian athletes and a weightlifter were also given suspensions by anti-doping department, Rusada.
Irina Sergeyeva, who won a silver medal at the 2009 European Cross-Country Championships, is suspended for two years and six months backdated from May 2015.
Steeplechaser Ekaterina Doseykina, who took part in the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, is banned for four years starting from December 2016.
Race walker Zilya Garipova has been given a one-year ban backdated to October 2016 and hurdler Ivan Khudyakov has also been suspended for four years from April 2017.
Weightlifter Anastasiya Vorobyova has also been punished with an eight-year ban, backdated to 25 July.
Meanwhile, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Friday that Russian triple-jumper Anna Pyatykh has been banned for four years and has had her result from the world championships in 2007 scrapped for 'violating rules on prohibited substances'.
The 36-year-old originally came fourth in the triple jump final in Japan, but bronze medal athlete Hrysopiyi Devetzi was disqualified for violating anti-doping rules.
Pyatykh's ban is backdated to 15 December 2016, when she was provisionally suspended.
Her results from competitions between July 2013 and December last year have also been wiped.


Trainer Tom Hogan watches his racehorses as they are put through their paces on the gallops.

He nods with approval as they thunder past, their coats glistening in the morning sunshine.
But back in the yard, it is a different story: row upon row of stables stand empty.
In a few years, he has gone from having 80 horses to just 25 in full-time training.
Like many trainers, he has had to bear the brunt of a problem that has swept through the Irish Republic's racing industry.
Once only affordable to the wealthy few, owning a racehorse suddenly became possible for a far greater number during Ireland's boom times.
To keep up with this new demand, thoroughbreds - a breed of horse used specifically for racing - were being produced at an unprecedented rate: between 2000 and 2007, the number of registered foals increased from 8,793 to 12,633.
But these horses are expensive, costing approximately 17,000 euros (Â£15,000) a year to keep.
And when Ireland plunged into one of the deepest recessions to hit the eurozone, they became a luxury very few could afford.
Mr Hogan, who is based in Nenagh, County Tipperary, explains: "Quite a lot of those horses would have been owned by syndicates - basically blocklayers, carpenters, electricians - people involved in the big property boom. And they just disappeared overnight."
Suddenly he was left with horses, but with no money coming in from their owners to pay for them.
It has been a very difficult time, he says. Some of these horses have had to be exported, others retrained, and a few he has kept on himself. Some, though, have had to be put down.
Growth industry
The loss of healthy thoroughbreds has become a harsh reality of this economic crisis.
And abattoirs, where horses are slaughtered for their meat for human consumption, have become a growth industry.
In 2008, there was just one in the Republic of Ireland, but today there are five.
Last year, 9,790 horses were killed in them. Of these, the BBC has learnt that 4,618 were thoroughbreds.
But this is not the whole picture. Figures are not available for the number of horses that have ended up in Ireland's 40 registered knacker's yards.
Shane O'Dwyer, from the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (ITBA), acknowledges that there was over-breeding at the height of the Celtic Tiger boom but he believes for many owners, putting horses down was the responsible thing to do.
"We said when horses came to the end of their time or when there was no use to them, there should be euthanasia, voluntary euthanasiaâ€¦ rather than leaving the horse out in the field to be a welfare case."
But racehorses are the tip of a much larger equine welfare problem in Ireland.
At the ISPCA's animal rescue centre in Keenagh, County Longford, they are struggling to cope with the numbers of horses they have had to take in.
"We're seeing every shape and size, from little ponies right up to cobs and draught horses," says Conor Dowling, the ISPCA's chief inspector.
"So far this year, our inspectors have taken in nearly as many equines as we did in the entire year of 2010."
He says that all sections of the equine community were irresponsible.
"We have a serious problem here and we need to find a solution. We all appreciate money is tight in every area of the country, but this situation involves living creatures and we can't allow this to go on."
The ISPCA has suggested a mass cull may be needed to drive Irish horse numbers back down to a manageable size.
It has also called for better regulation across the industry.
But Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, says regulating breeding is not the answer for thoroughbreds.
He says: "If somebody wants to breed a horse, it's very, very difficult to stop them. Everybody looked at the idea of regulation and the reality is the market is regulating it now but it's regulating it in a very, very severe and harsh manner. "
Many, like Tom Hogan, think that more money needs to be pumped into racing through raising betting tax.
Mr Kavanagh agrees: "All other racing jurisdictions around the world are funded by a direct link with betting.
"We would be very supportive of that. We've been lobbying for some time, but the devil is in the detail as to how it's actually worked out but it's definitely a positive development."
For now, though, it seems that economics will continue to dictate the fate of Ireland's racehorses.
The question is whether anything will be put in place to prevent such over-breeding from happening again.


Holidays for pupils in term-time should only be granted in circumstances that are "rare, unavoidable, significant and short", says a head teachers' union.

But more clarification was needed over the current rules, which allow such breaks in England under "exceptional circumstances", the NAHT added.
The union has published its detailed guidance on term-time holiday requests.
The Department for Education said there were "no plans at all to change the policy".
Since September 2013, local authorities have been obliged to fine families who take children out of school for unauthorised absences.
Many parents complain the rules are confusing and inflexible, and encourage travel firms to raise prices during school holidays.
On Friday the Local Government Association urged the new rules to be scrapped, saying these did not recognise the complexities of family life.
The NAHT said most of its members would welcome more detailed guidance.
"There is some debate about what 'exceptional circumstances' mean when deciding whether to grant absence for students during term time," the union's guidance said.
"We believe it is valuable to have some guiding principles to back schools in their decisions and provide consistency."
The NAHT stressed the guidance had no statutory authority and was not imposed on schools.  However, it is in line with government policy in emphasising that term-time is for education.
"Children and families have 175 days off school to spend time together, including weekends and school holidays," the union said.
"The default school policy should be that absences will not be granted during term-time and will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances."
The guidance said bereavements, recovering from family crises and important religious observances should usually be considered - but breaks should be only for the ceremony and travel, "not extended leave".
"This is intended for one-off situations, not for regular or recurring events," it added.
The NAHT's general secretary, Russell Hobby, said: "Head teachers already have discretion over the granting of absence during term time.
"They rightly prioritise learning over holidays. Head teachers are able to - and do - authorise absence in exceptional circumstances.
"The fundamental principles for defining 'exceptional' are where requests are rare, significant, unavoidable and short."
The guidance was designed to "help with making individual decisions about granting authorised absence in term-time", he added.
A Department for Education spokesman said the guidance clearly supported the current policy, and term-time holidays "should only be granted in exceptional circumstances".
"There are no plans at all to change the policy and no U-turn.
"Head teachers have always been able to decide what exceptional circumstances are, but if they find that the NAHT's guidance assists them in making this judgement then we welcome that."


Barack Obama has taken a tour of the Bob Marley museum in Jamaica after becoming the first US president to visit the country since 1982.

To the strains of the late reggae star's One Love, Mr Obama was shown around the sprawling house in Kingston that was Mr Marley's final home.
The US president said he was a fan of the musician, telling his museum guide: "I still have all the albums."
Mr Obama is in Jamaica to meet the 15-member Caribbean Community bloc.
But his first stop after landing in Kingston was the old Victorian-style house in central Kingston that Mr Marley called home between 1975 and his death in 1981.
Mr Obama spent 20 minutes in the museum, which now houses artefacts from the singer's life including gold records and his Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.
His arrival aboard Air Force One on Wednesday made him the first sitting US president to set foot in the country since Ronald Reagan visited 33 years ago.
He was greeted by Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller and the US Ambassador to Jamaica, Luis Moreno.
Mr Obama will meet representatives of the 15 countries in the Caribbean Community group on the three-day trip to Jamaica and Panama, and is expected to discuss energy and security issues.


A rail workers' union has called for "urgent intervention" by the transport secretary to help resolve the Southern Rail dispute.

The RMT has written to Chris Grayling urging him to convene talks with all sides in the 16-month-long row over staffing and driver-only trains.
Union leaders met Southern bosses this week, but the talks "stalled".
The RMT had "frank talks" with Mr Grayling in July but said all parties must get "everything on the table".
Southern's parent firm, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) had said the RMT did not bring any new proposals to Monday's meeting and were unwilling to explore offers the company has made to settle the dispute.
In a message, human resources director Andy Bindon wrote: "No agreements could be reached and no further talks are currently planned with the RMT."
But RMT leader Mick Cash accused the firm of "deliberately misrepresenting" the union's position, adding: "It was the company that knocked back our proposals flat and it is the company that are now selling the message that as far as they are concerned the talks process is over.
"It is crystal clear now that the only way forward is to get all parties around the table - the unions, the company and the Department for Transport as the contract-holders - with everything on that table and with a clear will on all sides to resolve the dispute.
"Chris Grayling is in a position where he can broker those round-table talks and he needs to do so as a matter of urgency."
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: "We are doing everything we can to resolve the situation on Southern and get passengers the high quality rail services that they deserve.
"We held constructive meetings with both Aslef and the RMT unions, which paved the way for GTR and the unions to restart their negotiations.
"We hope their discussions can bring an end to this dispute."


A former counter-terrorism detective offered information about the phone hacking inquiry to the News of the World for money, a court has heard.

Det Chief Insp April Casburn is accused over Operation Varec, which considered whether Scotland Yard's inquiry into phone hacking should be reopened.
Prosecutor Mark Bryant-Heron said she "sought to undermine a highly sensitive and high-profile investigation".
Ms Casburn denies one charge of misconduct in public office.
The charge relates to 11 September 2010 when Ms Casburn, 53, from Hatfield Peverel, Essex,  was working in counter-terrorism, managing the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit.
Southwark Crown Court heard one of her team had been asked to carry out financial investigations as part of the Scotland Yard inquiry into phone hacking.
It is alleged Ms Casburn rang the NoW's news desk at 07.51 BST to offer information in exchange for payment.
She gave the names of two of the people under investigation during the conversation, it is said.
Mr Bryant-Heron said: "The prosecution says she sought to undermine a highly sensitive and high-profile investigation at the point of its launch.
"The prosecution says, and it's a matter for you 12, that the act of telephoning the News of the World to offer to sell information and the provision of some information during that call was misconduct, it was misconduct in public office.
"It was a gross breach of the trust that the public places in a police officer not to disclose information on a current investigation in an unauthorised way, or to offer to do so in the future for payment."
The newspaper did not publish anything and no payment changed hands, the court heard.
Mr Bryant-Heron said Ms Casburn admits making the phonecall but denies asking for money, and says she had a reasonable excuse.
She says she was concerned that resources that were supposed to be used to combat terrorism were being allocated to the phone hacking investigation, and that much of the information was already public knowledge.
The court heard the call was taken by NoW journalist Tim Wood - who said she refused to give her name, but introduced herself as a senior police officer.
Mr Wood told the jury: "The one thing that stands out in my mind is the fact that she kept going on about Lord Prescott.
"Her saying that he was pressing for them to put charges on the News of the World, and she was saying that she felt it was wrong that he was interfering in the scandal, so to speak, and she resented that."
He added: "She was almost justifying her call by saying that it was this interference by Prescott that had upset her."
The detective told him six people were under investigation including former NoW editor Andy Coulson and reporter Sean Hoare, Mr Wood said.
The court then heard from Det Supt Christos Kalamatianos who led the 60-strong National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit.
He said his relationship with Ms Casburn was "cordial", but she had accused him of failing to support her and the unit on one or two occasions.
She broke down in tears in the dock as her former colleague gave evidence and was comforted by a member of her legal team.
When questioned about his working relationship with the defendant, Mr Kalamatianos told the court:  "I believe I was managing her sensitively, I don't know that I was managing her well."
Meanwhile, Detective Chief Superintendent Dean Haydon, who led Operation Varec in September 2010, told jurors  that one financial investigator on Operation Varec admitted he had been at a dinner party with a journalist who worked for the Sun, and had discussed phone hacking.
That investigator was subsequently removed from the team.
The trial was adjourned until Tuesday.


Cambridge United have re-signed midfielder Luke Berry from Barnsley for an undisclosed fee.

The 22-year-old, who has agreed a four-year contract, played 128 times for the U's after coming through their youth system, and helped them win promotion back to the Football League in 2014.
He left to join the Tykes last July, and made 31 League One appearances.
"I cannot express enough how important his signing is to us," said Cambridge boss Richard Money.
"Luke's playing ability will obviously enhance our chances of success, but more than that, his effect on the group and the support base will be enormous."
Berry is Cambridge's sixth acquisition of the summer, following the arrivals of Barry Corr, Keith Keane, Elliot Omozusi, Mark Roberts and Leon Legge.
"I only heard about three weeks ago that the chance to come back was a possibility and since then it has been a really quick process," he said.
"It did take some thinking, but at the end of the day I wanted to come back here and show everyone what I am really about.
"I have seen the other signings being announced and certainly feel there is something good happening here. The club I think will really push on this season and I'm looking forward to being a part of that."


China's central bank has cut interest rates for the second time this year, amid a continuing economic slowdown.

It lowered its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 5.1%, saying the move was aimed at boosting development.
Last year's growth rate - 7.4% down from 7.7% in 2013 - was the weakest in 24 years.
The cut is the third in six months and will take effect from Monday.  It follows other measures designed to spur growth in China, including tax cuts.
China's slowdown is expected to continue for some years. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted China's growth would stabilise at about 6% by 2017.
Also last week, weaker than expected official figures on both trade and inflation were released. The rate cut suggests data to be published this week, on industrial output and investment, may also disappoint.
The country's economic problems also include the property market, which is cooling after a damaging period that saw a speculative bubble emerge.
The central bank said in a statement: "China's economy is still facing relatively big downward pressure.
"At the same time, the overall level of domestic prices remains low, and real interest rates [interest rates relative to inflation] are still higher than the historical average."
Recent rate cuts have not yet fully filtered through to market rates.
Li Qilin, an economist at Minsheng Securities, said: "The effectiveness of the rate cut won't be very big.
"The PBOC has already cut benchmark interest rate by a total of 75 basis points, but borrowing costs have only fallen marginally."
One economist suggested Chinese interest rates have far further to fall.
Li Huiyong, an economist at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, said: "This won't be the last cut. "The rate could be lowered to 2% at least, and we expect the economy to gradually stabilise in the coming two quarters."


Scientists at Dundee University were called in to investigate a decapitation which happened 9,000 years ago.

Archaeologists turned to the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification in Dundee after excavating the skull in eastern Brazil.
The decapitation is the oldest documented in South America by 6,000 years, and raised several questions.
Scientists in Dundee worked out how the decapitation was done with the limited tools available at the time.
Andre Strauss from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology was excavating the Lapa do Santo site in eastern Brazil when he unearthed a head buried under a rock.
The full skeleton was nowhere to be found, save the disembodied skull and the hands, which were placed over the face in a deliberate pose.
The remains were dated to 9,000 years ago, around 6,000 years before the next oldest known decapitation on the continent, in Peru.
Archaeologists were puzzled to how hunter-gatherers living in a simple society with few tools managed to carry out the gruesome act.
Mr Strauss turned to Professor Sue Black at Dundee University for help.
The team at CAHID were able to compare the case to a modern-day decapitation, and worked out that the skull had essentially been pulled off, with only partial cutting involved.
Prof Black said: "Examining the skull, we saw fractures consistent with hyper extension of the head and rotation.
"There would also have been cutting but the fracturing of the neck bones indicated a violence to the region."
Archaeologists cannot explain why the Lapa de Santo man was decapitated, having ruled out the possibility of his head being a trophy of some kind.
Examination of his bones suggest he was a local rather than an outsider or rival, leading to speculation that his death was part of some form of symbolic ritual.


Jonathan Ive - the British designer responsible for Apple's iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad - has been knighted at Buckingham Palace.

The 45-year-old said the investiture in front of the Princess Royal was "really thrilling and particularly humbling".
Now based in the US, Apple's senior vice-president of industrial design flew in to the UK with his wife and eight-year-old twin sons for the event.
He was born in Chingford, east London, and studied at Newcastle Polytechnic.
Sir Jonathan had a brief chat with Princess Anne and later revealed they had talked about how often he comes back to the UK while she spoke of her iPad.
He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the New Year Honours list for services to design and enterprise.
After graduating from Newcastle Polytechnic - now Northumbria University - Sir Jonathan began working as a commercial designer before founding design agency Tangerine with three friends.
One of the agency's clients, Apple, was so impressed with his work it took him on as a full-time employee in 1992.
Sir Jonathan, who now lives in San Francisco, has led the Apple design team since 1996.
He was described by Steve Jobs as his "spiritual partner", according to the late Apple co-founder's biographer Walter Isaacson.
His eye for design, combined with Mr Jobs' attention to detail, has helped to turn Apple into one of the biggest technology companies in the world.
Over the past 15 years, the company has created a series of products which are all considered to be design classics.
They include the iMac G3 - the "Bondi blue" computer launched in 1998 - and the iPod, released in 2001, which helped to revolutionise the music industry.
Earlier, in a rare interview, Sir Jonathan
          told the Daily Telegraph
 he was "the product of a very British design education".
He said that, "even in high school, I was keenly aware of this remarkable tradition that the UK had of designing and making".
"It's important to remember that Britain was the first country to industrialize, so I think there's a strong argument to say this is where my profession was founded."
"We try to develop products that seem somehow inevitable, that leave you with the sense that that's the only possible solution that makes sense," Sir Jonathan told the Telegraph.
Sir Jonathan said Apple products were tools "and we don't want design to get in the way".
He was made a Commander of Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2005.
Other figures honoured by Princess Anne on Wednesday included Sir Peter Bazalgette, 59, of Endemol - the TV company behind Big Brother - who was knighted for services to broadcasting.


More than 1,400 scientists are in Belfast this week for a major farming conference worth almost £3m to the local economy.

The delegates from 66 countries are attending four days of events at the Waterfront Hall.
The conference is looking at advances in livestock science.
There will also be farm visits and an opportunity to showcase Northern Ireland food.
The European Federation of Animal Science conference is Europe's largest such event.
There will be 1,000 presentations on beef and dairy cattle, sheep, pigs, fisheries and a range of other livestock.
A big focus is on feed efficiency - finding ways to maximise output while cutting costs.
Of particular interest to Northern Ireland's farmers will be a session on grazing.
Much of our livestock is raised on grass.
Delegates will be shown the latest technologies.
They will also be introduced to the attractions of Belfast.
One of the events sees experts giving sessions in the bars around the city.
It has been nicknamed "Prof in a Pub".
Gerry Lennon, chief executive of Visit Belfast said:
"Many hotels are completely full during this conference, and with social events taking place in many pubs and restaurants across the city, we are certain that the visiting delegates will have a fantastic time."


Work on building eight Type 26 frigates at shipyards in Glasgow will start next summer, the defence secretary has said.

Michael Fallon said the date for cutting the first steel would safeguard hundreds of skilled jobs until 2035.
He also announced that a contract for two new offshore patrol vessels would be signed shortly, securing jobs before the Type 26 frigate work is under way.
Unions welcomed the news but said the UK government had not delivered on all promises made to the Clyde shipyards.
Mr Fallon also announced a £100m contract with the consortium MBDA to deliver the Sea Ceptor missile defence system for the ships.
The Type 26 frigate is principally designed for anti-submarine warfare and will partially replace the current Type 23 frigate.
Each ship will carry a crew of 118, have a top speed of more than 26 knots and a range of 7,000 nautical miles. The first vessel is due to enter service in the early 2020s.
An £859m initial development deal to build the combat ships, at BAE's Govan and Scotstoun yards on the River Clyde in Glasgow, was signed in February 2015.
But the project has been scaled back from an initial 13 ships to eight and hit by repeated delays, with concerns that jobs could be lost as a result.
Mr Fallon, who is visiting the BAE yard at Govan, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that the announcement was a "huge moment for the Clyde".
"We are confirming we are going ahead with the steel cut next summer, quite a bit earlier than some suggested, of the first of the eight Type 26s that we pledged to in the strategic defence review last year," he said.
"This is work for the next 20 years building these eight Type 26 anti-submarine frigates."
The defence secretary added: "We also hope to conclude, before Christmas by the way, the negotiations on the two offshore patrol vessels that were also promised in the strategic defence and security review last year, which will help fill in the gap before the work on the Type 26 starts."
The promise of new Royal Navy orders to secure the Clyde shipbuilding industry was made before the Scottish independence referendum in 2014.
The number of planned new frigates was later scaled back from 13 to eight in the Strategic Defence Review, with the MoD now planning to build five smaller Type 31 warships in addition to the Type 26 fleet.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the announcement but pointed out that it was not the same deal that was promised before the referendum.
"The promise hasn't been kept in full, so the number has reduced and there has been a real delay in getting this work started," she said.
Ms Sturgeon described the delay as "regrettable" and "disappointing" and said it had been a source of anxiety for the workforce at both yards.
She added: "Nevertheless, it's a welcome announcement and I really hope now that it doesn't slip any further and that the commitment that has been made today is delivered in full."
Gary Smith of the GMB union said it was "fantastic news" for the upper Clyde shipyards - though he said the UK government had not delivered on all its promises.
He told Good Morning Scotland: "We were told there was going to be a 'frigate factory' built on the Clyde that would allow us to deliver ships more efficiently.
"It would perhaps have given us the facility to build ships that could be exported.
"And Michael Fallon in truth was dragged kicking and screaming to this announcement today after we exposed the fact that his government did plan to move some of the work originally planned for the Clyde, down south.
"But cutting through it all, great news for the workforce and great news for the economy in greater Glasgow as well."
The Unite union said the announcement safeguarded shipbuilding at the two Clyde yards "for the next generation".
The union's regional coordinating officer, Kenny Jordan, said: "Our members have been living with uncertainty for too long and this is a testament to the lobbying and campaigning that they have done over the last two years.
"We have a workforce at Govan and Scotstoun with world-class skills who are eager to get on with the job - and eager to see more work coming in the future.
"This announcement secures the future of shipbuilding on the upper Clyde, supports skilled jobs in manufacturing and will provide opportunities for apprentices and trainees, making sure that we safeguard skills for the next generation."
The defence secretary said design work on the Type 31s was ongoing and he was unable to promise the work would come to the Clyde yards.
But he told the BBC that BAE systems would be in "pole position" to win the orders.
Work on the frigates was originally due to start this year. Unions raised concerns in April that up to 800 jobs could be lost at the Clyde shipyards if there was any backsliding on commitments.
The yards currently employ more than 2,500 people, though hundreds of jobs have been lost over the past two years as BAE has reduced shipbuilding capacity.
Scottish Economy Secretary Keith Brown also welcomed the news as a "tribute to the skilled and dedicated workforces at Govan and Scotstoun", but criticised the "continuing wait" for the MOD's basing review in Scotland to be completed.
The Scottish government has written to Mr Fallon asking for a meeting to discuss plans for base cuts in Scotland, with sites like Fort George and Kinloss facing an uncertain future.
25 March 2010: BAE signs £127m contract to design Type 26 frigates for Royal Navy
11 October 2010: Sixth and last of the Royal Navy's new Type 45 Destroyers launched on the River Clyde
6 November 2013: Scottish Secretary warns that plans to build new Royal Navy vessels in Glasgow could be endangered by a Yes vote in independence referendum
1 December 2014: Defence Secretary Michael Fallon confirms the UK's new warships will be built on the Clyde
20 February 2015: Ministry of Defence signs £859m initial development deal on Type 26 Frigate. Manufacturing phase is expected to begin in 2016.
23 November 2015: Prime Minister David Cameron announces in defence review that eight new Type 26 Global Combat Ships will be built on the Clyde, scaling back on initial plans for 13 warships
23 April 2016: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon calls for "cast iron assurances" jobs will not be lost at Clyde shipyards because of contract delays
27 June 2016: No deal to build new generation of Royal Navy warships will be signed until it offers "value for money", Mr Fallon says
19 October 2016: UK government refuses to say when the next generation of Royal Navy warships will be built
4 November 2016: Defence secretary confirms first steel on the new frigates will be cut in the summer of 2017 with contracts for two offshore patrol vessels to be signed shortly.


The new Parliament swings into action next week with votes on the Queens Speech in the Commons and Lords.

And behind the scenes the whole place is seething with intrigue and jockeying for position.
The first point to make is that almost no-one imagined the election two weeks ago would lead to the current hung Parliament, so all kinds of factions and individuals are still coming to terms with the new scenario and are still working out their objectives and strategies.
Already the government has made its opening procedural gambit of declaring a two-year parliamentary session. I doubt this move is anything to do with avoiding a vote on a Queen's Speech in 2018, as some have speculated.
To be sure it would be bad news for any government to be defeated on their legislative programme, but Labour can table a no-confidence motion at any time, so removing one possible occasion for such a vote seems an unlikely ploy.
What the two-year session does do is ensure there is plenty of time available to frustrate delaying tactics against key legislation, including Brexit legislation.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties are busy putting down amendments to the Queen's Speech, on issues ranging from UK access to the EU single market to keeping EU environmental standards.
The problem they have is that they seldom support each other's efforts, so Labour MPs, for example, are unlikely to jump aboard a Lib Dem amendment on single market access - although they might produce one of their own. It will be interesting to see if Mr Speaker repeats his 2013 decision to allow a backbench amendment to the Speech to be voted on which allowed pro-Brexit Tory backbenchers to push David Cameron to commit to an EU referendum.
There are also more elections - this time to internal Commons posts, like select committee chairs. As I detailed in earlier posts, there is no timetable in place for these, but plenty of candidates have already taken the field, vying for key jobs like the (vacant) chairs of the Treasury Committee and the Business Committee.
A deputy speakership is in play, following the defeat of Labour's Natascha Engel, and further down the line there are MPs angling for key internal posts like the Chair of the Liaison Committee, the super-committee of select committee chairs, which is best known for its sessions quizzing the prime minister, but which also has a key role in the Commons internal machinery.
Quite a number of hopefuls are already canvassing, although it might be quite a while before the actual elections take place.
Over in the Lords, peers are working out what the constitutional implications of a hung Parliament might be for them; do the normal conventions protecting bills promised in a winning party's manifesto apply, when there is a minority government? Inquiring minds want to know, and these abstruse questions, normally pondered only in political science essays, may become as real as a slap in the face, a little later in the Parliament.
The Commons convenes at 2.30 pm. There are no departmental question times scheduled until after the Queen's Speech debate, but the opportunity is there for MPs to ask urgent questions.
There will probably a statement from the prime minister on the outcome of the latest EU summit - and that will give MPs the chance to examine her promise that three million EU citizens, living in the UK, will be allowed to stay on in the UK post-Brexit, with the same rights to welfare, pensions and education as UK citizens, provided they've been resident for five years.
The main debate - carrying on from the statement - will be the continuation of the debate on the Queen's Speech - where the focus will be on Brexit and foreign affairs. It will be an early test of the idea that opinion in the Commons has shifted towards a "softer Brexit".
The day ends with an adjournment debate led by Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick on the Grenfell Tower fire.
In the Lords (2.30 pm) proceedings being with the introduction of a straggler from David Cameron's resignation honours list - Baroness Wyld, the former Downing Street aide Laura Wyld, who had served as head of the Prime Minister's Appointments Unit, which included vetting nominations to the House of Lords.
Then keep an eye out for a question from the Labour peer, Roy Kennedy on the 2018 Parliamentary Boundary Reviews, which aim to create a 600-seat House of Commons, and which many suspect may now be scrapped.
The Lords debate on the Queen's Speech focuses on business, economic affairs, energy, transport, environment and agriculture.
In the Commons (11.30 am), question time resumes with Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ministers under the microscope. Then, the debate on the Queen's Speech resumes, with the focus on education and local services.
The adjournment debate, on improvements to neighbourhood planning is led by the Conservative, John Howell, one of the architects of the local planning reforms put in place by the coalition government.
In the Lords (2.30 pm) the debate on the Queen's Speech continues, with the theme for the day, home affairs, justice, constitutional affairs, devolved affairs, communities and local government - expect more discussion of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
In the Commons (11.30 am) the first business is Northern Ireland questions, which takes on extra interest in the finely-balanced circumstances of a hung Parliament.
At noon comes the first Prime Minister's Questions since the election - where the dynamics will be very different from those the last time Theresa May faced Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs. It will also see the debut of Ian Blackford as the SNP's new Westminster leader.
The Queen's Speech debate covers health, social care and security - one of the biggest and most sensitive election issues, and at the end of the debate MPs will vote on Labour's main amendment (technically, MPs are voting on a motion of thanks to the Queen for her Speech, and the amendment will probably include "respectful regrets" about various aspects of the government legislative programme it contained).
The adjournment, led by the Lib Dem leadership contender, Sir Vince Cable, is on another electorally-sensitive subject: the school funding formula in London.
In the Lords (3pm) questions  to ministers are followed by another day of debate on the Queen's Speech - where the theme will be Exiting the European Union - with considerable speculation on how the Lords will approach Brexit legislation, this debate should be watched and analysed closely, particularly when the many pro-EU Conservative peers speak.
So far 59 peers are down to speak, and it will be interesting to see if the amendment proposed by the former Labour Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, regretting that the speech "contains no proposal for Her Majesty's Government to seek to negotiate continued membership of the European Single Market and Customs Union," attracts any Conservative votes.
There are two points to note about that motion: first, the wording is likely to evolve somewhat before Wednesday, as it is honed to maximise its cross-party appeal; second the vote is likely to be at the end of proceedings, when quite a number of peers may have departed, making a government defeat less likely.
In the Commons (9.30 am) the day begins with Culture, Media and Sport questions, followed at 10.10 am by questions to the Attorney General.  (But before that, at 9am, the annual private members' bill ballot is held, setting seven lucky MPs, and maybe a few more, on course to present the legislation of their choice for debate in the autumn.)
Then MPs move on to the final day of the Queen's Speech debate - on the economy and jobs. MPs will also vote on the remaining amendments - raising the interesting question of whether the Speaker will select any backbench amendments, as he did when there were strong calls for an EU referendum, in 2013.
The final vote on the Queen's Speech will be the first real test of the government's majority. The votes on amendments from opposition parties are usually less of a test, because, for example, the SNP or Lib Dems might not wish to vote with Labour.
But the final vote does pit the government and its Commons supporters against the united forces of the Opposition.
In the Lords (11 am) watch out for the question from the Labour peer, Lord Dubs, author of the "Dubs amendment", on the number of unaccompanied child refugees entering the UK under the Immigration Act 2016 or the Dublin III regulations.
After question time, peers move on to their final Queen's Speech debate on education, health, welfare, pensions and culture.
Neither House sits on Friday 30 June.


Mixed emotions will accompany Donald McCain as he enters the familiar surroundings of Aintree for the 2012 Grand National.

On the one hand, there's the confidence and excitement associated with being part of the famous race's 'first family', whose list of achievements include sending out last year's winner, Ballabriggs.
However, on the other, he will be without his legendary father, Ginger, trainer of Red Rum, and a towering figure at Aintree over five decades, who died in September.
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"There'll be one big piece missing, and that's Dad," he said, "but you wouldn't have to go very far around Aintree to see reminders of him here, there and everywhere, so will he be missing? I don't know."
A specially-commissioned statue of Ginger is to be unveiled by the McCains on the first of the three days of the Grand National Festival, underlining his place in Aintree's rich history.
First there was Red Rum and his unrivalled position in public affections, gained with three wins and two second places in the world's most famous steeplechase during the 1970s.
Then, nearly 20 years later, when many thought Ginger's big-time days were over, he produced one of Aintree's great, romantic stories, when saddling a record-equalling fourth winner in Amberleigh House.
And just 12 months ago, he looked on proudly in the winners' enclosure as his son kept up the family tradition with the success of Ballabriggs.
Speaking at the stables on the Cholmondsley Castle estate, Cheshire, established by Ginger after he moved from a tiny yard famously adjacent to Southport beach, McCain junior said: "It was very, very special.
"You couldn't describe what Aintree meant to Dad, and one of the satisfying things is knowing that he got to see another Grand National winner out of everything he'd put together."
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Admitting that not having a Grand National runner would give him "an empty feeling", the trainer is planning a two-pronged assault this year as Ballabriggs is joined by Weird Al.
"It is the greatest test of a thoroughbred racehorse on the planet," he said, in a tone laced with more than a hint of his colourful late father.
"It is not about class. It is about toughness, durability, professionalism and heart. You've your Derbys, you've your Gold Cups, but this is the greatest test."
And nearing the conclusion of his most prolific season to date, with a whopping 140-plus winners, McCain's pride at having two chances of more Aintree glory is plain as we chat.
He said: "We've only ever wanted to be around nice horses as a family.
"We've never spent money on flash cars or flash houses, and things like that, we've wanted to be around nice horses and we're in a position to be there which is very satisfying."
Ballabriggs's 2011 win came in the most controversial of Grand Nationals, in which two horses died, a race that sparked a safety review and some modifications.
McCain believes the changes won't "make a huge amount of difference" to the race, but hopes that "we can draw a line in the sand, and say this is the Grand National, now leave it alone".
Ginger's response would perhaps have been a little more earthy, but Donald's thoughts were delivered with no less zeal. The McCain family's Aintree baton is in safe hands.
Hear Donald McCain on Ginger during 5 live Racing, Thursday 12 April, from 2000 BST.


More than 15,000 homes and businesses in just eight council areas were flooded in last winter's storms, a survey has revealed.

The research for the Local Government Association found that councils are still helping flood-hit homes recover.
Cumbria was the worst hit, it said. Calderdale, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, York, Leeds, Northumberland and Kirklees all suffered too.
The control of flood defence funds should be devolved, the LGA said.
The government should also bring in mandatory anti-flood requirements for new homes in building regulations, such as raised electrical sockets and wiring, ventilation brick covers, sealed floors and raised damp courses, it said.
A flood resilience review by the government into the winter storms outlined Â£12.5m for temporary defences such as barriers and high-volume water pumps at strategic areas.
Councils are encouraging people to check if they are at risk of flooding this year, to sign up to flood warnings and make sure their homes are prepared.
Martin Tett, LGA environment spokesman, said: "Councils are doing everything they can to protect households and businesses from the possibility of further devastating flooding this winter.
"Such was the severity of last year's storms, some councils, who have experienced significant reductions to their core funding, are still helping residents to recover even now."
He said devolving funding to local areas would support projects that reflected needs such as protecting key roads and bridges to keep residents and businesses moving.
"Councils know their local areas and are best placed to help families get back on their feet," he said.
"The government must be more flexible in its approach to flood funding."


Solihull Moors' match with Torquay had to be postponed after a sudden downpour flooded the pitch.

Although the surface had passed an inspection earlier in the day, the amount of rain made it impossible for the match to take place.
Some Torquay fans had already arrived but Gulls manager Kevin Nicholson had no complaints about the decision.
"I don't think the referee had many options really so I can't moan, but it's a huge shame," he said.


Platinum producer Lonmin has priced its £270m share sale at a discount of 94% as it fights for survival after a near-collapse in the commodity's price.

The miner said it would sell 27 billion shares at 1p per share. That compares with a share price of 16.25p on Friday.
Its shares have already tumbled 90% this year as it has also struggled to cope with strikes and rising costs.
Lonmin had already stated that its shares would be issued at a "significant discount".
Shares in the platinum miner rose nearly 10% to 17.75p in early trade on the London Stock Exchange.
Lonmin will use the cash raised to help secure $370m (£246m) in bank loans which will mature in 2020. Those loans will replace an existing $543m of loans, which are due to be repaid next year.
The company urged shareholders to approve the cash call, saying the injection was crucial to its survival.
It said if shareholders did not approve the rights issue, its lenders would not allow it to refinance its debt.
Platinum prices have fallen by about 22% in the last year.
"The rights issue has been fully underwritten and we hope shareholders vote positively. We firmly believe that the rights issue is in the best interest of our shareholders," Lonmin chief executive Ben Magara said in a statement.
The rights issue came as Lonmin reported an annual loss of $2.2bn, compared with a loss of $326m a year earlier.
The majority of its losses came from a $1.5bn impairment charge at its Marikana mine in South Africa, where 34 miners were killed by police during strikes and unrest in 2010.
Miners have been suffering heavily in recent months as a result of lower commodity prices. But Lonmin was also hit hard by another miners' strike in South Africa in 2014.
In July, it announced plans to close or mothball several mine shafts, putting 6,000 jobs at risk.
It said on Monday that about 3,100 people had since left the company.
Last month, Glencore announced the sale of two of its copper mines in Australia and Chile, in an effort to reduce a debt pile of £19.5bn created by its 2013 takeover of Xstrata.
The share sale is the second in three years at the embattled platinum minter.
Lonmin issued an $800m rights issue to shore up its balance sheet in November 2012.


Transport group Stagecoach has placed orders for about 480 buses and coaches in deals worth a total of £97m.

The Perth-based firm said it was buying £82m worth of new vehicles for its regional networks in England, Scotland and Wales.
A further £10m will be invested in new buses for London and about £4.5m in coaches for its megabus.com operations.
Falkirk-headquartered coach maker Alexander Dennis (ADL) will produce 415 of the new vehicles.
Most of the rest will be made by Volvo and Mercedes Benz.
The new fleet will be introduced in the 2016-17 financial year.
Stagecoach said it had now invested more than £1bn in new buses and coaches since 2006-07.
All of the new vehicles will be built to meet Euro 6 emissions standards. Most will also have wifi installed.
The orders include 280 low-floor double-decker vehicles and nearly 100 single decker and midi vehicles.
Stagecoach chief executive Martin Griffiths said: "We are investing in state-of-the-art, cleaner, greener vehicles, digital technology and smart ticketing to raise the bar and deliver an even higher standard of service.
"These latest vehicle orders are an important part of our strategy to encourage even more people to take the bus."


Russia will stage its biggest ever military parade on 9 May, to mark the 70th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

A rehearsal in central Moscow has revealed some new hi-tech Russian armour for the first time, lifting a veil of military secrecy.
The most talked-about innovation is the Armata T-14 battle tank, described as a new-generation fighting machine to replace Soviet-era tanks.
The tank is highly automated - the Russian military says it could be the basis for a fully robotic tank in future.
It has a remote-control gun turret with a 125mm smooth-bore cannon that can fire guided missiles as well as shells.
The crew of three is housed in a reinforced capsule at the front, away from the firing systems.
The Armata's chassis is adaptable - it can also serve as the platform for a heavy infantry fighting vehicle, an engineering vehicle, a multiple rocket launcher and some other variants.
Russia plans to bring in about 2,300 Armatas, starting in 2020, to replace Soviet-era tanks. They are built by UralVagonZavod.
Jane's Defence Weekly says the T-14 and Russia's other new armoured systems are "principally clean-slate designs" that "represent the biggest change in Russia's armoured fighting vehicle families since the 1960s and 1970s".
Kurganets-25 armoured personnel carrier
The new Kurganets-25 comes in two main tracked variants - the BTR and BMP. Both are armoured personnel carriers, but the BMP has more powerful guns and firing systems.
The guns are remote-controlled and separated from the crew and infantry.
Jane's reports that the Kurganets-25 can be fitted with a 57mm or 30mm cannon.
The new design will replace the Russian army's Soviet-era BTRs and BMPs.
Boomerang armoured personnel carrier
This is another new infantry fighting vehicle, which also has amphibious capabilities.
The Boomerang chassis can also serve as a platform for other types of vehicle.
Jane's says the design is similar to Western eight-wheel drive military vehicles, known as 8x8. In such designs all eight wheels receive power from the engine simultaneously.
It is among the new vehicles highlighted by the Russian Defence Ministry on its website (in Russian).
RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile
The RS-24 began equipping Russia's strategic rocket forces in 2009. It is an improvement on the Topol M system.
The missile would deliver three nuclear warheads and would be fired either from a mobile launcher or a silo.
The missile has decoy systems to confuse an enemy's air defences.
Koalitsiya-SV self-propelled artillery
Koalitsiya-SV is a new self-propelled artillery system, said to be based on the Armata hull. It has a 152mm cannon and weighs about 55 tonnes.
The Russian Defence Ministry says the system can hit targets from as far as 70km (43 miles).
The weapon is designed to smash an enemy's armour and fortifications.
Buk surface-to-air missile launcher
The Buk air defence system on show in Moscow is among many variants already in service in the Russian military.
It has also been sold to several countries, including Azerbaijan, China and India.
A Buk missile was blamed for downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014. Pro-Russian rebels are suspected of having fired the missile, as they had targeted Ukrainian military jets in the same area previously. All 298 people on board MH17 died. Russian and rebel officials rejected the allegations, arguing that a Ukrainian fighter jet was probably to blame.
Buk missile launchers are accompanied by radar vehicles. The missile can reach a maximum altitude of 25,000m (82,500ft), and can intercept cruise missiles as well as aircraft.
Kornet-D anti-tank rocket system
Russia has improved on the Kornet anti-tank system introduced in 2009.
The rockets can target not only tanks but also aircraft, the Russian Defence Ministry says. They can pierce armour plating 130cm (4ft) thick.
The targeting and guidance systems use high-resolution TV cameras, infra-red and laser technology.


A whistleblower prison officer who raised concerns about conditions inside an East Sussex jail has been sacked.

In 2014, Kim Lennon said the smuggling of drugs was rife at Lewes Prison and its wings "resembled a war zone".
She was dismissed earlier this week following disciplinary proceedings but said she would appeal and had no regrets about speaking out.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said Ms Lennon was not dismissed for being a whistleblower.
'Insufficient staff'
Ms Lennon alleged in August 2014 that the drug Spice was being smuggled into the jail.
She said officers were supposed to carry out daily cell checks but there were insufficient staff to do so, and that she feared an inmate or prison officer would be seriously injured.
The Prison Service denied at the time that staffing levels were unsafe and said there was a "zero-tolerance approach" to illicit substances.
Ms Lennon was suspended from her job after talking to the The Argus newspaper and the BBC.
"Speaking out has caused me a lot of distress but I don't regret it," she said. "Frontline prison officers are too afraid to speak out because of what will happen to them."
"I loved my job and I feel like I am being punished for doing the right thing," she said.
"I am going to appeal but I'm taking it one day at a time."
The MoJ said it could not comment because Ms Lennon's dismissal was a confidential matter.
"We would not wish to prejudice a possible appeal," it said in a statement, adding it took the issue of staff discipline extremely seriously.
"Any unprofessional behaviour will be investigated immediately, with strong action taken and serious wrongdoing referred to the police," it said.
"Disciplinary action can range from a verbal warning to dismissal from their post."


When Peter Linton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years ago, his first thought wasn't to take up ballet.

The condition affects Peter's coordination, makes movement slower and less controlled, and gives him difficulties with balance and walking. Ballet, you might think, would be last thing to which he was suited.
But in the rehearsal rooms at the English National Ballet, as the piano thumps out music from the Nutcracker, he lifts his arms ready to dance.
He now he attends weekly ballet classes specifically targeted at people living with Parkinson's to help balance and coordination - and, in the process, he has found a new way to express himself.
"Physical exercises are just that, but music adds a new dimension to what we are doing," he said.
"We're trying to express ourselves, not only in dance but responding to the music. And that I find really quite absorbing."
Finding means of expression is especially important for people living with Parkinson's, because many of their symptoms make communication, both verbal and non-verbal, difficult. Expressive art forms such as dance might offer new hope.
The weekly Dance for Parkinson's classes are being run by the English National Ballet.
"After the class one feels better in several different ways," said Peter.
"First, is the purely physical side - you've had some exercise, sometimes quite vigorous, to loosen the muscles and improve the tone.
"And then comes the music - you've had an hour of very beautiful music, and that adds this emotional dimension. And then are the social things as well - the cup of tea after the class."
Researchers at the University of Roehampton, led by Dr Sara Houston, are measuring the observed changes in patients' physical and emotional well-being.
The study, which will run for two more years, monitors changes in patients' balance and stability, as well as interviewing them about their experiences.
"We are examining the experience that people might have dancing with Parkinson's," Dr Houston told the BBC.
"That experience encompasses changes in physicality, as well as perceptions of what people can do, health and well-being."
There is no cure for Parkinson's, but symptoms can be helped in the short-term by medication.
However, drug treatments become less effective after only a few years, leaving patients to cope as best they can with their worsening symptoms.
It is hoped that benefits seen from the ballet classes will help to slow down the inevitable deterioration faced by patients.
Danielle Jones is the lead dance artist for Dance for Parkinson's. She helped to develop the programme and now teaches the classes.
"It's not like physical therapy, it's about being creative and expressive with movement. We try to improve a feeling of flow, a feeling of grace, and most importantly freedom," she said.
"What I notice in the participants is their confidence to believe in themselves as movers, as dancers - to understand that they are capable of these things.
"So they are able to take risks [in their movements] and do it in a creative and expressive way."
Finding means of expression can be a particular challenge for Parkinson's patients. The disease affects an estimated seven to 10 million people worldwide and research suggests more than three-quarters of patients have difficulties with speech and voice.
Jennie Harrington is in her 10th year as a dancer at the English National Ballet. She volunteers at the Dance for Parkinson's classes whenever she can.
"It's lovely to see how people blossom over the course of the class.
"The people that walk in are very different to the people that leave at the end of the class.
"My grandmother suffered from Parkinson's. So for me I was aware of the symptoms and how then our relationship changed.
"I do often think how nice it would have been to have her in a class like this. In some ways it does strengthen my connection with her. I can see now what she went through.
"It's all about making dance accessible. It's lovely when people find as much joy from it as I do."
"They have difficulty expressing themselves in a number of ways," said Dr Houston.
"Firstly, through speech, which due to Parkinson's often gets slurred or diminishes in loudness.
"And also because of stiffness and slowness of muscles, facial expressions don't work as well so often it's difficult for people with Parkinson's to communicate, and through communication to express themselves."
And the Dance for Parkinson's classes may offer one way for patients to address those difficulties.
Dr Houston's research is revealing just how much dance has to offer above simple exercise and movement.
"People are valuing the dance for its expressive inputs. They perceive it to be something that they can communicate through.
"This extra dimension in dance, which you don't get through other physical activities, the imaginative element, becomes very important to people."
For Peter, who has had a fondness for ballet for more than 40 years, the classes certainly seem to be having positive effects.
"There's no doubt in my mind that doing more exercise does improve the symptoms.
"They'll never get better but at least they won't get worse. And some people tell me that I now look and behave better than I did three years ago."


The death of a man found in a Lincolnshire waterway is not being treated as suspicious, police have said.

A dog walker spotted the body in Vernatt's Drain, near the Pinchbeck Road bridge in Spalding, on Sunday.
Police recovered the body from the water after being alerted shortly after 14:00 GMT.
Officers had been initially treating the death as unexplained, but said they were now classing it as not suspicious.
The man's details are yet to be released.