The mother of a soldier killed in the Iraq war is to be awarded an honorary degree by the University of Glasgow.

Rose Gentle's 19-year-old son Gordon was killed by a roadside bomb while serving in Basra in 2004.
She became an outspoken critic of the UK government's handling of the war and set up Military Families Against the War and Justice 4 Gordon Gentle.
Ms Gentle said her son would be "laughing his head off" at the thought of her going to university.
The 53-year-old holds former prime minister Tony Blair responsible for the death of her son and welcomed the publication of the Chilcot report last year, describing it as "comeuppance".
During her campaign for answers from the government, Ms Gentle contested the 2005 general election against then armed forces minister Adam Ingram in East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow but lost out.
She met then prime minister Gordon Brown in 2009, having had a number of meeting requests with Tony Blair turned down.
Ms Gentle said she was genuinely surprised to be given the award.
"I was told it was for campaigning and it's lovely to see that campaigning for justice for Gordon and for other families in the Iraq War is being recognised," she said.
Ms Gentle will receive her honorary degree at a service held at the university on 30 November.
Others being honoured by the university this year include Nobel Prize-winning biologist Sir Paul Nurse, DC Comics artist Frank Quitely and John Shaw, vice chairman of India's largest biopharmaceutical company Biocon Limited.
Prof Anton Muscatelli, principal and vice-chancellor of the university, said honorary degrees provided an opportunity to recognise the achievements of individuals from across all walks of life.
He said: "We look forward to celebrating the successes of all our honorary graduands, and we also look forward to working with them in the future, for the common good."


Joe Cordina marked his professional debut with a fourth-round stoppage win over Jose Aguilar in Liverpool.

The Welsh Commonwealth Games bronze medallist dominated the super featherweight contest from the start.
The 25-year-old is now set to face Liverpool's Jay Carney on the Anthony Joshua's v Wladimir Klitschko bill at Wembley Stadium on 29 April.
Cordina won a bronze for Wales in Glasgow 2014 and is a former European amateur champion.
Find out how to get into boxing with our special guide.


As Europe grapples with the migrant crisis, bereaved relatives and a clutch of survivors are still searching for answers to one of Egypt's worst migrant boat disasters a year on.

Up to 500 people were lost and only 11 survived. Smugglers rammed the boat, which had set sail from Damietta in Egypt, near Malta and it sank, according to two survivors.
Most on board were from Syria and Gaza but 80 of them were Egyptians, including many children. Twelve of the under-18s were from the same village just outside Cairo.
Mohamed Essam was one of those children, and his father, Essam Ahmed, is still looking for justice.
The families of those missing are launching a new case with Egypt's prosecutor general to demand criminal responsibility be taken for the loss of their loved ones.
This will be the third case. Some of the relatives believe their children are still alive, being held by Egyptian or Italian authorities.
They will not give up hope, they say, until they see evidence of what happened.
Mohamed's village, Aghour al-Sughra, has a long history of sending its sons to Europe to earn money.
Around 3,000 from Aghour al-Sughra have made their way to Turin, in northern Italy.
The villagers live hand-to-mouth, making a small amount from their farms and small shops.
Young people say they do not see a future and nothing is getting better with each new government in power in Egypt.
And everyone in the village knows Italian law means under-18s cannot be returned once they arrive.
Until last year's disaster, numbers of those wishing to travel had risen to 100 a year from the village.
The broker, or mandoob, as he is called locally, is well-known throughout the area. He would organise groups and send them to the smugglers on the coast, taking a cut of the total sum for the trip.
But for the past year he has been running the village's efforts to find out where the 12 missing children are, in co-ordination with the other families across Egypt who lost relatives.
Aghour al-Sughra is one of several villages around the country known for the high numbers emigrating.
Salama Abdel Karim has returned from Turin after 23 years and is building a villa on the outskirts of Aghour al-Sughra for his family.
"All the kids from here who've travelled have helped with lots of businesses in the village," he says. "Everything you see in this village, we've helped with."
And it is that dream that continues to lure Egypt's youth to travel. Even those who have lost relatives are drawn to the idea.
One young man who has not heard from his cousin since last September's sinking has decided to attempt the trip himself.
"Everyone thinks of their future and that's just what I'm doing," he says. "I want to build a future for my family."


England women have named 17-year-old Lancashire left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone in the squad for the three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan.

Kent left-arm seamer Natasha Farrant returns to the 15-strong party.
She replaces vice-captain Anya Shrubsole, who has been ruled out because of a side injury.
The series, which follows England's 3-0 victory in the one-day international series between the sides, begins at Bristol on Sunday.
England coach Mark Robinson said: "Sophie brings youth, vitality and another left-arm spin option."
Robinson added Beth Langston's absence with an ankle injury was a "real shame" and said seamer Kate Cross had been left out to undertake some "focused technical work".
England women squad: H Knight (capt), T Beaumont, K Brunt, S Ecclestone, G Elwiss, N Farrant, J Gunn, A Hartley, D Hazell, A Jones (wk), L Marsh, N Sciver, F Wilson, L Winfield, D Wyatt.


The Welsh Government's bid to end the right of social housing tenants to buy their homes will begin its journey through the assembly on Monday.

A new bill, if passed, will abolish the iconic Thatcher-era policy in Wales.
The Welsh Government hopes the ban will reduce pressure on social housing but the Welsh Tories said problems in the sector were not down to Right to Buy.
Tenants will get at least one year to apply to buy homes under the old rules after the bill becomes law.
Labour had promised it would abolish the Right to Buy as part of its pitch for the May 2016 assembly election.
Since the scheme was introduced in 1980, 139,000 council and housing association homes have been sold - resulting in a 45% reduction in housing stock.
To remain compliant with human rights legislation, the Welsh Government will give tenants at least a year to exercise their rights if they want to buy their home.
Councils will also still be able to sell housing stock once the abolition comes into force, but only on a voluntary basis and at the market rate without the discounts that were seen under the compulsory Right to Buy scheme.
The rights will be abolished across the housing sector - including housing associations and council homes.
A number of local authorities have already suspended the scheme in their area.
Communities secretary Carl Sargeant said: "I recognise the proposal affects existing tenants and we will ensure tenants are made aware of the effect of the bill in good time before abolition takes place."
Matthew Dicks, director of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: "We have a huge shortage of affordable housing in Wales and CIH Cymru supports any measure that will stop the further loss of social housing stock which is what this bill intends to do."
But he said the main issue was that social housing stock, lost through Right to Buy, had not been sufficiently replaced.
The Welsh Conservatives have long opposed the proposal by the Welsh Government to abolish the scheme.
The party's housing spokesman, David Melding, said: "There is a severe shortage of affordable housing in Wales because Labour hasn't built enough affordable homes, and not because council tenants have had a chance to buy theirs."
Councillor Dyfed Edwards, the Welsh Local Government Association's spokesperson for housing, said the move was "a welcome step in tackling a growing problem in Wales".
Plaid Cymru supports abolishing the Right to Buy, meaning it is unlikely Labour will have trouble getting the law passed by AMs.
A Plaid spokeswoman said: "We welcome the proposed move to scrap it altogether and regret that the Labour Welsh Government has taken so long to abolish this most Thatcherite of policies."
The Welsh Government said it had set a target of creating 20,000 affordable homes during the current assembly term.


Wales wing Hallam Amos says he had the comeback he wanted after scoring a try on Saturday with his first touch of his first game of the season for Dragons.

Amos, 21, who injured his shoulder as Wales beat England in the World Cup in October, helped Dragons beat Castres.
It is now possible he could regain his national squad place as Warren Gatland names his Six Nations squad on Tuesday.
Amos told BBC Wales Sport: "I've come back at a good time. There are exciting matches coming in the next few weeks."
His try after just 50 seconds against Castres sent Dragons on their way to a 31-18 win in European Challenge Cup Pool Two.
Medical student Amos, who has five international caps, will be up against Northampton's George North and Cardiff Blues' Alex Cuthbert for a Six Nations place, with Eli Walker of the Ospreys and Blues' Tom James also in contention for the squad.
Asked about a possible selection for Wales, Amos said: "I'm not sure, it's a tough one because I'm only just back from injury and there are other boys playing really well at the moment.
"I haven't thought too much (about it), I just wanted to get back on the pitch with the Dragons, and whatever happens, happens.
"I was always aiming for this kind of time to be back, and I'm back a couple of weeks ahead of (the original) schedule which is good."
Amos could hardly believe he had the chance to run in a try with his first touch on his return.
"You think about it the night before and that's exactly what you want," he continued. "(It was) a great break by Sarel (Pretorius) and a lovely ball by Jason Tovey.
"In rugby you will pick up injuries, though it's been tough watching the boys.
"But I can't ask for much more than that with my first touch back after three months."
Amos will now be part of the Dragons squad aiming to ensure a home quarter-final in the Challenge Cup with victory away to Sale Sharks on Thursday.


He is in charge of identifying and tracking some of the most dangerous criminal and terrorist networks in Europe.

From uncovering gangs who smuggle migrants to monitoring extremist activity online, Rob Wainwright has become a high-profile figure as Europol director.
Yet what is less well known is that the EU criminal intelligence chief actually grew up in a small village in Carmarthenshire.
And for Mr Wainwright, his upbringing has played an important part in his success.
"I was born in Carmarthen but I grew up just outside in Pontyberem in the Gwendraeth Valley," the 47-year-old explained.
"It was a close-knit farming and mining community and as such we all pulled together and helped each other.
"There were also some challenges for me. My father was English so I had to fight for my identity I suppose. That allowed me to develop self-confidence and some resilience at an early age."
One of two children, Mr Wainwright describes his family as "very close", living near his grandparents and extended family.
He had a good education at Gwendraeth Grammar School, dubbed "the fly-half factory of Wales" with past pupils including Barry John, Carwyn Jones and Jonathan Davies.
However, he admits he was never good at the sport himself despite being a "passionate Welsh rugby fan".
With an "inclination" to work in the international community, he studied International Relations and Affairs at the London School of Economics, graduating in 1989.
Mr Wainwright credits his grandfather, who spent his early life in the public sector, as one of his role models while growing up along with his ancestors who were involved in social reform in Carmarthen.
"I suppose there's a little bit of that in me, wanting to make a difference however small or large that can be in public life," Mr Wainwright said.
"The opportunities I have had throughout my career to fight terrorism and fight organised crime have given me a chance to do that.
"It's been a very motivating part of my life."
After working for a string of criminal intelligence agencies, Mr Wainwright was appointed director of Europol six years ago.
Having taken over from a German predecessor, he feels he has brought a couple of Welsh traits to the role.
One is a sense of humour, joking that he sees himself as "a poor man's Rob Brydon", and the other is the ability to make friends and business acquaintances from all walks of life.
"In my job I'm running an organisation that has people drawn from 40 different countries and it's got to be as easy for me to do business with someone from Greece, or Germany, or Portugal for example," he said.
So what advice would he give to young Welsh people looking to follow in his footsteps?
For him, having unlimited ambition is key.
"There's a long proud history that we have in Wales of producing some very famous, very successful people, in all walks of life. You know, the doors are open to anyone really," he said.
"I think I would say to young people... never forget your roots. Use them and nurture them as a Welsh person to drive you through in your life but also go out and explore the world.
"[I] gambled and pushed the boundaries of what's possible and have been rewarded with that and that wasn't typical for the time in our community growing up."
Despite living abroad with his wife and three children, he still has a strong connection to Wales and remains proud of his heritage.
"I love going back to Wales," Mr Wainwright said.
"I think what a community like that gives you is such a strong stable background," he added.
"My grandparents [and] my parents taught me the difference between right and wrong, instilling in me the right values from an early age, giving me self-confidence to succeed in life.
"Even if you're going from a really small village to the rest of the world you know if you remember those values, if you live by those and work hard, then you can achieve anything in life.
"And I'm still working on that of course but I've been lucky enough to have a few lucky breaks along the way."


Nigeria's government has denied that militant Islamist group Boko Haram abducted 500 children from the north-eastern town of Damasak.

A former resident said on Tuesday that the militants had taken away about 500 boys when they fled the town earlier this month.
Government spokesman Mike Omeri said the number was lower, but he could not say exactly how many had been seized.
Regional forces recaptured Damasak, a trading town, earlier in March.
Mr Omeri said that the militants released some women and children when they fled the town, but not those "they had married within the period of occupation".
The militants were using them as "protection" and the government had ordered "full military intervention" to secure their release, he said.
Damasak is in Borno state near Niger's border and is about 200km (120 miles) from the state's main city of Maiduguri.
Damasak businessman Malam Ali, whose brother is among those missing, told the BBC Hausa Service on Tuesday that young boys had been put in a madrassa, or Islamic school, by Boko Haram when they took over the town at the end of last year.
Following the recapture of the town, those boys, numbering about 500, had not been accounted for, he said, while Reuters news agency quoted residents as saying more than 400 women and children had been abducted.
BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says the conflict has torn many families apart.
As towns have changed hands it has been impossible to work out how many people have been killed and how many are missing, he adds.
Last week, the decomposing bodies of more than 70 people were discovered under a bridge near Damasak.
Nigeria's military has still failed to free more than 200 girls abducted more than  a year ago from Chibok, also in Borno state.
The abductions caused international outrage, and foreign governments promised to help Nigeria 's military find the girls.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has said the girls have been married off.
The group has waged a six-year insurgency in Nigeria to create an Islamic state, killing thousands of people and capturing many towns and villages.
Regional forces launched an offensive about six weeks ago to regain territory ahead of delayed presidential and parliamentary elections, now due on Saturday.
Boko Haram at a glance:


Dan Evans might have made a few bad decisions in the past but he's always had the ability to play at the top level.

I don't know if a switch went off in his head some time last year, but to go from being ranked below 700 to 91 in the world and playing Roger Federer on Centre Court is very impressive, and it only happens through hard work.
It takes some people longer than others to work out how best to get there and he's on the right track now.
Dan's been a great Davis Cup team-mate - he supports well and tries his backside off in matches, and that's all you want really.
He played very well against Kei Nishikori in Birmingham earlier this year, and he's had some big wins in the past against guys ranked much higher than him.
Every time I've practised with him he's been fantastic and he's never complained when he's not been picked or played.
I don't think that's always been said, or that the good things about him have been reported as much.
Dan would probably admit he's made some bad mistakes along the way but when he's represented his country, I think he should be very proud of how he's performed.
Media playback is not supported on this device
I thought Marcus Willis did very well against Roger once he settled into the match and it will be interesting to see how Dan gets on.
He and Marcus are good friends and I think both of them know how to enjoy themselves. Dan is a sort of cheeky chappie, always fun to be around.
My fitness trainer Matt Little worked with him when he was 10 years old and said the first time they were introduced, he said, 'Hi, I'm Matt Little', and Dan said, 'It's funny that your surname's Little when you're tiny.'
That was Dan as a 10-year-old, and in some ways he hasn't changed much!
He still seems like the same person I first met. We always got on well. It seems like he's finally found that consistency of working hard all of the time and I think his coach Mark Hilton will be very good for Dan in that respect, because when Mark played he was a really good worker.
The other reason I think Dan is going to keep moving up the rankings is because he's good - he's really good - and the more you play at this level, the better you get.
In the past he would play maybe one match every three months at this level, and then go back down to Futures. Now he's playing and practising with guys like this every week and he can keep pushing higher.
Dan certainly won't be the favourite against Roger but he can cause him problems and make it interesting.
I was happy with how I played against Yen-Hsun Lu, especially in the second and third sets, and as always at this stage I'm just hoping I can keep improving with each round.
After the match I met Carl Froch for the first time face to face, having spoken to him on the radio a couple of times before, and I always get something out of meeting boxers.
What made Carl different was he always fought the best fighters available, which is pretty rare in boxing. He fought everyone, all of the big names in his division, and he was very entertaining to watch. He was never really in dull fights.
I suppose I can relate to that in as much as you can't avoid the top players in tennis if you want to win things, although to be honest I can understand it more in boxing because it's a very dangerous sport.
Boxers have a short career and obviously want to make the most amount of money and be as successful as possible in that time.
I certainly don't plan on anything going wrong when I play John Millman on Saturday, but when I do lose a tennis match, the consequences are not quite so serious.
In a sport like boxing, if you pick the wrong fight at the wrong time, it can be pretty rough.
Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport's Piers Newbery.


Swansea City have signed Queens Park Rangers midfielder Leroy Fer on loan until the end of the season.

The 26-year-old former Norwich player has made 19 appearances for the Championship club this term.
Fer, capped 11 times by the Netherlands, has previously played for Dutch clubs Feyenoord and FC Twente.
He joins Sandro and Charlie Austin in leaving Loftus Road in the transfer window, while Swansea have also added Chievo striker Alberto Paloschi.
Swansea sold England midfielder Jonjo Shelvey to Premier League rivals Newcastle for £12m in January.
On Monday, Portugal international striker Eder left the south Wales club to join French side Lille on loan for the rest of the season.
Fer joined QPR on a three-year deal in August 2014 from the Canaries, for a reported £8m.
He was part of the Rangers side that was relegated from the Premier League last season, and he was also relegated with Norwich in the previous campaign.
A QPR statement said Swansea paid an undisclosed fee for the loan.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


An investigation is under way after pornography was allegedly shown on a TV at a funeral for a father and his baby son.

The service for Simon Lewis, 33, and his son, Simon, was held at Cardiff's Thornhill Crematorium on Wednesday.
Rev Lionel Fanthorpe said the incident left mourners "desperately upset" and Cardiff council has apologised to the family for the "inappropriate content".
Mr Lewis and his son died following a crash in Cardiff on New Year's Eve.
Media Wales reported a claim from an unnamed mourner that hardcore pornography appeared on the screen.
A council spokesman said: "The council has forwarded a written apology to the family and is carrying out an urgent investigation."
Rev Fanthorpe said: "I'm either looking at the congregation or at the prayer book. To me, it sounded something like voices in a shopping centre but I couldn't see.
"Simon's father-in-law was desperately upset. [He] came rushing forward. He was looking for an engineer and urging them to 'turn it off, turn it off'. Fortunately it was off in seconds.
"This was not what anybody could have ever imagined or wanted. I just felt the deepest possible sympathy."
Four screens were being used to display tributes and the council said the TV which showed the content had been recently installed.
"We are trying to establish if the new screen - which is a smart television - could have accepted or picked up a broadcast by accident via blue tooth or across  a wi-fi network," said the spokesman.
"The other three screens which aren't smart TVs were unaffected. We are clear that it isn't possible for any member of staff to play or download anything on the computer that links to the screens in the chapel."
The screen in question has been disconnected while engineers carry out an investigation.
Mr Lewis, from Trowbridge, was the driver of a Daihatsu Sirion carrying his wife Amanda and their three-year-old daughter when it was involved in a crash with a Peugeot 307.
The Lewis's son was born three months premature when a decision was taken to carry out the emergency Caesarean section, amid concerns the baby was in distress.
Kyle Kennedy, 29, from Rumney, Cardiff, has appeared in court charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, driving without insurance, failing to give a blood sample, driving while disqualified and aggravated vehicle taking without consent.


The Welsh Ambulance Service has apologised after it was claimed a woman was left lying on the pavement for more than five hours with a broken leg.

The 43-year-old woman fell as she tried to catch the postman in Llewellyn Avenue, Cardiff, just after 10:00 GMT on Saturday.
Neighbours waited with the woman and made repeated attempts to get an ambulance.
The Welsh Ambulance Service is investigating the cause of the delay.
Neighbour Jackie Whiller said: "They insisted we didn't move her, so we covered her in blankets.
"This went on for nearly five hours and we had rung them about six times.
"They did call back twice and at about 2pm they asked if they could send a taxi ambulance and we said lots of us here have cars but had been told not to move her. So he said to keep her there.
"She was shaking quite badly at one stage."
The woman was taken to hospital with a double leg break and remained there overnight.
Ms Whiller repeatedly tweeted the ambulance service as she was waiting for the ambulance to arrive, who apologised saying they appreciated it was a "distressing wait".
A spokesman for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: "We apologise to the patient and family for the stress caused and want them to contact us so we can speak to them directly."


Australia will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016 for the second time, organisers have confirmed.

The country will send an entry 10,000 miles (15,000km) to take part in next year's event in Stockholm.
Eurovision said Australia's involvement was an "exciting step" towards making the contest "a truly global event".
Guy Sebastian last year performed as an Australian wildcard entry, to mark the show's 60th anniversary and came fifth with his song, Tonight Again.
In 2015, Australia had a guaranteed spot in the final, but Eurovision said in 2016 it would first have to compete in the semi-final stages.
"We strongly believe the Eurovision Song Contest has the potential to evolve organically into a truly global event," said Jon Ola Sand, the contest's executive supervisor.
"Australia's continued participation is an exciting step in that direction."
Australia is also going to debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest on 21 November in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The EBU Reference Group, the governing body of the Eurovision Song Contest, voted unanimously in favour of Australia's participation next year, but it has not yet been decided whether it would become a permanent participant.
"Europe and Australia have a lot in common in regards to cultural values," said EBU governor Frank Dieter Freiling. "The only right thing to do is to be inclusive.
"This is also a way for many Australians to re-connect with their European roots, and celebrate our shared cultural values and understanding through music."
If Australia win, the 2017 contest would be co-hosted by Australian broadcaster SBS and an EBU member based in Europe.
Last week, 2014 winner Austria's Conchita Wurst backed Australia's permanent inclusion.
"I'm by your side, definitely," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "I think it's just necessary, basically."
The next Eurovision Song Contest will take place on 10, 12 and 14 May 2016, in Stockholm's Globe Arena.


Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens has defended his decision to return to play in the Bangladesh Premier League.

The 39-year-old was accused of corruption following a stint with Dhaka Gladiators in 2013, but was eventually cleared of the charges against him.
"Yes, it was a tough few years of my life but that has passed now," he said.
"I have got no beef with any Bangladeshi people. People can think and say whatever they want but it is my decision what I do in my life."
Stevens was charged by the International Cricket Council with failing to report a corrupt approach in August 2013 but was found not guilty by a Bangladesh Cricket Board anti-corruption tribunal in February 2014.
The charges related to an alleged match-fixing conspiracy in the Dhaka franchise.
Stevens has played in the BPL twice before, winning the competition with Dhaka Gladiators in 2012 and 2013, and he had no second thoughts about another stint in Bangladesh.
"It is an amazing place to play. I have never played internationally and it's the closest I will ever be to it," he told BBC Radio Kent.
"How can you not love playing in front of 45 or 50 thousand people every second night of the week? To win it was an amazing experience and I played with some of the best players Twenty20 has ever seen.
"I cannot wait to get back. It is a tough place to be for four weeks living-wise but it is an experience."
Stevens will play for Comilla Victorians in this year's edition of the tournament, alongside Pakistan's Shoaib Malik and West Indies trio Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Marlon Samuels.


The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mitchel McLaughlin MLA, has said Stormont should have more symbols to better reflect society.

Mr McLaughlin called for the changes at the Speaker's annual St Patrick's event in parliament buildings.
He said the building contained art and symbolism that did not reflect all cultural identities.
The Sinn Féin MLA added he would be the "first to oppose its removal", but said more symbols should be added.
Mr McLaughlin said he was realistic about the scale of the challenge and the issue should be addressed "in a consensual way without provoking controversy".
He said achieving "a balance in this society, which demonstrates a respect to all without being deliberately provocative, should be of no threat to anyone".
The speaker welcomed the fact that Stormont will be "bathed in green" on Tuesday, as the result of a decision to illuminate the building with green lights to celebrate St Patrick's Day.
It follows what the speaker said was a "mature and constructive" agreement by the Assembly Commission some days ago, to mark four annual events with signature colours.
The move includes turning Stormont orange to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne and marking Remembrance Day in November.
The Sinn Féin MLA said he was "absolutely delighted that this building will have an orange glow on the 12th of July".
"Some people might be surprised at me saying that. Some might not be happy with me saying that. My approach is simple, you can't expect anyone else to respect your culture if you don't respect theirs," he added.
He cited his recent visit to Flanders to commemorate casualties of the First World War and his decision to act as President of the Assembly Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association as a signal of his intentions to use his tenure as speaker to "set down a marker for respect".
In his St Patrick's Day eve address, Mr McLaughlin said: "This building contains art and symbolism which does not reflect the cultural identities of all of our members or communities.
"However, I will be the first to oppose its removal. This building was shaped by the context in which it was built and that is deeply cherished by much of our community.
"We cannot ignore our history. It would be disrespectful to try to airbrush that history away," Mr McLaughlin added.
"Stormont should better reflect the journey we have made since 1998 and the society this assembly now represents, inclusive of all political opinion, all faiths and none, men and women, the whole community.
"Adding to what we have already achieved can be addressed in a consensual way without provoking controversy, by focusing on positive outcomes, by democratic persuasion rather than confrontation.
"Achieving a balance in this society, which demonstrates a respect to all without being deliberately provocative should be of no threat to anyone. Achieving that balance in a way which upholds respect to all and avoids conscious disrespect to anyone is an important goal."


Five MPs have begun a campaign against the building of a second runway at Gatwick Airport.

The Conservative MPs, who represent Sussex, Surrey and Kent constituencies, said the scheme for the airport near Crawley would be "a disaster" for communities and the environment.
They said there was "serious local concern" at the plan.
Gatwick said it had sought to engage with communities and politicians and would continue to do so.
Reigate MP Crispin Blunt, one of the members of the newly-formed Gatwick Coordination Group, said: "If Gatwick expands in the way that's planned, it will need many tens of thousands of new people working there, and they are all going to need somewhere to live.
"The airport at the moment are providing a preposterous suggestion that these people are largely going to come from existing communities in Croydon and Brighton. Well I'm afraid that's just simply not the case."
Mr Blunt also said no new railway line had been proposed.
He said the London to Brighton commuter line was already "the busiest commuter line in the country" and at capacity.
The other four MPs behind the campaign are Sir Paul Beresford, who represents Mole Valley, Mid Sussex MP Sir Nicholas Soames, Sir John Stanley, who represents Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, and Charles Hendry, MP for Wealden.
Crawley Conservative MP Henry Smith, whose constituency includes the airport, said he was invited to join the group but declined to endorse the press release.
He said: "Whilst I think Gatwick needs to make a stronger case on how it would invest in upgrading Crawley's infrastructure if the airport were to expand, I think it premature to rule out an additional runway until the Davies Commission investigating aviation capacity has reported next year."
Gatwick has submitted three plans for a new runway to the Airports Commission.
Airport bosses have set out improved public transport plans including new train platforms, new rolling stock and improvements to junction nine on the M23, and have suggested 120,000 jobs would be created by the building of a second runway.
A statement issued by the airport said: "We believe an expanded airport at Gatwick is in both the local and national interest and look forward to working with all our stakeholders to demonstrate that."
East Sussex and West Sussex county councils have backed Gatwick expansion because of job creation, the economic boost and as a solution to providing UK aviation capacity.
Surrey County Council opposed the plans over concerns about the impact on the environment.


Iraq has sentenced 40 men to death over the killing of up to 1,700 military recruits at a former US base in 2014.

The Camp Speicher massacre was carried out by fighters from the so-called Islamic State (IS) group as they seized territory across northern Iraq.
Outrage over the massacre of the mostly Shia cadets helped mobilise Iraq's Shia militias in the fight against IS.
Many of those sentenced were appealing against earlier rulings. Rights groups have criticised the trials.
IS released photos and video documenting the massacre in 2014.
Mass graves were discovered when Iraqi government forces recaptured the area, including the nearby town of Tikrit, in 2015.
Several people were arrested during the government offensive on suspicion of involvement in the crime.
On Thursday, a Baghdad court convicted 40 defendants over the killings, under anti-terrorism legislation.
Seven defendants were released because of a lack of evidence, a judicial spokesman said.
A judicial official told the AFP news agency that all 47 defendants were Iraqi citizens.
The 40 included 24 defendants who had appealed against sentences for the same crime handed down last year.
Some said they had not been near Tikrit at the time of the massacre, while others said they had been denied access to lawyers, or had been forced to confess under torture.
Photos and videos published by IS after the massacre showed soldiers being loaded onto vehicles and forced to lie face down on the ground before being shot dead.


Supporters of the two threatened Scottish steel plants have been marching through Motherwell in North Lanarkshire.

The event was organised by trade unionists, councillors, Labour Party members, and MSPs.
They are calling for action by the Scottish and UK governments to protect the industry and its jobs.
About 400 marchers set off at 11:00 from the Dalzell works, heading to Ravenscraig for a rally.
Up to 270 jobs could be lost after Tata Steel announced plans to mothball the plants  along with 900 posts at the firm's facility in Scunthorpe.
A total of 225 jobs are threatened at the Dalzell plate-rolling works in Motherwell, along with 45 posts at the Clydebridge plant in Cambuslang.
The company blames cheap Chinese imports and high energy costs for a collapse in steel prices. The Scottish government has assembled a taskforce to try to guarantee a future for the plants.
Community union representative Derek Fearon said: "We are trying to raise awareness of the campaign, and hopefully through this Tata will become a responsible seller.
"The main aim of the taskforce, the priority of it, is for the two plants to remain open.
"The mood is upbeat, the guys are still positive that everything can be done for the two plants to be saved."
The Scottish government has pledged to do everything possible to keep the plants operational, with its preferred option being to find a buyer.
However, ministers have not ruled out moves to bring both facilities under public ownership.
A Scottish Steel Task Force, chaired by business minister Fergus Ewing, and including representatives from trade unions and Tata, as well as local councils, met last week to discuss the way forward.
Motherwell and Wishaw MSP John Pentland, himself a former steelworker, has welcomed the creation of the task force and called for all avenues to be explored to keep the plants open.
He said: "The starting point for the Scottish Task Force should be saving the steel plants and all the jobs, not softening the blow.
"We should not meekly accept the annihilation of the Scottish steel industry. We don't want consolation measures such as retraining for other jobs that don't exist. There are other options that will protect the industry and its jobs.
"I believe Scottish steel can have a future, and we must consider all the options to achieve that, including public ownership, which doesn't rely on Westminster anymore."


Huddersfield right-back Martin Cranie has signed a new contract to stay with the Championship club until 2018.

Cranie, who joined the Terriers in July 2015 following his release by Barnsley, was set to be out of contract at the end of the season.
The 30-year-old has made 50 appearances since signing for Town.
"I am delighted that we have agreed a deal to keep Martin at the club, as he is a very important player in our squad," head coach David Wagner said.
"I have always said that keeping our good players at the club is just as important as bringing new ones in, so I'm very happy."
Meanwhile, Wagner has revealed that on-loan Chelsea forward Kasey Palmer will be out for eight weeks with a hamstring injury.
The 20-year old suffered the injury in the first half of Town's 2-1 win over Leeds on 5 February.


Greg Harlow retained the Scottish International Open Bowls Championship with a thrilling victory over Paul Foster after a tie-break in Perth.

With both players looking to win the title for the third time, the Englishman beat the Scot 4-10 12-4 2-1.
Harlow was delighted to be only the second player to retain the title.
"It's never meant to be easy to win these titles and that's as tough as I've ever had it to win one," he told BBC Scotland.
Harlow, the top seed and world number four, feared his title had gone in the first round, when he scraped through 11-0 6-8 2-1 against unseeded Welshman Damian Doubler.
"I thought I had done a serious injury in my first game," said the 2010 world indoor champion, who believed that contributed to his lack of nerves in the final. "I thought I pulled my hamstring.
"So, to be honest, I am just happy to be playing the tournament and happy to be in the final.
"If I had lost today, I would have been equally as happy to be here.
"So it was probably the least pressure I have felt in any of my finals."
Four-time world champion Foster, ranked fifth in the world, began impressively, racing into a 6-1 lead before wrapping up the first set convincingly.
However, the Scot's form deserted him in the second and he did not win a point beyond the fourth of the 11 ends after establishing a 4-2 lead.
Foster composed himself to take the first end of the tie-break, but Harlow levelled and had to kill the third end before the Scot failed to do likewise after the re-spot as he failed to make contact with the final bowl of the match.
"I can hardly believe it myself," said Harlow. "Paul dominated the first set. I improved my game slightly in the second and Paul had a couple of bad results.
"In the tie-break ends, I was in all sorts of trouble and somehow played a few miracle bowls.
"I thought Paul had me under pressure so many times and I had to come up with key bowls to keep me in it."
Foster rued his positional play as he looked to win the second end of the tie break.
"Congratulations to Paul," he said. "To come back and defend it is very hard to do. He played some unbelievable bowls and probably deserved to win it.
"Take nothing away from Greg today, I personally don't think I got going at all.
"Hindsight is a great thing - I'm just angry at myself at the second tie-break end.
"I've been in this game for 30 years now and I cannot believe I didn't go deep."
Final
(1) Greg Harlow (Eng) bt (6) Paul Foster (Sco) 4-10 12-4 2-1
Semi-finals
(1) Greg Harlow (Eng) bt (4) Robert Paxton (Eng) 10-3 9-6
(6) Paul Foster (Sco) bt (3) Alex Marshall (Sco) 10-8 10-2
Quarter-finals
(4) Robert Paxton (Eng) bt (10) Mervyn King (Eng) 11-4 10-5
(1) Greg Harlow (Eng) bt Wayne Willgress (Eng) 9-8, 9-3
(6) Paul Foster (Sco) bt (2) Nick Brett (Eng) 10-3 3-8 2-0
(3) Alex Marshall (Sco) bt (8) Andy Thomson 8-3 12-3
Second round
(10) Mervyn King (Eng) bt (5) David Gourlay (Sco) 9-8 8-4
Wayne Willgress (Eng) bt (7) Darren Burnett (Sco) 4-11 9-4 2-0
(1) Greg Harlow (Eng) bt Trevor Taylor (Eng) 8-3 9-5
(4) Robert Paxton (Eng) bt Connor Cinato (Eng) 11-5 6-6
(8) Andy Thomson (Eng) bt (9) Stewart Anderson (Sco) 7-4 5-8 2-1
(3) Alex Marshall (Sco) bt (14) Jamie Chestney (Eng) 10-6 7-6
(6) Paul Foster (Sco) bt (16) Mark Dawes (Eng) 10-4 2-11 2-1
(2) Nicky Brett (Eng) bt (15) Les Gillett (Eng) 8-10 5-4 2-0
First round
Wayne Willgress (Eng) bt (13) Jonathan Ross (13) 6-4 8-5
(7) Darren Burnett (Sco) bt Steve Halmai (USA) 7-4 4-8 2-0
(5) David Gourlay (Sco) bt Ruti Gilor (Isr) 8-6 9-7
(10) Mervyn King (Eng) bt Lisa Featherby (Aus) 15-5 7-5
Connor Cinato (Eng) bt (12) Jason Greenslade (Wal) 7-6 6-5
(4) Robert Paxton (Eng) bt Anthony Webb (Eng) 3-8 6-5 2-0
(3) Alex Marshall (Sco) bt Mark Sandford (Can) 14-1 11-3
(14) Jamie Chestney (Eng) bt David Corkill (Irl) 5-5 9-6
(9) Stewart Anderson (Sco) bt Sheldon Bagrie-Howley (NZ) 9-2 10-7
(8) Andy Thomson (Eng) bt James Smith (Aus) 8-7 6-7 2-0
(16) Mark Dawes (Eng) bt Billy Jackson (Eng) 5-10 11-4 2-1
(15) Les Gillett (Eng) bt Anthony Yip (Hkg) 11-2 9-5
(2) Nicky Brett (Eng) bt Mark McPeak (Irl) 2-10 11-4 2-1
(1) Greg Harlow (Eng) bt Damian Doubler (Wal) 11-0 6-8 2-1
(6) Paul Foster (Sco) bt Chris Gale (Eng) 14-1 7-3
Trevor Taylor (Eng) bt (11) Mark Royal (Eng) 9-6 10-4


Volkswagen has recalled thousands of its e-Golf cars in the US citing a problem that could cause their motors to switch off while in use.

It marks the third call-back of electric cars over recent weeks.
Earlier this month, Nissan revealed it needed to reprogramme the software that controls its Leaf vehicles' brakes. Days later, Renault said it needed to check and replace faulty brake hoses on its Zoe cars.
The problems appear to be unrelated.
But one expert suggested that the fact that the technology involved in electric cars was both new and complex made the announcements unsurprising.
"The Volkswagen recall is more serious than the others, but even so I wouldn't say there's a fundamental problem," said Jay Nagley , managing director of the Redspy auto consultancy.
"Yes there are teething troubles, but the great thing about electric cars is they don't catch fire - they are the only product I know of, fitted with lithium-ion batteries, for which that is the case."
Details of the VW recall were posted online by the US's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
It said there had been complaints of vehicles stalling unexpectedly, which could "increase the risk of a crash".
The documents state that the German manufacturer had acknowledged that its cars' battery management system could "inadvertently classify a brief internal electrical current surge/peak as a critical battery condition".
The result, it said, was that the battery shut down, which in turn deactivated the motor.
The e-Golf first went on sale in the US in late 2014, and the callback involves all 5,561 of the vehicles shipped to the country, including 157 that are as yet unsold.
The fix involves installing an update to the cars' battery management software, so that its diagnostic check becomes "less sensitive".
A spokesman for the firm was unable to say if it had plans to ask customers in other parts of the world to bring their cars in for the same fix.
Nissan's fault was reported by the same US agency.
The NHTSA said that during cold temperatures, a part used in the Nissan Leaf's electronic brake booster could freeze, requiring more effort to bring the vehicles to a halt.
"Longer distances or additional brake effort would be required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash," said its report.
The Japanese firm had already told mechanics to address the issue via a software upgrade when the cars were brought in for a service.
But after Canada's transport watchdog urged Nissan in February to upgrade this to a full North American recall, it complied.
"Electric cars use regenerative braking, which is pretty novel, using energy to recharge the battery from the act of braking," commented Mr Nagley.
"It does make the system an awful lot more complicated than simply adding a pad to a disk.
"So, it's not totally surprising there are problems. But the Leaf is the bestselling and longest established electric car and they have earned a pretty good reputation."
A total of 47,538 Leaf cars - manufactured between November 2012 and July 2015 - require the new code, the vast majority of which are in the US.
Renault's recall is being implemented worldwide.
The French firm said on 24 March that it needed to check the position of the Zoe's brake fluid hose to ensure it would not be damaged by coming into contact with a part designed to protect the vehicle's front wheel arch.
The company said it was not aware of any accidents.
The announcement affects 10,649 of the vehicles - including about 1,000 in the UK - which represents about one in four of the total number sold to date.
Attention on the electric car sector will be raised again later this week when Tesla announces its first model targeted at the mass market.
The California-based carmaker is expected to confirm its Model 3 will cost about $30,000 (Â£20,100).
The company has largely avoided the need to ask for its cars to be taken off the roads because it can issue "over-the-air" software updates.
These have included a fix issued in 2013 to make its cars' suspension provide more clearance over roads when travelling at high speeds.
However, the firm did recall its Model S vehicles last November to carry out a seatbelt inspection.


It did not take long for the Libyan conflict to spill over borders in the Sahel region - and now Mali seems to have paid the highest price so far following a coup by disgruntled soldiers.

The trouble began when hundreds of Malian combatants who had fought to defend the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, fled back home with weapons at the end of last year and formed the most powerful Tuareg-led rebel group the region has known - the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA).
Mali's Tuaregs have long complained that they have been marginalised by the southern government and have staged several rebellions over the years.
Joined by young recruits and former rebels who had been integrated into the Malian army in recent years, the MNLA fighters took over several key northern towns in just two months.
Not only did they secure a large stretch of territory in the mountainous desert but they also triggered the mutiny, which later turned into a coup, in the capital, Bamako, on Wednesday night.
While the Malian government had been busy claiming the situation in the north was under control, rank-and-file soldiers felt humiliated and abandoned in combat with not enough military resources and food.
"The Libyan crisis didn't cause this coup but certainly revealed the malaise felt within the army," says Malian newspaper columnist Adam Thiam.
"President Amadou Toumani Toure hasn't been active in tackling drug trafficking and al-Qaeda fighters, and the emergence of new rebel movements only added to the soldiers' frustration."
Anger 'too high'
It is hard to tell whether these mutineers had planned to oust President Toure.
After weeks of growing discontent, it seemed a rather spontaneous mutiny when soldiers expressed their anger during a visit by the defence minister to a military barracks on Wednesday.
It escalated quickly and it is possible that mutinous soldiers organised for the coup "as the day unfolded", according to Mr Thiam.
Talking to the BBC on the condition of anonymity, a government official said, however, that "nobody could now pretend they were not warned".
"Many within the government felt something could happen, we just didn't know when and how. The anger was just too high," he said.
Nearly a month before a presidential election, and at the end of President Toure's second and last legal term, this coup is a 20-year jump backwards for Mali.
In 1991, Mr Toure, then an army general, put an end to a military regime in a coup.
As promised, elections were held a year later and Mali started building on democratic fundamentals.
Mr Toure came back to power through elections a decade later, in 2002.
The vast West African country has since become one of the rare examples of democracy in the region.
Despite pride in their democracy, some have pointed out that there has, so far, been very little sign of condemnation from Malians.
But the way in which President Toure's administration handled the crisis in the north of the country had already sparked anger beyond the army's ranks.
Hundreds of people set up barricades and burned tyres in the streets of Bamako last month - protesting at the government's inability to repel northern rebels.
"This coup tarnishes the country's image as it only illustrates how the military has yet to accept the superiority of civil actors in many African countries," says Abdul Aziz Kebe, a specialist in Arab-African relations at the University of Dakar, in Senegal.
"Regional institutions are weak because member states have weak institutions," he adds.
The West African body Ecowas has, among others, condemned the mutineers' takeover.
Earlier in the week it had urged member states to provide military equipment and support for the Malian army to help it quell the Tuareg insurgency in the north.
But analysts say it was doubtful that Ecowas states would have sent any reinforcements or agreed to deploy the organisation's force, even though it is meant to intervene in such circumstances.
They point to the fact that Ecowas failed to take action in Ivory Coast last year to help solve that country's violent post-electoral crisis.
In the meantime, rebels from the MNLA say they might "benefit from the situation".
"It's always best that this corrupt government is toppled," said Hamma Ag Mahmoud, speaking from the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, where the MNLA has its political wing.
Mr Mahmoud served as a minister in the military regime of Gen Moussa Traore before it was overthrown by Mr Toure.
"We will certainly advance southwards to continue to liberate the Azawad," he says, referring to the northern region the MNLA wants to become independent.
"We're not interested in Bamako, but Kidal, Timbuktu and Gao. These mutineers will not have the firepower to resist against us. They will have to sign a peace agreement at some point."
A rebel officer in Tessalit, a village in northern Mali under MNLA control, said: "The only thing that could threaten our advance is a foreign intervention."
Some Malian officials have blamed Nato for the crisis in the north after it helped Libyan insurgents topple Col Gaddafi.
"Western powers have underestimated that getting rid of Gaddafi would have severe repercussions in the Sahel region," Mr Kebe says.
Northern Mali has long become a rear base for drug traffickers, al-Qaeda fighters and other Islamist combatants sharing ground with Tuareg rebels.
Heavy weaponry and arsenals left over from the Libyan war simply reinforced their positions.
Seizing power will not change the extreme difficulty of the army's task as it attempts to combat all of the above.


A goal from Ross County substitute Rafa de Vita with 20 minutes remaining was enough to see off Dunfermline in their Scottish Cup fourth-round replay.

The winger replaced the ineffectual Jonathan Franks at the interval and broke the deadlock in a scrappy affair.
Faissel El-Bahktaoui squandered Dunfermline's best chance moments before De Vita's winner.
County will now host either Forfar Athletic or Linlithgow Rose in the next round.
There were few clear-cut opportunities for either side but El-Bahktaoui missed a golden one by shooting straight at Scott Fox seconds before Ross County hit the front.
It was the League One leaders' first defeat in 14 games stretching back to early October but they did not look out of place against a team two divisions above them.
The Staggies will be relieved just to be through to the next round in a season that already offers a League Cup semi-final against Celtic to look forward to.
Dunfermline started the replay the way they finished the first meeting, by going at Ross County with pace, aggression and good movement in the forward areas.
Former County winger Joe Cardle was heavily involved and a more decisive attempt at goal by him might well have put the visitors into the lead as the home defence struggled early on.
Not that the Pars backline looked any more solid when put under pressure, and a lighter touch on the ball would have brought Brian Graham an opener in 32 minutes.
Instead he hooked the ball over Sean Murdoch and the crossbar from close range, and for long spells of the opening period the Premiership side were one dimensional in attack.
They failed to impose themselves on their League One opponents, which was perhaps a reflection of the continued injury absence of first-choice strikers Liam Boyce and Craig Curran.
The quality of play did not improve much after the interval, with very few good chances created by either side until poor El-Bakhtaoui missed a glaring opportunity.
The standout player of the first game played a neat exchange of passes with Michael Moffat to go clear but he shot straight at Fox when he really should have scored.
Within a minute Ross County finally broke the deadlock when Michael Gardyne produced a telling cross from the left, Graham's physicality created space and De Vita crashed in his second goal of the season to seal County's passage into the next round.


Football's crisis-hit world governing body Fifa will meet in Zurich on Friday and elect a new leader to try to take the damaged organisation forward into a new era.

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A winner must be declared on the night - as an ice hockey rink needs to be laid at midnight for a match at the same Hallenstadion venue the following day.
But what else do you need to know?
BBC Radio 5 live's sports news correspondent Richard Conway explains.
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Fifa's 209 nations will gather in Zurich for what is billed as an "extraordinary congress".
It was called after Sepp Blatter dramatically announced last June that he would step aside after 18 years as Fifa president.
The 79-year-old Swiss said he was "laying down his mandate", which has led to some concern he may not have actually resigned.
However, Fifa officials are confident he will not make an awkward re-appearance - not least because he has been banned from football for eight years over a "disloyal payment" of £1.3m to suspended Uefa president Michel Platini.
Both men deny wrongdoing and are appealing against their bans.
Blatter also has no accreditation to get into the conference hall on the outskirts of Zurich where the congress is being held.
There are two big issues to settle.
First, the FA representatives have to agree to a package of reforms designed to eliminate the problems that have plunged Fifa into crisis in recent months and restore its reputation.
Then, if and when that is formalised, they have to appoint a new president.
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Given the hype and spin around the election the reforms have been slightly forgotten about - but they are vitally important to the organisation's future.
One Fifa insider believes it would be a "disaster" if measures to clean up the governing body fail.
Specifically, Fifa wants members to agree to term limits for top officials along with disclosure of their salaries.
Responsibility for everyday business decisions will be removed from the "political" representatives of national associations.
The "executive committee" will be disbanded. In its place will come a new 36-member Fifa council, which will include a minimum of six women, to set global strategy.
The day-to-day running of Fifa will pass to a new "general secretariat" - equivalent to a corporate executive board - and the secretary general, effectively the CEO, will be a powerful position.
The checks and balances will be carried out by a series of committees, the most important of which will be the fully independent audit and compliance committee.
Fifa wants the regional confederations and national associations to mirror their efforts over time and they will place immediate new demands on them, such as annual audits.
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You would think so given Fifa's recent history. However, officials aren't taking any chances.
The proposals need 75% approval to be passed.
Acting president Issa Hayatou has been very active in spreading the message about the need to adopt the raft of proposals.
Hayatou was censured by the International Olympic Committee for his part in the ISL scandal - where the sports marketing company paid $100m (£66.2m) to officials, including former Fifa president Joao Havelange and ex-Fifa executive Ricardo Teixeira, in return for lucrative television and marketing rights throughout the 1990s.
Additionally, he has been accused of taking a $1.5m (£1.1m) bribe from Qatar to vote in favour of their bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Both he and Qatar categorically deny any wrongdoing.
So it is of interest that Hayatou has been at the forefront of the reform efforts.
Hayatou has an unassailable reputation (although not in Europe) amongst large sections of the 209 Fifa nations, despite his alleged wrongdoing. His voice carries weight amongst the "family" and the vote should therefore be carried without any issues.
Fifa is still in a perilous position with ongoing American and Swiss investigations into the activities of current and former officials.
As it stands, the organisation is considered a "victim" by the US Department of Justice. But that could change.
If the DoJ believes Fifa is not reforming or is carrying on as usual then it could be charged under US racketeering laws designed initially to tackle organised crime.
Passing the reforms are therefore vital if Fifa is to continue operating and not be shut down.
Yes. This is where it gets complicated.
The DoJ and the Swiss authorities are very interested in how the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups were awarded and if any wrongdoing took place.
If Fifa were to be shut down it could render the contracts for both those tournaments null and void.
Geopolitically that could cause huge friction, especially given the delicate military situation in Syria at the moment.
In addition, the US is a big ally of Qatar and has a strategic air base there.
Given all of this, many question whether there is the political will from President Barack Obama's administration to carry out the ultimate threat. One insider said recently he believes there is pressure on Loretta Lynch, the US Attorney General, not to act in this regard.
Far from it.
In December, when the US made its second wave of arrests, it issued a superseding indictment.
There are 24 unnamed co-conspirators within the document, including high ranking Fifa officials and members of national FAs. Some may be cooperating with the US already, others not.
At some stage the US will have to act and a grand jury has been sitting in the US to consider ongoing matters.
In addition, the Swiss investigation into the 2018 and 2022 bidding process is ongoing. That enquiry has widened and has resulted in Blatter being criminally investigated.
Big question. No one knows right now.
If they do take action, the effect that has on the election will depend largely on who is targeted and where. The US is believed to be diverting its attention away from America and more towards Europe, Asia and Africa.
It is hard to see the mechanism by which the election could be stopped - but this is Fifa, so let's not rule anything in or out just yet.
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain is still the front runner according to many observers.
He has the backing of his own Asian confederation and Africa, though the continents do not vote as a bloc and the ballot is held in secret.
However, such political backing from two of the biggest confederations should not be underestimated.
The national associations do not want to back the loser either… even though the vote is secret. There may be big swings in the vote between the rounds.
Fifa presidency: Meet Sepp Blatter's five possible successors
What about GianniInfantino?
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The Uefa general secretary Infantino has, according to the 45-year-old Swiss' camp, made gains in recent weeks. They believe he is the man to beat.
Well, yes… but this is the same PR team behind Prince Ali bin al-Hussein's failed election attempt last May.
Back then they made very different noises in the build-up, briefing that 40-year-old Jordanian Prince Ali was unlikely to win but would give Blatter a bloody nose.
So their bullish confidence with Infantino should not be underestimated.
Infantino has strong support in Europe, South America and significant backing in the potentially crucial Caribbean.
They also think they will get half the votes in Africa. If that proves true then it's game over. He wins. "If" is the key word though.
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Prince Ali lost the support of Europe for this election when Platini announced he was standing.
He failed to make gains after the 60-year-old former France captain was banned and Infantino stepped into his shoes.
A safe prediction for Prince Ali would be that he has between 20 and 30 pledges of support.
That means he simply cannot win - but he could be a significant player in deciding the eventual victor if he drops out and asks his supporters to back a rival candidate.
Frenchman Jerome Champagne will stay on to the bitter end but is highly unlikely to get more than 10 votes.
South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale's efforts have been something of a mystery and he has been criticised for running a lacklustre campaign.
He went on a joint visit to Robben Island, where he was a political prisoner, with Infantino on Monday.
Despite that he says he will not quit. He seems to be playing a longer game - perhaps with his eye on a new Fifa if the current organisation is ever abolished.
There are 207 eligible voters, with Kuwait and Indonesia currently barred from taking part.
That may change on Friday and the total number of voters will be announced before the ballot.
In the first round, the winner needs two-thirds of the available votes. If no candidate achieves that then a simple majority (105 in a 209-nation contest) is all that is required to win.
If there is still no winner then a third round will take place and the candidate with the fewest votes in round two would drop out at this point.
The candidates will each have 15 minutes to address Friday's congress, which is due to start at about 12:00 GMT.
In theory, the first round of voting should start at approximately 13:30 GMT.
Fifa estimates each round of voting will take one hour and 40 minutes. A safer bet is two hours, judging by previous elections.
So the earliest a winner is likely to be declared is about 17:30 GMT… let's see.


Kenyans tortured by British colonial forces during the Mau Mau uprising will receive payouts totalling £20m, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced.

He said the UK government recognised Kenyans were tortured and it "sincerely regrets" the abuses that took place.
A lawyer for the victims said they "at last have the recognition and justice they have sought for many years".
Thousands of people were killed during the Mau Mau revolt against British rule in Kenya in the 1950s.
Mr Hague also announced plans to support the construction of a permanent memorial to the victims in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Wambuga Wa Nyingi, 85, detailed his torture at the hands of the British colonial authorities in a witness statement.
He was a tractor driver and member of the pro-independence Kenya African Union - but never took the Mau Mau oath.
He survived the Hola massacre in 1959, when 11 Kenyans were beaten to death by prison guards in a detention camp.
He said: "I was battered on the back of my head and around my neck repeatedly with a club. I believe that the beating went on for up to 20 minutes...
"I lay unconscious with the 11 corpses for two days in a room where the corpses had been placed awaiting burial.
"The people who put me there thought I was also dead."
More victims' stories
Mau Mau revolt: Your experiences
"I would like to make clear now, and for the first time, on behalf of Her Majesty's government, that we understand the pain and grievance felt by those who were involved in the events of the emergency in Kenya," he told the Commons.
"The British government recognises that Kenyans were subject to torture and other forms of ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration.
"The British government sincerely regrets that these abuses took place and that they marred Kenya's progress towards independence."
Mr Hague said 5,228 victims would receive payments totalling £19.9m following an agreement with lawyers acting for the victims, who have been fighting for compensation for a number of years.
The compensation amounts to about £3,000 per victim and applies only to the living survivors of the abuses that took place.
Mr Hague said Britain still did not accept it was legally liable for the actions of what was a colonial administration in Kenya.
Christian Turner, the British High Commissioner to Kenya, also made a statement on the settlement to members of the Mau Mau War Veterans' Association in Nairobi.
Gitu wa Kahengeri, secretary-general of the association, said it was the "beginning of reconciliation between the Mau Mau freedom fighters of Kenya and the British government".
But BBC East Africa correspondent Gabriel Gatehouse said the reaction in Kenya was "muted".
He said it may have been because the announcement had been expected or because it was marred by the UK government continuing to deny liability for some of the abuses.
That said, it was a "big milestone" for the Mau Mau veterans, said our correspondent.
In a statement, Martyn Day, of law firm Leigh Day, said it took "courage to publically acknowledge for the first time the terrible nature of Britain's past in Kenya".
"The elderly victims of torture now at last have the recognition and justice they have sought for many years. For them the significance of this moment cannot be over-emphasised," he said.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu - who backed the case and last year wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron accusing Britain of trying to evade its legal responsibility to the victims - said the settlement was a "balm" for both the victims and perpetrators.
"It sends a signal to the world that no matter how badly human beings behave towards one another, goodness ultimately prevails," said the South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
But Bryan Cox, who is representing Tandem Law, said there were "thousands" of further claims that remain unresolved and "the matter was far from over".
He said the law firm was working with more than 8,000 Kenyans who were still awaiting an agreement with the UK government.
The UK has argued that all liabilities for the torture by colonial authorities was transferred to the Kenyan Republic upon independence in 1963 and that it could not be held liable now.
But in 2011, the High Court in London ruled that four claimants did have "arguable cases in law".
Their lawyers allege Paulo Muoka Nzili was castrated, Wambuga Wa Nyingi was severely beaten and Jane Muthoni Mara was subjected to appalling sexual abuse in detention camps during the rebellion. A fourth claimant, Ndiku Mutwiwa Mutua, died last year.
After the ruling, the case went back to the High Court to consider a claim by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) that the actions had been brought outside the legal time limit.
The FCO said it had faced "irredeemable difficulties" in relation to the availability of witnesses and documents.
But in October last year, the court ruled the victims had established a proper case and allowed their claims to proceed to trial despite the time elapsed.
At the time, victims' lawyer Mr Day said he would be pressing for a trial "as quickly as possible" but would also be pushing for the government to reach an out-of-court settlement.
The Mau Mau, a guerrilla group, began a violent campaign against white settlers in 1952, but the uprising was eventually put down by the British colonial government.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission says 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed, and 160,000 people were detained in appalling conditions, although a number of historians believe the figure is lower.


The Chicago Cubs will be hoping to end the most infamous run of failure in US sport when they face the Cleveland Indians in the World Series, which starts on Tuesday.

Remarkably, this year's finale features the two franchises who have waited longer than any other to win a championship.
Cleveland's last title came way back in 1948. In ordinary circumstances a win for "the Tribe" would be a baseball fairytale: this year it would mostly be remembered for crushing Chicago's dreams.
The Cubs, despite being one of the most popular and historic franchises in baseball, have not won a World Series title since 1908.
They have not even played in the Fall Classic since 1945, when legend has it that a curse was placed on the team when a local tavern owner was asked to leave a game because the smell of his pet goat was upsetting other fans.
Baseball is fond of hexes. The "Curse of the Bambino" - placed on the Boston Red Sox when they sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees - was blamed for the Red Sox's 86-year World Series drought, while the 1920 Black Sox betting scandal was fingered as the reason for the failure of the Cubs' cross-city rivals, the Chicago White Sox, to win a championship for 88 years.
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But the Sox, red and white, finally came good in successive years a decade ago. The Cubs' winless streak stands at 108 years and counting.
Various, possibly more likely, reasons have been advanced for the Cubs' epic failure, including playing more daytime games than most (which some believe denies the players the opportunity to settle into a rhythm), a failure to tap into Latin American talent and a poor system for developing young in-house stars.
Some also believe the innate pessimism of the fans creates a counter-productive atmosphere of tension at their beautiful but capricious Wrigley Field home - where the wind can swirl unpredictably - when things get tense at the business end of the season.
In 2003, the fan effect was more tangible when Steve Bartman covered himself in infamy by impeding a fielder's attempt to catch a key fly ball in a post-season game against the Florida (now Miami) Marlins. Needless to say the Cubs went on to lose the game, and the series and Bartman issued a public letter of apology.
As he puts it on his Twitter feed: "Some people are remembered for a lifetime of great work, I'm remembered for five seconds."
In 2008, a priest even sprinkled holy water in the Cubs' dug-out before their National League Division Series against Los Angeles. They did not win a single game, losing the best-of-five series 3-0.
So why does 2016 finally promise something better?
It seems the key was to make Theo Epstein president of baseball operations in 2011. He is now the highest paid manager in US sport, reportedly on a five-year contract paying more than $50m (£40.87m).
Epstein had already tasted success at the Red Sox, relying on a scientific, analytical method to identify talent. He has repeated the process in Chicago, transforming a team that finished in last place in the National League Central Division for the first three years of his presidency.
The batting line-up was the third most productive in the majors during the regular season.
Dynamic infielders Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo both achieved the notable double of driving in more than 100 runs and hitting more than 30 home runs.
But the Cubs' domination of their division, which they won for the first time since 2008 with three weeks of the season still to go, was primarily down to a group of pitchers as daunting as any seen in the major leagues in recent decades.
The key measure of a pitcher's effectiveness is the earned run average (ERA) - the average number of runs they give up during a full nine-inning game. The Cubs' Kyle Hendricks posted the lowest ERA in the major leagues, and team-mate Jon Lester was second.
The Cubs' bullpen - the group of relief pitchers who come into the game in the later stages when the starter has run out of steam - was also among the strongest in baseball.
Sceptics thought the Cubs might again struggle to maintain their form into the postseason, but they eased past the San Francisco Giants 3-1 in the National League Division Series, and then came roaring back from 2-1 down to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.
Just reaching the World Series prompted scenes of wild celebration.
As David Haugh from the Chicago Tribune put it: "The reaction was visceral, the elation indescribable and the relief undeniable as a crowd of 42,386 fans unleashed 71 years' worth of frustration and disappointment."
The Indians comfortably won the American League Central Division, despite losing their best hitter Michael Brantley to injury for most of the season.
But with injuries to two of their key pitchers, few expected them to beat the Red Sox in the AL Division Series. In fact they swept the Sox, and went on to beat the Toronto Blue Jays in a low-scoring AL Championship Series.
Deftly managed by Terry Francona, who won championships at Boston in 2004 and 2007, the Indians have proved themselves to be consummate battlers this year.
Reaching a World Series is an impressive achievement for a franchise with one of the smallest payrolls in baseball.
But many expect the Cubs to end their years of pain - if they can overcome their internal demons, and a smelly goat.


US actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr Spock in the cult sci-fi series Star Trek, has died at the age of 83 in Los Angeles, his family has said.

His son, Adam, said he died of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on Friday morning.
Nimoy had a long career as both an actor and director.
However he was best known for his portrayal of the half-human, half-Vulcan character in both the TV franchise and series of films.
Last year, the actor revealed he was suffering chronic lung disease COPD, despite stopping smoking 30 years ago.
It was reported earlier this week he had been taken to hospital on 19 February after suffering from chest pains.
He later tweeted: "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory."
He signed off what was to be his final tweet with "LLAP" - a reference to his character's famous catchphrase, "Live long and prosper".
The same Twitter account was used by his granddaughter to confirm that he died at home on Friday in Bel-Air, California.
Dani Nimoy said her grandfather was an "extraordinary man, husband, grandfather, brother, actor, author - the list goes on - and friend."
She added that special merchandise was being added to Nimoy's website, with all proceeds going to the COPD foundation.
George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek and was a friend of Nimoy's, paid tribute to the actor.
"The word extraordinary is often overused but I think it's really appropriate for Leonard", Mr Takei told US broadcaster MSNBC.
"He was an extraordinarily talented man but he was also a very decent human being."
Among the torrent of tributes on Twitter was a message from Nasa crediting Nimoy and Star Trek as an inspiration.
Thousands took to Twitter to pay tribute after Nimoy's death was announced, including Star Trek actors past and present.
William Shatner, who as Captain Kirk acted alongside Nimoy for years in Star Trek, said he loved the actor "like a brother".
"We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love," Mr Shatner said on Twitter.
Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation, said: "We stood on your shoulders, and wouldn't have had a galaxy to explore if you hadn't been there, first. Thank you, Leonard, Rest in peace."
It was Nimoy's casting as Spock in 1966 that made him in a star and, in many ways, defined his acting career.
He played the character in all three of the original series of the programme and later in several big-screen spin offs.
Nimoy had an ambivalent relationship with Spock, seeming to both cherish and resent his close association with the role.
His two volumes of autobiography - "I Am Not Spock" in 1975 and "I Am Spock" two decades later - seemed to epitomise his mixed feelings.
83
when he died
1965 appeared in rejected Star Trek pilot The Cage
1966-69 played Spock in original Star Trek series
4 Emmy award nominations, 3 for his character Spock
2013 appeared in Star Trek Into Darkness - his last film
Nimoy did have success outside of his Spock costume, in both acting and directing, and he pursued music, painting, and photography.
After the end of Star Trek's initial run, he played master of disguise Paris in the hit adventure series Mission Impossible.
Later he directed two of the Star Trek films, The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home, and in 1987 helmed the hit comedy Three Men and a Baby, one of the highest-grossing films of that year.
Nimoy announced that he was suffering from COPD last year, writing: "I quit smoking 30 years ago. Not soon enough. Grandpa says, quit now!!"
COPD is an umbrella term for several lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and some forms of bronchiectasis.
Sufferers experience increasing breathlessness during the advanced stages of the disease but it can be symptomless for a long time as it develops.
1931 Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Jewish immigrants Dora (Spinner) and Max Nimoy
1951 Bit-part Hollywood debut in Queen for a Day
1954 Marries Sandra Zober. Two children, Julie and and Adam, follow.
1966 Cast as Spock in Star Trek, which turns Nimoy into a star
1969 Joins cast of Mission: Impossible and plays The Great Paris for two years
1979 Reprises role as Spock in the first big-screen version of Star Trek
1987 Directs the hugely successful comedy Three Men and a Baby
1989 Stars in Star Trek V and then Star Trek VI in 1991
2009 Comes out of retirement to play Spock in new Star Trek films directed by JJ Abrams
2014 Reveals diagnosis with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a progressive lung condition
2015 Passes away in Los Angeles
Obituary: Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy: Life in pictures


A fire that sent plumes of smoke into the sky that could be seen across the city centre has badly damaged Birmingham Wholesale Market.

The market covers a 21-acre site with 235 stalls selling fish and meat as well as warehousing. It is thought about 20% of the building is affected.
At its peak, some 40 firefighters tackled the "severe" blaze on Pershore Street in Digbeth.
The fire is now out and investigators are looking at the cause.
Crews will remain at the scene for some time, the fire service said.
Several nearby roads have now reopened.
Crowds of people gathered near the scene at the fire's peak, and witness Toby Ashcroft said they were told by police to move back because of concerns about gas canisters in the building.
One person was treated for the effects of "minor smoke inhalation" and discharged at the scene.
The fire service, which was called out soon after 14:00 BST, described the blaze as "severe".
The market is set to be relocated to a purpose-built facility in Witton after the authority said it could not afford the investment needed to maintain the site.


Hospitals in England are preparing for a third strike by junior doctors starting at 8.00am on Wednesday, this time for 48 hours.

This is the first of three 48 hour strikes over March and April as part of their fight against the government's plans to force a change in their pay and working conditions.
Ministers want to change the hours they work and the money that junior doctors get, especially at the weekends and overnight, but doctors say the changes are unfair.
The government says the new contract will improve services for patients but doctors are worried that longer hours will make them tired and could put patients' health at risk.
The NHS says emergency services will still be operating, but as in previous strikes, thousands of appointments and less urgent operations have been cancelled.


In a university lab in Jerusalem two computer science students and their professor have hit upon a potential game-changer in the touchscreen market.

With 37 million people said to own a smartphone in the UK, touchscreen is king.
Phones, tablets, many cash points and self-service check-outs are all designed to give the consumer control at the swipe of a finger. But what if you can't use them?
Political reporter Esther Webber recently posted a snapshot of her battered Nokia on Facebook accompanied with the caption "Goodbye my lover" a reference to James Blunt's hit. It was like 2005 all over again.
But her love for the old phone wasn't some kooky style choice, it was a necessity which came with chunky buttons and physical mechanisms. The tremors from her cerebral palsy making touchscreen surfaces almost impossible to use.
"Pressing a button, however small, is a cruder, more definite movement than the sensitive skidding of the touchscreen," she says.
"My imprecise hand movements make it impossible to tap out anything resembling an intelligible sentence. At primary school I used an electric typewriter and at secondary school, a laptop.
"But when smartphones arrived, for the first time, I felt excluded."
According to The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 11 million people have cerebral palsy globally, an additional 10 million have Parkinson's Disease and with an aging population there is growing demand for a solution.
It was a situation noted by two of the university's students - Aviva Dayan and Ido Elad - and their Professor Yuval Kochman who went on to develop a potentially "life-changing", but yet-to-be-named, tremor absorbing software which could open up touchscreen technology to millions of people.
Dayan says: "A close friend of our family, who we refer to as uncle, has cerebral palsy and he took a huge, daily, part in my upbringing. A few years ago I found myself frustrated that I couldn't Skype him because he can't use it.
"I want to be able to Skype with my uncle and I hope to do the same for other people in similar situations. The next step is to allow people like my uncle to generally use all touchscreen functionality, everywhere, like anyone else."
Dayan describes the software as a "translation programme" which intercepts and "listens" to the shaky screen touches, cancelling out the "noise" of the tremors for the operating system to understand and act upon without delay.
It's still being discussed how the technology can be rolled out. Options include having an app available to download or getting a deal to incorporate it directly into phone operating systems.
Dayan says: "As far as the user is concerned, they just press the icons on the screen, and the computer works just the same as it works for anyone else."
She says the bonus is that it would work with any phone and not "come with 'special needs' adaptations".
For Webber that is music to her ears compared to current options.
"Voice commands? OK, but the other passengers on the bus don't really need to know where I'm planning to go for drinks. Detachable keyboards? Yes, but the process of assemblage takes the 'mobile' out of mobile phone."
At Scope, Assistive Technologist Kim Lawther says this type of technology could "change lives".
"Quite a number of my students experience involuntary spasms, which makes certain technologies impossible to use, so if you're able to almost cancel those out then the technology is usable," she says.
"The pros are obvious. If it works, that would change lives but the cons are all the unanswered questions, until you get the final software it's hard to be too excited."
For now, she acknowledges Webber's frustrations but says voice commands to "do the hard work" such as updating a Facebook status or keyboard adaptations remain "the best thing" for now.
Robin Christopherson, the Head of Digital Inclusion at AbilityNet agrees the product being nurtured is "powerful" and something he would "love to see built into the operating system," but it comes with a warning to the aspiring entrepreneurs.
"iOS and Android build in lots of cleverness, so I do ask myself why can't Apple or Google just build the extra level of noise cancellation into the accessibility settings?"
He predicts if the system piques a company's interest it might just buy it out saying "it wouldn't be the first time by any means".
Apple did not respond to requests to talk about the potential of the tremor absorber, and Android simply highlighted its voice activation services  - both companies perhaps keeping any future plans to themselves.
The potential of the students' project was first identified at a science fair by Tamir Huberman a business development specialist for the university's for-profit company, Yissum, which aims to turn the best ideas originated at the university into businesses.
He says "as a rule of thumb" about $500,000 is needed to help fund the wider trials and get this technology into development . It is hoped it will be available within two years.
Following the "death" of her Nokia, Webber opted for a BlackBerry with keyboard, although the company recently announced plans to stop designing its smartphones in-house leaving her fearing facing her touchscreen "nemesis" sooner rather than later.
She says: "What's happening in Jerusalem sounds like something that would make a big difference. Other people with fine motor impairments tell me they've just 'got used' to typing gobbledygook or rearranging all their apps with one errant movement. As someone who writes for a living this idea horrifies me.
"I just hope technology catches up soon."
Voice recognition on Android: Converts the user's speech into text for typing messages and launching applications
Speak passwords on Android: A system which will read out passwords to the user with TalkBack making is easier to fill in passwords
Touch and hold delay on Android: When having to tap and hold something on the screen to activate it, users can set a delay between the two motions so the device can tell the difference between a quick and long press
Inverting colours on Apple: Changing the colour combination of the device can improve the contrast between text, image and background making items easier to identify
Switch control on Apple: This highlights items one by one before the user can then make a selection by activating a switch
Guided access on Apple: This limits what can be accessed at any one time so you concentrate on a selected app which can use useful for those with attention and sensory challenges
Source: Ability Net


Scarlets are "not chasing" Northampton and Wales wing George North, according to head coach Wayne Pivac.

However, the Welsh region have confirmed they are in talks with fly-half Rhys Patchell over a potential move from Cardiff Blues.
New Zealander Pivac dismissed stories linking North with a return to the team he left in 2013 as speculation.
"George North is media only, so don't ask that question every week because we're not chasing him," he said.
"Rhys Patchell, he's one that we are talking to, he's certainly one who is of interest to us."
North has played 55 times for Wales and made three appearances in Tests for the British and Irish Lions during the 2013 tour of Australia, scoring two tries.
His contract with Saints ends in the summer of 2016, and had been strongly linked with a return to west Wales.
Patchell, who has played twice for Wales, is reported as having told the Blues he wants to leave when his contract expires at the end of this season.
A fly-half by preference, Patchell has played a lot of his rugby at centre and full-back since the arrival of Gareth Anscombe from New Zealand in November 2014.
Blues head coach Danny Wilson believes Patchell needs to do what he considers the right thing for his career.
"It definitely won't be about money it will be a rugby decision and a decision that Rhys believes is best for him," said Wilson.
"I think this has been going on a lot longer than this season if I'm brutally honest.
"Rhys will make the relevant decision when necessary, but we want Cardiff Blues to be full of players that want to play, want to compete for Cardiff Blues and if anybody doesn't want to then they plain and simply shouldn't be here."


Leicester City owners King Power International have agreed to purchase OH Leuven, the Belgian club says.

The second-tier club, located just east of capital city Brussels, narrowly avoided relegation this season.
The club's board set a time limit in its search for investment and said King Power "was the only bidder who made a clear and coherent proposal".
Its directors said the deal "guarantees the future of the club, both financially and in sporting terms".
OH Leuven were relegated from Belgium's top tier in 2015-16 but said new ownership would provide "sufficient financial resources to aspire to the earliest possible return".
It added King Power - founded by Leicester chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in 1989 - will fund an expansion of the club's youth system.
The acquisition will be formally completed when the company has concluded due diligence.
Srivaddhanaprabha is worth an estimated £3.6bn according to Forbes.
The 58-year-old bought Leicester in 2010, with the club winning promotion to the top flight four years later and claiming the Premier League title in 2015-16.


A Victorian pier shut after being deemed a public danger is to partially reopen next week after a Â£5m revamp.

The Grade II-listed South Parade Pier in Southsea, Hampshire, was shut in 2012 when Portsmouth City Council deemed it at risk of collapse.
Owners South Parade Pier Ltd said work to make the structure safe was completed at the end of last year.
An amusement arcade is expected to open at the front of the pier on Good Friday, the company confirmed.
South Parade Pier Ltd, which bought the structure in 2014, said it had also agreed terms to open a fish and chip shop in May and a 275-seat restaurant in August, creating 50 new jobs.
The amusement arcade is expected to employ 22 new staff.
It is also hoped a cafe will open in the summer, with further plans for an ice cream parlour, shop, rides, a "showbar", zip wire and chartered boat trips.
South Parade Trust, which previously raised concerns over delays in reopening the pier, welcomed the news.
"Everyone in Portsmouth will be delighted to walk out over the sea again," chairman Leon Reis said.
Pier owners Tommy Ware said it would bring "much-needed employment opportunities".
A dangerous structure order was served on the previous owners.
A council spokeswoman said this had now been lifted on the section with buildings on it, as well as 15m (49ft) beyond. The remainder is still considered unsafe.
South Parade Pier opened in 1879, but was destroyed by fire in 1904 and rebuilt in 1908.
In 1974 it was again wrecked by fire during the filming of the Ken Russell movie Tommy and part of the superstructure was rebuilt.


New Zealander Ryan Fox, son of All Blacks rugby great Grant Fox, hit a closing nine-under-par 62 to win the Northern Ireland Open by four shots.

Three behind overnight leader Dylan Frittelli, Fox, 29, fired an eagle and nine birdies in Sunday's final round.
South African Frittelli shared second place on 15 under at Galgorm Castle with England's Max Orrin, plus German pair Dominic Foos and Bernd Ritthammer.
After starting well on Sunday, local man Michael Hoey finished eighth.
Four birdies in his opening 10 holes left tournament ambassador Hoey only three behind Fox but a bogey at the 13th ended his hopes as he carded a closing 68.
In his three previous outings as the event's ambassador Hoey missed the Galgorm Castle cut but despite his struggles on the main European Tour this year, he showed improved form at the Ballymena venue this week.
Auckland native Fox's only previous Challenge Tour win came at last year's Le Vaudreuil event in France.
However, Sunday's triumph now moves him into the top 10 in the current Challenge Tour rankings and on course to claim to clinch the top-15 spot which would guarantee promotion to the main European Tour at the end of this season.
Fox took control of the tournament by going out in 29 after following an opening birdie with an eagle two at the driveable par-four second.
A bogey at the third didn't derail the New Zealander as he carded three straight birdies from the fifth and also picked up a shot at the ninth.
Four more gains as the 10th, 11th, 14th and 15th moved Fox to 20 under par and a bogey at the 16th was no major crisis given that he still had a four-shot lead with two holes left.
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Defending champion Frenchman Clement Sordet shared sixth spot with halfway leader Wil Besserling, one ahead of Hoey.
Meath man Damien McGrane shared ninth place alongside England's Tom Lewis on 11 under with Northern Ireland's Chris Selfridge in the group a further shot back after a closing 69.
Clandeboye man Jonathan Caldwell finished in in a share of 36th spot on six under after a 69 with Warrenpoint amateur Colm Campbell (73) in joint 52nd-spot on two under and Cormac Sharvin tied 65th after a second straight 74.
The final day at Galgorm Castle included an albatross at the closing hole by England's former Walker Cup player Stiggy Hodgson as he holed a two iron from 235 yards which led to him finishing in a share of 23rd place after a closing 67.
Northern Ireland Open leaderboard


Food vendors at the Staples Center in Los Angeles will be going 100% vegetarian at Morrissey's forthcoming sold-out show on 1 March.

It will mark the first time stalls within and around the venue are not selling any meat products.
The singer and animal activist said: "I don't look upon it as a victory for me, but a victory for the animals."
The venue and promoter Goldenvoice will also donate a portion of the ticket sales to the UK-branch of charity Peta.
The decision came after the former Smiths singer urged the venue to close down their McDonald's outlets and to banish the sale of "flesh as food".
The 53-year-old star recently postponed a string of concerts due to a bleeding ulcer.
He resumes his US tour on 26 February with a performance on Live with Jimmy Kimmel.
It is not the first time Morrissey has asked venues hosting his gigs to take meat off the menu.
The animal rights activist walked off stage at the Coachella festival in California in 2009 after saying he could smell "burning flesh".


Eleven people have been arrested in Shetland following illegal immigrant raids by the Home Office.

The employees, who worked in four takeaways, are alleged to have been living and working in the country illegally.
The firms have been asked to produce documents proving their staff had the right to work and live in the UK.
If they are unable to do so the Home Office said they would impose a fine of up to Â£20,000 per illegal employee.
The process to deport the workers is already under way.