There are estimated to be between 20,000 and 25,000 polar bears globally.

The bear population is thought to have increased after the 1973 Agreement for the Conservation of Polar Bears. But scientists believe they are now in decline again in some areas due to climate change.
The polar bear is the biggest bear. It weighs up to 800kg (1,763 pounds) and when it stands on its hind legs it is more than four metres (13ft) tall. They can run at up to 50km/h (31mph) for short distances on land, and have been known to swim for up to 600km (372 miles) when there is no ice.
They mostly eat ringed seals, but will prey on many marine mammals including walrus and even beluga whale. They will also eat fish.
They are most comfortable on sea ice, where they can more easily catch seals. But with the extent of the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean shrinking dramatically - and the ice getting thinner - polar bears are having to spend more time on land in the summer.
For example, more and more are turning up in Iceland each year, where many of them are simply shot.
On-shore and near-shore drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic in Alaska does not seem to have affected polar bears significantly. But nobody knows what effect the wholesale development of the Arctic will have.
Experiments in Canada in the 1960s showed that bears covered in oil licked it off and died.
If the bears' sources of food, like the ringed seal, get displaced by oil and gas rigs - or by an increase in shipping - then they could struggle to feed, and that may cause a further decrease in numbers.
The lack of preparation for protecting polar bears when Arctic drilling increases is worrying conservationists.
"What's the plan? There isn't a plan. Nobody has the equipment or the training to cope with it," said Geoff York of the environmental group WWF.
Many female polar bears come ashore to make dens in November and December to have their young, and the numbers doing so are increasing, presumably because of the changes in the sea ice.
The usually make their dens in deep drifts of snow. As the climate changes there are starting to be problems with dens collapsing with earlier than usual spring rain.
Polar bears in Russia live all along the Arctic coast from Murmansk in the west to Chukotka in the east, including in the areas where oil and gas development are most likely - the Barents Sea, South Kara Sea, Laptev Sea and Chukchi Sea.
Wrangel Island off Chukotka - which was the first protected area in Russia specifically for polar bears - is surrounded by sea earmarked for oil and gas development.
There is a problem with polar bear poaching in Russia, and there is a risk that as more come ashore - and as more people work in the Arctic - the numbers of bears being hunted will increase.
In the 1973 agreement all the Arctic nations with polar bears agreed to protect the bear's habitat, but at that time nobody thought that the biggest threat of all to the habitat would be climate change. The ice the bears live on is simply disappearing.


Sterling's strength against the euro is not good news for Northern Ireland tourism as it tries to make headway in two of its toughest markets.

Continental Europe and the Republic of Ireland in particular have been a struggle, (based on the last annual statistics available, for 2013).
When you factor in a weak euro and there is a degree of trepidation over what the next few months may hold in an industry seen as increasingly important to the Northern Ireland economy.
"My worry is months down the line it definitely will impact," said Bob McCoubrey, a restaurant owner.
Like others in hospitality, he points out there is a lower VAT rate for tourism in the Republic of Ireland (9%) compared to Northern Ireland (20%).
Add in a weak euro and suddenly, he says, "we are going to seem to be a very expensive location".
On top of potentially fewer Eurozone visitors, more Northern Ireland people are likely to be tempted by breaks on the other side of the Irish border.
"It is a double whammy," says Terry McCartney, who runs a hotel business in County Fermanagh and sits on the board of Tourism NI.
"We are fighting hard to maintain the level of business we have, but there is no doubt it is difficult," he said.
The situation also arrives at a time when Tourism NI has had its advertising budgets cut.
It is banking on major events like the forthcoming Irish Open at Royal County Down in Newcastle to provide an influx of visitors and spending power.
Figures from Tourism NI reveal about one in five tickets sales has been to residents in the Republic of Ireland.
It is not all gloom.
In Bob McCoubrey's restaurant in Belfast, about 50% of lunchtime diners are from the Far East.
"It is not impacting on Asian or American visitors," he said.
The Northern Ireland tourism product now stretches much further afield, and does not have to over-rely on visitors nearer home.


A team of specialised Nepalese Sherpa mountaineers have begun work to repair the climbing route on Mount Everest four months after it was destroyed by a devastating earthquake.

In April, 18 mountaineers and support staff were killed when the earthquake triggered an avalanche which swept through Everest base camp.
The team, known as the Icefall Doctors, have begun surveying the mountain.
They plan to fix ropes through the Khumbu Icefall in the next few days.
The Icefall is a notoriously treacherous stretch of moving and cracking ice, which climbers must negotiate after they leave base camp on their way to Camp 1 on the mountain.
Without the ropes fixed by the Icefall doctors, this would not be possible.
The Icefall doctors say they hope the restored route will attract mountaineers back to Everest for the autumn season.
"We plan to begin rope fixing work in the treacherous icefall section after conducting a ground survey," leading icefall doctor Ang Kami Sherpa told the Himalayan Times earlier this week.
A Japanese climbing team has already arrived in Nepal ahead of their planned attempt on the summit next month.
On Tuesday, climber Nobukazu Kuriki, 33, left Kathmandu for the Everest region, to begin acclimatising before his planned attempt on the summit next month.
Kuriki, who has lost all his fingertips and one thumb to frostbite, is so far the only person scheduled to climb Everest during the challenging autumn climbing season.
"I do feel nervous and afraid," he told Reuters.
"This is only natural before attempting the challenge of climbing Everest, particularly after the earthquake and at this time of year."
Nepal's lucrative climbing industry was destroyed by April's devastating earthquake and the avalanches that followed.
The government and Sherpa community, who depend on foreign climbers for a livelihood, are keen to rebuild it as soon as possible.
But some in Nepal criticise the decision to reopen the route so soon.
The president of Nepal's mountaineering association, Ang Tsering Sherpa, has described the Japanese expedition as "risky and dangerous", saying climbing in the autumn already brings the additional risks of cold temperatures and strong winds.


The Church of England has paid substantial damages to a woman who claims she was forcibly drugged and sexually abused whilst in the care of a church-run children's home.

Teresa Cooper, 43, has spent the past 18 years trying to expose what she said happened in the home in the 1980s.
Ms Cooper said her time in the church-run Kendal House children's home in Gravesend, Kent, was a "nightmare".
In agreeing an out-of-court settlement the Church has not accepted liability.
Ms Cooper arrived when she was 14 and over the next three years says she faced physical and sexual abuse, as well as being forcibly medicated with high doses of drugs.
A BBC investigation last year examined her detailed notes and found over 32 months she was given drugs on more than 1,200 occasions. They included major tranquilisers, anti-depressants and drugs to counteract side-effects.
The home closed in 1986.
The Diocese of Rochester said there was no admission of liability, but it hoped the settlement would help Ms Cooper move forward.
In a statement it said: "In reaching the settlement, no admissions of liability were made.
"It is our fervent hope that the terms of the settlement agreed will assist Teresa Cooper move forward with her life."
Despite the out-of-court settlement, the woman still wants an investigation into why she and 18 other girls who she believes were also drugged at the home, have had children with birth defects.
She said: "I want to make sure the Church of England understands and publicly acknowledges what happened to me and dozens of other girls at Kendal House and I would like to see a genuine Christian will to help others who suffered like me.
"Anything less will be seen as an attempt to brush the scandal under the carpet in a cynical damage limitation exercise."


US manufacturing giant General Electric plans to cut up to 6,500 jobs in energy units it bought from French engineering giant Alstom over the next two years.

The figure includes 765 jobs to go in France.
To secure the deal last year, GE had soothed French government concerns by pledging to create 1,000 jobs in the country.
A GE spokesman said the company would stick to its pledge, creating the roles in the next three years.
Up to 600 jobs in the UK could be affected, the BBC understands. GE employs about 22,000 people in the UK.
In Europe as a whole, staff in Alstom's renewables, power services and energy management divisions could be affected.
A spokesman said unions had been informed.
"This is a plan, which could change following discussion with employee representatives," he added.
Around 1,300 of the layoffs will be in Switzerland, the firm said.
In May last year, GE pledged to create jobs in France as part of efforts to calm French government concerns about the US company's proposed acquisition of Alstom's energy units.
At the time, both GE and Siemens were in talks with the French government to try to secure a deal.
The French government had previously given itself powers to block foreign takeover bids for companies deemed "strategic".
GE's takeover of Alstom's energy business - which includes gas and steam turbines, wind turbines, turbines for hydro dams and power grids - added about 65,000 employees to GE's workforce of about 305,000.
The head of GE's power division said in September the company would seek to make $3bn (Â£2bn) in cost savings over five years from the Alstom acquisition.


Hope is fading in South Africa for the family of a five-year-old boy who fell into a disused mineshaft, after a number of failed rescue attempts.

Richard Thole was playing next to his family's shack near Johannesburg when the ground gave in last Saturday.
His mother, Nombeko Thole, has said: "It hurts, I think my child is dead. I just want him back dead or alive."
Johannesburg is dotted with disused mines following the 19th Century gold rush which led to the city's founding.
Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories
The army has been requested to help find the boy.
Rescue efforts have been slow because of the volatility of the ground and the acid mine water inside the shaft, officials have said.
Mzwandile Masina, mayor of the local Ekurhuleni district, says there is only 11% oxygen in the shaft, making it almost impossible for the boy to still be alive.
He has told the family to "prepare for the worst".
The mayor is also worried about "losing more life" in the process of the search after a member of the rescue team became unconscious after descending into the shaft.
A specialised camera was lowered into the shaft and three other mines on Wednesday but there was no sign of the boy.
The residents of the informal settlement, known as Jerusalem, now want the government to relocate them, saying they fear for their safety.
It is built on private land, once home to an active mine that has been sealed since the 1950s.
The many mines around Johannesburg are often left derelict when the reserves dry up, barely closed off.
Living space is a contentious issue here and so such land attracts migrant workers looking for cheap accommodation.
The disused mines are rarely monitored so communities grow largely undetected - often only being discovered in the event of a tragedy such as this one.
The local government involved in this specific rescue mission has said overseeing the sealing of mines is outside its scope, that it's a matter for the Department of Mineral Resources.
The owners have yet to be located - many are asking questions about whether lessons will be learned from this horrific incident.
For Richard Thole's family, it's a lesson that may come at too high a cost.
Local people who support themselves by illegally mining for gold, and who know the network of shafts well, have offered to go underground to look for the boy but the authorities have said that was not an option.
"We cannot allow just anyone to go in there considering their safety aspect," emergency services spokesman William Ntladi said.
"There's been massive rock fall and I can confirm there were no illegal activities taking place at this shaft before the incident occurred."


Many central London businesses have been forced to close their doors for a second day after an electrical fire left homes and businesses in the area without power.

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3 April 2015 Last updated at 15:29 BST
The fire broke out beneath a pavement in Kingsway, Holborn, on Wednesday and was put out on Good Friday morning.
Matthew Gardiner from ticketing specialist Shows in London said eight theatres had to cancel 10 performances over the past two days with a loss of Â£1.2 million.
"Now one of my big concerns would have been how many small businesses are dependant on these performances," he added.
BBC London's Marc Ashdown reports


Efforts to save the native white-clawed crayfish from extinction in Wales are showing "encouraging" results.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said an innovative project has seen approximately 4,000 of the threatened crustaceans reared and released here since 2009.
The focus is on the River Wye and its tributaries, the last remaining native crayfish stronghold in Wales.
Some fear the species could die out completely by 2030.
Crayfish are considered a key indicator of the health of our rivers.
But numbers have been in sharp decline since the introduction of North American signal crayfish to Britain in the 1980s.
Initially, these larger crayfish were farmed for their meat.
But the non-native species spread widely, out-competing native populations for food and infecting them with a deadly plague.
Oliver Brown, NRW's fish culture officer, said parts of the country had lost between 50 to 98% of their population of white-clawed crayfish.
As a keystone species, the native crayfish's decline impacts on the overall diversity of water courses with knock-on effects for a large number of other organisms and habitats as a whole.
The re-introduction project at Cynrig Hatchery, near Brecon, was designed as a "stop-gap" measure to avoid a total wipe-out in Wales.
With help from local charity the Wye and Usk Foundation, the reared crayfish are released into specially selected "ark" sites, where they are protected by natural barriers from possible invasion by signal crayfish.
Recent site visits have shown the juveniles surviving for at least two years post release.
"If we can create enough of these ark sites it should give us that little bit of extra time to find a solution to the issues," Mr Brown told BBC Wales.
He added that there was growing interest across the UK in the work being carried out in Wales.
"It's an iconic species, indicative of a really good river habitat. If we lose it then it's the start of a slippery slope.
"But in reality we are going to have to come up with something pretty spectacular (to reverse the decline)."
Meanwhile, researchers at Cardiff University are hoping they can do just that.
PhD student Rhidian Thomas is set to present his research on the invasive signal crayfish at an International Crayfish Symposium in Madrid this month.
"It is quite a grave situation - the non-native species are continuing to spread and bringing crayfish plague with them," he said.
"The main focus of the research here at Cardiff Research into Infection and Parasites in Ecological Systems (Cripes) is to try and understand which factors are associated with their success.
"We also want to understand more about the parasites and pathogens that get co-introduced with them when they're brought over.
"It's to try and understand what sorts of management practices we can put in place."
One method that is increasingly being encouraged is for people who use waterways - such as canoeists and fishermen - to check, clean and dry their equipment after use to try and prevent the spread of crayfish plague from area to area.
The NRW said getting the message across was "vital" as a wet wader or the underside of a boat that had been in contact with one affected river could cause the death of native crayfish in another.


Much of the government's plans to revamp England's exams system are being delayed by a year because of concerns by the exams watchdog, Ofqual.

Education Secretary Michael Gove wanted new O-level-style GCSE exams and tougher A-levels introduced in 2015.
But Ofqual said it could not be confident "high-quality GCSEs" or new A-levels in maths and modern languages would be ready so soon.
Mr Gove accepted the exam boards needed more time to get it right.
The education secretary has been clear he is in a hurry to change the exams system, describing the current GCSEs as "not fit for purpose".
But teaching unions, head teachers, examiners and elite private school leaders have expressed concerns about the pace of change to the system.
The regulator, Ofqual, warned soon after the shake-up was first announced that it would intervene if it thought the programme of reform was moving too fast.
In a letter to Mr Gove, just published on the Ofqual website, chief regulator Glenys Stacey wrote: "It is clear that the amount of work needed on GCSEs, including the development of strengthened regulatory arrangements, means we cannot be confident that new, high-quality GCSEs in all subjects could be ready in good time for first teaching from 2015."
The exams regulator says it will focus on the new GCSEs in English literature, language and maths - the subjects with which there are the "biggest concerns" - and hopes to have these ready for first teaching in September 2015.
But the new GCSEs in science, history and geography will be delayed until 2016.
Ms Stacey added a review looking at the planned new A-levels had found "fundamental" work was needed on maths and further maths.
More time would also be needed for new A-levels in modern languages, she said.
Mr Gove wrote back, saying he had agreed the reformed GCSEs should be "re-phased".
In the letter, dated 6 September, he says: "We must replace the modular GCSE treadmill with exams that encourage the skills universities and employers want, such as essay writing and mathematical problem-solving.
"That is why I wanted new GCSEs in core academic subjects to be in place for teaching from 2015.
"However, I accept that much more rigorous regulatory demands should be put in place and that Ofqual needs more time to develop them."
A spokesman for Mr Gove said: "Existing GCSEs encourage a 'memorise and regurgitate' approach to education.
"We urgently need to replace them with tests that encourage higher level skills such as essay writing, mathematical modelling, and problem-solving.
"Ofqual thinks that the necessary changes are so big that they and the exam boards need more time to make sure they get things right.
"We have to balance the urgency of fixing exams against the dangers of repeating past mistakes.
"Focusing on English and maths first makes sense.
"Many people have opposed reforming exams and criticise us for moving quickly - but if schools and exams don't change quickly, even more children will be failed."
Christine Blower, head of the NUT, said: "It was always a ridiculous idea of Michael Gove's that such massive changes to the examination system could be carried out so quickly.
"This delay will now enable the content and structure to be considered in greater detail."
She added: "It is useful for Ofqual to prioritise English and maths specifications as the first syllabuses to go into schools and colleges, but all the new qualifications should be trialled and evaluated before being introduced."
Russell Hobby, general secretary of heads' union, NAHT, said: "If the government is struggling to design the new exams in the timescales envisaged how much harder will it be for schools to develop programmes, write materials and train staff at the same pace? More haste less speed."


The UK's stock market ended the week down 1.1% as worries over the situation between the US and North Korea continue to rattle investors.

On Friday, Donald Trump said the US military was "locked and loaded" to deal with North Korea,
By the close of trading, the FTSE 100 was down 84.46 points, or 1.1%, to 7,305.48, having dropped 1.4% on Thursday.
US markets held steady in trade on Friday, with the Dow Jones up 0.2%.
On the London stock market, mining shares saw the biggest falls as many metal prices were hit by the geopolitical concerns. Shares in Glencore, Rio Tinto and Anglo American were all down by between 2.8% and 3.1%.
Housebuilders Persimmon and Barratt Developments were among the biggest gainers of the day, up 1.58% and 1.02% respectively.
"The FTSE has carried on where it left off on Thursday, with yet another day of risk-off sentiment seeing investors shift out of equities," said Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG.
"The UK headline index has crashed to the lowest level since late June, in a week which has turned from mundane to insane.
"For a week that has been largely devoid of major economic releases, Donald Trump's confrontational stance with North Korea has raised volatility across the board."
Gold - generally regarded as a safer asset in times of uncertainty - hit its highest price for more than two months on Friday, touching $1,288.97 an ounce at one point.
On the currency markets, the pound was up 0.03% against the dollar at $1.2981 but down 0.23% against the euro at 1.0999 euros.


Theresa May has decided that an energy cap fits her political purpose and has confirmed she will wear it into this election campaign.

It's a striking departure for a Conservative Party that branded Ed Miliband's attempt to intervene in the energy markets in 2013 a "dangerous idea".
It may have been dangerous then but it's an idea whose time has come for a PM who declared herself "fed up with rip-off pricing" in a piece for today's Sun Newspaper.
It's a significant step given competition authorities looked at this issue for two years and decided that it wasn't necessary or desirable.
This is the same authority which looked at competition available to customers with pre-payment meters and decided a cap was necessary there.
In other words, it was not totally ideologically opposed to caps where competition isn't working but it considered a cap on standard tariffs a bad idea.
It said a cap would "run excessive risks of undermining the competitive process, [probably] resulting in worse outcomes for customers in the long run". Pretty clear.
The boss of the biggest of the six energy suppliers, Centrica's Iain Conn, has warned that a reduction in competition and investment are among the possible unintended consequences of a cap.
Even consumer groups are worried that consumers will become less bothered trying to find a good deal if they think the government is doing it for them.
But Stephen Fitzpatrick, the chief executive of smaller supplier Ovo Energy, described the policy as a "bold and ambitious move" - and argued that a cap would not harm consumers or competition but rather offer customers a safety net to protect them from overcharging.
The owners of the big energy companies have taken fright and billions have been wiped off their share prices.
Shares in Centrica have fallen 15% since the start of this year and some are speculating that it may cut its dividend to shareholders to cope with an estimated Â£200 million hit to profits from the cap.
Speaking this morning to the BBC, Business Secretary Greg Clark said the companies should look at ways to become more efficient. That usually means job cuts.
The energy companies can't say they weren't warned. Even before Theresa May became Prime Minister, she told the Conservative Party conference she was prepared to intervene in dysfunctional markets. There were no prizes for guessing which markets she meant.
Nevertheless it's a new direction for her party and I'm told senior ministers were split over its wisdom.
It is the most significant policy to date in Theresa May's attempt to rebrand the Conservatives as the party of the worker and consumer rather than big business and its bosses.


There has been a succession of warnings for the UK from European officials in the aftermath of the referendum.

Among them, suggestions that British banks can expect reduced access to the market for financial services in the remaining 27 EU states.
The Bank of France governor, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, said they won't be able to use what's called the banking passport system unless Britain signs up to all the rules of the single market.
As those rules include free movement of workers it would be politically challenging for the British government negotiating the post-exit relationship.
So what is it that the British banks might lose?
Banks and other financial companies can be authorised to do business in one member state of the EU, or the slightly wider European Economic Area (EEA), and then ply their trade across the region without having to be separately authorised in each country.
The EEA is a grouping made up of the EU, plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein who have access to the EU's single market.
A bank using this system can provide services by offering them from its home base to a customer in another country, or it can establish a branch abroad.
It is widely used by financial firms (not just banks) in the EU. It is also used by companies from outside the EEA, such as Switzerland and the US.
They establish themselves in one place in the EU, typically in London as the continent's dominant financial centre, and use that as their headquarters for selling services across the single market.
If the banking passport is no longer available to British-based firms, then some operations would clearly have to shift to a location inside the EEA.
What is impossible to judge is just how much business, and how many jobs, would be affected. Would any shift be narrowly focused on those functions serving EEA customers? Or would firms find it more cost-effective to move other parts of the business as well?
There's also a view that lighter regulation of the city would be possible outside the EU and that would stimulate further growth in the financial sector. That could in turn offset any jobs and business that might be lost if the passport option is removed for operations based in the UK.
In principle, it is possible that even if the UK ends up outside the EEA, the exit deal might allow for passporting for financial firms.
Leave campaigns have argued all along that Britain is such an important market to the rest of the EU, that they would have an incentive to negotiate a deal that's favourable to the UK. That could, perhaps, apply to the financial services elements of any agreement.
On the other hand, the post-referendum comments coming from European officials have not been encouraging. Some have suggested their negotiating position will be tough, in order to discourage euro scepticism in other countries.
Some of those unpromising comments have referred specifically to financial services - the French central bank governor and the Dutch Finance Minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, for example.
And the rest of Europe has long cast a rather envious eye over London's thriving financial centre. They would like some of that business for themselves. Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin are all significant financial centres, albeit far smaller than London.


The launch of a French rocket from a space centre in French Guiana has been delayed after workers erected barricades as part of a labour dispute.

The Ariane 5 rocket was due to take a South Korean satellite and a Brazilian satellite into orbit later on Tuesday.
But the booster could not be rolled to the launch pad because of the protest at the Guiana Space Center over what workers for energy company EDF said were "deplorable working conditions".
The launch has been moved to Wednesday.
Workers used tyres and wooden pallets to erect barricades at the facility in French Guiana.
Satellite launch company Arianespace said in a statement that "due to a social movement, it was not possible to carry out today's [Monday's] scheduled transfer of the launch vehicle from the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building to the launch zone."
It said that the launch vehicle, as well as the satellites had been "placed in a stand-by mode and are being maintained in fully safe conditions".
The two satellites, owned by Brazil and South Korea respectively, aim to improve internet access to remote communities in Brazil and provide a range of video and data services over East and Southeast Asia.
It is not the first time industrial action has delayed a launch at the Kourou Space Centre.
In 2011, another Ariane 5 rocket launch had to be moved back when workers demanded extra pay for working on Sundays.


Russia has stepped up its attacks on Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria, dispatching long-range bombers and firing a volley of cruise missiles.

The strikes follow a statement by Russia's security chief that a bomb brought down a Russian airliner over Egypt last month, killing 224.
Sinai Province, an IS-linked Egyptian group, said it had downed the jet.
Russian officials say the country's air force has flown 2,300 missions over Syria in the past 48 days.
In response to Friday's terror attacks in Paris, which killed 129 people and wounded a further 352, Russian warships have been ordered to work "as allies" with their French counterparts in the Mediterranean.
Story: 'Act of terror' downed Russian plane
Paris attacks: live updates
Russian plane crash: What we know
Speaking at a security meeting held on Monday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country's air campaign in Syria would intensify.
"The combat work of our aviation in Syria should not only be continued, but it should be intensified to make the criminals understand that vengeance is imminent," he said.
Sinai Province said in a statement that the attack on the Metrojet airliner was a response to Russian air strikes that had killed "hundreds of Muslims" in Syria.
On Tuesday, FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said that "traces of foreign explosives" were found on the wreckage of the plane. Mr Putin vowed to "find and punish" those behind the attack.
As well as targeting IS, Russian warplanes are supporting Syrian government forces against various rebel groups - a source of tension between Mr Putin and his US and UK counterparts.
France has also vowed to intensify air strikes against IS after Friday's attacks in Paris were linked to the group. At least 129 people were killed in several co-ordinated attacks in the city and a further 352 injured.
Both Russian and US officials have said they will coordinate closely with France to target IS in the wake of the attacks in Paris.
Recent attacks linked to Islamic State
13 Nov - Paris, France Gunmen and suicide bombers kill at least 129 people.
12 Nov - Beirut, Lebanon Suicide bombers kill at least 43 people.
31 Oct - Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt Plane crashes killing all 224 on board. Russia says a bomb caused the crash and an IS affiliate says it was responsible.
10 Oct - Ankara, Turkey Suicide bombers kill 102 people at peace rally. Turkey blames IS, but no group claims the attack.
18 Jul - Khan Bani Saad, Iraq Car bomb kills 120 people.
26 Jun - Sousse, Tunisia Gunman kills 38 people, mostly British tourists.
26 Jun - Kuwait City, Kuwait Suicide attack kills at least 27 people.
22 May - Qatif, Saudi Arabia Two suicide bombs kill at least 21 people.
21 Mar - Sanaa, Yemen Suicide bombings kill at least 137 people.
18 Mar - Tunis, Tunisia Gunmen kill 19 people, mostly foreign tourists.
Correction, 18 November: In an earlier version of this story, we reported that the Russians had launched missiles from a submarine in the Mediterranean. This was based on reports on the Russian media which we now believe to be incorrect.


Former First Minister Rhodri Morgan has admitted that coalition negotiations with Plaid Cymru after the 2007 assembly election "could have been fatal" for him.

He told BBC Wales that the stress of two months of negotiations led to him suffering a heart attack 48 hours after the deal was finally struck.
In a new report on coalitions, Mr Morgan said stable deals depend on securing the backing of party members.
He advised leaders to "take your time".
The report - Working Together - has been published by the Electoral Reform Society as opinions polls suggest another hung parliament after the general election in May.
Writing in the report, Mr Morgan said many Labour members "profoundly distrusted" Plaid Cymru, but had to "ventilate the steam" of their "intense dislike" to reach agreement.
"Coalition is not abhorrent, and it doesn't make a country ungovernable," he wrote.
Mr Morgan said "legitimacy and negotiation" were key to successful coalitions, recommending special party conferences be held to agree the manifesto promises being dropped for the sake of a deal.
His hospital admission shortly after the 2007 coalition deal was said at the time to have been for "gastric problems".
Plaid Cymru ministers served in a coalition government with Labour in Cardiff Bay from 2007 to 2011.
Cardiff Central Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Willott, who has served as a junior minister in the UK coalition government, said in the report they had proved it could work.
"There have been problems between the parties, but they have been resolved and the Government has held together to the very end," she said.


Restoration work on an Art Deco seaside lido badly damaged in winter storms has begun at a cost of £3m.

Jubilee Pool in Penzance, Cornwall, was wrecked in storms that ravaged the south west in January and February 2014.
The pool, which first opened in 1935, is one of a few saltwater tidal open air swimming pools in Europe.
Engineers will repair the original changing rooms and anchor the pool floor to the rock bed.
Martin Nixon, chairman of the Friends of Jubilee Pool group, said he hoped the restoration would create "a sustainable future for this much-loved amenity".
The pool previously closed in 1992 as it had fallen into disrepair, but was restored to reopen in 1995.
The project has been funded by the government's Coastal Communities Fund, Cornwall Council, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, Tempus Leisure, the Friends of Jubilee Pool and Penzance Town Council.


It is officially a regeneration area and Dyke House in Hartlepool has newly built smart houses - but they are in the minority.

You will see far more properties boarded up with metal shutters - ready for redevelopment that just has not happened.
Crime is the key issue here.
Officially it is falling - the police monthly crime map figures show 100 fewer crimes than a year ago.
But 600 crimes still took place within a mile of Dyke House including 300 anti-social behaviour offences.
Reverend Graeme Buttery, from St Oswald's Clergy House, said: "We had Â£5,500 worth of lead taken from the roof and we've graffiti on the outside wall.
"Before the window guards went on we used to get everything from six inch bolts to stones through the windows - one during a wedding nearly hitting the best man."
Harry Trigg is moving a few miles across town because of the level of crime but reckons he will feel safer away from Dyke House.
However, he is not convinced the new police and crime commissioners (PCC) will cut crime.
He said: "With them cutting the budgets they're cutting the police off their main beat but they're going to bring in a commissioner into a job which will get thousands a year but they're cutting the front line."
Margaret Dryden, 77, said she would stay in the area even though she has been burgled.
"I heard a bang and when I went to the back I found all the glass broken and all my windows and the back door to the lane wide open," she said.
"We don't see many police round our area, they think it's better now but if they don't appear it'll all start again."
As night falls, teenagers appear on the streets - but they too are worried about crime.
Callum, 17, says crime is a constant worry and said he felt unsafe.
He said: "There was fighting in the street and I thought that's something I wouldn't want to happen every day."
Rae-Shaune, 14, said: "We've had a smashed window. The police have been called out about 10 times and there's nowt being done."
"[The PCC should] sort out the teenage abuse, all the druggies, the drug dealers."
Cleveland police say there have been over 2000 less victims of anti-social behaviour this financial year compared to last in the Hartlepool area, with a decrease in overall crime of 9%.
Police Elections - Time To Choose will be on BBC1 Wednesday 7 November at 19:30 BST.


A girl celebrating her fourth birthday heard her parents sing Happy Birthday for the first time after becoming one of the youngest people in the UK to have "revolutionary" hearing surgery.

Leia Armitage was born with a rare form of deafness, missing her cochlea and auditory nerve in both ears.
The youngster, from Dagenham, had an implant two years ago but it has taken time for her brain to adapt.
St Thomas' Hospital confirmed that the implant surgery was a success.
Katherine Wilson, lead audiological scientist at the central London hospital, said:  "We've monitored Leia's progress over the past 24 months and at each stage we've been thrilled at the success she has made.
"At this crucial two-year mark, we're confident that Leia's brain has adapted to the device to gain the optimum benefits. She's hearing all types of sounds and is now starting to form her own speech."
A team of hearing experts from Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and King's College Hospital, came together to perform Leia's pioneering Auditory Brainstem Implant procedure at King's College Hospital in 2013.
Her dad Bob Armitage, 42, a union rep at Royal Mail, said: "Leia can now hear us calling her from other rooms and we spend hours watching her dance and sing along to her favourite Disney films.
"We're so excited to sing Happy Birthday to her, it's going to be a special day for the whole family."
Professor Dan Jiang, one of three surgeons involved in the operation, said: "The procedure is revolutionary for children with no auditory nerve, it is their only chance of ever accessing sound."


China's online retail giant Alibaba says it has pulled in $9.3bn (£5.9bn) in sales from its annual 'Singles' Day' shopping event.

At the end of Tuesday, the firm said sales had reached 57.1 billion yuan, and that it had shipped 278 million orders - 43% of which were placed on mobile devices.
Last year, Alibaba recorded sales of $5.75bn, shipping 150 million packages.
Singles' Day is the world's biggest online retail sales day.
It compares with "Cyber Monday" in the US, the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is also marketed as a big online shopping day.
"You're seeing the unleashing of the consumption power of the Chinese consumer," said Alibaba Group's executive vice chairman, Joe Tsai.
"We really are witnessing history here because we are seeing the shift of the economy from focused on the state sector to consumption."
Alibaba had said it expected to break sales records during the annual event, offering big discounts to boost sales.
"I bet the number [of goods bought] is going to be scary," said Alibaba's executive chairman Jack Ma last week. He estimated that 200 million packages would be shipped from orders made during the day.
The company, which recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange, surpassed that number by 18:00 Beijing time.
Analysis: Celia Hatton, Beijing correspondent, BBC News.
When did an obscure holiday devoted to single people, a kind of anti-Valentine's Day, become China's biggest shopping day of the year? Many in China find the transition baffling.
"November 11 used to be 'Singles' Day'. Then it became the Shopping Day, and now it's Couples' Shopping Day," complains one user on Weibo, China's version of Twitter. "Looking across the globe and over the years, there's never really been a day dedicated to single people."
Others point out that China's biggest online shopping platform, Alibaba, engineered the change.
Alibaba trademarked the term "Double-11", a popular term describing the November 11th holiday, in 2012.
The website earns a significant chunk of its profits on that day.
"They say behind every successful man, there's a woman quietly supporting him.  Behind Jack Ma, [Alibaba's founder], there're tens of millions of female shopaholics," jokes one Weibo user.
Frustration lingered in the background of many Weibo forums.
Shoppers complained the online deals were too good, tempting them to spend money they didn't have.
"Please Singles' Day, can you pass by quickly?," reads a typical comment. "I didn't think I needed anything until today when I feel like I need everything I see. I'm so helpless!"
Singles' Day in China was adopted by Alibaba in 2009 to boost sales, but dates back to at least 1993, when students at Nanjing University are believed to have chosen the date as an anti-Valentine's Day where single people could buy things for themselves.
Since then, it has gone on to become a massive day of sales for China's fast growing e-commerce market.
The market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 25% over the next few years, from $390bn in 2014 to $718bn in 2017, according to a recent study released by management consulting firm AT Kearney.
This year's Singles' Day online sales event has attracted the participation of more than 27,000 global brands, including Japanese label Muji, Spanish clothing retailer Desigual and American outdoor clothing label The North Face.
"Lots of clients from the brands side have for the first time, approached the Singles' Day as an event on its own, and earmarked it as a significant retail operation, as major as Christmas and the Chinese New Year," said Shaun Rein from China Market Research in Shanghai.
However, despite Alibaba's recent successful share sale and the strong performance of this year's Singles' Day, Mr Rein says Alibaba still faces challenges.
He notes that while 35% of e-commerce transactions in China come from mobile devices, Alibaba is lagging slightly behind, with 31% of its sales generated from mobiles.


A south of Scotland community hospital has still not done enough to address the significant concerns of inspectors.

Out of 26 problems identified at Galloway Community Hospital in Stranraer, only seven have been fully addressed by NHS Dumfries and Galloway.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) said patients were ringing for nurses for a long time before anyone came.
Earlier this year NHS Dumfries and Galloway apologised for being "unable to demonstrate best standards of care".
The latest report said patients were not properly assessed for malnutrition, the danger of falls and medicine requirements.
Inspectors concluded the hospital also needed to make improvements to make it more suitable for people with dementia and to make sure patients were discharged as quickly as possible.
The results of previous inspections on standards of care for older people were published in February and outlined a large number of areas where action was needed.
A follow-up inspection in March found some of them had been tackled but many remained unaddressed.
HIS head of quality of care Jacqui Macrae said: "This was a follow-up inspection, which was designed to assess the progress made by NHS Dumfries and Galloway towards addressing 26 areas for improvement identified following our previous inspections in November 2014 and January 2015.
"During this follow-up inspection, in March 2015, we acknowledged areas where improvements have been made in relation to the care provided to older people at Galloway Community Hospital.
"We noted improvements in the use of do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation documentation within the hospital, and found communication between staff and senior management had also improved."
However, she said inspectors found that further improvements were still required in specific areas.
"Of the areas for improvement identified previously, we saw evidence during this inspection that NHS Dumfries and Galloway have met seven," she said.
"Three areas will be carried forward to future inspections and 16 areas remain as areas for improvement."
The full report is available online.


Britain's Vicky Holland won the penultimate World Series event of the season in Edmonton, Canada.

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The 29-year-old triumphed in 58 minutes and 55 seconds - nine seconds ahead of Bermuda's Flora Duffy, with Australian Gillian Backhouse third.
Holland's team-mates Non Stanford and Helen Jenkins finished sixth and 27th respectively in heavy rain.
South Africa's Richard Murray won the men's event, outsprinting Spaniard Javier Gomez to the line.
The 26-year-old finished in 53 minutes and 19 seconds for just his second World Series victory, four seconds ahead of series leader Gomez, whose countryman Mario Mola was third.
Thomas Bishop was the highest placed Briton in 11th, forty seconds behind, while Alistair and Jonny Brownlee missed the event through injury.
England's Holland remains fifth in the overall standings after victory on a course that comprised of a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run.
The four women ahead of her - Americans Gwen Jorgensen, Katie Zaferes and Sarah True, and New Zealander Andrea Hewitt - did not compete in Edmonton.
"I had a really good swim, that set me up for the rest of the race and I didn't have to chase on the bike," Holland said.
"I kept working hard to keep myself warm. I had a few problems in T2 getting the shoes on and the helmet off but once I got going I felt OK. I wanted to give myself as good a session as I could."
Holland and Stanford will qualify for the Olympics with a top-three finish at the World Triathlon Grand Final in Chicago on 15-19 September.
Holland emerged from the swim in Edmonton in a leading group of 15 athletes that also included Welshwoman Jenkins, who was later dropped during the transition from bike to run.
Wales' Stanford, the 2013 world champion, struggled in the swim and bike disciplines but rallied to finish 49 seconds behind Holland.
British Triathlon performance director Brendan Purcell said:  "Non got so cold she just couldn't undo her helmet. She would have made the podium if it wasn't for that.
"Helen got too cold too - we were just shouting at them to work hard so they could keep warm. They all approached it as a training session, but really it was too cold and perhaps should have been a duathlon."


Thirty-two people were killed and 13 injured after their tour bus overturned on a road near Taiwan's capital, Taipei, emergency officials say.

Pictures from the scene showed the tour bus lying on its side.
Most of those on board were local elderly tourists returning from a cherry blossom tour in Taichung, local media said.
Taiwan is considered one of the safest places in the world - but critics say safety standards need to be improved.
News agency CNA said no foreign nationals were thought to be on the bus.
A Taipei official, Tu Bing-cheng, said the incident "happened on a curve, so the bus flipped and that could be due to excess speed".
"The whole frame of the bus changed shape" and was "crushed", he said.
Twenty ambulances and 200 firefighters were deployed to the scene and rescuers have now extracted all of those on board, CNA added.
The emergency services are using a crane to move the bus into an upright position.
The injured have been taken to nearby hospitals.
Some family members of the deceased are at the scene, reciting prayers for their loved ones, reports say.
In July, 26 people died after a tour bus in Taiwan's Taoyuan city caught fire.
Investigators said a suicidal driver was the cause of that fire.


Guernsey's minister for Health and Social Services has resigned, ahead of a planned States debate on a motion of no confidence.

Deputy Hunter Adam handed the Bailiff Richard Collas a letter informing him of the decision following a recess for his board to discuss its options.
Deputy minister Barry Brehaut and deputies Elis Bebb, David Inglis and Arrun Wilkie have also resigned.
Earlier, deputies voted to allow the department to overspend by Â£2.5m.
However, that unanimous decision came despite severe criticism of the department's handling of its finances and its decision in November to close wards and postpone non-emergency operations.
Deputy Mark Dorey, a former Social Security minister and a current member of Treasury and Resources, was voted to replace Deputy Adam.
He beat the current Housing Minister Dave Jones by 27 votes to 16.
During his speech to members, Deputy Dorey said: "I believe that I would bring a fresh approach to the role, characterised by energy, openness and willingness to listen."
States members adjourned, following his election to allow time for deputies to discuss nominations for the remaining four seats.
They went unopposed to Deputy Sandra James and Deputy Martin Storey and two former board members, Deputy Elis Bebb and Deputy Barry Brehaut.
All were proposed by the new minister and their nominations were seconded by the unsuccessful ministerial candidate Deputy Jones.


A residential school for transgender people has been opened in the Indian city of Kochi, to help adults who dropped out of school finish their education.

Transgender people can face judgement and hostility in India, and around half of them fail to complete their schooling as a result.
Sahaj International is the first school of its kind in India.
It will welcome 10 pupils, aged 25-50.
The students will be prepared for India's Class 10 and 12 board exams, normally sat when students are aged 15-16 or 17-18 respectively. The curriculum will also include some vocational skills.
Transgender activist Vijayraja Mallika, who heads the school, told the BBC: "The school aims at making transgenders eligible for taking decent jobs and living a dignified life."
"We have admitted six candidates so far, all male-to-female persons, from 14 applicants. Of the 10 seats, we have reserved one for female-to-male and one for the disabled."
The school is in Kerala, which is the first Indian state to adopt a transgender policy against discrimination. It promotes inclusive education, and offers free gender reassignment surgery at government hospitals.
The centre's organisers said they had arranged sponsors for all the students, to pay for their food, accommodation and studies.
The teachers also belong to the transgender community - a measure designed to protect and encourage the pupils.
The decision comes after India's first transgender college principal, Manabi Bandopadhyay, resigned from her post claiming that some of her students and fellow teachers had agitated against her because of her sexual identity.
India has an estimated two million transgender people, and in 2014 the country's Supreme Court ruled that they have equal rights under the law.
As well as the right to marry and inherit property, they are also eligible for quotas in jobs and educational institutions.
But abuse and exploitation are still common. Many transgender people are thrown out of home by their families, denied jobs, and forced into sex work, begging, or dancing at weddings to make ends meet.
Even finding a venue for the school was a challenge, as nobody was willing to rent the founders their premises.
"We approached some 700 people and 51 households, and all of them turned us away. They seemed to think that we were looking for space for prostitution," Ms Mallika said.
Finally, a suitable site was found.
All of the school's first students come from Kerala, but Ms Mallika hopes to gather more from beyond the state.
"This is a model centre. Once proved successful, we will expand the facilities and admit more people, from across India," she said.
"Kerala has some 25,000 transgenders, and 57% of them were forced to drop out of school due to stigma. They all should get a decent accommodation the policy initiatives envisaged."
The school was opened by activist Kalki Subramaniam, who is a transgender woman herself.
"This day is historic for me," she said.
Reporting by Ashraf Padanna in Trivandrum, Kerala


After-school clubs and sports can improve the academic performance and social skills of disadvantaged primary school pupils, research finds.

Poorer primary children who had taken part in after-school clubs were found to get better results at age 11 than peers from similar homes who had not.
The Nuffield Foundation says clubs are an "easy vehicle" for enrichment.
The findings come as ministers plan to use money from a sugar tax on fizzy drinks to fund after-school activities.
The researchers analysed information on more than 6,400 children in England taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study, which has been following children born in 2000-01 from birth.
They defined disadvantaged children as those whose family income was below the poverty line - that is below 60% of the average household income.
The study found taking part in activities after the formal school day could play a role in closing the attainment gap between children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and those with more family resources.
The report says: "Compared with disadvantaged children who did not attend after-school club at the age of 11, those who attended after-school club one or two days per week had made significantly more progress than predicted.
"Those who attended after-school club one day per week had, on average, a 1.7 point higher actual Key Stage 2 score than predicted based on their prior attainment and circumstances, while those who attended after-school club two days per week had on average a three point higher actual total point score than predicted."
The research also found poor children who attended after-school clubs developed better social, emotional and behavioural skills than those, also from similar social circumstances, who did not.
The results indicate that after-school clubs also bridged the gap between rich and poor, as children from disadvantaged homes participated to the same extent as those from affluent ones.
However, when assessing the impact of out-of-school activities - such as membership of sports clubs, private tuition or music lessons  - the report found inequalities persisted.
It said these were largely driven by cost, including "not just the direct cost of the fees for the activity but also the associated cost of travel to and from the activity, the cost of uniforms, kit or materials eg instruments".
"Another barrier to community-based, as opposed to school-based, activities may also be to do with the scheduling of activities in afternoons and the difficulties getting to and from and the travel time."
The study says the findings have implications for policymakers and practitioners concerned with improving educational enrichment.
It says: "For children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, who have lower take-up of formal out-of-school activities, school-based clubs offer an accessible, lower cost route for learning experiences outside of the school curriculum with potential benefits for social as well as academic development.
"More research is needed to understand the content of the after-school clubs and what it is about the experience that results in improved outcomes."
Lead report author Dr Emily Tanner said: "For children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, who have lower take-up of formal out-of-school activities, school-based clubs appear to offer an affordable and inclusive means of supporting academic attainment.
"The recent Budget announcement to direct money raised by the tax on sugary drinks towards funding sport and after-school activities suggests policymakers are recognising the wide-ranging benefits of these activities.
"After-school clubs, based on school premises, seem to be an easy vehicle for policymakers and educators to ensure that children have access to both the core curriculum and wider enriching activities."


A man has been jailed for 12 weeks for beating his dog with a pole.

Joginder Singh, 41, of Cherry Orchard Road, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, was filmed hitting his pet in October, which caused the Staffordshire bull terrier's ribs to puncture its lungs.
When RSPCA officers went to his home, the animal could not move and vets feared he would not survive.
Singh admitted causing unnecessary suffering the dog, now called Samson, and failing to meet his needs.
Singh was also banned from keeping animals for 10 years, by magistrates in Birmingham.
RSPCA inspector Mike Scargill, said Singh was seen repeatedly hitting the dog in a completely "unprovoked attack".
"At the vets, it was found that his ribs had punctured his lung. The poor dog was in such a lot of pain and he was in a bad way - we didn't think he was going to make it.
"But thankfully he is doing fantastically now. He is in our care and he has been getting a lot of love and affection.
"Today he is a happy and lively dog. It is hard to believe that he is the same dog which I had to carry into my van eight months ago."


A County Antrim man has been discharged from an Australian hospital, a month after he was left critically ill when allegedly punched by his brother.

Patrick Lyttle, 31, fell and hit his head in Sydney on 3 January.
The Ballycastle man was on life support at St Vincent's Hospital for almost a week before regaining consciousness.
His 33-year-old brother Barry is charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm. He has been released on bail.
In a court appearance last month, his bail conditions were changed to allow him to move closer to the hospital where his brother was being treated.
Patrick Lyttle had been travelling around Australia for some months before his brother and father came to visit him.


A Sky News report from Ukraine has drawn 110 complaints to Ofcom after a journalist rummaged through belongings at the scene of the MH17 plane crash.

Live footage broadcast at lunchtime on Sunday showed Sky's Colin Brazier pluck items from an open suitcase.
He dropped them back into the luggage saying "we shouldn't really be doing this I suppose, really".
A Sky News spokesperson said both Mr Brazier "and Sky News apologise profusely for any offence caused".
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine on July 17.
All 298 people on board were killed.
The crash left bodies strewn across several kilometres, as well as plane wreckage and passengers' belongings.
Mr Brazier's broadcast showed an array of luggage and personal items, which he described as 'holiday paraphernalia', collected on the ground.
The media regulator Ofcom said it was assessing the complaints about the broadcast and had not yet decided if it would open an investigation.
A Sky News statement said that "while presenting from the site of the MH17 air crash Colin Brazier reflected on the tragedy of the event and showed audiences the contents of one of the victim's bags.
"Colin immediately recognised that this was inappropriate and said so on air. Both Colin and Sky News apologise profusely for any offence caused".
The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels have accused each other of shooting down the passenger jet.
Ukrainian authorities have released a recording they claimed was a conversation between pro-Russian militants admitting to shooting down the plane.
However, separatist leader Alexander Borodai accused the Ukrainian government of attacking the airliner itself.
The US and other nations say there is growing evidence of Russian complicity in the crash.


A woman accused of being part of an illegal plot to supply prescription drugs into Northern Ireland has been granted bail.

Kelly Clarke, 45, was arrested after police seized a large quantity of diazepam tablets in north Belfast.
Three men were also arrested after searches on Thursday at locations in the city and Stoke-On-Trent in England.
Ms Clarke, of Ardoyne Road in Belfast, was charged with conspiracy to supply class C drugs.
She appeared before the city's Magistrates Court today also facing a charge of being concerned in the supply of diazepam between 1 August last year and 16 April this year.
Detectives from the PSNI's Organised Crime Branch carried out the searches with assistance from Staffordshire Police.
A detective opposed bail on the grounds that there was a risk the accused would re-offended.
But a defence barrister argued that his client was a carer for two children and had no previous drugs convictions.
He said it would be "intolerable" for her to be kept in custody for months while phone analysis is carried out as part of the investigation.
The judge banned Ms Clarke from using mobile phones or contacting any of the co-accused.
She is due back in court next month.
Meanwhile, police are continuing to question other individuals arrested in the operation.
One of them, a 22-year-old man, was returned to Northern Ireland from England, where a large quantity of cash and other items were seized.


South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar has been sworn in as vice-president in a boost for a peace deal aimed at ending more than two years of conflict.

He returned earlier to the capital, Juba, to take the post in a new unity government led by President Salva Kiir.
Tens of thousands have been killed and about two million people left homeless in the conflict in South Sudan, which became independent in 2011.
Mr Machar fled Juba at the start of the civil war in December 2013.
He had been accused of trying to organise a coup, which he denied - but it set off a round of tit-for-tat killings, which developed into a full-blown conflict.
Both men, whose personal falling out has resulted in more than two years of bitter conflict in the world's youngest nation, spoke optimistically about the future, addressing the media at the swearing-in ceremony.
Analysis: James Copnall, BBC News, Juba
There were shouts of joy at the airport as his supporters greeted Riek Machar, back in the capital for the first time in more than two years.  The atmosphere during the ceremony to swear him in as first vice-president was noticeably more tense.
President Salva Kiir and his new deputy described each other as brothers, but there were not many smiles. Both talked of the need for reconciliation, to rebuild a devastated nation. A government of national unity should be formed in the next few days.
If this is done, in theory donors will start stumping up money - crucial as the economy is at rock bottom.
Among its first challenges will be to overcome the mistrust between the two sides.  The fact that there are other rebel groups which have not signed the peace deal could also prove significant.
"I am very committed to implement this agreement so that the process of national reconciliation and healing is started as soon as possible," Mr Machar told journalists at the presidential palace in Juba, AFP news agency reports.
Meanwhile, President Salva Kiir welcomed Mr Machar back to South Sudan, twice referring to him as his "brother", according to a transcript of his speech published by the local Radio Tamazuj news website.
"I have no doubt that his return to Juba today marks the end of the war and the return of peace and stability to South Sudan," Mr Kiir said.
Riek Machar: What you need to know
South Sudan's Riek Machar profiled
The president also offered a rare apology, to the South Sudanese people and to the international community for delays in implementing the peace agreement, which was signed last August.
Earlier Mr Machar, wearing a light-coloured shirt, was greeted by ministers and diplomats as he stepped out of his plane.
Addressing the media, he said his main priorities were to ensure a permanent ceasefire, to stabilise the economy and ensure humanitarian access throughout South Sudan.
"I'm happy to be back... The war was vicious. We have lost a lot of people in it and we need to bring our people together so that they can unite," he said.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, described Mr Machar's return as "the best hope that South Sudan has had in a very long time'', but warned of the need to keep up the pressure on both sides to make sure the peace deal was properly implemented.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the new unity government to be formed immediately.
The civil war broke out over tensions between Mr Kiir and Mr Machar, who was sacked as vice-president in July 2013.
Both sides have continued to clash despite a ceasefire signed last August.
South Sudan: The world's youngest country
South Sudan profile


More than 600 bank branches have closed across Britain over the past year, with rural areas worst affected, according to figures obtained by the BBC.

Parts of Wales, Scotland and south west England lost the most per population between April 2015 and April 2016.
Five of the top 10 areas losing banks are in Wales: Powys, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Conwy, and Carmarthenshire.
The banks said that demand for branches was falling, as more people switch to banking online.
The data - obtained by BBC Breakfast - came from the big six High Street banks: Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC, Santander, Barclays and the Co-operative.
Over the last year, RBS closed the most branches - 166 - followed by HSBC with 146 (see chart below).
In total, about 3,000 branches have shut over the last decade, according to the Campaign for Community Banking Services, leaving around 8,000 now.
Aside from rural areas, many closures occurred in commuter towns, where customers are more likely to do branch banking near their place of work, or use telephone or online banking.
The seaside town of Birchington-on-sea in Kent has lost three banks in the last year, with the last branch due to close next month.
David Hart, who runs a pet shop in the town, now has to travel to do his banking.
"I have to spend half an hour - maybe 45 minutes, even an hour sometimes, just driving to the nearest bank to get my coinage."
"We never take the decision to close branches lightly," a spokesperson for HSBC said.
"The way we bank is changing very quickly, and with an increase in the use of online and telephone banking over the past few years, use of branches has fallen significantly."
The figures do not include new openings.
However, Metro Bank is the only lender to open a significant number of branches. It has opened 41 in the last six years, with a further 59 expected by 2020.
Figures from RBS show that over-the-counter transactions have fallen 43% since 2010. At the same time, online and mobile banking have increased four-fold.
"We review our branch network regularly to make sure the services we provide are appropriate for each local community, based on our customers' usage and other ways to bank in the local area," an RBS spokesperson said.
"Where we do have to make the difficult decision to close a branch, we will always tell our staff and customers first."
The British Bankers' Association - which represents all the major High Street names - said transactions in branches were down 6% over the last year.
On the other hand, there were about 9.6 million daily log-ins to online banking.
Campaigners argue that losing a bank branch can be debilitating for communities.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) wants greater consideration to be taken whenever a branch is closed.
"In the unfortunate event that a closure takes place, customers must be redirected to appropriate banking services," said the FSB's chairman Mike Cherry.
Under the current rules, banks considering closures already have to investigate alternative arrangements, as part of a 12-week consultation process.
But those rules are to be reviewed by Prof Russel Griggs. He is expected to publish recommendations by the end of this year.
The charity Age UK said that closures could affect older customers more severely. Such customers are more likely to be using traditional over-the-counter banking.
Thousands of people in rural areas do not have internet access anyway.
Basic banking is available at 11,500 branches of the Post Office, which offers a bigger network than all the High Street banks put together.


A Portsmouth supporters group says they plan to walk out of EFL Trophy matches shortly after kick-off in protest at the competition's new format.

Sixteen Category One Academies, including many from Premier League clubs, have been included this season.
Portsmouth's board voted against the EFL's proposal in the summer.
"Once the games kick off, we'll all walk out to show our contempt for this decision," Bob Beech from group SOS Pompey told BBC Radio Solent.
"We thought if fans boycotted the games completely, the club would suffer financially through no fault of their own.
"We voted through unanimously at our own meeting to walk out shortly after kick-off."
Traditionally a competition for just League One and League Two clubs and previously known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, the tournament has been expanded to 64 teams.
Portsmouth have been drawn in a group alongside Reading under-21s, Bristol Rovers and Yeovil.
SOS Pompey's opposition to the EFL Trophy has been echoed by other clubs since the new format was confirmed.
Cambridge United chief executive Jez George said the changes may not have gone ahead had EFL clubs known some Premier League sides would reject the invitation to play.
Six clubs, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, declined the chance to enter under-21 sides.


A man went on a $1m (£800,000) spending spree on the Game of War app after stealing $4.8m from his employer.

Kevin Lee Co, 45, from Sacramento, California, pleaded guilty to fraudulently using company credit cards to steal the money.
Court documents reveal Mr Co spent about $1m of the embezzled funds on Game of War, one of the world's highest grossing mobile games.
Players buy gold and other in-game credits to help build their empires.
Mr Co worked at Holt, a California-based dealer of Caterpillar machinery, for about two years before he started the fraudulent scheme by May 2008.
He became responsible for managing Holt's accounting department a year later and continued to hide the transactions until March 2015.
He left the company a month later.
Over the course of nearly seven years, he used the company card to buy luxury cars, as well as season tickets to NFL team the San Francisco 49ers, and basketball team the Sacramento Kings.
Other items included plastic surgery, home furniture and golf course membership, according to a copy of his plea agreement obtained by tech news site Ars Technica.
It is estimated players spent $550 on average last year on Game of War, which has featured singer Mariah Carey and model Kate Upton in its adverts.
That was double the next highest grossing mobile game, and largely came from buying $52 crates of gold, according to data analysts Slice Intelligence.
Mr Co, who pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering, will be sentenced in May.
The two charges each carry jail terms of up to 20 years, but the US government's attorney has recommended a lesser punishment as part of the plea deal.
The case follows an investigation by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).


As part of a series of features to coincide with the opening of the UK's new super-prison HMP Berwyn -  now one of Europe's largest jails - we look at the work being done to reduce prison suicides where prisoners try to help fellow inmates deal with life in jail.

As he walks along the corridor in HMP Swansea Steve* looks like any other prisoner.
But one thing marks him apart. While other prisoners have regulation blue t-shirts his is dark green.
Across the back it says one word in clear white letters: Listener.
He is one of a handful of prisoners with special dispensation to wear these t-shirts as he volunteers in a unique role in the prison.
Swansea prison has a team of in-house Samaritans on-call 24 hours a day in case someone at the prison needs to talk.
Last year there were 119 self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales - 29 more than the previous year and the highest number since records began in 1978.
There was also a record high of 37,784 self-harm incidents, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice.
The Listener scheme started 25 years ago in Swansea prison after two prisoners took their own lives in a year. One was a 15-year-old on remand, charged with stealing a handbag.
Up until this point Samaritans would 'wing walk' at certain times for people to approach if they wanted to talk.
But after the teen's suicide, Swansea Samaritans increased their visits and installed a phone line directly to the organisation from the prison, called the 'red phone'.
They then started training a group of prisoners to act as Samaritans within the jail. The group called themselves the Swansea Listeners - and a new scheme was born.
There are now teams of Listeners in almost every prison in the UK, with an increasing number in the Republic of Ireland.
In 2015, there were 89,752 face-to-face meetings between Listeners and prisoners.
These could vary from those involving prisoners who are having problems maintaining relationships with people on the outside, to those with suicidal thoughts.
It is entirely confidential with Listeners given the same intensive training as Samaritans. But with one important difference - rather than lending an ear over the phone, they do it face-to-face.
The idea is prisoners are always able to speak to someone if they are feeling depressed or lonely, as long as there are enough guards on duty to facilitate the meeting.
John Phillips, branch director of Swansea Samaritans, said: "A prisoner can ask a prison guard to call out a Listener and, if the guard thinks that prisoner genuinely needs a visit, that guard will find out which Listener is on duty and arrange for that Listener to be brought to the prisoner who has requested it to have a private talk.
"It might be the Listener is on a different wing of the prison. Then the guard will arrange for them to be brought to the prisoner requesting the visit."
Prisoners apply to become a Listener or are recommended by prison staff. The Samaritans say there are no benefits or incentives and they need to be willing to be on call day and night.
By the end of 2015 there were 1,803 prisoners volunteering as Listeners across the UK.
Jacob Hill, 24, from Leeds, released from prison last April, was one of them.
He said the sense of helping others was the most important thing:
"I wanted to support others and you feel like you are making a difference and in that place it is hard, you don't get to make a difference in prison, and volunteering with the Listeners gives you that chance," he says.
Hill, an entrepreneur who who had founded a business while at university, was jailed for dealing Class A and Class B drugs at a music festival after falling into Â£17k debt.
He volunteered as a Listener in HMP Wealstun in Wetherby, Leeds, when he was moved there in September 2015.
"There was always a need for the Listeners," he says. "It gives people a life-line. Many might not have the phone credit to speak to their families, or know how to talk to them about it.
"They can come to us about anything, some might be missing their family, others regretted the actions that led to them spending time inside."
Since his release Hill has started up Offploy which aims to link ex-offenders with jobs.
He said: "It was the Listener scheme that gave me a real feeling of purpose, many would say the same."
There can be frustrations, the Samaritans point out, when a prison officer is not available to facilitate a meeting with a Listener.
But as an inquiry into deaths in custody in the last year is under way, the government says that, among other measures to reduce self harm in prisons, it is providing support to the Listener scheme and extra funding to the Samaritans.


Storms have caused a section of cliff to collapse on Dorset's Jurassic Coast.

Residents reported a rock fall west of Burton Bradstock on Thursday morning.
Ian Hackworthy, who lives nearby, photographed the cliffs from a distance but said it was too dangerous to get any closer.
The Jurassic Coast Team said the collapse appeared to have happened at high tide and it warned people to stay away. The coastguard said its officers were at the scene.
Sam Rose, Jurassic Coast World Heritage site manager, said: "Unlike Charmouth, Burton Bradstock is definitely not a place for fossil hunting.
"People should stay away from the top and base of the cliffs and follow the National Trust guidance on signs around the coast."
The collapse happened on National Trust land.
Cliff falls and landslips are commonplace on the Jurassic Coast, where the power of the sea is continually eroding the coastline.
One of the biggest was in 2008 when 400m (1,312ft) of cliff slipped and blocked a beach between Lyme Regis and Charmouth.
In 2012, holidaymaker Charlotte Blackman was killed when 400 tonnes of rock collapsed on to Hive Beach at Burton Bradstock.


The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, has warned that Israel risks becoming "an apartheid state" if a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians does not emerge soon.

His comments were captured in a recording of a closed-door meeting, the Daily Beast reported.
The current round of direct peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians appear to be at an impasse.
But President Barack Obama has said the US will not abandon its peace efforts.
By Paul DanaharBBC Washington bureau chief
The US state department is telling everyone that it's no big deal that John Kerry used the 'A' word to describe the impact on Israel if the two-state solution for the Israel-Palestinian conflict collapses.
A spokeswoman has pointed out that senior Israeli politicians have also referenced apartheid before when talking about the risks to Israel's reputation. This point though is frankly spin. It is one thing for Israeli politicians to use provocative language in their own political arena. When used by the US secretary of state it adds legitimacy to the debate about whether there is an equivalence between the old South African regime and the situation on the West Bank.
Whether the "apartheid" reference was a gaffe or deliberate there is no doubt that Secretary Kerry believes Israel's government is stubbornly ignoring his warnings that a failure to agree a peace deal will feed a campaign trying to delegitimise their state.
Mr Obama has previously rejected the use of the term "apartheid" in discussion of the Middle East peace process, calling it unhelpful and inaccurate.
But in remarks before a group of high-ranking officials from the US, Europe and Japan known as the Trilateral Commission, Mr Kerry used the word.
"A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative," Mr Kerry said, according to the Daily Beast.
"Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second-class citizens - or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state."
Mr Kerry also reportedly suggested a peace deal was more likely to come with a change in Israeli and Palestinian leadership, and strongly criticised Jewish settlement construction on occupied territory.
The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) condemned his comments as "deeply troubling".
"Any suggestion that Israel is, or is at risk of becoming, an apartheid state is offensive and inappropriate," it said in a statement.
In a statement to the BBC, the US state department noted that Israeli leaders had used the term "apartheid state" before, to warn of the consequences of the failure of the peace process.
"Secretary Kerry, like Justice Minister [Tzipi] Livni, and previous Israeli Prime Ministers [Ehud] Olmert and [Ehud] Barak, was reiterating why there's no such thing as a one-state solution if you believe, as he does, in the principle of a Jewish state," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
"He was talking about the kind of future Israel wants and the kind of future both Israelis and Palestinians would want to envision. The only way to have two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two-state solution. And without a two-state solution, the level of prosperity and security the Israeli and Palestinian people deserve isn't possible."
Last week, Israel suspended the current round of US-brokered peace talks, which resumed last July after a three-year hiatus, demanding the annulment of a reconciliation agreement between two main Palestinian factions.
Fatah, which is led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas, which governs Gaza, said they planned to form a unity government in the coming weeks.
Hamas rejects Israel's right to exist and is designated a terrorist group by the US, EU, Israel and other countries.
Mr Netanyahu told the BBC that Mr Abbas could "have peace with Israel or a pact with Hamas - he can't have both".
The US expressed "disappointment" over the unity deal, but pushed for the talks to continue.
Last week, Mr Obama said his administration would continue to offer "constructive approaches". But he added that "neither side had political will to make tough decisions" and that there might need to be a pause in the process.


Ernie Els is convinced Rory McIlroy will complete the career grand slam with a Masters victory and predicts the Ulsterman will land at least four green jackets.

But the 45-year-old South African, who has won two Open and two US Open titles, is living proof there are no guarantees when it comes to winning at Augusta.
Back in the mid-1990s, when the South African was at a similar age to the 25-year-old McIlroy, he was considered a near certainty to don the famous green jacket. Two decades on Els is still waiting.
Twice a runner-up, there was a spell when he spent five straight years without finishing outside the top six at Augusta.
Els, though, is convinced McIlroy will not be similarly frustrated. "I can't see that with Rory," he told BBC Sport in the run-up to this year's tournament, which starts on Thursday, 9 April.
"He's too good. He's playing against great players but, you know, Rory has that factor where when he's on these other guys can't play with him.
"There are no guarantees in this game but I'd say he would win at least four.
"But he's got to do this first one and then the other ones will be easier. This one is going to be quite big."
Els shares the same Florida base as McIlroy and knows the reigning Open and PGA Champion's game well.
"I saw Rory last week at the Bears Club practising," he continued. "We talked about the swing a little bit and that he can hit it both ways from where he has the position in his backswing now.
"I love his backswing now and I think he is going to be OK."
Els said he would not have believed, had he been it told 20 years ago, that he would still be waiting for an Augusta victory in 2015.
"Absolutely, and bear in mind in my first Masters I finished eighth behind Jose [Maria Olazabal] and Tom Lehman," Els said. "I actually had a chance on the final day but I didn't quite have the game.
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"I had my chances a lot of times - in 2000 and 2004 especially - but I just couldn't pull off the big shots. The moments were almost too big for me if I look back."
Yet Els knew how to win majors. He first won the US Open in 1994 aged 24 and added another at Congressional three years later.
At Muirfield he collected his initial Open title in 2002 but had to wait a decade before collecting his fourth and latest major title with victory at Lytham.
"There was something about Augusta," he said. "I almost wanted it too badly and I know a lot of players have done the same as what I've done in my career.
"Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf - there are quite a few guys who had great games but didn't win it."
Els isn't ready to discount his own chances at the Masters, though. Asked whether he can contend at Augusta next week, he said: "Yes I think so, why not?
"I will definitely have the crowd on my side. I've been going there for many, many years and I just want to get my game ready and get the nerves to settle."
There is no doubting the four-time major champion's appetite for competing is as strong as ever.  He is planning on playing an astonishing schedule of more than 40 tournaments for the second year running.
"I'm really enjoying the game," he smiled. "There are some really good young players out here and I'm running out of time.
"But I'm trying to find that little extra of what it takes to win a major or another tournament. That's my goal - my family is being patient with me.
"When I'm away from the game I go home and spend a lot of time with them, but there's a lot of schoolwork in the house so there's a lot of time for me to practise and play.
"I'm 46 in October. Statistics are against us but a lot of the guys at my age, Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson, quite a few of us, we want to prove some of the critics wrong and prove that we can win majors at our age.
"The game has changed and the way we look after ourselves, and with modern equipment we can play with these young players but, obviously, time is running out."
This will be Els's 21st attempt at landing that elusive green jacket. By his own admission it is a case of now or never, especially against a generation headed by a player of McIlroy's talents.
Listen to the full interview on BBC Radio 5 live from 14:30 BST on Easter Sunday.
A programme on Northern Ireland's Major Champions will be shown on BBC2 Northern Ireland on Wednesday, 8 April at 19:00 BST.
You can listen to coverage of the Masters on BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra; watch live coverage of the final two rounds on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Red Button and highlights of rounds on Friday. Follow live updates on BBC Sport Online from 9-12 April.


The family of a man from Portsmouth who died two days before Christmas have taken his teddy bear to the Isle of Wight Festival in his memory.

Kyle Birch, who was due to go to the festival, died in his sleep on 23 December, aged 26.
His family have started a Facebook appeal asking festival-goers to take selfies and take him crowd surfing.
They hope the bear will make it on to the main stage with Sunday night's headliners, Fleetwood Mac.
Some artists on the festival line-up have already pledged their support.
The family revealed they had been contacted by You Me At Six singer Josh Franceschi who said: "We'll make sure this happens."
Southampton band The Novatones also tweeted: "We have a special guest Kyle the bear joining us on stage @IsleOfWightFest @JohnGiddings01 @HardRockLondon"
Mr Birch's uncle, Mark Mudie, said the response on social media to their appeal had already been overwhelming.
He said: "It's generating such great love and shows just how nice and good hearted people can be."
Mr Birch, who worked at as a theatre nurse at Queen Alexandra (QA) Hospital in Portsmouth, is believed to have suffered from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, his family said.


Police in the US state of Arizona say a single suspect may be responsible for a series of shootings that have left seven people dead.

The first attacks were reported in March when two men were shot while walking outside; both survived.
The last incident was reported on 12 June when three women were shot and killed outside a home in west Phoenix.
All of the shootings occurred at night, and the victims appear to have been targeted at random.
A witness to one of the shootings helped detectives develop a sketch of the suspect.
Police described the suspect as a white or Hispanic man between 20 and 30 years old. He may have an accomplice, police said.
"Someone out there knows who did this," Phoenix Police Chief Joseph Yahner said. "We need our community to help us solve these cases."


A man has been arrested after a suspected attempted abduction of a three-year-old girl in Flint, police have said.

North Wales Police responded to a report of the incident close to the Jade Jones Pavilion at about 14:00 BST on Sunday.
Det Ch Insp Arwyn Jones said members of the public detained the man until police arrived.
A 50-year-old man was arrested. The child was not hurt and is "safe".
"I would like to reassure the public that the child is safe with her family, and the male remains in police custody," said Det Ch Insp Jones.


Even David Cameron himself has admitted it has been a pretty difficult week.

Downing Street has been thrown on the defensive, forced to ride out damning headlines that have dogged the prime minister day after day. There have been accusations Mr Cameron has "played the public" on his tax affairs and that he has lost the electorate's trust.
Remember, he is currently in the middle of the political fight of his life, battling to keep Britain in the European Union. He's trying to persuade voters to believe his arguments, trying to win over their trust in the referendum debate.
So, the timing isn't good. Anything like this that highlights the distance between him and voters will not help.
The problem for the prime minister is political image. He hasn't done anything illegal but it is perception that matters.
On the upside, he will be cheered by support from some unlikely allies. Some Tory Eurosceptics have been getting behind their leader describing the row over his personal finances as "very unseemly" and "very distasteful".
Labour MPs are keeping up the pressure with demands for Mr Cameron to come to the House of Commons next week and give a statement explaining his tax affairs.
If the PM was hoping this would all have blown over by the weekend, he's likely to be mistaken; the questions will continue to come. And with the PM's promise to publish his tax return in the coming days there'll be another opportunity for his critics to pile the pressure on again.
I think Downing Street has been left furious by events. During an unusually terse conversation with a No 10 source, I asked how they felt at the end of such a troubling week.
"Hindsight is a wonderful thing," they replied - an admission, I think, they'd do things very differently if they had the chance again.


More than half the Viagra prescribed to men is not working, says an expert in sexual medicine.

Dr Geoffrey Hackett, a consultant urologist, says men with erectile dysfunction could be "wasting hundreds of pounds on tablets" when their real issue is low testosterone.
He was speaking at the launch of new guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders.
The guidelines are published in the journals Maturitas and Human Fertility.
Dr Hackett, sexual health specialist at Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham and former chairman of the British Society for Sexual Medicine, says the most common sexual problem men see their GP about is erectile dysfunction.
It affects 40% of men over 40 years old, and more than one in five men with erectile dysfunction have a testosterone deficiency.
Testosterone levels in men peak in their mid-20s then slowly decline throughout life, but a fall can also be a sign of underlying health problems.
"Low testosterone is linked to increased risk of mortality from diabetes and cardiovascular events so diagnosing it is very important in preventing those diseases," Dr Hackett said.
"Men for whom Viagra isn't working adequately need to have their cases reviewed. If low testosterone is the problem then Viagra won't be the answer on its own."
When testosterone replacement therapy is prescribed, "it can change the lives of patients", he says.
Having worked in this area for more than 20 years, Dr Hackett describes how the partners of the patients he has helped often thank him "for giving me back the man that I married", he said.
In the new guidelines, the British Society for Sexual Medicine stresses the importance of doctors asking patients about their sex lives and any concerns they might have about sexual function.
Professor Kevan Wylie, lead author of the guidelines and consultant in sexual medicine at the University of Sheffield, said: "The importance of sex life and sexual function to general health and well being is not often discussed or acknowledged in our society.
"During medical consultations, both patients and doctors shy away from discussing sexual symptoms."
But patients should be routinely asked by their GP if they have any sexual concerns, it says.
This is especially true of men at high risk, such as men with diabetes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, erectile dysfunction or depression.
Women should also be asked about any sexual problems at routine GP appointments and at cervical screening, postnatal and menopausal assessments, the guidelines advise.
Sexual problems are thought to affect 44% of women, but long-term problems are less common than in men.
Women who have gone through a particularly early menopause or who have had their ovaries removed are more likely to experience sexual problems.
Common concerns are lack of desire, lack of arousal, problems reaching orgasm or pain during intercourse.
Broaching the subject of sexual disorders is not easy but sex is part of our daily lives, says Prof Wylie, and "clinicians should give patients permission to talk about it".
Sexual problems can be very distressing.
"Women complain it's like a light going out," said Professor Margaret Rees, consultant in medical gynaecology at the University of Oxford, when describing how women sufferers feel when they come to see her.
She emphasises that there are unlikely to be any quick fixes, because most women just need to talk about their problems.
Depression and relationship breakdown, for example, could be the result of sexual problems.
"It's vital to work out if the problem is medical, to do with the relationship they're in or something else entirely," Prof Rees said.
Working out the root causes of health problems could save the NHS money in the long term and mean that money may not have to be spent in other areas, she said.


More than 35,000 people attended a Festival of Thrift on Teesside which included start-up firms established by redundant steel workers.

It was moved from its Darlington base to Redcar in support of the people who lost their jobs when the town's SSI steelworks closed a year ago.
Visitors were offered money-saving skills, recycling tips and the chance to sample food and crafts.
The event took place over the weekend at Kirkleatham Museum.
The festival, which is now in its fourth year, was the brainchild of designer Wayne Hemmingway.
More than 2,000 people lost their jobs last October when SSI's Thai-based owners went into liquidation.
Some of the small businesses which took part in the festival were set up by former steel workers.
Festival Director, Stella Hall, said: "A year after the devastating blow of the closure of the steelworks the weekend has provided a positive focus for the area.
"We have been able to celebrate some of the proud history of this area and share it with visitors who in turn can pass it on."
Mr Hemingway added: "Living a life that doesn't cost the earth is an important message for all generations and the festival is unique in offering masses of creative and money-saving ideas and activities alongside an incredible cultural offering."


Championship newcomers Brentford have signed striker Scott Hogan from Rochdale for an undisclosed fee.

The 22-year-old, who scored 19 goals in 40 appearances for Dale last season, has signed a three-year deal with the Bees.
Hogan started his career with Rochdale, but was released in 2010 before he had made a first-team appearance.
"We are delighted to have secured Scott, a player we have tracked for a long period," said boss Mark Warburton.
"We have admired his obvious goalscoring ability and all-round contribution over that period of time.
"Scott fits our criteria in terms of age and development and potential."
Hogan spent three years in non-league football with Halifax and Hyde, before returning to Dale on a two-year deal.
He is expected to be involved in Brentford's friendly against Barnet on Tuesday.