The M23 rebels have brought havoc to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since April 2012 but have now ended their insurgency after the government said they had been defeated.

At least 800,000 people have fled their homes and at one point, there were fears a new regional war could break out, with accusations that Rwanda and Uganda were backing the rebels - charges both countries denied.
The advances by the Congolese army follow changes in the military structures and the intervention of a brigade of UN troops with a tough mandate.
Who are the rebels?
The group is made up of fighters who deserted from the Congolese army in April 2012 following a mutiny.
They are mostly from the Tutsi ethnic group, a minority in eastern DR Congo but with ties to Rwanda's leaders.
They were led by several top-ranking officers who were members of a former militia called the CNDP - including Col Sultani Makenga and Gen Bosco Ntaganda, who faces war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court.
Their movement is called M23 in reference to a 23 March 2009 peace deal, which the CNDP signed with the Congolese government.
Why did they rebel?
The rebels, also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, say the government has not lived up to its promises in the 2009 deal.
They say they were mistreated after being integrated into the army, were not paid enough and that the military lacked vital resources, with soldiers were going hungry.
But analysts believe the real reason for their rebellion stems from comments made by Congolese President Joseph Kabila in January 2012, who under pressure from the ICC, said the Congolese authorities would put Gen Ntaganda on trial.
Where is he now?
Gen Ntaganda, known as "The Terminator", gave himself up to the US embassy in Rwanda in March 2013, after losing a power-struggle within the M23.
He has since been transferred to the ICC in The Hague.
Is that why they are now on the back foot?
The internal rifts probably didn't actually make much difference.
Most analysts point to two far more significant developments: Reduced Rwandan support for the M23 and the intervention of a tough new brigade of UN troops.
Although this was always denied by Rwanda, UN investigators have long accused Rwanda of backing the M23.
This led several donors to cut financial and then military aid to Kigali and the UN says Rwandan backing to the M23 has now fallen off.
Meanwhile, the UN has sent a force of some 3,000 well-equipped troops with a tougher mandate than any other peacekeeping force, tasked with disarming and "neutralising" rebels forces in eastern DR Congo.
Their use of helicopter gunships against  the rebels is credited with making a huge difference, paving the way for the army to retake the territory seized by the rebels in 2012.
Why did the UN send the extra troops?
The UN has had a huge mission  - currently some 18,000 troops - in DR Congo for many years but the unrest never seems to end.
Many Congolese have derided them as "tourists" for many years and in 2012, they were unable to stop the M23 from seizing the regional capital, Goma, before they pulled out under international pressure.
But they remained camped on the outskirts of Goma until their recent reverses.
So why would Rwanda back rebels in DR Congo?
The unrest in eastern DR Congo goes back to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
After killing some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, some of the militias fled into DR Congo (then called Zaire) as Tutsi rebels seized power in Kigali.
Ever since, the now Tutsi-dominated government in Rwanda has sought to wipe out the Hutu militias, accusing them of planning to destabilise Rwanda.
Rwanda has used several militias, often headed by Congolese Tutsis, to attack the Hutus, analysts say. And the M23 is merely the latest of these.
So is this the end of almost two decades of conflict in DR Congo?
That is the hope.
But numerous other armed groups continue to operate in eastern DR Congo, including the Hutu militias.
So it is possible that after international attention has waned - and if the Congolese government does not take action itself against the Hutus - then Rwanda could start backing another group.
And until the Congolese state is strong enough to master its vast territory, two-thirds the size of Western Europe, armed groups could always be tempted to seek to control its mineral wealth.
Eastern DR Congo is rich in resources and minerals like gold and coltan - essential for mobile phones.
In theory, these should mean the area's people are hugely wealthy but so far, they just seem to have attracted a long history of looters.


Swansea City head coach Paul Clement believes striker Fernando Llorente will stay at the club.

Chelsea have a long-standing interest in the 32-year-old, who scored 15 goals to help Swansea avoid Premier League relegation last season.
Llorente, who joined the Swans from Sevilla in 2016, is currently sidelined with a fractured arm.
"He has got a year to go on his deal and we'd like him to stay for this year and longer," said Clement.
"I'm confident he will because of the conversations I've had with Fernando.
"He's happy here, he likes the work we're doing, and he likes the way we play.
"He's a really good player and it's a shame with the injury he got in the summer.
"It's a freak one and he did finish off the season strongly.
"His goals were vital and we want to have him as an option."
Should Chelsea's interest in Llorente manifest itself in a formal offer, Swansea have several transfer targets - such as their former striker Wilfried Bony - lined up as potential replacements.
But their fresh interest in Wales midfielder Joe Allen has been rebuffed by Stoke City.
Clement says the same is true for midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, who is "close" to completing his protracted move to Everton according to Toffees manager Ronald Koeman.
Sigurdsson has not played for Swansea since their first pre-season friendly at Barnet on 12 July.
The 27-year-old pulled out of the club's tour to the United States and, although he has since taken a full part in training, he will not be involved in the Swans' Premier League opener at Southampton on Saturday.
"That is a frustrating situation, I can't say that it's not," said Clement.
"I've got a really good player but it's been decided that it's in the best interests of everyone that he doesn't play in this first game.
"It's not an ideal situation. We're in a period of limbo with a very good player. It's what I've said all along - we want to try to get a resolution to the situation, and everyone wants that."
If Sigurdsson finally joins Everton, Clement says Swansea have deals in place to sign replacements.
"I'm as confident as I can be from my talks with the owners and the chairman that if this goes through, that we're ready to go," he added.
"But what you can't do is control the decision-making of the other club.
"We've got a good idea of what players are going to cost. So we're as ready as we can be.
"We have balanced things up with outs and ins. The Gylfi situation is a crucial part of the business we could potentially do because it is going to be a high fee if he goes.
"The highest fee this club has ever seen, so it is really important this is seen as part of what we are going to do in terms of future ins."


A senior doctor has spoken out after his hospital was quoted £855.80 for a blackout blind by its official NHS contractor.

Dr Christopher Davies, who works for the the Royal Berkshire Hospital, said a matron later purchased the item for £22.95 from Homebase instead.
Dr Davies, a respiratory consultant, said it was then fitted for free by in-house staff.
A hospital spokesperson said the quote was reviewed and "firmly rejected".
Dr Davies said the blackout blind "must have been gold plated" to warrant such a price, the Mail on Sunday reported.
He wrote: "So many posts about inadequate funding but here's an example of how the money is used... maybe it's not just about poor funding."
In a statement issued to the BBC, the hospital said: "In line with NHS requirements, the trust sought quotes for a blind which meets fire and infection control regulations.
"This particular quotation was reviewed by the management team and firmly rejected."
NHS England has been approached for comment and said it was looking into the situation.


Left-wing candidate Michelle Bachelet has been elected Chilean president for a second time by a wide margin.

With almost all the votes counted, Ms Bachelet had 62% against 38% for Evelyn Matthei, a former minister from the governing centre-right coalition.
Ms Bachelet first served from 2006 to 2010, but under Chile's constitution she could not stand for a second consecutive term.
She narrowly missed out on outright victory in the first round last month.
By Gideon LongBBC News, Santiago
Winning Chile's presidential election was pretty easy for Michelle Bachelet. She led the contest from the start and never faced much of a challenge from her bickering centre-right opponents. The hard part will start in March when she takes office.
Even Ms Bachelet's closest aides acknowledge her education reforms will be costly, eating up an extra 1.5% to 2% of gross domestic product each year. She says that money will come from taxes, particularly on big business.
The other big pledge of Ms Bachelet's campaign is constitutional change. She says Chile needs a new constitution to replace the one drawn up under Gen Augusto Pinochet in 1980, as well as a new electoral system.
But perhaps the biggest challenge facing her is the weight of expectation. After four years of centre-right rule marked by huge street protests, Chileans are clamouring for change.
Read Gideon Long's analysis in full
BBC Mundo's Ignacio de los Reyes said that hundreds of people applauded Ms Bachelet when she took to the stage outside the headquarters of her coalition in the centre of Santiago, some even cried with joy.
Many of them were women, members of the gay and lesbian community and environmentalists - some of the core groups that supported Ms Bachelet throughout her campaign.
In her victory speech, Ms Bachelet, 62, said she would carry out "deep reforms needed in Chile", but she assured voters she would do so "responsibly".
"Today in Chile we're in the majority and it's time we moved forward to fulfil the dream we all have, to again believe in ourselves, and to believe that there's strength in unity," she said.
"I am proud to be your president-elect today. I am proud of the country we've built but I am even more proud of the country we will build."
Ms Bachelet is now set to become the first leader in Chile to serve two terms since the military rule of Gen Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990.
Upon hearing the news, her supporters took to the streets to celebrate, waving flags and sounding car horns in the capital, Santiago.
Her rival, Evelyn Matthei, 60, conceded defeat and congratulated Ms Bachelet in person.
Coming close to tears, Ms Matthei told her supporters that her "deepest and honest desire is that things go well for her [Michelle Bachelet]".
"No one who loves Chile can want anything else," Ms Matthei said.
Ms Bachelet thanked Ms Matthei for her good wishes and said that both shared a love for their homeland and a willingness to serve its people.
A paediatrician by training, Ms Bachelet won 47% of the vote in the first round on 17 November. Ms Matthei secured 25%.
Ms Bachelet leads an alliance of her Socialist Party, Christian Democrats and Communists and has campaigned on policies designed to reduce the gap between rich and poor.
Chile is one of the richest countries in Latin America, but millions have staged protests over the past few years to push for a wider distribution of wealth and better education.
Ms Bachelet wants to increase taxes to offer free university education and reform political and economic structures dating from the dictatorship of Gen Pinochet.
Her manifesto this time is much more radical than before, the BBC's Gideon Long in Santiago reports.
Ms Bachelet was constitutionally barred from serving a second successive term but was very popular when she left office.
Ms Matthei entered the race after two candidates of the centre-right alliance resigned earlier this year - one for alleged financial irregularities, the other one after struggling with depression.
She called for a continuation of the policies of outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, asserting that Chileans are "better off" now than when he came to power four years ago.
As children in the 1950s, the current rivals were neighbours and used to play together on the airbase where their fathers, both air force generals, worked.
Ms Matthei's father, Fernando, rose through the ranks to run a military school.
Michelle Bachelet's father, Alberto, had a job in the Socialist administration overthrown by Gen Pinochet in the 1973 coup.
He died in 1974 of a heart attack while in custody. An investigation concluded that the 51-year-old general had probably died of heart problems aggravated by torture at the military academy.
A judge ruled earlier this year that Gen Matthei had no knowledge of or involvement in the torture.


The business case for a key project to help "rejuvenate" Stranraer has estimated the jobs it creates could come at a cost of about £200,000 each.

It is thought the marina scheme could bring about 30 new posts to the town - but with a price of £6m.
The report said it was important to consider the "wider social and economic benefits" the project could bring.
Councillors are set to consider a number of options for taking forward the project later this week.
The Stranraer marina plan is seen as a vital element in helping the town to recover from the loss of ferry services.
The business case states: "We understand that a marina is more than a boat park - it is a mechanism for developing the tourism, socio-cultural, arts and economic fabric of an area.
"This project can offer a rejuvenation of Stranraer's economy and infrastructure.
"By creating an attractive waterfront development, it encourages visitors (both boat nights and other tourists) as well as encouraging investment in the area by the private sector."
However, it accepts that the cost of the scheme per job created is much higher than the "generally accepted ceiling" of about £25,000.
Four options for the project have emerged but one has been earmarked as the preferred plan.
It is thought to be the "most complementary to adjacent development" and able to "maximise the use of associated development on the reclaimed land".
Dumfries and Galloway Council said it was also felt that it would generate the most "commercially viable marina development" and "have the greatest impact on the wider regeneration of the town".
The proposal includes:
The business case backs that option but accepts that a private operator would be unlikely to be found.
"Due to the low projected returns it seems unlikely, at this stage, that an independent marina developer would find the project appealing and therefore it is likely that the council will need to run the expanded marina or grant a management contract/ operational lease," it states.
Councillor Marion McCutcheon, who chairs the Wigtown area committee, said building the local economy was the "number one priority" for the council.
"Developing the Stranraer waterfront is key to the regeneration of the town," she said.
"Expanding the marina is a vital component.
"There are sound business reasons for this, including bringing more visitors to Stranraer, generating business, and creating employment."
What do you think of the Stranraer Marina plan? Can it help revitalise the town or is the price too high? Email your thoughts to dumfries@bbc.co.uk


Former Rangers chief executive Charles Green has failed in a legal bid to force the club to pay his legal fees in a forthcoming criminal trial.

Mr Green and several others face trial next year over the alleged fraudulent acquisition of Rangers' assets in 2012.
Rangers disputed Mr Green's claim that his contract covered all future legal costs arising from his time in charge.
Judge Lord Doherty has now found in the club's favour. Mr Green's legal team may choose to appeal the decision.
The details of Lord Doherty's judgement will not be released until after Mr Green's criminal trial has concluded.
A short summary of the judgement, issued by the Crown Office, said that clause 8.3 of Mr Green's contract stated: "The company will pay any reasonable professional (including, without limitation, legal and accounting) costs and expenses properly incurred by the employee after the date of this agreement which arise from having to defend, or appear in, any administrative, regulatory, judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings by a third party as a result of his having been chief executive of The Rangers Football Club or the company."
Mr Green's lawyers argued that the clause obliged Rangers to pay his "reasonable professional costs and expenses" while defending the criminal case.
Lord Doherty, however, decided that the criminal proceedings did not fall within the scope of clause 8.3.
Mr Green and a number of others, including the club's former owner Craig Whyte, were arrested and charged in September.
The moves followed an investigation by Police Scotland into off-field events at the club in 2012 and 2013.


A new exhibition about Aberdeen FC's proposals for a new stadium on the outskirts of the city is to be held.

The stadium and training facilities would be built at Kingsford, close to the Aberdeen bypass, near Westhill.
The Yes to Kingsford Stadium group believes it would be a vital step forward, but there has been opposition.
The exhibition will be held at Pittodrie on Thursday 24 November from 15:00 to 21:00, at the AAM Suite in the Richard Donald Stand.
It will also provide feedback on the public consultation events staged in Aberdeen, Kingswells and Westhill in July and August.


An American female basketball player used forged birth documents to falsely claim she had South Korean ancestry, prosecutors have claimed.

Chelsey Lee, 26, plays in the Women's Korean Basketball League, whose teams are allowed only two foreign players.
But the KEB Hana Bank centre could be permanently banned if prosecutors can prove documents she presented are fake.
Prosecutors were asked to investigate after the Korean Olympic Committee pushed for Lee's naturalisation.
The committee had wanted to include Miami-born Lee in the South Korean team at this summer's Games in Rio after she was voted rookie of the year.
Prosecutors said the man listed as Lee's father did not exist, and the daughter of a dead South Korean woman listed as Lee's grandmother confirmed she did not have other children.
The Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) says it will await a court ruling over the documents before issuing any sanctions.
"The league will start discussions on how to potentially penalise Lee and the team, and also strengthen the verification process when teams sign foreign players," spokesman Kim Ilku said.
WKBL teams can each have two foreign players, who face limitations in playing minutes in each game. But foreign-born players with a South Korean parent or grandparent do not count in the quota.


A man has been charged with causing the death of a 75-year-old man by dangerous driving who was hit by a car being pursued by police.

The pedestrian was killed in Main Street, in Hilton, Derbyshire, at about 16:50 BST on Tuesday.
Matthew Luke Hogg, 24, from Melville Court, Etwall, appeared before Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court earlier and was remanded in custody.
The police watchdog said it was investigating the "tragic incident".
Mr Hogg is due at Derby Crown Court next month.
More on this and other stories from across the East Midlands
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said: "A marked Derbyshire Police vehicle signalled for a Vauxhall Astra to stop close to the A38 near Hilton.
"Initial information indicates that the driver of the Astra failed to stop and a pursuit began.
"The pursuit was abandoned, but a short time later the car collided with two other vehicles and a pedestrian on Main Street."
The investigation will examine what happened before the crash to determine whether the police followed appropriate policies and procedures.


The deputy first minister is due to make a statement on the Scottish government's Named Person scheme later.

John Swinney will address MSPs over a legal challenge to information sharing proposals within the Act.
The system would appoint a named person - usually a teacher or health visitor - to ensure the wellbeing of every child.
But judges at the UK's highest court ruled against the scheme in July 2016, citing concerns over information sharing.
The Supreme Court judges said some proposals breached rights to privacy and a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights.
However, the court said the aim of the Act, which is intended to promote and safeguard the rights and wellbeing of children and young people, was legitimate.
Speaking ahead of his statement to the Scottish Parliament, Mr Swinney said the Scottish government remained "absolutely committed" to the Named Person service as a way to support children and their families.
"Last year the Supreme Court ruled definitively that the intention of providing a Named Person for every child to promote and safeguard their wellbeing was 'unquestionably legitimate and benign'," he said.
"Their judgement did, however, require us to change the provisions relating to information sharing.
"Since the judgement, we have undertaken an intensive period of engagement with children, young people, parents, carers, practitioners and professionals.
"I will now update parliament on the next steps in this vital means of supporting, safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of our children and young people."
The judges said in July that specific proposals about information-sharing were "not within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament".
And they said the legislation made it "perfectly possible" that confidential information about a young person could be disclosed to a "wide range of public authorities without either the child or young person or her parents being aware".
The appeal was brought by the No to Named Persons (NO2NP) coalition, which includes the Christian Institute, Care (Christian Action Research and Education), Tyme Trust and the Family Education Trust.
The Scottish government has said previously it would not commence the legislation until the problems were fixed.


Travel firm Thomas Cook has suspended its online currency sales after unprecedented demand overnight.

The fall in the value of sterling, after a sharp rise earlier in the week, had tourists rushing to exchange money.
The euro was in particular demand, with the pound down more than 5% against the currency at â‚¬1.2398 in Friday trading.
At the travel money operation at the Post Office, Andrew Brown said holidaymakers should "watch currency movements very carefully".
The pound plunged to its lowest level since 1985 following the EU referendum. Sterling was down against every single major currency group, falling 10% against the dollar overnight to $1.33, a low not seen in 30 years.
Shares and pound plunge on Leave vote
How will Brexit affect your finances?
Throughout the night the Thomas Cook had been offering euros for click-and-collect at Thursday's favourable rate of â‚¬1.27 to the pound, despite the fall in the value of sterling in the wholesale foreign exchange market.
A rush of demand from holidaymakers trying to protect themselves against the fall led to queues snaking outside the doors at some Thomas Cook outlets this morning.
The company suspended the online service to make sure that its counters did not run out of cash.
A Thomas Cook spokesperson said: "We have temporarily suspended our travel money website following unprecedented customer demand for foreign currency overnight and this morning.
"We apologise to all customers affected. Our immediate priority is to ensure that we have enough currency in store to fulfil outstanding orders. We hope to be back up and running as soon as possible."
Ian Strafford-Taylor, chief executive of currency provider FairFX, said the reaction of the pound to Brexit could signal "longer term volatility", with holidaymakers "directly impacted".
He said: "Those consumers who did not stock up on their holiday money may find their holiday now becomes more expensive this year, if weak pound-euro rates continue into the summer."
Andrew Brown, of Post Office Travel Money, which accounts for around a quarter of all UK foreign exchange transactions, urged holidaymakers to "watch currency movements very carefully".
He said: "For those who have not yet booked their holiday but are planning to travel abroad during the summer or later in the year, it will be well worth doing some homework before making a decision.
"Choosing a destination where sterling is strong and also where the local cost of living is low could make a significant difference to how far the holiday budget will stretch."
Joel Brandon-Bravo, UK managing director of travel deals company Travelzoo, warned the referendum result would affect the tourism industry in several ways.
He said: "The next 24 months of negotiations will be crucial for British travel - particularly if the UK Government wants to maintain inbound tourism from the EU, and avoid a price hike for Britons wanting to travel abroad for holidays."


Ian Hutchinson dominated Saturday's Ulster Grand Prix meeting as his four wins included both Superbike races.

The English rider rounded off his day by breaking the lap record from 2010 as he pipped Bruce Anstey and Michael Dunlop to win Superbike Race 2.
Earlier Hutchinson, 37, had held off veteran Anstey and Dunlop in the main Superbike race.
Hutchinson edged out Dunlop in the Superstock race and then overhauled William Dunlop in Supersport Race 2.
The Bingley rider's manoeuvre late on the final lap to pip William Dunlop in the second Supersport race summed up his brilliance.
That gave Hutchinson his third victory of the day but the Englishman wasn't satisfied as he produced his lap record breaking heroics on the final circuit of the second Superbike race, with a new bencgmark of 134.087mph.
Anstey, 47, also had a tremendous day as he won a red flagged Supersport Race 1 and earned two second places.
As was the case after he was edged out by Hutchinson in the opening Superstock race, Dunlop said that backmarkers had hindered him in the closing stages of the main Superbike race.
Hutchinson won the opening Superstock race after he passed Michael Dunlop late on the final lap with Isle of Man rider Dan Kneen completing the podium positions..
The English rider's victory completed a hat-trick in the Superstock class in this year's international road races after his North West 200 and Isle of Man wins.
Anstey was declared the winner of Supersport Race 1 after it was halted on lap four following an incident.
The veteran New Zealander's victory maintained his sequence of achieving a supersport podium finish at the meeting every year since 2001 as he clinched a 12th Ulster Grand Prix victory.
Anstey forged an early four-second lead but was only 0.818 seconds ahead of Hutchinson when the race had to be halted after English rider Olie Linsdell came off at the Joey's Windmill section of the course.
Manx rider Conor Cummins completed the podium positions ahead of Dean Harrison and Dan Kneen.
Organisers later said that Bedfordshire man Linsdell, 28, did not sustain serious injuries in the incident.
In the opening Superstock race, Hickman led early on but then suffered a puncture which forced him to retire before the end of lap one.
A philosophical Dunlop said that he made a mistake in the closing stages after being hindered by backmarkers on the final lap which allowed Hutchinson, 37, to move ahead.
Hutchinson was down in 15th spot early on but quickly made his way up to the leaders.
Dunlop's brother William looked set to clinch an eighth Ulster Grand Prix victory as he led late in the closing lap of the Supersport Race 2 but Hutchinson produced a remarkable manoeuvre to clinch his third win of the day.
Hutchinson was 0.101 seconds ahead of William Dunlop at the finish with Hickman only 0.60 behind the winner and Anstey a further 0.274 back in fourth.
Gloucester rider Dan Cooper won the Supertwins event ahead of Dubliner Derek Sheils and Yorkshire competitor James Cowton while Ballymena rider Neil Kernohan followed up his Ultralightweight/Lightweight win in Thursday's Dundrod 150 as he again triumphed in that class.
Kernohan finished ahead of Saintfield ride Davy Morgan and Ballymoney man Darryl Tweed in the 250cc/400cc class.
Randalstown-based Christian Elkin took victory in the concurrently-run 125cc/Moto3 event, ahead of Sam Wilson and Paul Robinson.
Superstock results
1. I Hutchinson (Eng) 20:22.182
2. M Dunlop (N Ireland) 0.261 behind
3. D Kneen (Isle of Man) 6.85
4. D Harrison (Eng) 20.729
5. C Cummins (Isle of Man) 20.733
6. G Johnson (Eng) 20.884
Supersport Race 1 - Red flagged after 4 laps
1. B Anstey (New Zealand) 14:08.289
2. I Hutchinson (Eng) 0.818
3. C Cummins (Isle of Man) 3.439
4. D Harrison (Eng) 3.458
5. D Kneen (Isle of Man) 4.077
6. W Dunlop (NI) 4.668
Lightweight 250cc
1. N Kernohan (NI) 19:37.357
2. D Morgan (NI) 17.717
3. D Tweed (NI) 1:22.570
Ultralightweight 125cc
1. C Elkin (Eng) 20:45.380
2. S Wilson (NI) 20.963
3. P Robinson (NI) 24.448
Ulster GP Superbike Race
1. I Hutchinson (Eng)
2. B Anstey (NZ) 0.274 seconds
3. M Dunlop (NI) 3.043
4. C Cummins (Isle of Man) 10.35
5. D Harrison (Eng) 12.444
6. D Kneen (Isle of Man) 14.35
7. W Dunlop (NI) 31.147
Supersport Race 2
1. I Hutchinson (Eng) 21:00.311
2. W Dunlop (NI) 0.101
3. P Hickman (Eng) 0.60
4. B Anstey (NZ) 0.827
5. C Cummins (Isle of Man) 1.458
6. D Harrison (Eng) 2.600
Supertwins
1. D Cooper (Eng) 19:11.608
2. D Sheils (Ire) 0.455
3. J Cowton (Eng) 0.664
4. P Jordan (NI) 0.831
5. D McGee (Ire) 1.037
6. A McLean (NI) 2.836
Superbike Race 2
1. I Hutchinson (Eng) 20:04.228
2. B Anstey (NZ) at 0.80
3. M Dunlop (NI) 1.289
4. C Cummins (Isle of Man) 2.453
5. D Harrison (Eng) 6.89
6. D Kneen (Isle of Man) 12.128
7. P Hickman (Eng) 19.98
8. G Johnson (Eng) 22.236


Rotherham United have decided not to appeal against a three-point deduction imposed by the Football League for fielding an ineligible player.

The Millers were penalised three points last week for playing Farrend Rawson in the 1-0 win over Brighton on 5 April.
The defender's youth loan from Derby County had expired the previous day.
The deduction had put the Millers back in danger of being relegated from the Championship but Tuesday's win over Reading secured their survival.
"Having secured our Championship place for next season on the pitch on Tuesday night, the board has decided not to appeal against the decision to deduct us three points," the club said in a statement.
"We still believe the decision to deduct three points for fielding a player as a result of an honest human error, where there was no intention to gain an unfair advantage, was disproportionate.
"Our mistake did not affect the integrity of this year's competition, but if we had been relegated in the place of a team that had secured fewer points on the pitch over the season, that would have been a gross injustice."


A council chief has written to the NHS warning its plan for implementing local reforms was a "recipe for disaster".

Steven Broomhead, chief executive of Warrington Borough Council, wrote to NHS England's chief executive Simon Stevens saying decisions were being made "without any local transparency".
He warned: "Such arrogance is bound to fail".
NHS England said it wanted to see more joint working but it was "accountable to parliament".
A spokesperson added: "That is what the N in NHS means - National Health Service."
Mr Broomhead's letter, written in his capacity as chair of the borough's health and wellbeing board, comes as 44 regional NHS officials draw up Sustainability and Transformation Plans, designed to introduce major reforms to local health services.
He wrote he was "astounded by NHS England's naivety" and said changes to where people receive services and what services they receive needed "local scrutiny and local community involvement".
He added he had experienced changes to stroke and trauma services as well as primary care provision, "with no local discussion or consideration".
NHS England said it wanted to see more joint working which would sometimes be for areas larger than individual council boundaries.
It stressed that where service changes were needed "they will of course continue to be consulted on" in partnership with local communities, including council's health and wellbeing committees.


James Horner, the Hollywood composer who wrote the Oscar-winning score for Titanic, has died in a California plane crash aged 61.

A trained pilot, he is reported to have been alone aboard a small private plane which crashed north of Santa Barbara on Monday morning.
The musician worked on three James Cameron films, as well as A Beautiful Mind, Braveheart, Troy and Apollo 13.
He won one Oscar for the Titanic film score and another for its theme song.
The musician shared his second Oscar with lyricist Will Jennings for best original song, the hugely successful My Heart Will Go On, sung by Celine Dion
Dion released a statement saying she was "deeply saddened" by the composer's "tragic death".
"He will always remain a great composer in our hearts. James played an important part in my career. We will miss him. We offer his family and friends our deepest sympathy."
Horner was nominated for a further eight Oscars, for scores and songs for the films Avatar, House of Sand and Fog, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Field of Dreams, An American Tail and Aliens.
He was also the composer for the two highest-grossing films of all time, Avatar (Â£1.7bn) and Titanic (Â£1.3bn) and is listed on the Internet Movie Database as having 95 soundtrack credits and 158 composer credits.
"My job is to make sure at every turn of the film it's something the audience can feel with their heart," Horner said in a 2009 interview with the Los Angeles Times.
"When we lose a character, when somebody wins, when somebody loses, when someone disappears  - at all times I'm keeping track, constantly, of what the heart is supposed to be feeling. That is my primary role."
The plane crash in the Los Padres National Forest, north of Los Angeles, left an impact crater and sparked a brush fire that had to be put out by firefighters, local fire authorities said.
Horner's personal assistant, Sylvia Patrycja confirmed his death, writing on Facebook on Monday: "We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart, and unbelievable talent. He died doing what he loved. Thank you for all your support and love and see you down the road."
30 million
Titanic soundtrack sales
158 composer credits for TV, films and documentaries
2 Oscars won for Titanic, 8 other nominations
1 uncredited acting appearance in Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan (also his first major movie score)
1995 composed 6 scores including Oscar-nominated Apollo 13 and Braveheart
Horner, who was born in 1953, started piano lessons aged five and went on to study at London's Royal College of Music before moving to California in the 70s. He went on to study music theory and composition, achieving a bachelor's degree, master's degree and PhD, scoring student films as a sideline.
His first break came with the score for 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and he went on to work with some of the biggest directors in film, including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Ron Howard and Oliver Stone.
Actor and director Howard tweeted: "Brilliant Composer James Horner, friend & collaborator on 7 movies has tragically died in a plane crash. My heart aches for his loved ones."
Russell Crowe, who starred in Howard's Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind, added: "My sincere condolences to the family, loved ones and friends of James Horner."
Actress Kirstie Alley added her voice, saying: "I'm so sad to hear about James Horner... He scored the first movie I did - Star Trek 2. Great composer... great person... huge loss."
Eight-time Oscar winning composer Alan Menken, whose works include The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, paid tribute by saying he counted Horner as "among the very best film composers of our generation".
"His work is stirring, emotionally powerful and broadly evocative. Although we only met on a few occasions, I will always cherish the memory of him and his wonderful work," he said.
Actor Rob Lowe echoed the sentiments of many by tweeting: "There is nothing that shaped my movie-going experience more than the musical genius of James Horner. He will live on through the ages."
American composer Steve Jablonsky, writer of the music for the Transformers movie series, tweeted about the influence the composer had on him, saying: "James Horner, thank you for inspiring a young me to pursue a career in film music. Thank you for your music. Rest in peace."
The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb added: "Last time I spoke to JH he was scoring for a kid at AFI. 2 Oscars and he agreed to score a student film! What generosity."
Cameron, who directed Titanic and Avatar, paid tribute to Horner in 2011 when the composer won an award at the eDIT  Filmmakers Festival in Frankfurt.
The director said: "In Titanic, I challenged you to do an emotionally powerful score without violinists, and with the use of haunting vocals and bittersweet Celtic pipes, you reinvented the romantic score.
"Avatar was a very different challenge - to capture the heart and spirit of an alien culture without alienating the audience.
"By combining the sweep of a classic orchestral score with indigenous instrumentation and vocals, you came up with a unique sound that created both the epic sweep of the film and also childlike sense of wonder of experiencing that fantastic world for the first time."
Horner leaves a wife and two daughters.


Ghana goalkeeper Razak Brimah has joined South African side Mamelodi Sundowns after his contract with Spanish side Cordoba was not renewed.

Brimah joins two other international keepers at the club, which already has Uganda's Denis Onyango and Zambia's Kennedy Mweene on their books.
The 30-year-old played just four times for the Spanish second division club last season.
He was Ghana's first-choice keeper at this year's Africa Cup of Nations.
However he missed the Black Stars' third place play-off game in Gabon as they lost to Burkina Faso and has not started an international game since.
He caused controversy during the Nations Cup when responding to criticism with an expletive-laden rant on social media.
The Ghana Football Association fined him $2,500 (£1,990) for the comments after he apologised for the video.
Mamelodi Sundowns continue the defence of their African Champions League title with a quarter-final against Morocco's Wydad Casablanca in September.


Spain's Maverick Vinales held off the challenge of Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi to win Sunday's MotoGP season opener in Qatar.

Vinales, who moved to Yamaha this season, has been impressive over the winter and started from pole position.
After slipping back early, the 22-year-old took the lead with seven laps left.
Dovizioso did briefly go ahead after that but Vinales overhauled him with two laps to go and went on to seal his second MotoGP career victory.
Dovizioso held off Rossi for second but the 38-year-old nine-time world champion was thrilled with his performance after he started from 10th.
Current world champion Marc Marquez finished fourth.
The race was delayed for 45 minutes after heavy rain fell in Doha shortly before the scheduled start.
The weather had also forced the cancellation of Saturday's qualifying with starting grid positions based instead on combined practice times.
"It feels great. The track was so difficult but the bike was great," said Vinales afterwards.
"First lap I was taking a lot of care, then when the people started to push I said 'OK, now is the time to push' and I started to come back little by little - I didn't want to destroy the tyre."
In the earlier Moto3 race, Scotland's John McPhee made his way through the field to claim an impressive second place behind Spain's Joan Mir on his debut.
The riders now head to Argentina for the next race on 9 April.
Qatar MotoGP results:
1.  Maverick Vinales (Spain) Yamaha       38:59.999
2.  Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati       39:00.460
3.  Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha        39:01.927
4.  Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda            39:06.744
5.  Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda            39:07.127
6.  Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Aprilia       39:07.660
7.  Scott Redding (Britain) Ducati        39:09.781
8.  Jack Miller (Australia) Honda         39:14.485
9.  Alex Rins (Spain) Suzuki              39:14.787
10. Jonas Folger (Germany) Yamaha         39:15.068
11. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Ducati          39:20.515
12. Loris Baz (France) Ducati             39:21.254
13. Hector Barbera (Spain) Ducati         39:28.827
14. Karel Abraham (Czech Republic) Ducati 39:29.122
15. Tito Rabat (Spain) Honda              39:29.469


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A body has been recovered following a serious fire at a house in Caithness a week ago, police have confirmed.

The fire in Scarfskerry was reported to emergency services shortly before 20:00 on 28 December.
It caused extensive damage, making the building unsafe to enter, but officers have now recovered a man's remains.
The body has not been formally identified, but the family of 95-year-old Frederick Melhert, who lived alone at the address, have been informed.
An inquiry into the cause of the fire is continuing. Police Scotland said there were no suspicious circumstances.


A UN-brokered deal could see thousands of Syrian rebels and their families leave areas in and around the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus.

The deal, which is still at a delicate stage, involves agreement between rebel fighters and the government.
It could see a number of militants from Islamic State (IS) given safe passage to their stronghold of Raqqa.
The aim is to make Yarmouk safe again so that the 18,000 people believed to be trapped there can receive aid.
In April, IS militants infiltrated the camp and briefly seized large parts of it.
Yarmouk is divided into areas controlled by IS, the rival al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and pro- and anti-government Palestinian militants.
Government forces maintain checkpoints around the area preventing civilians from leaving.
The proposed deal could see fighters begin to withdraw from Yarmouk, and the neighbouring districts of Hajar al-Aswad and al-Qadam, as soon as Friday.
It is not clear exactly which groups are involved, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that wounded IS militants and members of their families would be among those leaving.
Earlier this year, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described Yarmouk as the "deepest circle of Hell". So the deal, if it goes through, should benefit all those involved.
Once Yarmouk is made safe the UN will be able to get aid to the refugees freely; the Syrian government will have a latent threat removed from its doorstep; the wounded and exhausted rebels will be able to fight another day; and the IS fighters will have safe passage to Raqqa.
Similar deals have been made elsewhere in Syria when it has been in all the combatants' interest. It is a model the UN has hoped to build on. As peace efforts resume in the New Year, it could provide one small bright spot in the surrounding darkness.
The UK-based monitoring group, which uses a network of sources on the ground, said a number of buses had already arrived in al-Qadam to take them to IS-held territory elsewhere in Syria.
Earlier this month, pro-government media reported a deal between the government, IS and the rival jihadist group al-Nusra Front to allow members of both safe passage out of Yarmouk and Hajar al-Aswad to Raqqa and the northern province of Idlib under a UN guarantee.
The city of Raqqa is the de facto capital of the caliphate whose creation IS proclaimed last year, while Idlib is largely controlled by a rebel alliance that includes al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.
Yarmouk was first built for Palestinians fleeing the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Before the Syrian civil war began in 2011, it had more than 150,000 refugees living there.
Those trapped in the camp for the past two years, including 3,500 children, have no access to regular food supplies, clean water or healthcare.
In a separate development on Thursday, activists reported that at least 20 people had been killed in air strikes in an eastern Damascus suburb.
The Syrian Observatory said seven children were believed to among those who died when government warplanes bombed rebel-held Hammuriyeh.


Hundreds of rooms at a £45m student halls development at Aberystwyth University will not be ready for the new term.

Penglais Farm will have a total of 1,000 rooms, but only 700 will be ready this month to welcome students.
The university said developer Balfour Beatty confirmed the remaining 300 rooms will be ready during the 2015-16 academic year.
Balfour Beatty has been asked to comment.
The unfinished rooms have not been let to students.


Police could scarcely believe their luck when they found a bungling burglar dangling out of a bathroom window.

Sean Crawshaw, 47, got stranded after trying to break in to the house in Radcliffe, Bury, Greater Manchester.
The homeowner, in her 60s, found him wedged on the windowsill about 15ft (4.5m) off the ground after returning from a trip to the shops.
The long arm of the law plucked Crawshaw to safety and he has now been jailed for the botched burglary.
Crawshaw, of James Street, Radcliffe was sentenced to two years and five months at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court last month.
He had pleaded guilty to burglary with intent to steal after being caught in the bathroom window in Bank Street  in December.
Sgt Richard Garland of Greater Manchester Police told the BBC: "It was nice of him to hang around.
"He was actually cautioned as he was in mid-air.
"We did all have a chuckle about it later but the homeowner was actually pretty shaken up about it all.
"It's not nice having someone burgle your home and then finding them still there."
It took fire crews 20 minutes to rescue Crawshaw, who hurt his ear in the raid.
GMP officers arrested him at the scene but not before they caught his embarrassing moment on camera.


Scotland's Scott Jamieson and Sweden's Alexander Bjork remain locked together at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final round of the Tswhane Open in South Africa.

Having started the day on 10 under, both carded rounds of 68 at Pretoria Country Club to reach 13 under.
Local favourite Dean Burmester and Spain's Jorge Campillo are on 12 under.
Finland's Mikko Korhonen is on 11 under, with England's Oliver Fisher and James Morrison a stroke further back.
Fisher, who only made the halfway cut with a shot to spare, produced the round of the day with nine birdies and no bogeys in a superb 62, which lifted him 43 places up the leaderboard.
Swedish rookie Bjork, who is playing in just his ninth European Tour event, said: "I'm very pleased with my position, it was a solid round.
"I've been in this position a few times on the Challenge Tour, but it's bigger here - more people, more television and everything - so I'm interested to see how I handle it (on Sunday). It's going to be a lot of fun to play."
Jamieson, 33, whose round included five birdies and two bogies, added: "Yet again I was really good tee to green but I felt as if I left quite a few out there on the greens.
"I wasn't at my best there but Sunday is another day and I have a chance of winning."


A former prisoner says poor medical care in Maghaberry prison led to a serious deterioration in his health.

5 November 2015 Last updated at 17:16 GMT
Neil Nabney from Dundonald has a congenital disorder.
He was sentenced to three and half years for riotous assembly following the loyalist flag protest. He served 17 months of that sentence in Maghaberry. While there, he says he often could not eat the meals provided because of the problems he had with his jaw.
Mr Nabney was speaking to David Maxwell for BBC Newsline.


A deputy director of MI5 has told the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry that it was 1980 before it became aware of child abuse at Kincora boys' home in east Belfast.

The officer, known as 9004, gave evidence anonymously via video link.
He told Sir Anthony Hart's panel it was "The first time we have unambiguous information" about the abuse.
Three senior care workers at the home were jailed in 1981 for sexually abusing boys in their care.
One of those, William McGrath, was the leader of the loyalist organisation Tara.
Officer 9004 said they did have information on Tara in the 1970s, but it was largely a fringe group.
MI5, he said, were more focused on mainstream loyalist paramilitaries who were carrying out murders and bomb attacks.
The inquiry was also shown documents that revealed that between 1971 and 1972 MI5 mistakenly thought McGrath's first name was George.
Kincora has long been at the centre of allegations that a paedophile ring involving high-profile political and military figures abused young residents in the 1970s.
The intelligence agencies have been accused of covering up the abuse in order to exploit the perpetrators for information.
But officer 9004 rejected that suggestion.
He said: "I can certainly deny we were ever involved in an operation to exploit abuse taking place for intelligence purposes."


Neil Lennon has been given a one-match touchline suspension by Uefa following Hibernian's 1-0 defeat by Brondby.

Lennon, who was taking charge of Hibs for the first time, was sent to the stand shortly after protesting against a disallowed Jason Cummings goal.
The 45-year-old will be banned for the Europa League second qualifying round second leg in Denmark next Thursday.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, Lennon said he felt the goal, which was ruled offside, was "perfectly legitimate".
Should Hibs overcome Brondby, they will face Germans Hertha Berlin in the third qualifying round.


Venezuelan intelligence agents have detained opposition mayor Daniel Ceballos on charges of inciting violence and fostering deadly protests.

Mr Ceballos, of the Popular Will party, is the mayor of San Cristobal, where the current wave of anti-government protests broke out six weeks ago.
His arrest comes a month after the party's leader, Leopoldo Lopez, was detained on similar charges.
The government accuses them of whipping up unrest to carry out a coup.
"This is an act of justice for a mayor who not only did not meet his obligations as required by law and the constitution, but also facilitated and supported all the irrational violence first unleashed in the city of San Cristobal," Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez said on state television.
He also said that a member of the National Guard was shot dead in San Cristobal on Wednesday during "vandalistic acts" by protesters.
At least 31 people have been killed in protest-related violence since the first demonstrations against lack of security took place in San Cristobal on 4 February.
Mr Ceballos was arrested in a hotel in the capital Caracas, by agents of Venezuela's intelligence service (SEBIN).
He was in the capital to attend a meeting of opposition mayors, his aide said.
Mr Ceballos has been an outspoken critic of the tactics used by the security forces to police the protests which have disrupted life in the western city for six weeks.
He said the university students who led the protests have been unjustly targeted, and accused police and soldiers of using excessive force.
The protests have since spread to the capital Caracas and been joined by Venezuelans disgruntled by the country's skyrocketing inflation, shortages of some staple foods and Venezuela's high murder rate.
The opposition says the government is violently repressing the protests and trying to silence the administration's critics.
A number of opposition politicians have been charged in connection with the unrest, which they say is part of a government campaign to defame them.
Popular Will leader Leopoldo Lopez has been held for a month on charges of arson and conspiracy.
And on Wednesday, San Diego Mayor Enzo Scarano of the opposition MUD coalition was sentenced to 10 months in prison for failing to keep protesters from barricading streets in his northern city.
Venezuela's National Assembly has also voted to start a process to strip opposition politician Maria Corina Machado of her immunity, which could pave the way for her being charged with attempting to destabilise the government.
President Nicolas Maduro accuses the opposition of planning a coup against his government and has blamed the violence on "murderous fascist groups".
He says he has repeatedly invited the opposition to the presidential palace for talks, but that they have refused to attend.
Earlier this week opposition leader Henrique Capriles agreed to meet the president, but no date has so far been set for the meeting.


England have retained the Women's Ashes after winning the first Twenty20 international by nine wickets to take an unassailable lead in the series.

Skipper Charlotte Edwards (92 not out) and Sarah Taylor (50 not out) saw them home with an unbeaten stand of 114.
"Charlotte doesn't get sick of scoring runs, does she? England have thoroughly deserved it; they outplayed Australia for the majority of the series. The T20 format brings teams closer together and you can get away with things a little bit more, but today Australia didn't get away with anything.
"They didn't bowl as well as they could and England pounced on any short ball, any wide ball. They also got off to a slow start as England's bowlers were fantastic at the beginning of the innings."
Earlier, Australia skipper Meg Lanning (78 not out) won the toss and added 67 for the fourth wicket with Ellyse Perry (29 not out) as the hosts made 150-3.
England lead the multi-format series 10-4 with two T20 games remaining.
In the end, it proved a stroll in the Hobart sunshine for Taylor and Edwards - ranked first and third in the International Cricket Council's T20 rankings - as Australia's bowlers had no answer to the determined second-wicket pair, who rounded off the victory with 13 balls to spare.
Edwards began England's reply in vintage form, helping herself to two boundaries from Rene Farrell's loose opening over.
Although opening partner Danielle Wyatt fell to Jess Jonassen's left-arm spin, Taylor continued her good form from the third one-dayer, ramping medium-pacer Sarah Coyte over fine leg for four.
The only nervous moment for England came when Taylor survived a close run-out appeal as keeper Alyssa Healy's gloves had disturbed the bails before a direct hit had done so.
10-13 Jan: Test, Perth - England won by 61 runs
19 Jan: 1st ODI, Melbourne - England won by seven wickets
23 Jan: 2nd ODI, Melbourne - Australia won by 26 runs
26 Jan: 3rd ODI, Hobart - Australia won by four wickets
29 Jan: 1st T20, Hobart - England won by nine wickets
31 Jan: 2nd T20, Melbourne
2 Feb: 3rd T20, Sydney
Somewhat surprisingly, Australia waited until the 10th over before introducing quick bowler Ellyse Perry, by which time Edwards and Taylor were well set.
The skipper reached her fifty from only 34 balls, launching a Jonassen full toss for a six over cow corner, while Taylor was characteristically prolific all around the wicket, clubbing Farrell from outside off stump for leg-side fours.
And fittingly, it was skipper Edwards, already assured of England's highest women's T20 international score, who crashed the winning boundary through mid-wicket before raising her arms aloft and being engulfed by her team-mates.
After winning the Test and the first one-day international, England had known they would retain the Women's Ashes trophy if they won any of the five remaining limited-overs games.
Defeat in the last two one-dayers still left England with three bites at the cherry in the Twenty20 series, although they were dealt a blow before the start after opener Heather Knight and strike bowler Anya Shrubsole were ruled out with hamstring and hip injuries respectively.
Having lost the toss, Edwards handed Danielle Hazell the new ball and the Durham off-spinner trapped Elyse Villani lbw sweeping in the first over.
"England came into this game 8-4 up after two demoralising one-day international defeats and Charlotte Edwards went into the game with a threadbare bowling attack because of injuries, but she led from the front, blasting the ball to all parts of Hobart.
"It was a real innings of defiance as she grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. She said it was the best Ashes victory by far in her career, and she's had five of them."
Fellow opener Alex Blackwell was given a life on seven when she was dropped by Amy Jones at mid-on, off the bowling of Jenny Gunn.
But Blackwell perished on 21 when she nudged the ball to Edwards at short fine leg; non-striker Lanning charged through for a single which was never on and Blackwell was run out by nearly half the pitch.
Having added 43 with Blackwell, Lanning found solid support from Jess Cameron (16) and then Perry.
Lanning, again deputising as captain for the injured Jodie Fields, hammered nine fours and launched Gunn - whose four overs cost 40 - for a six over mid-wicket as their unbroken stand left the Southern Stars with a fighting chance of keeping the series alive.
But once Edwards and Taylor established themselves, there was only going to be one winner.
BBC Radio will have coverage of every ball of the Women's Ashes series. Most commentaries will be available on 5 live Sports Extra with continuous coverage online.
Check out photos from the one-day internationals on BBC Sport's Facebook page.


A protest by environmental activists against oil exploration in Arctic waters has ended, according to the Edinburgh-based company behind the drilling.

Cairn Energy said work was suspended for 12 hours after the protesters breached a restricted area on the Leiv Eiriksson rig.
Greenpeace said 18 activists climbed on to the rig off the coast of Greenland.
They called for details of how the operator would respond to an oil spill.
Earlier this week, two Greenpeace protesters occupied the 53,000-tonne drilling vessel, operated on behalf of Cairn Energy.
Protesters hung from the underside of the rig in an Arctic survival pod and were removed by Danish police.
The latest protest was launched from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza in five inflatable speedboats, from outside an 500-metre exclusion zone.
A statement from Cairn Energy said: "The incident aboard the Leiv Eiriksson has ended peacefully.  All 18 protesters are being dealt with by the Greenland authorities."
It is understood 14 of the activists were removed by early afternoon, while the remaining four had locked themselves in a crane cockpit, before they too were removed.
It is believed at least six of the activists are UK nationals.
Earlier, campaigner Ben Ayliffe said: "Experts say the freezing temperatures and remote location mean a deep water blow-out in this stunning pristine environment would be an irreversible disaster.
"If they published the plan, the dangers of investing in such a high risk venture would be laid bare. We have to draw a line in the ice and stop the Arctic oil rush."
Cairn announced this week that it had begun drilling two wells in the region.
The two wells are approximately 100 miles (160km) and 185 miles (300km) off Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Each drilling operation is in water deeper than 2,953ft (900m).
In response to Greenpeace demands to see Cairn's oil spill response plan, the energy company said: "As stipulated by Greenland authorities, the oil spill response documents are not publicly available."
In a statement, the company added: "Wherever it is active, Cairn operates in a safe and prudent manner.
"The Greenland Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum has established some of the most stringent operating regulations anywhere globally, which mirror those applied in the Norwegian North Sea."
"It is in the interests of the Greenland government to put in place the most stringent and robust measures. Cairn takes its responsibilities such as oil spill contingency and response plans very seriously."


Double Olympic champion Nicola Adams will face Argentina's Virginia Noemi Carcamo in her professional debut at the Manchester Arena on 8 April.

Carcamo, 32, has won four of her seven professional contests, all of which have taken place in her homeland.
Adams, 34, has been training in the United States with Virgil Hunter since leaving the amateur ranks after winning her second boxing gold in Rio.
"I'm so excited. All I want to do is get in the ring," said the Briton.
"Training with Virgil Hunter has been amazing. He's taught me some great new things for my professional debut.
"All my focus is on 8 April and the road to becoming a world champion."


There will be 528 gold medals up for grabs across 23 sports over the course of the 11 days of competition at the 2016 Paralympic Games.

New heroes will emerge and memorable performances will take place in Rio.
Baroness Grey-Thompson is one of Britain's greatest Paralympians - she won 11 gold medals and will be part of the BBC Radio 5 Live commentary team in Brazil.
Here is her guide to the moments that you simply cannot afford to miss...
When:
We don't know too much about the ceremony yet, although we have been promised some surprises.
The athletes will have been waiting to come out to Brazil, then been at the holding camp for a few days and finally got into the village - but once the opening ceremony starts, that's it. You can't stop it!
A lot of the athletes won't be able to march out because of their competition.
However, you don't train for four years to march out in an opening ceremony and there is a different feel in the village once it starts. Everyone just settles down from then on and gets down to the business in hand.
When:
I've known Sarah since she was 14 and I wish she had gone to cycling earlier than when she switched sports in 2005. How amazing is it that although we thought swimming was her sport, she is a better cyclist than swimmer?
Winning early medals definitely helps the morale of the team and for Sarah, a gold medal in her first event - the C5 3km individual pursuit on Thursday - would be special and would take her past our current tally of 11 golds.
But the medal total is one of those things that is only yours for a bit - like world records - and although you wouldn't want anyone else to have it, there is nothing you can do.
This will be her first Games as a mum and her seventh in total. Although it will be hard, she will just get on with it. She is already the equal most successful female Paralympian - but this would take her to the next level.
When:
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Two sports will be making their Games debut - triathlon and canoe. I'm looking forward to both but triathlon is an amazing sport and I am really pleased it is in the Paralympics.
My husband Ian is part of the GB coaching set-up and the athletes are just so hardcore having to cope with three disciplines and the transitions.
It is an amazing sport to watch and, for example, if you are a wheelchair user you are using your arms only and it is so brutal.
The GB team have got good chances for medals in both the men's and women's events. Lauren Steadman, Andy Lewis and Alison Patrick are current world champions but you also have the likes of Royal Marine Joe Townsend, who has improved so much.
When:
Ellie is coming to her third Games at the age of 21. You forget how young she is, but it feels like she has been around forever.
This Games is a big challenge for the swimmer, who now has a big rival in Yelyzaveta Mereshko from the Ukraine, especially in the 400m freestyle where she is going for her third title in a row.
In Beijing eight years ago nobody knew Ellie and she won two gold medals, but there was different pressure on her at London 2012, where she won another two golds, and now a different pressure again in Rio.
For Ellie, it is about how much pressure she puts on herself. We expect her to just turn up and win - and that is hard.
When:
I love watching David Weir race, from the skinny kid I first saw in Atlanta in 1996 to the four-time London gold medallist.
It has been a really tough four years for him and even to win one medal of any colour will be a great achievement. Certainly, it will be very tough for him to do what he did in London.
Wheelchair racing is one of the deepest sports in terms of quality and so many guys can finish within half a second of each other.
In London, the others let Dave make every decision in his races and we saw what happened - but I don't think they will let him do that again.
When:
The start line for the T44 100m final on Friday will probably be the most tense we will see at any race over the entire programme.
The rivalry between defending champion Jonnie Peacock and the now-retired Richard Browne was quite feisty and brought out the best in Jonnie, but the rivalry between Jonnie and American Jarryd Wallace is different and definitely less fraught.
Jonnie has always delivered for Great Britain. It hasn't been an easy four years for him since 2012 with injury problems and new rivals emerging, but he will want to do it again. It will be one of the most interesting races and will be won and lost in the first 30 metres. The winner will be whoever gets out of the blocks clean and up to their top speed first.
It will also be interesting to see what shape Brazil's Alan Oliveira is in. He bulked up a lot after the 2013 World Championships in Lyon and I don't think that helped his sprinting. We all assumed after London that his star would just rise and rise, but it hasn't been quite that way.
I wish German long jumper Markus Rehm was in the 100m because I want to see how fast he can run. We know how far he can jump and he is nailed on for gold there, but it is a shame he isn't going for a double.
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When:
I've been working with wheelchair racer Jade Jones for a number of years and she goes in three events in the T54 category at her second Games.
I will feel so nervous watching her because there is nothing I can do. She is great and resilient and makes good decisions, but commentating on her races is just horrible.
You have to be aware of being objective and not watching her and calling the race as you see it - but there is a bit when I want to scream at her to go for it.
She is pushing well, is in good shape and is hitting her best ever top-end speed, lifting more in the gym.
She has to forget about American Tatyana McFadden, who is so dominant in that category, but if Jade was to win a medal, I might cry on air.
I know that this isn't technically a moment, but the Games as a whole will be memorable.
We know it has been a difficult build-up to the Games. However, what has been amazing is how huge the campaign to fill the seats and the public support in Britain has been.
It shows how much people care about the Paralympics. I was travelling across Europe when the news broke about disappointing ticket sales - and the fact that it made news in Germany and Belgium in a way it probably never has done before is a sign of change.
Ticket sales are now looking better and I think the sport will be great because standards are rising.
Does it actually matter that there isn't as much Paralympic branding in Rio as there was in London? It would have been nice but it is more important to be able to get the bus to your venue.
Baroness Grey-Thompson was speaking to BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson.


Mae'r nifer uchaf erioed o safleoedd yng Nghymru wedi ennill statws Baner Las, yn cynnwys 45 o draethau, tri marina a dau gwmni teithiau cychod.

Mae cyfanswm o 98 safle wedi cyrraedd safonau Baner Las, Arfordir Gwyrdd a Gwobr Glan Môr.
Mae'r safleoedd yn cael eu cydnabod yng Ngwobrau Arfordir Cymru.
Blue Ocean Adventures yn Nhyddewi a Ribride ym Mhorthaethwy yw'r cwmnïau teithiau cychod cyntaf yn y DU i ennill statws Baner Las.
Eleni yw'r 30ain flwyddyn i'r Faner Las gael ei chyflwyno, ac i'w hennill mae'n rhaid sicrhau safon ansawdd dŵr, ymwybyddiaeth amgylcheddol, rheolaeth a gwasanaethau.
Dywedodd yr Ysgrifennydd dros yr Amgylchedd a Materion Gwledig, Lesley Griffiths: "Rydym i gyd yn gwybod bod arfordir Cymru gyda'r mwyaf trawiadol yn y byd.
"Mae'r ffaith fod 50 o safleoedd bellach yn hedfan y Faner Las a bod 98 o safleoedd i gyd wedi cael eu cydnabod am ansawdd eu dŵr a'u cyfleusterau yn newyddion rhagorol.
"Gall hyn ond cael effaith gadarnhaol ar dwristiaeth ac, yn ei dro, rhoi hwb i'r economi."


Actress Liz Smith, who played "Nana" in the Royle Family and Mrs Cropley in the Vicar of Dibley, has died aged 95.

A family spokeswoman announced that the Bafta winning actress had died on Christmas Eve.
Born as Betty Gleadle in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, in 1921, she later gave herself the stage name of Smith.
She also had roles in 2point4 Children and Lark Rise to Candleford, and was the voice of Mrs Mulch in Wallace and Gromit's The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
She was appointed MBE in 2009 and the Bafta for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Maggie Smith's mother in the 1984 film A Private Function.
She announced her retirement from acting in 2009, following a series of strokes.
The death comes less than six months after her co-star and co-writer of The Royle Family, Caroline Aherne, died aged 52.
Ralf Little, who played Antony Royle in the sitcom, tweeted: "Devastating to lose two members of my second family in one awful year. RIP Liz Smith. Goodbye Nana. Xxx"
Andrew Whyment, who starred in both Coronation Street and The Royle Family, tweeted: "What a fantastic actress she was absolutely hilarious RIP lovely Liz x"


Drivers  on the Luas tram system in Dublin are taking further strike action this weekend in a dispute over pay.

The latest two-day strike comes as the deadlock between the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (Siptu) and tram operator Transdev continues.
A deal brokered at the Workplace Relations Commission was rejected by workers.
Another two days of industrial action is scheduled for later in April.


Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen struck his highest Twenty20 score, with an unbeaten 115 from 66 balls in South Africa's Ram Slam T20 competition.

Playing for the Durban-based Dolphins franchise, the 35-year-old came to the crease in the first over and hit 10 sixes and five fours in his innings.
He moved to his hundred during a final over in which 30 runs were scored, with Pietersen striking four sixes.
The Dolphins made 174-6 and beat the Johannesburg-based Lions by one run.
Having been told in March he had no future with England, Pietersen has become a freelance T20 batsman and is playing in a Dolphins side alongside South Africa batsmen Morne van Wijk and David Miller.
They both fell cheaply against the Lions but Pietersen reached fifty from 49 balls with a six and then struck four successive sixes in the final over from seamer Dwaine Pretorius.


One of Scotland's largest animal feed producers has posted a rise in profits, despite reporting a "challenging" year for the industry.

Aberdeenshire-based Harbro Group saw pre-tax profit increase by £800,000, to £3.5m, in the year to the end of June 2016.
This was despite turnover falling by £1m to just over £100m.
Harbro said international sales grew over the year, both in Europe and in new markets further afield.
The Turriff-based company manufactures and supplies feeds for the beef, sheep, dairy, pig and poultry sectors.
It also has a network of 19 shops across Scotland, operating under the Country Store brand. The stores cater for farming and rural communities with a range of products, including fireside supplies, country clothing and footwear.
In accounts filed with Companies House, the company said: "As always, the outlook for agriculture is difficult to predict.
"We have certainly been experiencing challenging times over the last 12-18 months but the industry is a robust one.
"The impact of Brexit is still to be fully understood, although the board are confident that the group will be well positioned for whatever business challenges this may bring about."


There are calls to up the cost of sugary drinks - to help kids' health.

Over 60 groups, including doctors, are backing a 20p tax per litre, which would go to the government.
Food and farming charity Sustain thinks it'd raise more than Â£1 billion a year, which could be spent on healthy school meals, free fruit and veg, and cooking classes.
But soft drink companies say it's not necessary and they're already helping to fight child obesity.
The British Soft Drink Association said that 61% of soft drinks "now contain no added sugar".
Alcoholic drinks and cigarettes have taxes put on them to try and stop people from buying too many of them.
So do you think raising the cost of sugary drinks would work?
Would it put you off if sugar drinks cost a bit more? Or perhaps you reckon it won't make a difference?
This comments page is now closed. Here are some of the comments you sent it.
"Taxing sugary drinks won't make people want to buy it less, they will still buy it. However it will make the government richer and the people poorer."
Holly, Suffolk, England
"We should have our own free choice on drinking pop. I am sensible and do not need to be forced to drink less by making pop too expensive!"
Olivia, Lancashire, England
"We think that the price of fizzy drinks should not be increased. It should be parents that prevent their children from buying the drinks. We also think it will not make a big difference in the number of people that buy the drink, but the government will definitely benefit!"
Form 8O The Compton School, London, England
"I think we should pay more because then people wouldn't buy them so often and we would be healthier!!"
Hana, Lancashire, England
"I don't think we should put a tax on soft drinks because right now they are just about pocket money price. I only have sugary things on a Saturday so I like to treat myself by buying a fizzy drink with my pocket money."
Ava, Kilbarchan, Scotland
"Yes soft drinks are very fattening and there should be a small tax on them to try and get people to drink a healthier alternative like water."
Ben, Hampshire, England
"I am diabetic so when I hypo, which means that my blood sugar goes low, I need fizzy drinks to put it up, so raising the price is not fair."
Laura, Wigan, England
"I think it is a good idea because it may be too expensive for children to buy. If children can't buy the high sugar drinks then they will be healthier."
Emma, Dumfries, Scotland
"No we should not pay more for fizzy drinks as already we pay enough."
Emily, Liverpool, England
"Fizzy drinks should stay the same but lower the prices of water and juice because more people will buy them as fizzy drinks and juice are the same price at the moment."
Molly, London, England
"The price of drinks is already ridiculous! How do we know that's where the extra money would go?"
Ellie, Cheltenham, England
"No because it is already too pricey. It should stay the same because kids are just spending more of their money."
Chloe, Stratford-on-Avon, England
"I think that they should raise the price because then when we go to the dentist it won't hurt!"
Nicky, Worcestershire, England
"I think they should tax sugary drinks. If people find that it costs more then they won't buy it. Less people will get ill and it will help kids health."
Mathumye, Coventry, England
"I think they should not put sugary drinks up because it is a bit too expensive already!"
Courtney, London, England
"I think that fizzy drinks cost too much already. If the price goes up they will be bought a lot less and the government won't get any tax."
Jake, Waterlooville, England
"No, because there is no point in taxing things that people like. If you tax them them it's not really going to make a difference."
Marina, Huddersfield, England
"I think we should tax sugary drinks but not the ones with sweeteners. All the money raised should be spent on schools or stuff for kids because we buy most of the bottles and cans."
Freya, Manchester, England


A taxi driver who claimed to have used an illegal canister of pepper spray on himself to test his pain threshold has been handed a suspended jail term.

Fazal Sajjad Younis Khan pleaded guilty in May to possessing a weapon for the discharge of a noxious substance.
Prosecutors said Khan, 40, was a "prepper" which was "someone preparing to survive doomsday scenarios".
The private hire driver was given a six-week jail term suspended for a year by Birmingham magistrates.
Khan, of Whitmore Road, Small Heath, Birmingham, who was initially arrested under anti-terror laws, told officers he had bought four canisters of the spray online.
He was held in custody for seven days after the cans were found in a locked bedroom at his home.
The court heard last month he had previous convictions for robbery and wounding dating back to 1994.
Khan's solicitor Aftab Zahoor, told magistrates the defendant was unaware the canisters were illegal in the UK and there were "no warnings" about this when he bought them from a website.
"There is no evidence that he put anybody in fear or that he was participating in any form of violence," he said.
"At least two of these items were still in their packaging unopened and one item was used by the defendant upon himself."


Mae'r heddlu wedi lansio ei ymgyrch fwyaf i reoli ymddygiad gwrthgymdeithasol mewn tref yn Sir Benfro ble gall y boblogaeth gynyddu 10 gwaith mwy na'r arfer dros yr haf.

Bydd rhagor o heddweision yng nghanol Dinbych-y-pysgod ar benwythnosau ac ar drenau'n dod i mewn i'r dref.
Fe fydd Trenau Arriva Cymru hefyd yn darparu mwy o staff diogelwch.
Nod Ymgyrch Lion yw ceisio atal ymddygiad gwrthgymdeithasol cyn iddo gyrraedd Dinbych-y-pysgod.
Mae'r ymgyrch yn ei bumed flwyddyn eleni, ond mae wedi bod yn cynyddu pob blwyddyn.
Mae canol y dref wedi bod yn "ardal yfed reoledig" ers 2014, sy'n golygu bod yfed ar y stryd wedi'i wahardd.
Dywedodd yr Arolygydd Aled Davies o Heddlu Dyfed Powys: "Poblogaeth Dinbych-y-pysgod fel arfer yw tua 5,000 i 6,000, ond yn yr haf gall hynny godi i 60,000.
"Mae 99% o'r bobl sy'n dod i Ddinbych-y-pysgod eisiau dod yma a mwynhau'r dref fel ymwelwyr, a'r oll d'yn ni'n ei ofyn yw i'r bobl sy'n dod yma yw iddyn nhw barchu'r dref.
"Ond yn y gorffennol d'yn ni wedi gweld rhai yn dod yma i ymweld â'r tafarndai a'r clybiau, sydd yna'n achosi trwbl ar ôl yfed yn ormodol."


Everton's Romelu Lukaku has decided where he wants to play next season.

The 24-year-old striker, who scored 25 Premier League goals last season, turned down the most lucrative contract offer in Everton's history in March.
"I don't want to stay at the same level. I want to improve and I know where I want to do that," Belgian Lukaku said on Monday.
Former club Chelsea, who he originally signed for in 2011, remain favourites to complete a deal for Lukaku.
The Premier League champions, Manchester United and Bayern Munich have been linked with a move for Lukaku, who has been at Everton since 2013.
"We are now talking to the club. I know what's happening, but I will leave the talks to my agent," he added to journalists after Belgium beat the Czech Republic in a friendly in Brussels.
"I know what's happening, but I can't tell you anything more.
"What I would like most is to play in the Champions League and try to win the Premier League once. Or better - a few times."
Lukaku is represented by Mino Raiola, the agent who helped negotiate Paul Pogba's £89m move to Manchester United last summer.


A microscope seems like a complex piece of kit so the idea that one can be printed on to A4 paper for around 50 cents (30p) seems incredible.

But such a simple tool could be a life-saver in the developing world where diagnosing and correctly treating disease can often be an inexact science.
It was a problem that Stanford assistant professor and TED Fellow Manu Prakash was determined to solve.
On one of many field trips he makes with students to the developing world he was struck by how little infrastructure there was to deal with killer diseases such as malaria.
"In Kenya there are not enough anti-malarial drugs but even still they are given blindly. They are being over-used because people are so scared," he said.
As well as the obvious waste, it means that the parasites which cause the disease become immune to some of the drugs on offer.
"It is extremely important to treat people for what they have and up until now that has been a dream," he added.
That dream could become a reality if local health centres, non-government organisations or even village elders had high quality microscopes on hand that could diagnose common and life-threatening illnesses easily and cheaply.
With sophisticated models costing upwards of half a million pounds, Prof Prakash had to go back to basics and it doesn't get more basic than a microscope built entirely of paper which can be put together simply by folding.
The origami microscope, dubbed Foldscope, designed by Prof Prakash and his team, can be fitted on to one sheet of A4 paper making it extremely easy to ship in large numbers.
It can be assembled in seven minutes, includes no mechanical moving parts, operates with no external power and is very sturdy. Everything from the lenses to the batteries come on the paper.
"You can throw it in water, stand on it, jump on it and throw it from a five-storey building," said Mr Prakash.
Initially they made 1,000 of the microscopes "at a price point where they were almost disposable," said Prof Prakash.
And in lab tests Foldscopes optically outperforms traditional field microscopes for disease diagnostic applications.
The next stage will be to ramp up production and test the microscope in the field in Kenya, India and Uganda.
Microscopy is a very broad and often complex science and traditional scopes can have thousands of functions.
But most diseases have very specific requirements. So, for example, diagnosing tuberculosis is done in what is called fluorescence mode while malaria needs high resolution.
Each of the microscopes designed by Prakash and his team is specific to a particular disease and there are 12 in total.
"For training it is simple, people don't have to worry about too many knobs, there is only one way to operate it," he said.
Each microscope has a built-in projector which means that images can be looked at by many people at the same time - a valuable addition as Prof Prakash is keen that the microscope be as much a learning tool as a diagnosing one.
To add to its teaching aspect, on the back of each microscope is a picture of the microbe that the amateur scientist is looking for.
The team is starting to distribute the microscope to doctors, medical students, schoolchildren and researchers.
Mr Prakash categorises the microscope as part of a wider vision towards "frugal science" - providing tools to allow the developing world to work on scientific principles at extremely low cost.
For those using it it may simply be a life-saver.


Gay men are fleeing brutal persecution in Chechnya, where police are holding more than 100 people and torturing some of them in an anti-gay crackdown, Russian activists say.

Natalia Poplevskaya of the Russian LGBT Network said "we are working to evacuate people".
A government spokesman called the reports "lies" and said homosexual people "simply don't exist in the republic".
Homophobia is widespread in Chechnya.
The mainly Muslim region is run by Ramzan Kadyrov, an authoritarian leader with a notorious private militia, fiercely loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ms Poplevskaya told the BBC that victims - either gay or just perceived as gay - are being held at a detention centre near Argun, 20km (13 miles) from the city of Grozny.
She said the LGBT Network, based in St Petersburg, was aware of "an organised campaign to detain gay men" in Chechnya.
"Torture is going on with electric shocks, beatings with cables. All the people arrested are homosexual men or perceived as being gay," she said. Three deaths have been reported.
More than 30 people were crammed into one cell, she added.
Despite appeals to the Russian authorities to stop the abuses, no action has been taken, she complained.
Kadyrov spokesman Alvi Karimov denied the alleged persecution.
"You can't detain and repress people who simply don't exist in the republic," he said.
The gay rights group has an email hotline to help victims, or potential victims, flee to other parts of Russia. Ms Poplevskaya declined to say where those victims were being sheltered.
News of the crackdown was broken by the Russian daily Novaya Gazeta, which specialises in human rights investigations. It reported that the detainees included some influential Muslim clerics close to Mr Kadyrov, and two well-known Chechen TV presenters.
"We confirm what was said in Novaya Gazeta," Ms Poplevskaya said, while declining to name her sources in Chechnya.
Ramzan Kadyrov: Putin's key Chechen ally
Putin loyalist Kadyrov unleashed on Russian 'traitors'
Russia's mixed messages on LGBT
Vigilantes claiming to be enforcing Muslim morals have long targeted gay people in Russia's North Caucasus.
But persecution of gay people in Chechnya intensified in late February, she said.
LGBT Network submitted reports about the crackdown to the Russian prosecutor-general's office, the Federal Investigative Committee (SK) and federal commissioner for human rights.
"We got no response, despite all the appeals. The only thing was that the Russian ombudswoman said she would initiate an investigation. That was only after Amnesty International filed their own statement," she said.
"The office of the military commandant is now the unofficial detention centre for torture, near Argun. All the victims confirmed that," she said.
But it is not a "concentration camp" for gays, she said, rejecting the description used in some media reports.
Foreign governments and human rights groups have voiced concern about the alleged abuses, urging the Russian and Chechen authorities to stop them.
The EU, the US state department, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are among those who have complained.
Reporting by the BBC's Laurence Peter


A County Antrim man who stabbed his partner to death in front of their seven-year-old daughter has been given a minimum 12-year sentence.

Richard McAuley, 42, from Townhill Road in Portglenone pleaded guilty to the murder of Denise Dunlop, aged 32.
The fatal stabbing occurred in the living room of Ms Dunlop's Centuripe Avenue home in Ballymena last June.
The court heard that as a result of the attack, the couple's daughter suffered a "complex and traumatic experience".
McAuley was told by the judge, Mr Justice Weir, that he had caused "enormous and permanent harm" to his daughter.
The court heard that prior to the attack, on the evening of 14  June,  Ms Dunlop and McAuley had gone to her father's house.
As they made their way back home in a taxi accompanied by Ms Dunlop's step-mother, the taxi stopped at an off-licence where alcohol was bought.
When the taxi arrived back at Centuripe Avenue, Ms Dunlop's seven-year old daughter returned home from the babysitter's and they watched football on the TV.
A row between the couple then broke out - possibly over an ice cream that was given to the girl - which resulted in what Mr Justice Weir described as "mutual pushing and pulling".
As Ms Dunlop sat on the sofa, McAuley went to the kitchen where he armed himself with a knife.
He returned to the living room, where he stabbed his partner three times in the upper body in front of their daughter and Ms Dunlop's step-mother.
A wound to her chest, which passed through her left lung and heart, proved to be the fatal injury.
Mr Justice Weir said the killing was "senseless" and told McAuley his actions had deprived a young girl of her mother.
Saying the row was "fuelled by drink and drugs", the judge said a young woman had died in a row which was "almost unbelievable in its triviality".
Since murdering Ms Dunlop, the court heard McAuley had made the case that he acted as he did due to provocation.
However, the judge said that while he accepted the couple's 13-year relationship was on and off - largely due to McAuley's substance abuse - there was no history of violence between the couple, and there was "no justification" for McAuley's actions.
Mr Justice Weir told McAuley: "You are a powerfully built man of six feet one, while the deceased was a foot shorter. There was no excuse for bringing a knife into this silly domestic dispute.
"The deceased was very drunk, and the prescription drugs she had taken would have made her intoxication worse. She was no threat to you."
The judge also told McAuley he did not believe his claims that he did not intent to kill Ms Dunlop, and that the knife attack was carried out in front of their daughter and Mrs Dunlop "without a thought for the consequences for them."
The court heard McAuley has 44 previous convictions.


Police in China have arrested a chemistry professor for his part in producing a psychoactive drug in a case that has been likened to US crime drama Breaking Bad.

State agency Xinhua said 17 people were arrested including a Xian university professor alleged to have helped provide the recipe for methcathinone.
Police seized 128kg (282lb) of the drug and more than 5m yuan ($806,095; Â£519,450).
The drug lab was raided last year.
The local public security bureau announced the arrests on Tuesday.
The bureau said an investigation had found the professor, whose surname is Lu, had provided the recipe for the white powder stimulant methcathinone, known as cat, in May 2013.
In Breaking Bad, high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, turns to crime producing and selling crystallized methamphetamine, or crystal meth.
The suspect in charge of drug production was the head of a chemical plant in east China's Jiangsu province who has previously served time in prison for drugs offences, police said.
Local media said the professor, in his fifties, met the man and said he had a recipe for a new drug. Manufacturing, trafficking and transporting is alleged to have started from September 2013.
The police investigation took them to many cities and provinces including Beijing, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan and Anhui.
A Chinese website called it the "real version of Breaking Bad" and one blog comment called the professor a Walter White "wannabe".
Chinese state media has cited the government as saying the country has 14 million drug users, about 1% of the population.
Last year, China's President Xi Jinping called for "forceful measures" to tackle illegal drug use.
The country has been known to impose the death penalty for drug trafficking.


It's not just about the big birds and the sophisticated fighter jets on display.

The Singapore Airshow is also a chance to check out trends and new technologies in a fast-growing industry. Here are a few that caught my eye when I scoured the tarmac at the airshow this year:
There are anywhere between 1.5 million to 2.4 million parts in an aeroplane according to John Lee, president of the Philippine's Aerospace Industry Association.
Currently they're painstakingly manufactured piece by piece - but imagine if some of those parts were just 3D printed into one concrete piece? Well that's what some companies, including GE Aviation are trying to do. It adds to the shelf-life of the aircraft parts, and cuts down on costs. But just how comfortable are passengers going to feel knowing their planes have been printed?
Asia is no stranger to natural disasters. You name it, from tsunamis to earthquakes to volcanoes, every couple of months there's some sort of major disaster taking place nearby. Which is where the makers of "Project Zero" see a gap in the market they believe their product can fill. It's a helicopter - but one that's fully electric and not reliant on fuel, so it can get to volatile places like volcanoes or other no oxygen environments.  It's built by AgustaWestland, which belongs to Italy's Finmeccanica. There are even ambtions to get it to Mars - but hold your horses, right now it is only able to fly about ten minutes. Watch this space.
This was always going to be a major theme for the commercial airliners this year as they look at beefing up their fleets in the face of increased demand from passengers in Asia, but also try and manage uncertainties ahead. So when in doubt, why not buy a smaller plane? On the first day of the airshow, Japan's Mitsubishi Aircraft bagged an order for 10 of its MRJ90 regional jets from a US based leasing company. The jet seats between 70 to 90 passengers and it's these sorts of planes that we are likely to see do quite well at the airshow.


A top Egyptian court has upheld a ruling halting a plan to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

The High Administrative Court rejected an appeal by the government against a lower court's decision to stop it handing over Tiran and Sanafir.
Cheers erupted as the judge delivered the verdict, saying the government had failed to provide evidence that the islands were originally Saudi.
The transfer deal, signed last April, sparked rare protests in Egypt.
Tiran and Sanafir are located at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. They are uninhabited apart from Egyptian troops and multi-national peacekeepers.
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the islands had always belonged to Saudi Arabia and that Riyadh had asked Egypt to station troops there in 1950 to protect them.
But Mr Sisi was accused of violating the constitution and "selling" the islands in return for a multi-billion dollar aid package announced during a visit to Cairo by King Salman.
Saudi Arabia has backed Mr Sisi financially since he led the military's overthrow of his Islamist predecessor, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013.
Uproar at the maritime border demarcation accord prompted protests across Egypt at which hundreds people were detained, according to human rights activists.
A group of lawyers, including former presidential candidate Khaled Ali, also challenged the agreement at an administrative court.
Mr Ali argued that a 1906 maritime treaty between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire stated that the islands were Egyptian. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was not established until 1932.
In June, the court nullified the border accord, ruling that Egyptian sovereignty over the islands held and could not be amended in favour of another state.
The government subsequently lodged an appeal with the High Administrative Court. It is part of the State Council, a judicial body that gives legal advice to the government, drafts legislation, and exercises jurisdiction over administrative cases.
On Monday, the High Administrative Court said it was the "unanimous" decision of its judges that Tiran and Sanafir were sovereign Egyptian territories.
Lawyers and activists celebrated and chanted: "These islands are Egyptian."
"This verdict is a victory for Egypt," Mr Ali, who was carried out of the court building on the shoulders of his supporters, told Reuters news agency.
There was no immediate response from the Egyptian or Saudi governments.