A suspect in the 1980 murder of two Irish soldiers who were killed on United Nations duty has been deported from the United States to Lebanon.

Privates Derek Smallhorne and Thomas Barrett were on UN peacekeeping duty in Lebanon when they were murdered.
Lebanese national Mahmoud Bazzi, 71, has been sent back to his home country after admitting immigration fraud.
The Irish defence minister said the deportation was a "significant step in the pursuit of justice" for the troops.
A third Irish soldier was injured in the incident near the Israeli border on 18 April 1980.
All three were serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) when their convoy was stopped and they were captured.
Mr Bazzi reportedly entered the United States about 20 years ago and had recently been living in Detroit.
Officers from the US Enforcement and Removal Operations agency escorted him on a flight to Beirut on Friday and handed him over to the Lebanese authorities.
Campaigners are hoping he will be questioned about the soldiers' murders.
Irish Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said: "I believe that this is a significant step in the pursuit of justice for Privates Thomas Barrett and Derek Smallhorne who lost their lives while on United Nations peace-keeping duty in Lebanon almost 35 years ago.
"It is an important day for the families and I wish to commend them for their continued commitment to securing justice for their loved ones."


The number of refugees fleeing violence in South Sudan to Uganda has passed the one million mark, the UN says.

The organisation is appealing to the international community for "urgent additional support".
It adds that at least another one million refugees have fled to Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic.
South Sudan has been wracked by civil war, which has seen numerous atrocities, since 2013.
In July of that year, President Salva Kiir fired his deputy Riek Machar, and in December accused him of planning a coup - an allegation he denied. Forces loyal to the two men then started fighting.
Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories
'Why I gave my land to a South Sudan refugee'
Is Uganda the best place to be a refugee?
Uganda's welcoming attitude towards refugees has been praised by the UN and other international organisations. The government, for example, gives South Sudanese a plot of land to build a home and farm.
In 2016, Uganda received more refugees than any other country in the world.


Five years into its austerity regime, the Greek government has once again had to go cap in hand to its creditors and ask for more money.

But the country's complex tax system seems to be one of its biggest hindrances.
The former head of Greece's tax collection agency, raising taxes in the midst of the financial crisis, told the BBC "it was not an easy job to do".
Probably a masterful understatement, given Greece's recent past.
Harry Theocharis is now an MP, but used to be the most wanted man in Greece - and not in a good way.
It was his job to try to raise taxes in the middle of the financial crisis and try to reform the notoriously inefficient tax system itself.
"You make everybody's life difficult... it doesn't make you popular at all," he said.
To give just one example of the complexities Mr Theocharis wrestled with: in Greece there are six different rates of VAT. The normal rate is 23% - there are two reduced ones for items such as food, fuel and medicine.
But the Greek Islands enjoy reduced rates of VAT to encourage people to stay in remote parts of the country and to help the vital tourism industry there.
That makes six rates in all, and creates plenty of opportunities for dodging tax.
A recent surge in tourism on the island of Mykonos  for instance seems to have led to lower payments of VAT to the Greek government.
Greece also has a pension system that is amazingly complex, with numerous exceptions for different jobs allowing for early retirement.
The pensions are not very generous on average, but overall the Greek government is spending 30% more on pensions than the British government does. The whole system is in desperate need of simplification in order to make it cheaper to run.
Then there are the privatisations. At the start of the crisis, the Greek government committed itself to bringing in €50bn from the sale of state assets. According to Mr Theocharis, that target was soon reduced to €30bn and then €20bn.
In total, the government has managed to raise about €2-3bn so far.
Things like the privatisation of the port of Piraeus are supposed to be bringing in more, but they have been delayed, cancelled and then relaunched.
Then there are the cuts that have been reversed, such as the reopening after two years of the state broadcasting company ERT, which started programmes again this year.
The problem therefore is not so much that Greece is incapable of reform or does not know what needs doing, but that it has wasted five years of the bailout without making serious attempts to fix the structural problems that beset the economy - and in many cases it is actually going backwards.
If it had started five years ago, it might have been seeing the results by now as countries like Ireland and Spain have done, but one of the reasons that the Greek bailout has reached another crisis point is that it has hardly started.
It is not the kind of record that is likely to make the countries that are lending Greece all that money trust them with some more.


A hedgehog has died after being kicked around "as if he were a football".

The RSPCA is trying to trace a "middle aged" woman who was seen kicking the animal at the bottom of flats in Sprignall, Peterborough, at about 14:30 BST on Tuesday.
"She was screaming 'stupid hedgehog' and kicking the little animal around continuously," RSPCA inspector Justin Stubbs said.
The hedgehog was treated at a vet's but put down the following day.
Mr Stubbs said the animal was "twitching, clearly in great agony".
"There is no excuse for such a senseless attack, and I can't imagine what could have motivated it," he said.
"I have known cases like this with young children who don't know any better, but for a grown woman to attack an animal like this is just baffling."


More than 200 ducks have been stolen from a farm in Aberdeenshire.

Police said 230 of the birds - worth more than Â£1,000 - were taken from a shed near Laurencekirk.
The theft is thought to have happened in the early hours of Friday.
Investigating officer PC Marc Camus, of Police Scotland, said: "Due to the number of ducks taken it is believed that a vehicle similar in size to a pick-up truck or a transit van would have been sufficient."
He added: "The breeds of ducks taken are not common and are difficult to source. The ducks may therefore be offered for sale to other poultry farmers.
"If anyone has any information about this incident they are asked to call Police Scotland on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."


Three young coding enthusiasts from the UK have beaten off European competition to win a gaming contest organised by Microsoft.

The Kodu Kup challenges children to create their own game using Kodu, Microsoft's visual programming language.
The winning game was a futuristic one in which players compete to defeat an evil robot.
The competition is part of a huge push to get children doing more coding.
Alfie Finch-Critchley, aged 14, and 12-year-old team mates Joseph Banerjee and Jonathan Haley are from Uppingham Community College in the East Midlands.
Their futuristic game, Confined - which was inspired by Valve's title Portal - won the 12-16 age category.
They competed against teams from Portugal, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Greece, Lithuania and Estonia in the final, in which they had to complete a Dragons'-Den style pitch to a jury of MEPs, education and gaming experts.
"Computational thinking helps our young people to understand and play an active role in the world that surrounds them," commented Simon Peyton-Jones, chair of the Computing at School campaign
"The Kodu Kup provides an opportunity for children to creatively engage with computing, whilst also teaching them the coding skills which will help them to secure the jobs of the future."
Speaking about the process, Alfie said: "Apart from the event itself, the best part of participating in the Kodu Kup for me was the teamwork. We worked together and we were able to take our individual talents and combine them to get the best result possible.
"Kids don't always need to be told what to do to understand things, through computational thinking and perseverance you can find out for yourself, and if you can get a grasp of computers and computer science you can understand the world around us."
Judge Kelly Smith, head of television and games at BAFTA, said that the standard of the competition "blew me away".
The winners were chosen for their presentation, the details they had put into their game and the way they had worked as a team.
"They had really thought about the design, usability and where their product would be placed in the market, which is remarkable for a group of 12- to 14-year-olds," she said.
The competition is part of EU Code Week, an initiative aimed at getting more children interested in coding.
Microsoft, together with Facebook, Rovio, SAP and Liberty Global, have formed a coalition to launch a pan-European online platform to drive participation in coding.
In September, coding in English schools was made mandatory for all children aged five to 16.
The BBC is a partner in a UK-based coding initiative dubbed Year of Code, which aims, among other things, to crowdsource funding to help parents, pupils and educational organisations get involved in coding.


The five-day Royal Ascot meeting includes eight Group One races, with the feature race starting at 16:20 BST each day.

The annual event attracts some of the best thoroughbreds, jockeys and trainers in the world.
It is also known for its attention-grabbing display of hats.
You can follow the latest news and selected race commentaries on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.
Full race schedule: (Time, race, status, distance)
14.30 The Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) 1m
15.05 The Coventry Stakes (Group 2) 6f
15.40 The King's Stand Stakes (Group 1) 5f
16.20 The St James's Palace Stakes (Group 1) 1m
17.00 The Ascot Stakes (Handicap) 2 ½m
17.35 The Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed) 5f
Full race schedule: (Time, race, status, distance)
14.30 The Jersey Stakes (Group 3) 7f
15.05 The Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2) 5f
15.40 The Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2) 1m
16.20 The Prince of Wales's Stakes (Group 1) 1 ¼m
17.00 The Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap) 1m
17.35 The Sandringham Stakes (Listed) (Handicap) 1m
Full race schedule: (Time, race, status, distance)
14.30 The Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) 5f
15.05 The Tercentenary Stakes (Group 3) 1 ¼m
15.40 The Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2) 1 ½m
16.20 The Gold Cup (Group 1) 2 ½m
17.00 The Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) 1m
17.35 The King George V Stakes (Handicap) 1 ½m
Full race schedule: (Time, race, status, distance)
14.30 The Albany Stakes (Group 3) 6f
15.05 The King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2) 1 ½m
15.40 The Commonwealth Cup (Group 1) 6f
16.20 The Coronation Stakes (Group 1) 1m
17.00 The Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap) 1 ½m
17.35 The Queen's Vase (Listed) 2m
Full race schedule: (Time, race, status, distance)
14.30 The Chesham Stakes (Listed) 7f
15.05 The Wolferton Rated Stakes (Listed) 1 ¼m
15.40 The Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2) 1 ½m
16.20 The Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Group 1) 6f
17.00 The Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap) 6f
17.35 The Queen Alexandra Stakes (Conditions) 2m 6f


A heavily armed gang has killed an unknown number of elephants at a world heritage site in the Central African Republic.

WWF says that ivory poachers were seen using a scientist's observation platform to shoot the animals, which gather there in large numbers.
The campaigners say they are extremely worried about the elephants in Dzanga-Ndoki national park.
Conservationists have also expressed grave concern about the animals' fate.
The Dzanga-Ndoki park is located in the south-western corner of the Central African Republic (CAR), where it borders Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. It is described as a unique habitat for forest elephants in particular.
On Monday, WWF issued a warning that a group of 17 individuals, some armed with heavy-calibre rifles, had entered the park and was heading for the Dzanga-bai, an area known locally as the "village of elephants".
Up to 200 elephants are said to gather here daily to drink mineral salts present in the sands.
Local guards told WWF that they saw armed men using the Dzanga-bai observation platform to shoot the animals. The platform is normally used by scientists and tourists.
"We know that there was a lot of Kalashnikov fire over the last couple of days, and into the night," said Dr Anna Feistner, of WWF, who has been based in the area for the past three years.
"We now know the guys have left. Our belief is that elephants have been killed but we don't yet know the scale."
Dr Feistner said she believed the raiders were Sudanese ivory poachers who have been trying to operate in the area for some time and were now simply taking advantage of the lawless state of the country.
The CAR has been described as the "wound in the heart of Africa". The Seleka rebel group seized power this year but disorder and violence continue.
The elephant raid has also alarmed international conservation authorities. The secretary-general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) said it was a worrying situation.
"This imminent threat to elephants in a remote and relatively well-protected area is of grave concern to Cites," said John E. Scanlon.
"I call on the international community to join forces and take co-ordinated action to avoid a new tragedy of similar proportions to the massive killing of elephants that occurred in Cameroon in 2012."
Mr Scanlon was referring to attacks in Bouba N'Djida national park a year ago that left at least 300 elephants dead.
African countries have seen a serious spike in the illegal killing of elephants. The amount of seized ivory is said to be at the highest level in 16 years.
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Kieran Tierney said he never considered leaving Celtic after signing a new five-year contract with the Scottish champions.

The 19-year-old left-back agreed a deal last year until 2019 but this extension takes him to summer 2021.
Tierney made his debut in May 2015 and went on to make 34 appearances in the last campaign, also winning his first Scotland cap in March.
"I'm obviously delighted to be here, my future is only here," he said.
"Last year was my breakthrough season so I need to prove myself again this season and hold down my place.
"But it's been crazy. I only signed a four-year deal 10 or 11 months ago, so getting a new deal already is great."
The Isle of Man-born teenager, a product of Celtic's youth system, was voted Scottish Premiership young player of the year.
And he admits new manager Brendan Rodgers had an impact on his decision to commit his long-term future to the club.
"He had a big influence," said Tierney. "He spoke to me after the first day's training and I've signed it [the contract] now. It's happened so quick and I'm delighted.
"He didn't really need to sell it to me as I wasn't really thinking about leaving at all.
"Everybody's expectations will be really high this year, but as a football player at Celtic you need to deal with that and I hope I can."
Tierney has been regularly linked with many of the top club's in the English Premier League, describing the speculation as "weird and unexpected".
With Scotland having missed out on the finals of Euro 2016, the full-back, who made his international breakthrough in a 1-0 win over Denmark, hopes he can help the country to future finals.
"Everybody wants to be playing in competitions like that so we need to just focus on the next competition now," said Tierney.
"You see any team can qualify, any team can do it and I believe Scotland has the talent."


Wales coach Rob Howley was left to "question the integrity of our game" after a controversial end to his side's 20-18 Six Nations defeat by France.

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France replaced tight-head prop Uini Atonio with Rabah Slimani 11 minutes into the 20 minutes of added time that were played at the Stade de France.
Slimani had earlier been replaced, but France's team doctor said Atonio needed to go off for a head injury assessment.
"In terms of the process, I think we have reason to complain," said Howley.
France coach Guy Noves said his medical staff told him Atonio was injured.
He added: "We will do a medical check-up. I hope the injury is not too serious, and he will be able to play again soon."
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Rugby's rules allow replacement props to be substituted if they are injured, or if they need a head injury assessment - a series of cognitive, balance and memory tests given to any player who has a suspected concussion.
Howley said: "What happened in the last 10 minutes of that game should never happen again on the international rugby field.
"You can hear [referee] Wayne Barnes ask him if he is OK. He said he had a sore back, but that he was OK. And then the doctor comes on, and he goes off.
"I've no issues about the result, it's just about the process."
Wales led 18-13 at the end of the 80 minutes but Damien Chouly drove over for the try that brought France level, and Camille Lopez's conversion was decisive.
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In the build-up to France's final try, Wales wing George North claimed he had been bitten as he made a tackle.
Barnes asked television match official Peter Fitzgibbon to check the incident, but he could not find any clear footage so the game resumed without action being taken.
Howley said: "Ultimately they've made a decision on that and it's absolutely fine. I am 100% behind that decision in terms of the pictures they saw.
"There's evidence on George's arm to suggest something did happen and ultimately you trust and believe your players."
Asked about the incident, Noves said: "I am sorry, I haven't seen, so I don't know."
Leigh Halfpenny had kicked six penalties - three from more than 50 metres - as Wales fought back after Remi Lamerat's early try.
But defeat ended a tournament in which they beat Italy, then lost to England and Scotland, before victory over Ireland last week.
Howley added: "The players were unbelievable in the last 10-15 minutes of that game.
"We put a great effort in and unfortunately we weren't rewarded for that and it's hugely disappointing."


Eastleigh have won promotion to Conference Premier after clinching the Conference South title with victory over Basingstoke on Good Friday.

Goals from Yemi Odubade and Ben Wright were enough to seal a 2-1 victory for the Spitfires, despite Liam Enver-Marum setting up a tense finale.
The Hampshire club will play in the top tier of non-league football for the first time in their 68-year history.
"It has been hard work and a lot of emotion," boss Richard Hill said.
He told BBC Radio Solent: "We have been under pressure for a lot of the season.
"At the start of the season we were made favourites and were then 11 points behind Bromley, who won games when we haven't been playing.
"We had to play catch-up. The character of the players gets you through at times."


40,000 BC - The first Aborigines arrive from south-east Asia. By 20,000 BC they have spread throughout the mainland and Tasmania.
1770 - Captain James Cook charts the east coast in his ship HM Endeavour. Cook claims it as a British possession and names eastern Australia "New South Wales".
1788 - British Navy captain Arthur Phillip founds a penal settlement at Sydney. He had arrived with a fleet of 11 vessels, carrying nearly 800 convicts. The Aboriginal population at the time is thought to number several hundred thousand.
1829 - Colony of Western Australia established at Perth by Captain James Stirling.
1836 - South Australia established, with Adelaide as its capital.
1850s - Gold is found at several locations leading to gold rushes throughout the decade. The population increases three-fold in 10 years to pass the million mark. An influx of Chinese leads to restrictions on their entry. Aborigines are treated very badly and their numbers collapse.
1856 - Australia becomes the first country to introduce the secret ballot - or 'Australian ballot' - for elections.
1877 - Australia and England play the first-ever cricket Test match in Melbourne.
1901 - The country is unified. The Commonwealth of Australia comes into being on 1st January.
The Immigration Restriction Act puts a brake on non-white immigration.
1911 - Canberra is founded and designated as the capital.
1914 - Outbreak of World War I. Australia commits hundreds of thousands of troops to the British war effort.
Their participation - alongside New Zealanders - in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey in 1915 leads to heavy casualties. The Gallipoli landings help cement a sense of identity in the young nation.
1929 - The Great Depression following the Wall Street Crash hits Australia hard. Recovery is uneven, and the Labor government is defeated in the election in 1931.
1939 - Australia follows Britain's lead and declares war on Nazi Germany.
1941 - The US declares war on Japan. Australia turns to the US for help in its defence after the Japanese take Singapore. Australia allows the US to base its supreme command for the Pacific war on its territory.
1948 - Australia begins a scheme for immigration from Europe. Over the next 30 years, more than two million people arrive, about one-third of them from Britain, and hundreds of thousands from Italy, Greece and Germany.
1950 - Australia commits troops to the UN forces in the Korean war.
1956 - Olympic Games held in Melbourne.
1965 - Australia commits troops to the US war effort in Vietnam.
1967 - National referendum on changes to constitution is passed. Section which excluded Aboriginal people from official census is removed. Another change enables federal government to pass laws on Aboriginal issues.
1975 - Australia introduces new immigration laws, restricting the number of unskilled workers allowed into the country.
The government of Gough Whitlam is plagued by resignations and the blocking of its budget by the upper house of the parliament. In an unprecedented move, the governor-general, Sir John Kerr, dismisses the government. A caretaker administration under Malcolm Fraser is installed.
1983 March - Bob Hawke becomes prime minister after his Labor Party secures a landslide victory.
1986 - The Australia Act makes Australian law fully independent of the British parliament and legal system. There is no longer any provision for Australian courts to mount final appeals to the Privy Council in London.
1991 December - Paul Keating becomes prime minister.
1992 - The Citizenship Act is amended to remove swearing an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. Prime Minister Paul Keating's Labor government pledges to make Australia a republic and to concentrate on links with Asia.
1993 - Keating wins elections. The Native Title Act establishes a process for the granting of Aboriginal land rights.
1996 - Keating defeated in elections. John Howard of the Liberal Party becomes prime minister.
1998 - Elections see Howard's Liberal and National party coalition re-elected, but with a reduced majority. Delegates to a constitutional convention vote to replace Queen Elizabeth II as head of state with a president chosen by parliament. The issue is put to a referendum in 1999. The proposal is defeated, with 55% voting to retain the status quo.
1999 - Australia leads intervention force in East Timor to counter pro-Indonesia militia violence after territory's independence vote. Relations with Indonesia worsen.
2000 - Australia hosts the Olympic Games in Sydney, the most popular ever.
2001 January - Australia celebrates 100 years since its inauguration as the Commonwealth of Australia.
2001 February - Sir Donald Bradman, Australia's most famous cricketer, dies at the age of 92.
2001 May - Churches rebuke Prime Minister John Howard for failing properly to acknowledge suffering of thousands of Aborigines under past assimilation policy. Howard has refused to apologise to "Stolen Generations" of Aborigines who as children were forcibly removed from their parents to live with whites.
2001 August - Australia turns away hundreds of boat people over several months, the most prominent group having been rescued from a sinking ferry. Australia pays Nauru to detain many of them.
2001 November - Howard wins a third term in general elections.
2002 - Aid agencies, rights groups and UN report criticise policy of holding asylum seekers in detention camps until their visa applications are processed. Woomera desert camp in South Australia sees riots, hunger strikes and escapes.
2002 October - Australia mourns as 88 of its citizens are killed in a night club bombing in Bali, Indonesia, which some call Australia's September 11. The attacks - which killed 202 people in total - are blamed on al-Qaeda-linked Islamists.
2003 January - Australia deploys troops to the Gulf ahead of a possible war. The move sparks public protests.
Bushfire ravages the capital, Canberra. More than 500 homes are destroyed. Other fires rage across New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania.
2003 February - Senate passes no-confidence motion against Prime Minister John Howard over his handling of Iraq crisis. It is Senate's first-ever vote of no-confidence in serving leader.
2003 May - Governor-General Peter Hollingworth resigns after admitting that, as an Anglican archbishop in the 1990s, he allowed a known paedophile remain a priest.
2003 July - Australia heads peacekeeping force intended to restore order in troubled Solomon Islands.
2004 February - Race riots in district of Sydney, sparked by death of Aboriginal teenager.
2004 March - Parliamentary committee clears government of lying about threat posed by weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In July, report details intelligence failings over Iraq, Bali bombings, but clears government of manipulating Iraq intelligence.
2004 August - Government announces a multi-million dollar cruise missile programme, set to give Australia the region's "most lethal" air combat capacity.
2004 September - Bomb attack outside Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, kills at least nine, injures dozens more.
2004 October - John Howard wins fourth term as prime minister; his party extends its grip on parliament.
2004 November - Death of Aboriginal man in police custody sparks rioting on Palm Island, off north-east coast.
2005 January - Worst bush fires for more than 20 years kill nine people in South Australia.
2005 July - Australia says it will deploy 150 special forces troops in Afghanistan to counter rebel attacks. The original contingent was withdrawn in 2002. Further deployments are announced in 2006.
2005 November - As parliament debates controversial new anti-terrorism laws, police say they have foiled a planned "large-scale terrorist attack".
2005 December - Racially-motivated violence, involving thousands of youths, hits Sydney.
2006 January - Australia and East Timor sign a deal to divide billions of dollars in expected revenues from oil and gas deposits in the Timor Sea. Under the agreement, discussions on a disputed maritime boundary are postponed.
2006 April-May - Australian troops spearhead peacekeeping forces in the Solomon Islands and East Timor after unrest in both countries.
2006 August - Proposed legislation, under which future asylum seekers who arrive by boat will be sent to offshore detention camps, is scrapped after a revolt by ruling party lawmakers.
2006 December - Amid the worst drought in a century, the government slashes economic growth forecasts, reflecting a slump in farm output. In January PM John Howard declares water security to be Australia's biggest challenge.
2007 November - Opposition Labor Party, under Kevin Rudd, sweeps to power with landslide victory over John Howard.
2007 December - Prime Minister Rudd signs documents ratifying Kyoto protocol on climate change, reversing the previous government's policy.
2008 February - Government apologises for past wrongs committed against the indigenous population.
Australia ends its policy of sending asylum seekers into detention on small Pacific islands, with the last refugees leaving Nauru.
2008 July - Labor government abandons policy - introduced in 1990s - of holding all asylum seekers in detention centres until their cases are heard.
2008 September - Quentin Bryce sworn in as Australia's governor-general, the first woman to hold the post.
2009 February - Devastating bushfires in the south-eastern state of Victoria kill more than 170 people.
2009 May - Australia announces plans to more than double its submarine fleet and buy 100 US Stealth fighters as part of a $70bn military modernisation programme.
Indian students hold rallies in protest against a series of violent attacks - more than 70 in the past year - which they say are racially motivated. India voices concern about the violence.
2010 February - Five Muslim men are sentenced to lengthy prison terms for conspiracy to carry out attacks.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologises for the policy of sending thousands of children to former colonies under a migrant programme that ended 40 years previously.
2010 June - Julia Gillard becomes prime minister, ousting Kevin Rudd in a Labor Party leadership challenge.
2010 August - Parliamentary elections fail to deliver a clear winner. Prime Minister Gillard clings to power after securing support of independents to form a minority government.
2011 January - Queensland is hit by floods which are described as the most expensive natural disaster in the country's history.
2011 December - Economy grows unexpectedly fast in the third quarter of 2011, driven by construction and mining. GDP rose 2.5% on the year, whereas analysts had expected 2.1%.
2012 January - Talks between government and opposition on asylum seekers break down. The opposition says the government fails to address concerns about a plan to swap refugees with Malaysia that the high court had declared unlawful.
2012 February - Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd resigns to mount a challenge to Prime Minister Gillard's leadership, but is defeated.
2012 July - Controversial carbon tax, which penalises big polluters, comes into force. Prime Minister Gillard says it is needed to meet climate change obligations; opponents say it will cost jobs and raise prices.
2012 August - Five Australian troops are killed in Afghanistan in what Prime Minister Gillard says is Australia's deadliest day in combat since the Vietnam War.
2012 September - After an independent panel recommends setting up holding centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea to cope with rising numbers of asylum-seekers, the government says it will send the first group for processing in Nauru. Australia also signs an agreement with Papua New Guinea to conduct offshore processing on Manus Island.
2013 January - Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard says elections will be held in September, hoping to use the long run-in to recoup support.
2013 March - A chaotic and abortive leadership challenge bounces Prime Minister Gillard into a major cabinet reshuffle to oust supporters of long-standing rival Kevin Rudd. The previous month the Greens dropped their alliance with Labor, but pledged to keep the government in power.
2013 June - After months of infighting, Kevin Rudd manages to oust Julia Gillard as Labor leader and prime minister in a parliamentary party vote.
2013 July - Australia reaches deal with Papua New Guinea that will allow it to ship asylum seekers arriving by boat onwards to its Pacific neighbour.
Papua New Guinea will receive generous aid in return, and the offshore processing centre on its Manus Island will be significantly expanded to hold up to 3,000 people.
Liberals return
2013 September - Parliamentary elections. Landslide victory for Liberal-National Coalition, led by Tony Abbott.
2013 October - Government adopts new policy of naval vessels intercepting boats of migrants and directing them back to Indonesia, which is followed by a dramatic reduction in arrivals.
2014  March - Australia takes a leading role in search for missing Malaysian Airlines plane MH370, thought to have been lost in the southern Indian Ocean.
2014 April - Japan and Australia reach an agreement over a trade deal that will lower tariffs between the two nations.
2014 September - Australia says it is sending 600 military advisors to Iraq as part of effort against Islamic State group.
Police carry out the nation's biggest ever counter-terrorism raids, with 15 arrests in Sydney and Brisbane, sparked by intelligence reports that Islamic extremists were planning random killings.
2014 December - Islamist Man Haron Monis takes 18 people hostage in Sydney cafe; two hostages and gunman die when police storm premises.
2015 March - Parliament passes law requiring its internet and mobile phone providers to store customer data for two years as anti-terror measure.
2015 June - Government announces 20-year plan to develop the infrastructure of the north, including transport and water resources.
2015 September - Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull replaces Tony Abbott as prime minister after a successful Liberal Party leadership challenge.
2016 April - Prime Minister Turnbull announces plan to hold early parliamentary and Senate elections in June, after Senate rejects government bill twice.
2016 July - An early general election sees Prime Minister Turnbull's conservative Liberal-National coalition secure the narrowest of majorities over the opposition Labor Party.
2016 August - Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accuse the Australian government of condoning the systematic abuse of refugees and asylum seekers at its camp on Nauru. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the claims will be investigated.
China says Australia's decision to block two Chinese companies from buying a controlling stake in the country's largest electricity network will seriously impede future investment in Australia.
Australia agrees to close a controversial asylum seeker detention centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island but says none of the 850 people held there will be resettled on Australian soil.
Linda Burney becomes the first indigenous woman to be elected to Australia's lower house of parliament.
2016 September - Australia says it will close its permanent research station on Macquarie Island, a remote post between Australia and Antarctica due to lack of funds.
Controversial politician Pauline Hanson says Australia is in danger of being "swamped by Muslims" and calls for an end to further Muslim immigration and a ban on the wearing of burqas.
Australia acknowledges that its warplanes took part in a US-led raid in Syria which Russia says killed up to 90 Syrian government soldiers.
2016 November - Government's bid to hold a referendum on whether to legalise same-sex marriage is narrowly defeated.
Australia says refugees held in detention centres on the Pacific islands will be resettled in the United States in a "one-off deal".
Islamic State militant Neil Prakash, described as Australia's "most wanted terrorist" who was thought to have been killed in an air strike in Iraq , is arrested in Turkey.
2016 December - Police arrested five men suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Melbourne on Christmas Day.
2017 January - Indonesia suspends military cooperation with Australia after material allegedly insulting the country's founding principles is found on display at an Australian military base.


The formal test programme has begun on the technologies required to detect gravitational waves in space.

Europe's Lisa Pathfinder (LPF) probe is engaging in a series of experiments roughly 1.5 million km from Earth.
The project has heightened interest, of course, because of the first sampling of the "cosmic ripples" made by ground-based detectors last September
A successful demo for LPF would pave the way for a fully operational orbiting observatory in the 2030s.
This would likely be known simply as Lisa - the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.
"It's a wonderful time right now," said Paul McNamara, the European Space Agency's (Esa) project scientist on Lisa Pathfinder.
"I've spent my entire career in this endeavour, and for years we were told - even ridiculed in some cases - that gravitational waves don't exist, or that we'd never find them.
"Well, now we have found them, and we're about to take the next big, big step towards building a mission that could detect them in space," he told BBC News.
The Earth-bound laser interferometers sited at the Advanced Ligo facilities in the US are sensitive to the gravitational waves generated in "smaller" cosmic events.
Back in September, they observed the signal produced at the moment two black holes, each about 30 times the mass of our Sun, whirled around one another and merged.
A space-based laser interferometer would chase much more massive targets - the monster black holes, millions of times the mass of our Sun, that coalesce when galaxies collide, for example.
It is possible, however, that an orbiting observatory might also see Ligo's lesser events - just at a different stage of their evolution.
One back-of-the-envelope calculation has suggested a fully operational Lisa mission could have witnessed Ligo's in-spiralling black holes four years ago - had the mission been flying back then. This is when the frequency of the gravitational wave signal emanating from the dancing holes would have crossed the sensitivity range of a space interferometer.
Laser science: Measuring the distance between gold blocks
Lisa Pathfinder contains just the one instrument, which is designed to measure and maintain a 38cm separation between two small gold-platinum blocks.
In the experiments that started on Tuesday, these "test masses" will be allowed to free-fall inside the spacecraft, and a laser system will then attempt to monitor their behaviour, looking for path deviations as small as a few picometres. This is much smaller than the diameter of an atom.
Scaled up, it is like tracking the distance between the tops of London's Shard skyscraper and New York's One World Trade Center, and noticing any changes down to just fractions of the width of a human hair.
It is a challenging objective for a space-borne set-up, but it's the performance an orbiting interferometer will need to achieve if it wants to detect the notoriously weak ripples in space-time produced be even the biggest cosmic cataclysms.
"The first few days are going to be really boring; we'll do nothing," said Dr McNamara.
"We're just going to let these two test masses float free in space and learn something about what we're seeing, because this type of experiment has never been done before.
"Then we'll begin to probe our physics lab. We want to know what can push the test masses out of free-fall."
LPF cannot itself detect gravitational waves. For that to happen, the 38cm gap between the blocks would need to be a million km or more - something the full Lisa mission aims to do. But the metrology principles can be checked and, most importantly, scientists can begin to characterise the types of "noise" that will inevitably impinge on the experiments.
Future Lisa: How many lasers can you fly?
For LPF, some of these noise sources will be internal to the instrument's own electronics; then there are physical factors which could work to push the blocks out of their free-fall. The latter might include tiny temperature changes inside the probe, and also the near-imperceptible gravitational tug coming from the mass of the spacecraft itself.
In order to maintain the optimum free-fall environment, LPF must all the while try to fly around the blocks, shielding them from the pressure of sunlight or small micro-meteorite impacts.
To do this job, LPF squirts minute amounts of gas to produce tiny amounts of thrust.
"The cold-gas thrusters on Lisa Pathfinder will typically be firing with a force that, on Earth, would just about keep a snowflake from falling," explains Dr Ralph Cordey from Airbus Defence and Space in the UK, where the probe was assembled.
LPF actually has two separate sets of micro-thrusters with their own control systems. One package has been supplied by European industry; the other comes from America, a contribution to the project from the US space agency (Nasa).
For the first three months, it will be an all-European show; from late summer onwards, the American controller and thrusters will take over and support the measurements of the laser interferometer.
Once all the testing is complete, LPF will probably run some additional experiments that have nothing to do with gravitational waves.
Ideas under consideration at the moment include trying to detect near-Earth asteroids. This would be done using the spare star-tracker on the probe. The navigation sensor would be programmed to report unexpected movements in its field of view.
Another possibility is to employ the super-sensitive equipment onboard LPF to quantify "Big G", the Gravitational Constant. This fundamental number in Newtonian physics is essential to working out how much gravitational force acts between two masses separated by a known distance.
Big G has been determined very precisely with pendulum devices in labs on Earth. Measuring the Constant with LPF would provide a totally independent assessment.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


British astronaut Tim Peake will make history today as he lives and works on the International Space Station.

15 December 2015 Last updated at 06:49 GMT
There have been loads of developments over decades to improve rockets and space crafts too.
Ricky's been taking a look at how space travel has changed over the years.


Newport County have signed two Premier League youngsters on loan.

Bournemouth forward Jordan Green and Swansea and Wales U21 midfielder Josh Sheehan, have joined the Rodney Parade club until January.
"We would like to thank both Bournemouth and Swansea for their help in getting these deals over the line," manager Warren Feeney said.
The duo will be eligible to make their debuts in tomorrow's EFL Cup tie with MK Dons, subject to clearance.
Newport are seeking an improvement after losing their opening League Two contest against Mansfield.
Sheehan made 13 appearances for Yeovil Town last season on loan, while Green is highly-rated at Bournemouth who signed him when he was working part-time in a supermarket stacking shelves.
"Josh knows this division well from his time at Yeovil last season and he has great potential," Feeney said.
"I think he will offer something different for us and will add quality to our squad.
"Josh is always looking to get on the ball and make things happen and he creates the opportunity for other players around him to be that little bit more flexible and his signing will give us another dimension.
"Jordan is an exciting player and he is a forward that will look to put the opposition on the back foot.
"He likes to attack and he likes to run at defenders and I think that he will be an exciting addition for us."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


British number two Kyle Edmund is out of the Brisbane International after losing to world number four Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.

The world number 45 took the first set but lost 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-4 against the reigning US Open champion.
Edmund, 21, impressed but Wawrinka broke serve at 3-2 in the second set and twice in the decider to win in two hours 36 minutes.
The Swiss 31-year-old will play third seed Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals.
Canadian top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic beat 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal 4-6 6-3 6-4 to reach the last four.
The world number three will play Bulgarian seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Austrian Dominic Thiem.
British number four Aljaz Bedene was also knocked at the quarter-final stage of the Chennai Open in India on Friday.
The world number 101 lost 6-3 6-0 to French fifth seed Benoit Paire.


Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson has joined the cast of Disney's live-action take on Beauty and the Beast.

The star will play Mrs Potts, the housekeeper magically transformed into a teapot whom Dame Angela Lansbury voiced in the 1991 animated version of the film.
Fellow Oscar-winner Kevin Kline has also signed on to play Maurice, the father of the 'Beauty' character Belle.
The film will be released in US cinemas on 17 March 2017.
It was announced in January that Harry Potter star Emma Watson had been cast as Belle.
It was subsequently confirmed that Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens will play the Beast and that Luke Evans will co-star as the villainous Gaston.
Josh Gad, who voiced Olaf the snowman in Disney's animated hit Frozen, is also on board as Gaston's sidekick LeFou.
Bill Condon, director of Dreamgirls and the last two Twilight films, will direct the movie, which begins filming at Shepperton Studios in May.


The latest mural in a series of six celebrating Leicester's Premier League title win has gone on display in the city.

The work is in the style of comic book hero Roy of the Rovers.
The Foxes shocked English football's top flight with their 5,000-1 success in May.
City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he particularly liked the mural because Leicester's story would not have been out of place in the comic.
Other murals round the city have celebrated manager Claudio Ranieri, the club's fans and the atmosphere at King Power Stadium.
Work has begun on the fifth mural which will showcase the Thai heritage of the club's owners.
Source: 90min.com
The six installations have been commissioned by Leicester City Council.
The mayor said: "These murals and wall paintings have been very, very well received and are a very appropriate way to celebrate.
"This one is particularly good because throughout the last season of Leicester City, people were saying this is real Roy of the Rovers stuff."
The mural can be seen on East Bond Street behind the Highcross Shopping Centre.
The other completed works are on walls in St Nicholas Circle, Burnmoor Street and Tudor Road.


A man who slashed his neighbour's neck after complaining that loud music was keeping his child awake has been jailed for eight years.

Thomas McIntyre, 42, attacked 27-year-old James Gunn with a knife at the doorway of his new flat in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, on 4 October 2014.
He denied carrying out the attack but was convicted of attempted murder after being identified by five witnesses.
Mr Gunn required a number of stitches including one to repair an artery.
Jailing McIntyre at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Matthews told him: "I have rarely heard evidence that was so overwhelming."
The court heard that Mr Gunn had invited friends to a housewarming at his flat in the town's Mill Grove.
In the early hours of the morning he answered a knock at the door.
The victim told the court: "It was the neighbour directly above us - Thomas McIntyre.
"He said to me 'the music is too loud... I have been banging down to tell you to shut up'."
The court was told that McIntyre said he had a "wee girl up the stairs".
Mr Gunn recalled apologising and insisted that he had not heard McIntyre before the latter attacked him.
Mr Gunn, who gave evidence from behind screens, told the court: "He swung the knife and I stepped back when I saw it coming towards me.
"It got me on the neck... from the jugular down the jaw line."
The victim managed to slam the door closed, but then slumped into the arms of a friend.
He said: "I saw that there was a lot of blood, so I screamed for help. My friend wrapped a shirt around my neck to stop the bleeding."
Mr Gunn was rushed to hospital and required a number of stitches including one to repair an artery.
McIntyre, also of Hamilton, gave evidence during the trial, but denied being the attacker.
He claimed: "I am being accused of something that I did not do and I do not know why."
McIntyre said he was at his mother's home at the time of the attack but the court heard that five witnesses - including Mr Gunn - had seen and heard him that night.


Fernando Alonso has made it clear he expects a quick response from his McLaren-Honda team after their poor start to the season.

The two-time world champion had hoped to be challenging at the front this term, but he qualified 13th for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
That followed a pre-season in which the team's Honda engine was both unreliable and uncompetitive.
"I expect a big change in the team, a big reaction," the Spaniard, 35, said.
"We will not be 13th all season, or I will not be."
He said the weekend was progress after a tough winter, but added: "It's not enough.
"We are McLaren-Honda. If we are not in the top five, on the podium, the rest is losing time."
McLaren have had two difficult seasons since the start of their relationship with Honda in 2015, but the partnership expected a big step forward this year after finishing sixth in the constructors' championship last season.
However the engine had to be changed several times in pre-season testing.
It has run more reliably in Australia this weekend but it still has a vibration problem that needs managing and is affecting performance, and a significant overall shortfall to the other engines.
Honda F1 boss Yusuke Hasegawa said: "After the winter test we are having strong pressure from the team and the driver, but we try to keep improving.
"We didn't do a great job. So we need to do that.
"I cannot guarantee when we will get more power but as soon as possible we try to introduce a new specification for that."
McLaren have approached Mercedes about using their engines in the future despite having a multi-year contract with Honda, as previously revealed by BBC Sport.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said: "I am not going to comment on these kind of discussions. It is a private discussion we have with Honda to recover, considering all options.
"We are responsible for McLaren and Hasegawa is responsible for Honda. As partners we try to help each other and support each other because the key secret is to be as integrated as possible."


Canada has raised its terror threat level from low to medium but has stressed there is no specific threat.

A government official said the move was in response to an increase in online "general chatter" from radical groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
On Tuesday a Muslim convert was killed by Quebec police after deliberately hitting two soldiers in his car, killing one and injuring another.
A minister said it was a "terrible act of violence against our country".
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said the attack was "clearly linked to terrorist ideology."
Ministry spokesman Jean-Christophe de Le Rue said on Tuesday that the increased level "means that intelligence has indicated that an individual or group within Canada or abroad has the intent and capability to commit an act of terrorism".
The dead soldier was identified on Tuesday as Warrant Ofc Patrice Vincent, a 28-year veteran of the Canadian armed services. He was struck by Martin Couture-Rouleau, 25, one of 90 suspected militants who are being tracked by the Canadian authorities.
After striking the officers, Couture-Rouleau fled and was chased by police at high speed for about 4km (2.5 miles), until the car drove off the road and rolled over several times.
He then left the car brandishing a knife, and police opened fire. Couture-Rouleau was taken to hospital where he died some hours later.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Bob Paulson said that the authorities had been tracking the 90 suspected militants - including Couture-Rouleau - because they may have intended to go abroad to join militant groups.
RCMP Supt Martine Fontaine said authorities seized Couture-Rouleau's passport in July when he tried to travel to Turkey. He was arrested but police lacked evidence to charge him with a crime.
Supt Fontaine said authorities had met him several times, most recently on 9 October, and had met his parents and the imam at his mosque in an effort to get him to change his views.
The attack took place following a vote in parliament this month that authorised Canadian warplanes to bomb Islamic State militants in Iraq.
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said the soldier's death was "a senseless act" which only strengthened Canadian resolve to take on militant groups such as  IS.
The US has also condemned the attack.


The US House of Representatives has approved a bill to introduce sanctions against Venezuelan officials involved in human rights abuses.

The legislation calls for a travel ban on some members of the Venezuelan government and for their assets in US banks to be frozen.
The US Foreign Relations Committee advanced a similar bill last week.
At least 42 people have been killed since protests against President Nicolas Maduro began in February.
The victims are from both sides of the political divide in the South American nation.
"The United States Congress must stand ready to act on the cause of freedom and democracy around the globe," Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said during the debate in the House.
The White House opposes sanctions against Mr Maduro's government.
It says such measures could undermine efforts to find a political solution to the crisis.
Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks says the bill will undermine efforts by regional leaders to encourage dialogue between the government and the opposition.
"This bill does not advance US interests. It sends a message to our regional allies that we do not care about what they think," Mr Meeks told Reuters.
Foreign ministers from the Unasur regional group left Caracas last week after the opposition pulled out of talks.
The main opposition group, the Democratic Unity Alliance (Mud), was angry at the government's refusal to release more than 200 people detained recently by police.
US Secretary of State John Kerry accused the government of failing to show good faith in the talks and said the US was "losing patience" with Venezuela.
Protests began in western Venezuela in the beginning of February and spread to the rest of the country.
The opposition blames failed left-wing policies for high inflation, crime and the shortage of many staples.
Mr Maduro says right-wing sectors inside and outside Venezuela had come together to create dissent and destabilise his government.
Earlier on Wednesday, Venezuelan officials accused opposition politician Maria Corina Machado of plotting with US officials to assassinate Mr Maduro.
She denied the claims, describing them in her Twitter account as "infamy".
Mr Maduro was elected last year to replace the late President, Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer after more than 14 years in office.


A Cardiff man who stabbed a neighbour on his own doorstep has been jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years.

Stephen Pike, from Ely, murdered father-of-four Clint Simms, 39, in an alleged feud between the pair, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
Pike was woken by father-of-five Mr Simms allegedly kicking the front door and shouting through the letter box.
Pike stabbed him in the chest as soon as he opened the door, the court heard.
Pike, who had previously been jailed for four years for wounding, denied murder and claimed he was acting in self defence during the incident in March.
Prosecutor William Hughes QC said: "Despite all the valiant attempts of the medical team, Mr Simms died shortly after being stabbed by Mr Pike."
Police found Pike mopping up blood outside his house.
The court heard that Pike picked up two knives and stabbed Mr Simms through the chest with one of them, claiming that Mr Simms was trying to rob him.
But Judge Eleri Rees QC said: "There was no evidence of this and the defendant's actions were grossly disproportionate."
Speaking after the verdict, Mr Simms' family said: "Our memories are of a good father, son, brother and grandfather who was needlessly taken from his family and friends, a young man with his whole life ahead of him."


Hundreds of cyclists blocked traffic at a junction in the City of London in protest over the eighth cycling death on the capital's roads this year.

The 15-minute protest from 08:30 BST brought traffic to a halt on all six arms of Bank junction.
Ying Tao, 26, died in a collision with a lorry while she was cycling to work at PricewaterhouseCoopers on Monday.
The London Cycling Campaign (LCC) is calling for segregated space for cyclists on London's roads.
The campaign group, which organised the demonstration, also wants the removal of dangerous lorries from streets.
A minute's silence was also held in memory of Ms Tao and 60-year-old Clifton James, who was killed in a collision with a car in Harrow, north west London on Sunday.
Neil Hampson, a partner at PricewaterhouseCooper, said the company was "shocked" by the news of their employee's death and sent their condolences to her family.
"Ying was a bright and popular colleague with a promising career in front of her," he said.
"She excelled at everything she did, with a passion for life, for work and for the friendships she made.
"It is a tragedy that a wonderful young woman should lose her life at such an age."
During Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron said a lot had been done to try to make cycling safer in London and money had been invested in cycling lanes.
However, he added: "The number of fatalities is still very high and extremely depressing [that] young lives [are] being snuffed out in this way."
Of the eight fatalities on the capital's roads this year, seven have involved heavy goods vehicles.


Twenty people, including three teenage boys, have been charged following a drugs raid in Newport on Wednesday.

The boys, aged 13, 15, and 16, are among those charged with possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply.
Fifteen people have been remanded in custody and are due to appear in court on Thursday.
Gwent Police raided 35 addresses in the city and made 25 arrests. Three people have been released with no charge and two are awaiting questioning.


A man has been arrested in east London on suspicion of carrying out a terror offence, the Metropolitan Police said.

The 39-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possessing information likely to be useful for the purposes of committing or preparing an act of terrorism, Scotland Yard said.
He was arrested after attending an east London police station on Thursday morning.
He has been released on police bail until October as enquiries continue.


Wales have selected a 39-strong team for this summer's Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Some of the nation's brightest talents from athletics, swimming, boxing, judo, tennis and rugby 7s will compete in the Games from 19-23 July.
The athletics squad includes Sarah Omoregie, 17, from Cardiff, the younger sister of 110m hurdles star David.
A squad of 12 to play for Wales in the women's rugby 7s tournament will be announced soon.
"It's very encouraging to see the calibre of young Welsh athletes coming through," said chair of Commonwealth Games Wales, Helen Phillips.
"Team Wales did particularly well in the 2015 Youth Games in Samoa, bringing home nine medals to Wales and delivering some outstanding performances.
"I have every confidence that our athletes will do their very best and make us proud once again this summer."
Rebecca Sutton, 16, from Bridgend, is one of 10 swimmers selected. She won two silvers and a bronze for Wales at the 2015 Games in Samoa.
Find out how to get into athletics with our special guide.
"I'm so thrilled to be going again," she told BBC Wales Sport.
"It just pushes me and makes me want to be on a podium at Tokyo 2020."
Fellow swimmers Jazz Carlin and Elinor Barker, both 2016 Olympic medallists, began their careers by representing Wales at Commonwealth Youth Games.
Sutton - who trains in Cardiff - says being at a big multi-sport competition is a vital experience.
"Last time I went I was the youngest on the team and I was a bit nervous," she admitted.
"But when I got out there it was just incredible. This time I'll already have that knowledge.
"Fingers crossed I can bring back a gold for Team Wales."
The first Commonwealth Youth Games was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2000.
Seventy nations will compete in nine different sports this summer. The event claims to be the biggest sporting competition ever held in the Bahamas.
*Wales chef de mission Gerwyn Owen and discus thrower James Tomlinson will be live on Radio Wales Sport on Tuesday night 1900-2100 BST.
ATHLETICS:
Bethany Moule (16, Neath Port Talbot), James Tomlinson (17, Pembrokeshire), Lauren Evans (16, Cardiff), Naomi Reid (16, Rhondda Cynon Taf), Oliver Barbaresi (17, Gwynedd), Sarah Omoregie (17, Cardiff).
BOXING:
Jacob Lovell (17, Cardiff), James Probert (16, Pembrokeshire), Jay Munn (18, Cardiff), John Wilson (17, Conwy), Rhys Edwards (17, Cardiff), Sammy Lee (18, Cardiff).
JUDO:
Callum Bennett (14, Carmarthenshire), Ffion Robinson (14, Carmarthenshire), Sam Ashton (17, Rhondda Cynon Taf).
SWIMMING:
Connor Bryan (16, Oxfordshire), Elena Morgan (14, Flintshire), Hannah Sloan (16, Vale of Glamorgan), Iestyn Cole (17, Carmarthenshire), Ioan Evans (15, Bridgend), Joseph Small (16, Shropshire), Lewis Fraser (16, Swansea), Medi Harris (14, Gwynedd), Megan Allison (15, Monmouthshire), Rebecca Sutton (16, Bridgend).
TENNIS:
James Story (16, Cardiff), Morgan Cross (15, Flintshire).
WOMEN'S RUGBY 7s:
TBC


Filming has begun on the new series of the popular Scottish comedy Still Game after a nine-year break.

The programme will come back to BBC One later this year with all the original cast returning to their roles.
Still Game follows the antics of pensioners Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade and ran for six series between 2002 and 2007.
The show is written by Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernan, who play the two central characters.
Filming on the new series is taking place on a purpose-built set at BBC Scotland's Dumbarton Studios with the first scenes starring Kiernan as Jack, Hemphill as Victor and Jane McCarry as Isa.
Kiernan said: "The BBC Dumbarton Studios are incredible and we're super chuffed to be back in the costumes and wigs again."
Hemphill added: "We were nervous at the beginning but after 10 minutes we felt as though we'd never been away."
The series will also film on location around Glasgow during the six-week shoot.
The new series will also see the return of Sanjeev Kohli as Navid, Gavin Mitchell as Bobby, Paul Riley as Winston and Mark Cox as Tam.
Reruns of the show have proved popular with audiences and it has also attracted new fans on TV streaming service Netflix.
Steven Canny, executive producer for comedy at BBC Studios, said: "We're delighted to welcome Still Game back.
"Quality scripts, a terrific cast and a wonderful creative team are all working together to create something really special. It's very exciting."


Robbie Williams has been granted the Freedom of Stoke-on-Trent.

Councillors unanimously voted to bestow the singer with the honour - an symbolic title to recognise civic contributions - at an extraordinary meeting.
The Stoke Sentinel newspaper - now in its 160th year -  was also granted Freeman status.
The council said a ceremony would be held to mark Williams' award "at a date and time to be agreed".
"Robbie Williams is a true international superstar," said council leader Mohammed Pervez.
"He is one of our city's most famous sons.
"He has raised the city's profile and he's proud of being a 'Stokie'."
The motion to give him freedom of the city reads: "The council recognises and acknowledges the contribution made by Robert Peter Williams for his role as ambassador for the city.
"By granting this award [the council] shows its overwhelming appreciation for his outstanding contribution to music and for his local and international fundraising activities, specifically supporting children in the area."
Stoke has held a number of events in to mark the 40th birthday of Williams, who grew up in the city.
Last month a blue plaque was mounted on gates in Tunstall Park, near the pop singer's childhood home.
The Stoke Sentinel has famously campaigned to save Port Vale Football Club and the 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) - the former Staffordshire regiment.
Mr Pervez said the newspaper had "always been one of the city's greatest advocates".
Previous recipients of the Freedom of Stoke have included Sir Stanley Matthews and Stoke City FC.


Rail journeys between Manchester and Preston will be disrupted when major works start at a Lancashire station.

Chorley station will be "upgraded" as the route is electrified in a Â£1bn scheme to improve journeys in northern England, Network Rail said.
From 18 June to 2 October, the line between Preston and Bolton will be closed every weekend with bus replacement services in operation.
Some weekday rail services after 21:00 BST will also be cancelled.
Weekend rail journeys between Manchester and Preston will be diverted via Wigan.
Both of Chorley's platforms will be rebuilt to make room for "faster, more frequent trains from December 2017", a Network Rail spokeswoman said.
She also warned there could be "noisy" work during weekends and at night.
"Significant engineering is required to move and lower the track through Chorley and there is no other option but to close the line at weekends while this is carried out."
It is expected that the electrification of the route from Preston to Blackpool will be complete by May 2018, she added.
Plans to electrify the line have been delayed previously including when Balfour Beatty pulled out last August.
Currently, only diesel trains run on the Manchester to Blackpool route but, a Northern Rail spokesman said, the introduction of electric trains would contribute to a 37% rise in passenger capacity across northern England by 2020.
An information event will be held at Chorley Town Hall between 1600 and 1900 BST on Tuesday.
Passengers are urged to check details with National Rail Enquiries before travelling.


Home ownership among 25-year-olds has fallen by more than half in 20 years, according to council leaders.

A  survey carried out for the Local Government Association (LGA) by estate agents Savills showed that just 20% of those aged 25 own their own property, compared with 46% two decades ago.
The LGA said social housing was vital to enable families to save for a home.
It asks the government to recognise a "renaissance" in house building by councils is needed.
The LGA said government needed to tackle the shortage of affordable homes to rent and buy. It says it found that, on average, private renters pay 34% of their household income on rent, while social and affordable renters pay 29%.
Homeowners, however, spend an average of 18% of their household income on their mortgage.
But the average size of a deposit to get a mortgage is 62% of annual incomes, or 131% in London.
Lauren Cox is 23 and has just bought a two-bedroom semi on a new estate in Widnes, in Cheshire.
"I'm the first person among my friends to buy a house. I'm pretty proud of it to be honest, because I know how hard it's been for me," she says.
Lauren studied maths at university, and then got a job with accountancy firm Deloitte. But rather than finding a flat, she decided to live with her parents so she could save money.
"I never wanted to rent because I think you just get stuck in a cycle of renting." She cut back on treats like takeaway coffees and made sandwiches to take to work for lunch.
"It really did feel like a sacrifice. When I went out with friends in Liverpool they always went out later and I always had to get the last train home [but] I felt I had to prioritise being sensible and saving."
Her parents charged her a lower than market rate to live at home and, thanks in part to a bursary she received at university, she saved enough for a 10% deposit. The government's help-to-buy scheme has made her mortgage payments more affordable.
Where can I afford to live?
The LGA survey has been released ahead of a government White Paper on housing supply due to be published in January.
Martin Tett, LGA housing spokesman, said it presented an opportunity to boost housing supply and affordability.
"It must recognise that a renaissance in house building by councils will be crucial to helping ensure the mix of homes to rent and buy that are affordable for those people that need them," he said.
"This means powers and funding given to councils to replace sold homes and reinvest in building more of the genuinely affordable homes our communities desperately need."
The LGA wants more power to tell property developers how many affordable homes to include in a development.
In addition, it wants to be able to keep more of the cash raised by selling council houses to reinvest in building new homes.
The association also wants an increase in how much councils can borrow to build new homes.
Responding to the LGA survey, a Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "We've halted the decline in homeownership, with the number of first-time buyers up nearly 60%, and over 335,000 households helped into homeownership through government-backed schemes since 2010.
"Our upcoming Housing White Paper will clearly set out how we plan to build the homes this country needs."


Hull City's proposed name change to Hull Tigers has been rejected by the Football Association Council.

The Council's decision - carried by a 63.5% vote of its members - followed the recommendation of the governing body's membership committee.
Fans' group City Till We Die said it was "delighted" with the decision.
Formed in 1904, they first wore black and amber shirts for their maiden Football League campaign the following year. They moved to present ground, shared with Hull FC rugby league club, in 2002, after 56 years at Boothferry Park.
Owner Assem Allam, 74, who has threatened to sell if he is not allowed to change the 110-year-old name, says he will appeal against the decision.
"If it had been the other way round, if the FA had approved it but the fans had said no, I would have severed my ties with the club immediately," Allam, who took charge of the club in in December 2010, told BBC Sport.
"But the results mean I owe it to the silent majority to appeal and to fight on.
"For now what is important is what happens on the field. We want to finish as high as we possibly can in the league, and the FA Cup gives us the possibility of getting into Europe."
However, there is no appeal process with the FA and the Council decision is final. Hull can resubmit next season if they want to.
Any appeal would likely have to proceed through the Court for Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
Allam believes the 'Tigers' name would make the club more marketable, and says he considers the word City to be "lousy" and "common".
On Monday, City season card holders had narrowly voted in favour of the name-change plan.
But responding to the FA Council decision, City Till We Die said: "We are very pleased that the FA has recognised the importance of the historic name of Hull City AFC to the fans and the wider community of Hull.
"This is truly a victory for the fans."
Supporters Direct also "welcomed" the decision, but added: "The FA must create a democratic, transparent process for consultation in matters such as these, and one that ensures that supporters have the final say on such matters through a binding vote."
Egypt-born businessman Allam announced in August that the name of the business that runs the club had been changed to Hull City Tigers.
In December, the club applied to the FA to change its playing name to Hull Tigers from next season.
Allam, who moved to Hull in 1968, is credited with rescuing the club from administration, with his son Ehab, City's vice-chairman, saying this month that his family had put £74m into the club.
Last season, Allam oversaw promotion to the top flight for only the second time in the club's history. They are currently 12th in the Premier League and will reach their first ever FA Cup final if they beat League One side Sheffield United on Sunday - their first semi-final since 1930.
The team's "Tigers" nickname is thought to have been coined by a Hull Daily Mail reporter in 1905, in reference to the club's black and amber kit.
The FA Council is made up of representatives from across football and has been given the power to regulate football issues such as disciplinary matters, referees and match and competition sanctioning.


A seven-year-old cyclist who died following a crash with a car in North Somerset was "greatly loved" her family has said.

April Reeves died after the collision on the A371 between RAF Locking and the Helicopter Museum, near Weston-super-Mare, at about 15:00 BST on Thursday.
Avon and Somerset Police said she had been cycling with her mother and 10-year-old brother at the time.
Her family said they are all "completely devastated by her death".
Police are appealing for any witnesses to contact them.


A Conservative candidate at the general election has been suspended over allegations he schemed with the English Defence League (EDL) to win votes.

The Mail on Sunday reported Afzal Amin plotted to persuade the EDL to announce a march against a new "mega-mosque" in Dudley North and then to scrap it and take credit for defusing the situation.
The EDL told the BBC Mr Amin wanted them "to set up a fake demonstration".
Mr Amin said the allegations were an "inaccurate picture of the reality."
Mr Amin, who is in Dubai, has issued a statement saying: "Today's allegations are part of a much wider story which has been grossly misrepresented."
But former EDL leader Tommy Robinson told the BBC's Sunday Politics that Mr Amin had sought to "use" the organisation.
The EDL went along with the idea to "expose" Mr Amin, he suggested.
The MoS claims secretly filmed footage, obtained by Mr Robinson, shows former Army captain Mr Amin allegedly promising that he would be an "unshakeable ally" for the EDL in parliament and help bring their views to the mainstream.
The paper said when it put it to him he was trying to stir up racial hatred to win the seat, he said: "That's absolutely untrue, it's utter rubbish."
The BBC understands a full disciplinary hearing is expected to be held on Tuesday.
Tory Defence Minister Anna Soubry told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "I would appeal, if there is any truth in this, to him then go now, hold your head up. Because obviously if this is right this is dreadful."
And Dudley Conservative councillor Les Jones said it would be the "honourable thing" for Mr Amin to stand down.
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said that winning places like Dudley North was crucial to the Conservatives: "It is a seat held by Labour's Ian Austin with a tiny majority - just 649."
According to Mr Amin's website, he grew up in the Black Country and was a mature student before spending 11 years in the Army, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Former Notts County defender Louise Quinn has signed an extended contract with Arsenal Women after initially joining them for the Spring Series.

The 26-year-old Republic of Ireland international became a free agent when Notts Ladies folded in April.
"We had a really strong Spring Series and we're looking to continue that form into the new season," Quinn told the Arsenal website.
"We have the squad that can build on those performances and win trophies."
Media playback is not supported on this device


"I retired at 24," says Samuel Alemayehu, as we look out over the vast, stinking rubbish mountain in the heart of Addis Ababa.

Birds shriek as they swoop down to collect items from the heaps of waste. Human scavengers, faces grey with dust, pick through the filth.
All this against the background of a modern cityscape, the skyline thick with construction cranes as the capital's building boom races on.
Samuel, who does not look much older than 24, tells me how his family went into political exile in the US when he was a child. How his father, who was an MP in Ethiopia, had to become a taxi driver.
But Samuel was exceptionally bright and ended up with a scholarship to study engineering at the prestigious Stanford University. He made his fortune in Silicon Valley while still a student.
"It was time to go home. To use my resources and knowledge to do something for my country," he said.
For all his talk of retirement, Samuel is a very busy man. He is building Africa's first waste-to-energy plant where the city's rubbish will be burned at a temperature of up to 1,800 degrees Celsius and converted into 185 million KW of electricity.
He is one of a group of dynamic entrepreneurs who are helping to usher in a new era of rapid economic growth in what was once one of the world's poorest countries and where the political system is tightly controlled.
Samuel says once the facility is operational, it will be able to supply power to more than 30% of Addis Ababa's households, no small feat in a city with a population of four million.
There is an urgent need to increase the power supply, which is currently failing to keep up with Ethiopia's rapid economic growth of more than 10% a year for the past decade.
The focus is on renewables. The most ambitious project is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which will be Africa's largest source of hydroelectric power.
The dam has generated much controversy because of the forced movement of people and because Egypt, which is downstream, is worried it will restrict vital water supplies.
After my tour of the energy facility, I visit another entrepreneur, Harsh Kothari.
Although he is Indian, Harsh is in some ways more Ethiopian than Samuel. His family has been in Ethiopia for four generations, he was born and educated in Addis Ababa, and speaks fluent Amharic.
"See that girl?" he says excitedly, as we drive past a child in her school uniform. "She is wearing my shoes."
Again and again, we pass people wearing shoes made in Harsh's factory, from bright orange flip-flops to trainers made from local leather.
The shoe factory is magical. Barrels are piled high with pigments and chemicals. Whirring, hissing machines heat and mix the plastic. Workers cut, stitch, lace, check, bag and box the shoes.
My favourite place is the invention room, occupied by a solitary Indian wearing thick glasses. He is glueing strips of different coloured rubber together and playing about with strap widths to create unique flip-flop designs.
This locally managed factory is giving the Chinese shoe factories in Ethiopia a run for their money.
I'm told the Ethiopian workers in the Chinese factories are unhappy with the more rigid working conditions and the requirement that they sing not only the Chinese national anthem every morning but the factory anthem too.
It also fits in with Ethiopia's aim for manufacturing to lead the economy in 10 years' time.
Twelve giant industrial parks are being built as part of this plan, including the "green" clothing and textile complex known as Hawasa-Eco.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn pointed out to me the potential benefits to his country of rising labour costs in China: "More manufacturing can relocate from China to Ethiopia so it's an advantage in that sense."
Back in central Addis, I visit a man who could easily pass for an Ethiopian, although his surname suggests otherwise. Vincent Diop is in fact half Senegalese, half Dutch.
"I grew up here. Ethiopia is in my blood. I feel at home here. I left Holland, where I had a thriving business, to set up a similar operation here, offering services to people through their mobile phones."
Vincent is keen to take advantage of the rapid growth in mobile phone use, which increased fourfold between 2011 and 2015.
According to Ethiopia's second five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP2) 90% of the population will have mobile phones by 2020.
Young staff in white shirts and brightly coloured ties dart about the cluster of buildings that make up Vincent's business.
Those in yellow ties work for the mobile payment section, those with green ones for the Ethiopian equivalent of eBay, turquoise represents the jobs section, purple is legal advice and blue is for health.
Although their backgrounds are so different, Samuel, Harsh and Vincent represent the part of Ethiopian life where dynamism, creativity and an adventurous spirit are allowed to thrive.
The political space is far more restrictive. Human rights groups have recently condemned what they describe as the use of lethal force against those protesting against the expansion of Addis Ababa into land they see as rightfully theirs.
Opposition party members, journalists and bloggers are frequently jailed. Even the Ethiopian government looked a little sheepish when the ruling EPRDF party and its allies won every single seat in this year's parliamentary election.
The economy is also tightly controlled, especially the banking and telecoms sectors. But growth is impressive, GDP per head has risen by close to 150% in the past decade and the government has stated Ethiopia will become a middle-income country by 2025.
I asked one of the main architects of Ethiopia's economic transformation, the minister and special adviser to the prime minister, and author of the recent book Made in Africa: Industrial Policy in Ethiopia, Dr Arkebe Oqubay, whether the country's vision is a fantasy.
"I don't have any illusion that this will be achieved," he said.
"But it requires extraordinary effort to sustain such rapid growth and transformation."
Two African countries which have undergone serious conflict in the recent past and are now doing well in terms of economic growth and lower corruption rates are Ethiopia and Rwanda.
Is it a coincidence that both, especially Rwanda, are highly disciplined and place severe restrictions on political and media freedom?


Police forces in Wales paid out more than £590,000 to informants over the last five years, figures obtained by BBC Radio 5 live have shown.

Spending by South Wales Police accounted for more than half of that figure totalling £345,832 from 2011-16.
The data for forces in England and Wales was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and North Wales Police spent £38,500 - the lowest overall.
A Home Office spokesman said it was "an operational matter for police".
Informants can get anything from a few pounds for basic information, up to several thousand pounds for helping break up organised crime.
Police forces are audited on their use of informants and are inspected annually by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners to ensure they are not breaking the law.
There are no statistics available to show how many convictions have come as a result of paying informants.
Gwent Police and Dyfed-Powys Police spent £140,000 and £66,000 respectively over the five years.
The Metropolitan Police topped the overall list spending £5.2m, while Kent and West Midlands forces each spent more than £1m.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) defended the practice of paying informants - or covert human intelligence sources as they are officially known.
Deputy Chief Constable Roger Bannister, the council's lead on the issue, said: "The intelligence provided helps to prevent and solve the most serious of crimes and is vital in bringing offenders to justice through the courts."
But Neil Wood, who worked as an undercover police officer and ran many informants, told Radio 5 live the tactic has its limitations when it comes to drugs.
"Nobody wants to inform on the drug lords because of fears of violent reprisals, so it's only the low-lying fruit that gets caught out - and the trade continues regardless.
"Nobody can call that effective. Overall it does little to bring down the level of overall crime."
Dyfed-Powys and South Wales Police said they had nothing to add to the NPCC statement. The other two Welsh forces have been asked to comment.


More than 3,000 prisoners are believed to have escaped from the main prison in Democratic Republic of Congo, security sources have told the BBC.

The authorities say only around 50 prisoners got away when armed men attacked the prison on Wednesday.
The security sources also said dozens of people were killed during the attack on Makala prison.
Ne Muanda Nsemi, leader of the political-religious sect Bundu Dia Kongo, is among those who escaped.
A police spokesperson told a local radio station, Radio Okapi, that the prisoners were dangerous, and called for anyone who saw them to tell the authorities.
The sources say that around half of the prison's inmates fled during the attack.
Government officials say a police officer and at least five attackers were killed, while several sources say that up to 100 died.
The authorities accuse supporters of Mr Nsemi's supporters of being behind the attack, although the group has denied this.
Mr Nsemi is a self-styled prophet seeking to revive the ancient Kongo kingdom.
Bundu Dia Kongo is campaigning to restore a monarchy in parts of DR Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Angola and Gabon.
The group mixes Christian and traditional beliefs and practices.
Mr Nsemi was an MP when he was arrested in Kinshasa after police accused him of inciting violence.
Ne Muanda Nsemi: The man behind the unrest


(Close): Optimism over the situation in Greece pushed US stocks higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq reaching another record.

The Nasdaq closed up 37 points, or 0.7%, at 5,153.97.
The Dow Jones rose 100.69 points, or 0.6%, to 18,116.64 points, and the S&P 500 added 13 points, or 0.6%, to 2,122.85.
The rally on Wall Street follows similar optimism on stock markets in Europe and Asia.
"An eleventh hour compromise [between Greece and creditors] was always the likely scenario and it looks like that is what we are getting,'' said Russ Koesterich, global chief investment strategist at BlackRock.
In company news, the health insurer Cigna jumped 4.5% as it rejected as "inadequate" a bid from the nation's number-two insurer Anthem.
Martha Stewart Living Omnicom tumbled 12% after it agreed to being bought by the clothes brand company Sequential Brands for $353m.
Disney advanced 0.9% following a strong opening weekend for its Pixar unit's latest animated movie, "Inside Out."
Meanwhile, Comcast gained 0.7% after "Jurassic World," made by Comcast's Universal Studios, continued to dominate the box office.


A man has admitted murdering a woman found dead at a house in Skegness.

Casey Scott, 29, of Drummond Road, Skegness, pleaded guilty at Lincoln Crown Court to killing 28-year-old Lenuta Ioana Haidemac in July 2016.
The body of Miss Haidemac, who lived in Lincoln, was discovered on 22 July at a house in Drummond Road after she was reported missing to police.
Scott was remanded into custody as his sentencing was adjourned to a date to be fixed.
A spokeswoman for Lincolnshire Police said the force would not be commenting on the case until after the sentencing.


One member of a two-man US yacht crew branded a "castastrophe waiting to happen" has quit the luckless vessel.

Bob Weise and Steve Shapiro, both 71, were rescued nine times in seven months as they sailed from Norway to Cornwall.
Mr Shapiro said fellow US citizen Mr Weise had quit the two-man crew for personal reasons but had left on "good terms".
He said he aims to find more crew and continue the pair's voyage across the Atlantic.
"I am looking for two more crew," said Mr Shapiro, a screenwriter and author from California.
The boat, named Nora, left Norway in July and is aiming for the US state of Maine.
Mr Shapiro said he may look to sell the wooden yacht and upgrade to a bigger boat.
"She is indestructible and seaworthy, but she is a little bit cramped," he said.
Veteran sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston previously criticised the American pair and urged them to "leave UK waters".
In their latest mishap they had to seek help in Hayle, Cornwall, when their sailing boat tipped over, causing a fire on board.
Mr Shapiro said Sir Robin's comments were "embarrassing" for him and Mr Weise.
"I am just doing the same thing he did," he said.
"I sincerely respect his reputation but even he had people helping him.
"I am just a guy with a passion for sailing."


When Kanhaiyalal Gupta jumped off from the engine driver's cabin with a pair of red and green flags in his hands, we got off the slowing train too.

We'd been waiting for that. What we did not expect was for him to shoot off across the next 200 metres like a sprinter. We ran behind him, stumbling on the uneven surface.
Mr Gupta darted towards an unmanned railway crossing and waving his red flag, quickly shut and locked the gate there. Then he turned towards the train and waved the green flag.
The train moved forward, passed the locked gate - and stopped again. Mr Gupta opened the gate and raced back to the driver's cabin, with us closely behind. He could do this up to 16 times over a distance of 68km (42 miles), on a one-way journey.
"It's what I do. I'm the mobile gatekeeper," he says.
Some 11,500 of the more than 30,000 railway crossings in India are unmanned. Nearly 40% of train-related accidents and two-thirds of deaths on railway tracks - usually happens when people are crossing them - take place at these unmanned crossings.
The railways' response has been to shut down as many unmanned crossings as it can rather than staff them with gatekeepers. Or to create 'mobile gatekeepers' like Mr Gupta to do the work of many.
We are travelling on the crowded Dhamtari passenger train in the central state of Chhattisgarh.
The slow narrow gauge train is better known as the "labour train" for it ferries hundreds of migrant workers from nearby villages to the state capital, Raipur, in search of work.
It's a nine-station journey from Dhamtari to Telibandha, the last narrow gauge stop in Raipur. Only two or three of some 19 railway gates on the route are manned.
"My job is to open and shut the gates. I enjoy my work," says Mr Gupta, who earns less than 20,000 rupees ($331; Â£205) a month.
"Earlier there used to be permanent gatekeepers for these crossings, but now I have been appointed as the mobile gatekeeper. I used to lay and maintain railway tracks, but I was promoted to this position two years ago."
In the early stations on the route, a "mobile gatekeeper" can board one of the rear coaches after seeing the train through at one of the railway gates.
With the train yet to fill up, he can sit comfortably. As the train nears Raipur, though, he hasn't a chance of squeezing in. So he has to run up to the driver's cabin and stand there till the next railway gate.
India's state-run railways runs more than 12,000 trains, carrying some 23 million passengers daily.
Venu P Nair of the National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU), a union of railway workers, says the railways have a sanctioned strength of 1.3 million employees, but nearly 200,000 posts are lying vacant and no hiring is taking place though the number of trains has increased as have stations, booking counters and rail tracks.
The "mobile" role Mr Gupta has been given is a way of keeping recruitment down, unions say.
Back on the seven-coach "labour train", there are probably twice the number of passengers against its capacity of 400 commuters. They are hanging on at the sides, back and even in the spaces between coaches.
"You should see the train by the time we near Raipur," says one worker. "Then it gets full up at the top as well."
The passengers are entertained by the sight of the two of us, with video cameras, chasing after Mr Gupta at each unmanned railway crossing.
"It's a film shooting," declares one, wedged between two compartments. "They're from Bollywood."
"So who's the hero?" yells his companion.
"Never mind the damn hero," shouts a third. "Show us the heroine."
But they talk to us patiently at the stations.
Every passenger is a work-seeking migrant from the scores of villages in the region where farming is in a shambles.
Why take the train, we ask? With this sort of crowding, you must be exhausted by the time you reach Raipur?
"The train ticket from Dhamtari to Raipur costs just 20 rupees. The bus fare for the same route costs more than three times that.  Journeying both ways by bus could cost more than half of our daily wages," says a passenger.
"In the morning train," says engine driver Venugopal, "the maximum passengers are labourers. People from the interior villages board this train and go to Raipur for daily wage work and return in the evening train every day."
"It's very hard," says Rohit Nawrangey, at the Kendri station.
He is a labourer who does that journey every now and then, despite owning a tiny bicycle repair shop in Kendri village. "You can't make enough here to survive," he says.
Mr Gupta, however, is totally focused on his work, readying for the next gate.
"Open and shut," he says, smiling.
P Sainath is an independent journalist and author of Everybody Loves A Good Drought


Three people have been arrested in connection with a baseball bat attack outside a Glasgow school.

The alleged incident happened near Garrowhill Primary, in the city's east end, at about 09:00 on Monday.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said two men, aged 38 and 42, and a 36-year-old woman had been arrested.
The men are due to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court and the woman has been released on an undertaking to appear at a later date.


Greece and its international creditors remain in deadlock over its debt crisis despite a series of top-level meetings.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras failed to reach a deal with Greece's lenders, then a meeting of European finance ministers broke up without progress.
The Athens government faces default if it fails to make a €1.6bn (£1.1bn) IMF debt repayment by Tuesday.
As EU leaders met in Brussels, Germany's Angela Merkel warned that talks were going nowhere.
"We still haven't made the necessary progress; in some places it looks like we're even going backwards," she told reporters.
If Greece does default, it could exit the eurozone, with possible repercussions for the rest of Europe and the world economy.
Only once agreement is reached will the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) unlock the final €7.2bn tranche of bailout funds for cash-strapped Greece.
The impasse threatens to overshadow an EU summit opening on Thursday, where leaders will also discuss the European migrant crisis and UK PM David Cameron's renegotiation aims.
Latest updates: Business live
After the meeting of finance ministers broke up without agreement, Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said it was not too late for Greece to accept the proposals of its international lenders.
It was the fourth time that the finance ministers had met in a week in an attempt to prevent a Greek debt default. They will meet again on Saturday.
An EU diplomat told the BBC that the Eurogroup had to make a decision then - yes or no.
The Greek government has criticised the international creditors for rejecting its own ideas, which were initially welcomed.
IMF head Christine Lagarde said the lenders had been presented with a counter-proposal by the Greek parties "at the last hour" on Thursday and needed more time to assess it, according to Reuters.
The IMF has been particularly strong in refusing to accept Greece's proposals put forward earlier this week.
Correspondents say the Greek plan included far more tax rises and far fewer spending cuts than creditors had suggested.
Throughout the Greek crisis, the IMF has been concerned that the programme should add up. That means that specific actions should be able to achieve whatever targets are agreed for the Greek government's borrowing needs.
In the current impasse, one concern is that the Greek proposals include too much emphasis on tax rather than spending.
The IMF worry is that might aggravate the economy's weakness. For the long term the IMF's concern is that Greece should ultimately have a sustainable debt burden and has been telling the eurozone that it should be thinking about debt relief.
Like the other players in this crisis, the IMF has politics to contend with: IMF member countries (Brazil has been a notable example) who have in the past been unhappy about the organisation's financial support for Greece.
Greece's PM Tsipras held talks on Thursday morning with IMF leader Christine Lagarde and European Central Bank head Mario Draghi as well as Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, and Eurogroup leader Mr Dijsselbloem.
Technical experts met several hours earlier to continue deliberations. However, no deal was struck.
If an agreement is reached, it will have to be endorsed by Greece's parliament, with some critics at home accusing the prime minister of reneging on his party's campaign pledge to end austerity.
Can Greece stay in the euro?
Chris Morris: Tsipras may face impossible choice
How did Greece get in this mess?
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A man has been arrested after a Welsh couple were found dead in a South African river.

Grandparents Roger and Christine Solik, from Abercynon near Aberdare, moved to the country in 1981 after getting married in Wales the previous year.
Police believe they were killed in an armed robbery at their farmland estate last month.
A 43-year-old is due to appear in court in South Africa charged with murder, kidnap and robbery.
Mrs Solik, 57, originally from Mountain Ash, was found bound 50 miles (80km) from her home in the Kwazulu-Natal province on 17 February.
The body of her husband, 66, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, was found more than a mile from her.
Their four children, Alexander and Gregory, 32, Jessica, 30, and Brendon, 29, issued a statement saying: "Our parents were inseparable and their relationship was something to aspire to."