Kate Bush has admitted that the length of time it takes her to release an album can be "extremely stressful".

Speaking to the BBC, the singer - whose last album, Aerial, came out in 2005 - said she had written new songs but did not know when they would be released.
"It's very frustrating the albums take as long as they do," the 52-year-old told Radio 4's Front Row. "I wish there weren't such big gaps between them."
An album of reworked songs, Director's Cut, is released later this month.
The collection features material from her Sensual World and Red Shoes albums, released in 1989 and 1993 respectively.
A new version of Deeper Understanding was released as a single in April, with a video starring Robbie Coltrane, Noel Fielding and Frances Barber.
Speaking to Radio Four's Front Row arts programme, the singer denied she was a perfectionist in the recording studio.
"I don't think I am," she said. "People have said this, but I don't think I really want anything to be perfect.
"I think it's important that things are flawed," she continued.
"That's what makes a piece of art interesting sometimes - the bit that's wrong or the mistake you've made that's led onto an idea you wouldn't have had otherwise."
Bush described her new material as "work in progress", but was unwilling to say when it might see the light of day.
"Even if I was able to talk about it now, it might completely change in a few weeks and so would no longer be relevant."
The star, whose hits include Wuthering Heights and Running Up That Hill, has been famously reclusive in recent years.
The full Kate Bush interview can be heard on Front Row on Radio 4 at 1915 BST on Wednesday.


Russel Griggs has become one of Scotland's biggest landowners, to his astonishment.

The businessman and professor has control over around 10,000 acres of land, much of it in the Southern Uplands where South Lanarkshire, Dumfriesshire and East Ayrshire meet.
These comprise seven sites of special industrial ugliness, because that is where vast diggers and trucks tore away at hillsides to expose coal seams.
When you visit them, the most striking thing is how fast this happened. They look like it should have taken centuries to have such an impact, yet most were worked in the past quarter century and for less than ten years each.
The area has been worked for coal for eight centuries, some of it deep-mined. Removing topsoil and rock to get at these narrow seams of soil only became commercially viable when the machinery got to the right scale and robustness.
I went with a TV camera crew to the Glenmuckloch opencast site near Sanquhar, being worked by coal company Hargreaves and on land owned by the Duke of Buccleuch.
We watched in awe as each scoop from the digger picked up 15 tonnes. Four scoops goes into each truckload.  They could take 100 tonnes each, but that would not be an efficient use of the vast engines. For every tonne of coal removed, around 22 tonnes of rock has to be extracted around the coal seam.
For those who, child-like, wonder at the scale of these machines, the tyres give you some idea of the money involved. Each truck has six tyres, they cost £7,000 each, and because of wear and tear on rocks and gravel, they need to be replaced at least twice a year.
For several other such sites, the money ran out. Fracking in North America undercut coal. US power stations were converted to cheap gas, so as demand for coal fell, the price plummeted.
Scotland had been the biggest player in UK opencast mining. At the start of 2013, the two companies dominating Scottish opencast production - ATH and Scottish Resources Group - went bust. About 1,000 jobs went.
The insolvency experts who took them over quickly found the firms were nowhere close to being adequately funded for the clean-up costs, to which they had committed.
Filling in the giant holes and landscaping Scotland's opencast coalmines would take almost as much earth-moving as the original mining. The cost of that is estimated at £200m.
But the liquidators had only £4m they could hand over, while councils had to go after the bonds (a form of insurance policy) which the companies had taken out.
According to Prof Griggs, if all the bonds were paid out they would raise perhaps £30m to £40m. But as some are being contested by insurance companies, he anticipates between £20m and £25m will be available to him.
The failure to fund the clean-up clearly reflects badly on the defunct firms, which had thought they could finance each restoration project with cash from the next site.
It also reflects poorly on the local councils, which failed to nail down the financial assurances when they awarded the planning approval. Fife was also caught by this. We're assured lessons have been learned, and it won't happen again.
But to salvage what it could, the Scottish government turned to Prof Griggs as its adviser on business regulation. It asked first if red tape was one reason things had gone so badly.  His answer was that it was only a part of the explanation.
But having got him interested, ministers then asked if Prof Griggs would lead the newly-created Scottish Mines Restoration Trust, and do what he could to sort out the mess.
The Sanquhar resident began with that £4m budget, employing four people, to secure the sites, fence off ponds where swimmers sometimes unwisely go, and to monitor water quality.
He turned to a wildlife charity, and gifted it some moorland and forest. He is, cautiously, considering options on selling parcels of land to local farmers.
Griggs has been working with the Duke of Buccleuch, owner of Glenmuckloch, from which £100,000 of community funds are expected to come from two wind turbines being installed this summer.
He said: "I'm getting on in life and I decided that if we were looking 25 years into the future, with £100,000 a year to invest in the community, maybe we should ask the young people to do it.
"So the investment committee - the people who'll make the decisions where the money will go - will be the rolling fifth and sixth form of Sanquhar Academy."
In their first year of operation, the pupil committee has compiled a short list of applications for funding, focussing on facilities for the young and for older local residents.
"Having worked with these young people for the last year in putting this together, they've risen to the task amazingly," said Prof Griggs.
"My Trust is giving them a little pump priming at the beginning.
"We've given them £25,000 to start, because it's unlikely that the income from the wind turbines will start to come through until August or September this year."
Prof Griggs turned to the British Geological Survey to see if its members could make use of other sites. What they found astounded them. One told him - perhaps with a little exaggeration - that the Spireslack site in South Lanarkshire, excavated in only the four years to 2007, is the geologists' equivalent of the Large Hadron Collider.
The diggers have exposed layer upon layer of geological pre-history, ripe for study instead in place of geology textbooks or computer generated 3D images.
"This is a geologists' playground," Prof Griggs told me
"When they come here, they go gooey-eyed. These are things you won't see anywhere else in the world."
Where seams of coal and sandstone have been forced up by volcanic activity, and then cleared away in the 21st century, the sheer 'pavement' under it is exposed at around 45 degrees, offering an enticing prospect for geologists and for climbers and abseilers. The last thing they would want to do with £200m, if it were available, would be to fill it this 1km long, 80-metre deep valley.
The disturbed rocks offer abundant opportunities for fossil-hunters. Nearby, flattened terraces of disused coalfield is being considered for lease to chicken farmers.
And while the area could become a public geo-park, turned over to both study and geology education, the leisure potential ranges from a very long zipwire, to mountain and quad biking, to redevelopment of the football pitch where the legendary Glenbuck Cherrypickers team played.
Scotland and Liverpool legend Bill Shankly was born in Glenbuck village in 1913, and was one of dozens of locals who went into professional football.
Although Glenbuck village has been flattened by the earthmovers, scores of fans still make the pilgrimage from Anfield to Shankly's birthplace each year.
If the Restoration Trust's plans work out, the pilgrims could have the opportunity to stay in holiday cottages and play on a restored Glenbuck pitch. The local mining heritage could be explained in a museum. Griggs is looking for the entrepreneurs to make it happen.
Along the valley and a rock's throw from the M74 motorway at the Happendon/Cairn Lodge services, Mainshill Wood opencast site offers more, highly unusual geological formations, where the pressures from millennia ago have left vertical coal and limestone seams.
The topography and location suggest this has more potential as a family-oriented leisure attraction, whereas Spireslack could work better for the committed thrill-seeker.
The ponds on the site are considered ripe for arrays of solar panels or (safety-conscious) leisure boating. As it currently stands, some of the site would work well as a science fiction film set.
According to Prof Griggs, local communities often see only vast scars on the landscape around them, and want them healed. He is encouraging them to see the sites as opportunities to make something out of the new contours of the land.
"I never thought I'd become one of Scotland's biggest landowners," he joked. "It's been great fun doing this. I've learned things. I think everyone should go through life and learn new things. I've met some fascinating people as I've gone through this, and I understand a bit more about geology now.
"But I'm sure the communities will say 'it's not fun having a big hole on my doorstep'. So my real fun will be when I get all the communities back to getting these sorted out for them".


Leap Motion's precise movement tracking device has long been criticised for being a great idea in need of a practical application.

17 February 2016 Last updated at 14:26 GMT
Now the team behind it has created Orion - software which integrates Leap Motion control into virtual reality environments.
The BBC's North America Technology Reporter Dave Lee was given the chance to see it in action.
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC and on Facebook


The Scottish government's budget for the next year has been passed by MSPs after a heated Holyrood debate.

Opposition parties continued to press Finance Secretary John Swinney for a 1p rise in Scottish income tax rates to generate funding for education.
Trade union members protested outside Holyrood over cuts to council budgets prior to the debate.
Mr Swinney, who ruled out raising income tax, announced extra funding for closing the attainment gap in schools.
He pledged an extra £80m over three years for the Attainment Scotland Fund, a scheme aimed at supporting pupils from Scotland's "poorest neighbourhoods".
The budget was passed by the votes of SNP members, after all opposition parties spoke out against it.
Mr Swinney prompted anger from the Labour benches when he said claims about council job losses had been "utterly exaggerated".
He said: "My priority all along has been to deliver a financial settlement that councils can accept in order that we can pursue our shared priorities to protect household incomes, improve outcomes for people through health and social care integration and by improving educational attainment.
"We have worked to protect our public services and pursue ambitious reform to help ensure that public services meet the needs of the people of Scotland."
Mr Swinney said the government must also "look to the future" while considering new powers to be devolved as part of the Scotland Bill, the financial groundwork for which was agreed with the UK government this week.
Among the key measures in the budget are a new 3% levy of the purchase price of second homes and buy-to-let properties.
Mr Swinney also pledged to continue the council tax freeze, and to invest £200m over the next five years in six new NHS treatment centres.
Other measures in Mr Swinney's budget included:
Reaction to the budget has largely focused on its impact on local government finances, with council body Cosla previously claiming that Scotland's 32 councils would lose out on £350m between them.
But despite threats from some councils that they were considering raising council tax rates in an attempt to ease the burden on their finances, none have actually done so.
Both Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats called for the Scottish rate of income tax to be set one penny higher than the rate set elsewhere in the UK by Chancellor George Osborne, arguing the move could raise about £475m.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the move would mean "we can end cuts, not enforce them".
She said: "Simply by pressing a button, SNP MSPs could join with Labour MSPs and end austerity this year, today.
"I say to them, what you told voters you wanted is here in front of you. use our new powers, don't leave them on the shelf.
"Stop these cuts, save these jobs, invest in our children's future."
Also arguing for a tax increase, Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said the budget was "the big chance" to use Holyrood's power to help save public services.
He said SNP members were "desperate to find excuses" not to step in to protect services, saying: "We will see the harsh reality of John Swinney's cuts in the next few weeks."
The Scottish Conservatives said that taxes in Scotland should be no higher than the rest of the UK - and lower when affordable.
Murdo Fraser said he was pleased the SNP had joined his party "hand in glove" in a "new tax payers' alliance" to oppose tax rises. However, he said the Conservatives would not be backing the government's budget due to other "damaging" proposals.
Patrick Harvie said his Scottish Greens would be happy to work "constructively" with the government to protect local services, but said he was "deeply concerned" about the budget.
He also said the council tax was "no longer adequate". The Greens have put forward proposals for raising revenue though measures including a tax on derelict and vacant land and allowing councils to set their own levels of council tax without financial penalty.
Mr Swinney has argued that increasing income tax rates at this stage would hit the country's lowest-paid workers hardest as any changes would need to be made across all of the tax bands.
But the Scottish government has said it will look at creating a more "progressive" tax regime when greater powers over income tax are devolved under the Scotland Bill, which is expected to come into force next year.


Connacht's hopes of securing a home semi-final in the Pro12 suffered a blow as they were shocked in Treviso.

Tries from Rory Parata and Fionn Carr helped Connacht lead 14-0 but Treviso hit back and Jayden Hayward's last-gasp penalty ensured the home side's win.
Scores from Luca Morisi and Braam Steyn cut Connacht's lead to 14-12 by half-time and Treviso then edged ahead with a penalty try on 45 minutes.
A Peter Robb try restored Connacht's lead before Hayward's penalty won it.
Treviso's players celebrated after a victory which puts them in position to claim the European Champions Cup spot available to Italy as they move above Zebre into 11th spot in the table.
Connacht's losing bonus point guaranteed their semi-finals spot as they moved 11 points ahead of fifth-place Scarlets but Glasgow's expected victory over Zebre on Friday will drop the Irish province to third in the table.
Next weekend's game in Galway between Connacht and Glasgow is now likely to be a shoot-out to decide who earns a home semi-final.
In Friday's game, Connacht poached two tries in the opening 14 minutes as Parata dived over and Carr then latched onto a Jack Carty grubber kick.
However, Connacht  failed to control their remainder of the first half as Morisi and Steyn scored two tries in the space of five minutes before the break.
As the Connacht scrum began to struggle, Treviso notched a penalty try five minutes after the resumption.
Following the introduction of Ireland players Robbie Henshaw and Finlay Bealham, Robb dived over in the 52nd minute with John Cooney a third successful conversion.
Just before the match entered injury-time, Connacht's replacement scrum-half Caolin Blade conceded possession as he threw a forward pass and a further scrum infringement just short of halfway allowed Hayward to kick the decisive penalty.
Connacht: T O'Halloran; N Adeolokun, R Parata, P Robb, F Carr; J Carty, J Cooney; R Loughney, T McCartney (capt), R Ah You; Q Roux, A Browne; S O'Brien, J Heenan, E McKeon.
Replacements: D Heffernan for McCartney 79, JP Cooney for Ah You 59, F Bealham for Loughney 44 mins, A Muldowney for Roux 67, J Muldoon for Heenan 57, C Blade for John Cooney 67, AJ MacGinty for Carty 51, R Henshaw for Parata 51.
Treviso: J Hayward; A Esposito, L Morisi, A Sgarbi (capt), L Nitoglia; S Christie, E Gori; M Zanusso, O Gega, S Ferrari, F Paulo, T Palmer, F Minto, A Zanni, A Steyn.
Replacements: D Giazzon for Gega 70, C Traorè, S Manu for Ferrari 67, M Fuser for Palmer 58, M Lazzaroni for Steyn 70, A Lucchese for Esposito 67, L McLean for Christie 17, T Iannone for Morisi 28.


Reigning champion Neil Robertson suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the UK Championship, losing 6-3 to amateur veteran Peter Lines.

Englishman Lines, 46, won a marathon first frame against the Australian and a break of 58 put him 2-0 ahead.
Robertson scored three half centuries as he fought back to trail 4-3, but Lines held his nerve to progress.
He was not going to be scared. He played a brilliant match
Lines said the win over the world number seven was the "most pleasing of his career."
Leeds star Lines, a UK quarter-finalist in 2009, said: "It was a daunting task, but I just thought I wanted to relax and at least give a good account of myself.
"In my heart I wasn't expecting to win but I played well and am really pleased with how I held myself together because Neil is a fantastic player."
Lines, who joins his 21-year-old son Oliver in the last 64, only dropped off the tour at the end of last season and Robertson said his opponent's experience shone through in his "incredible safety play".
"He didn't make a whole load of big breaks but he didn't have to because his safety was that good," said Robertson, the 2013 and 2015 UK champion.
"It was a tough match. He is still a great player and he showed that. He was not going to be scared. He played a brilliant match."
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Elsewhere on the final day of the first round, reigning world champion Mark Selby, who took the UK title in 2012, easily beat fellow Englishman Andy Hicks 6-1.
Another ex-world champion, Stuart Bingham, thrashed Adam Stefanow 6-0.
Bingham won a scrappy opening frame but was in fine form thereafter, scoring three half centuries and two tons against his Polish opponent.
"I scored heavily and didn't miss much," said Bingham, 40. "I took my chances and if I keep playing like that I have every chance here."
World number 16 Mark Williams said he "struggled from start to finish" despite beating Jason Weston 6-1 to reach round two at the York Barbican.
Williams, the champion in 1999 and 2002, lost frame two but was always in control against his English opponent.
The Welshman, who said he was struggling with a neck problem, added: "I had a couple of good breaks but overall it was poor."
Stephen Maguire, the champion in 2004, is also through after beating China's Cao Yupeng 6-1, while fellow Scot Alan McManus recovered from 5-0 down to beat Michael Wild 6-5.
Ali Carter made four half-century and two century breaks in a 6-1 win over fellow Englishman Christopher Keogan.
But there was no fairytale win for Jamie Curtis-Barrett, who fought back from 4-0 down to 4-3 against Joe Perry, before losing 6-3.
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Turkey's failed military coup has led some international media to fear President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will seize the chance to suppress all opposition.

While voicing relief at the failure of the "amateurish" coup, Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German) predicts that the climate in Turkey will become "even more restrictive".
"The Turkish government is likely to infringe on democracy, freedom of opinion, and fundamental rights," it says.
In the UK's Guardian, a commentary bemoans "violent mobs sanctioned as 'protecting democracy' by the president".
Comparing the coup to an "unhappy wife being kidnapped by a misguided and incompetent lover", it predicts that the "wife will be 'safely' locked away and the lover disposed of - perhaps humanely, perhaps not".
Some go even further. Switzerland's Neue Zuercher Zeitung (in German) believes that -"tragically" - ordinary Turks' rejection of the military coup will result in the opposite of stronger democracy, and that instead Mr Erdogan will launch a "final sweeping blow" and a "witch hunt" against his opponents.
Across the Atlantic, an editorial in the New York Times also finds a sad irony in the fact that the very thing that saved Mr Erdogan - democracy - faces "accelerating erosion" by a president who is "becoming more vengeful and obsessed with control than ever".
In German paper Die Welt  (in German), Turkey correspondent Deniz Yucel even sees in current developments in Turkey "all the ingredients of totalitarian rule".
"After decades of putting on a show of being the victim - of the establishment, the military, terror groups - [Erdogan] has found his own victim: Turkish democracy."
But several papers still have hope that Mr Erdogan might opt for moderation and reconciliation.
French news magazine Le Point (in French) urges Mr Erdogan to "restore his international reputation" and resist the temptation to "launch ugly repression".
Spain's El Pais (in Spanish) voices concern at Mr Erdogan's "authoritarian drift", and warns that he must ensure that democracy and the rule of law are further strengthened after the uprising's failure.
But the Netherlands' De Volkskrant (in Dutch) says that while Mr Erdogan is likely "to do away with his internal enemies", he is still the "lesser evil" and preferable to a "nonentity in uniform" who would risk destabilising Turkey and the wider region.
In contrast, the media's mood in Turkey is largely one of jubilation.
A commentary in Hurriyet (in Turkish) - which was raided by pro-coup troops - says democracy "would have been murdered" if the military uprising had succeeded, but warns that Turkey's future depends on "strengthening democracy and the constitutional state".
In Turkey, the pro-government newspaper Aksam (in Turkish) hails Mr Erdogan decision to call out the crowds to face down the "attack on democracy by vicious traitors".
"The honourable president's stance was of historic importance," says a commentary.
Another pro-government paper, Star (in Turkish), detects in Western media coverage - including that of the BBC - a desire for the coup to succeed, and believes this reflects the views of their people and governments.
"Who are we going to trust?" it wonders, but is confident in Turkey's success "as long as such upstanding and brave leaders as Erdogan are in office and this nation stands firm".
But there are dissenting voices.
The secularist opposition paper Cumhuriyet (in Turkish) says not "millions", but only "thousands", of people came to defend Mr Erdogan, and describes them as governing "AK Party militants with jihadist aspirations".
In Russia, with which Mr Erdogan only recently started to patch up a rupture in relations, several commentators accuse him of having brought the crisis upon himself.
In Moskovsky Komsomolets (in Russian), a commentary says the coup was a "direct result" of the president's "ambitions to be a sultan, his authoritarianism, his unpredictability, and attempts at destroying the secular foundations of the Turkish state".
In state-owned Rossiskaya Gazeta (in Russian), a commentary predicts that Mr Erdogan's new post-coup "regime" and his "bold authoritarianism" are likely to be "even more alien" to the values of the West, and Turkey will seek closer relations with countries such as Russia instead.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring  on Twitter and Facebook.


Rochdale striker Calvin Andrew's 12-match ban for elbowing Oldham defender Peter Clarke has been reduced to nine.

The suspension was cut following a hearing at Wembley on Thursday.
Andrew, 29, was not punished for the incident during the game on 29 October, but was later cited after a Football Association video review.
The usual punishment for violent conduct is three games, with Andrew's initial 12-match ban one of the longest handed out in English football.


Samsung Electronics saw profits surge 50% in the last three months of 2016, despite the Note 7 phone fiasco.

The 9.2 trillion won ($7.2bn; Â£5.8bn) quarterly profit is the South Korean firm's highest since 2013.
In October, the smartphone maker had to scrap the Note 7, after recalling 2.5 million handsets. Batteries were blamed for phones catching fire.
Samsung has also been embroiled in a corruption scandal, threatening its reputation, so how has it done so well?
Recalling and then ultimately killing off the Note 7, is thought to have cost Samsung $5.3bn (Â£4.3bn), a sum that would have made the firm's profits far bigger.
But while it is the world's biggest smartphone maker, phones are not its only business. It is also well known for its flat screen televisions and that side of things is doing well.
But the real jewel in the crown has been its semiconductor business which makes the chips for phones and servers.
Memory chip prices are rising sharply as demand grows, primarily from phone makers and Samsung is the biggest maker of the chips, ahead of rivals like Toshiba.
Despite the YouTube videos of burning phones, the drip-drip of negative stories and the internet memes, Samsung does not seem to have been as tarnished anywhere near as badly as you might expect.
A Reuters/IPOS study in the aftermath of the scandal found Samsung users in the US remained as loyal to their brand as Apple users were to their iPhones.
Because the problem was identified shortly after the Note 7 was released the recall was mostly limited to early adopters, and this limited the negative experiences, said Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.
"Your own personal experience trumps what you read and what people tell you," Dawson at the time of the Reuters/Ipsos poll.
And Samsung has said that after its recall, most customers chose to replace their Note 7 with a different Samsung handset - including the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge - rather than getting the money back.
Our correspondents in South Korea say that a major corporate scandal - which led to a court being asked to issue an arrest warrant for the firm's heir apparent over bribery allegations - did not seem to have tarnished the corporation's reputation at home dramatically either.
However, while the arrest request was turned down, Samsung remains embroiled in the case and the firm has acknowledged the "changing political landscape in Korea" could have some longer term impact on the business. So future results will be watched closely.
Not a particularly glamorous explanation but the strong dollar has also been a benefit to Samsung.
The won's value against the US currency has fallen, meaning that when sales from overseas are brought back to South Korea they are worth more.
It's something all South Korean exporters have benefited from recently.
Of course currency fluctuations work both ways, and the strong dollar means that any dollar-denominated debt is more expensive.


Stephen Maguire will face Alan McManus in an all-Scottish first-round clash at snooker's World Championship.

Fellow Scot John Higgins will take on Ryan Day; Graeme Dott has been drawn against Mark Williams and Anthony McGill meets Shaun Murphy.
Defending champion Stuart Bingham vies with two-time runner-up Ali Carter for a place in the second round.
Five-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan faces Dave Gilbert and world number one Mark Selby plays Robert Milkins.
Full draw
Stuart Bingham v Ali Carter
Stephen Maguire v Alan McManus
Ricky Walden v Robbie Williams
John Higgins v Ryan Day
Judd Trump v Liang Wenbo
Martin Gould v Ding Junhui
Mark Williams v Graeme Dott
Neil Robertson v Michael Holt
Shaun Murphy v Anthony McGill
Marco Fu v Peter Ebdon
Barry Hawkins v Zhang Anda
Ronnie O'Sullivan v David Gilbert
Mark Allen v Mitchell Mann
Joe Perry v Kyren Wilson
Michael White v Sam Baird
Mark Selby v Robert Milkins


Two UK journalists are facing a prison sentence for allegedly filming a documentary about piracy in Indonesia while on a tourist visa.

Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser were arrested by the Indonesian navy off the island of Batam on 28 May and their trial started in September.
The pair are charged with violating immigration laws.
They were filming footage for a National Geographic show about maritime piracy in South East Asia.
Batam island is just south of Singapore and near the Malacca Strait, an important international shipping lane.
Prosecutor Bani Ginting, in his closing remarks to court, said the two journalists were "legally and convincingly guilty" of misusing their tourist visas for "inappropriate activity".
Indonesian prosecutors are recommending that the pair should be sentenced to five months in jail and pay a fine of more than $3,000 (Â£1,944).
Their lawyer, Aristo Pangaribuan, told the BBC that what they did was a "misdemeanour" rather than a criminal act.
Journalists wanting to report from Indonesia need a special press visa.
Reporters without Borders said journalists caught working without a press visa in Indonesia were usually deported.
The Foreign Office said: "Our embassy staff are providing assistance to two British nationals detained in Batam, Indonesia.
"We are also in regular contact with their families and legal representatives. We have had a number of discussions with Indonesian authorities regarding this case, and will continue to follow it very closely."
The UK journalists were working for London-based production company Wall to Wall and the trip was being funded by National Geographic.
A Wall to Wall spokesman has previously said: "Neil, Rebecca and Wall to Wall are co-operating fully with the relevant authorities, and we hope that Neil and Rebecca will be released and reunited with their families as soon as possible."
Rebecca Prosser's sister, Natalie Prosser, told the BBC: "Becky is a very strong woman... but she is in a mainly male prison, there are only a handful of women there".
She said the trial was "taking its toll" on the documentary maker and that she "has coped very well in difficult circumstances".
Some local journalists held a protest outside court last week and Zuhri Muhammad, the Batam-based chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists, told the BBC that he regarded the trial as a threat to all journalists in Indonesia.
"This trial means that the authorities have criminalised journalists for doing their job".
Reporters without Borders said nine Indonesians, including the pair's fixer Ahmadi, are facing a possible two-year jail term or a fine.
Last year two French journalists were "victims of Indonesia's draconian immigration laws" when they were convicted of "misusing an entry visa", the group said.
Reporters without Borders said they had been arrested in the eastern province of Papua for trying to do a report about separatists in the region.
They were held for two and a half months and their sentence covered the time they had already been detained.


How many millions would you pay for a penthouse apartment in a futuristic new development with a panoramic view of Berlin?

Not just any old building, mind you, but one with a gleaming metallic facade and sharp angles, the first residential property in Europe by architect Daniel Libeskind.
"We haven't set a price yet," says silver-haired softly spoken developer Nikolaus Ziegert.
Sapphire is still a construction site - but on a whistle-stop tour, it's easy to see its appeal to foreign wealthy buyers.
In many ways, this $43m (Â£29m) development symbolises the gentrification of the city.
It's certainly set tongues wagging, dividing opinion in the historical district of Mitte.
The luxury property market is red hot in this neighbourhood.
Almost everywhere you look from the roof of Sapphire, there are cranes at work, constructing a new Berlin.
Just over a decade ago, Berlin's mayor declared the city "poor but sexy", a reputation that helped attract innovative and creative businesses.
But now, with its fortunes rapidly changing and the gentrification this brings, is Berlin in danger of becoming a victim of its own success?
Its population has been growing fast, and in the past five years so have rents, pricing some local residents out.
For Mr Ziegert, business is booming.
He set up his property company 30 years ago in West Berlin, when the city was still divided, with just three employees.
Now, he has a turnover of some $300m, and 180 staff.
Mr Ziegert enjoys being chauffer driven in a vintage Maserati. But he doesn't fit the stereotype of a brash property developer.  He is aware of the tensions development can create.
"Gentrification has to be seen from two angles," he says.
"Of course, the first is that of the tenant.
"In Berlin, when the prices rise, people feel insecure.
"On the other hand, gentrification also means change and progress.
"And even if it's unpleasant for some, it remains very important for the city that investment comes in."
In many ways, Berlin is still a city of two halves.
On the one hand, there is an incredibly fast-growing community of hi-tech start-ups.
On the other, the city's unemployment rate is more than 10%, compared with just 6% for the rest of Germany.
Michael Plaumann lives in a homeless shelter in Neukoelln, an area earmarked by developers as the next property hotspot.
To supplement his unemployment benefit, he sells a homeless newspaper on the trains of Berlin.
"It's very difficult for me to find my own apartment for myself," he says.
"That's why I've been living in a shelter for a while already, because the apartments have become very expensive, and for as someone who receives benefits, it is just too expensive."
The $900 (Â£600) cost of his shelter accommodation is covered by his benefits.
Should he find an apartment of this own, he'd be unable to claim the full rent because of a cap, which could price him out of his neighbourhood.
"I want to live in my neighbourhood. That's Neukoelln. I've been there for 15 years," he says.
"What bothers me is that in Berlin, more and more neighbourhoods are becoming ghettos. Berlin is not changing for the better."
Lisa Jaspers earns not much more than Mr Plaumann gets in benefits and wages. But she's happy.
She set up her own company two years ago, after quitting her well paid job in the development sector.
Her business, Folkdays, is an online fair-trade fashion-and-accessories business, sourced from artisans around the world.
"We create designs that we knew that they can do," she says.
"And we actually sell our products online because it means we can actually offer our products for a price that is not crazy high."
Ms Jaspers also lives in Neukoelln, the same neighbourhood as Mr Plaumann, an area that typifies the gentrification of Berlin.
"I see pros and cons," she says.
"I have to say I'm pretty happy about the fact that so many people from all over the world want to live here."
The fall of the Berlin Wall brought freedom and inspired a cool and creative scene.
Low rents encouraged a lively alternative music and nightclub scene, in many ways the foundation of modern Berlin.
Roger Baptist, otherwise known as Rummelsnuff, worked as a bouncer for many years before he made music his full-time career.
He has over three million hits on YouTube, a record deal and a film in the pipeline. The 49-year-old lives on a former World War Two barracks.
"It's not Beverly Hills," he says as he gives me a tour.
He has an improvised recording studio, and the music he produces earns him just enough money to do what he wants.
"The danger for Berlin, especially inner-city Berlin, is that people move there and because it's a clubbing neighbourhood [they complain] it's too loud, they make reports to the police and the clubs have to close," he says.
"We need a loud inner city otherwise it gets boring."
Rummelsnuff is a mixture of Popeye meets electropunk - mainstream he is not.
Like many musicians, he was drawn to Berlin for its energy, open attitude and affordable rents.
Development is necessary to fuel Berlin's economic growth - but the more there is, the danger is the less attractive it will become for the artists and creatives.
This cultural vibe has helped attract an influx of well-paid professionals from the rest of Germany and beyond.
Bigger companies are moving in, too.
Berlin's research-and-development industry is growing so fast it's been dubbed Silicon Alley.
Julia Leihener works as an "ideation manager" for Deutsche Telekom.
She and her team develop new technology ideas, from smart-home technology to the future of mobile phones.
She arrived here 15 years ago and still thinks it's a great city to work in, but she has concerns about the commercialisation of Berlin.
"It's good and bad if money's coming in," she says.
"Where I live, I really see how it's been polished up and brought me to the point where I moved because it gets too polished.
"There's a great tension building up, and I can feel that in my area."
Berlin still has some way to go before it reaches the gentrified unaffordable capital many people predict it'll become.
The big challenge is how it continues to combine its creativity with capitalism, without losing what makes it so special.
Mr Ziegert believes his luxury development, Sapphire, represents the new Berlin.
"This is a great example of how [the] highest culture and highest art can at the same time be an interesting investment," he says.
"Simultaneously, Berlin is transforming and developing in a way that Berlin has waited for, for many, many years
"The challenge is to find the balance between the past and future, rich and poor, between art and functionality, and, for me, Daniel Libeskind is the architect that represents art in architecture and living art."
As for the penthouse?
"We're very excited about who is going to buy this in the end. We're not in a rush, we'd rather wait for a buyer to appreciate this unit."
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Nigel Pearson has said his return to football management with Derby County "felt right" and fits in with his management background.

The 52-year-old has been out of work since being sacked by Premier League champions Leicester City in June 2015.
But he was appointed as manager of the Championship club on a three-year-deal at the end of May.
"It feels right. There is an emphasis on developing the whole of the football club," Pearson said.
Pearson said his Rams role enables him to be involved in helping to shape the future of the club behind the scenes, and not focus solely on first-team matters.
"One of the most important things on my return was to start again at a club where I felt it was the right fit, where I was excited about being back in management," Pearson said.
"The club has the foundations in place, not just in terms of the squad but in the infrastructure and facilities. We all have aspirations to continue to develop the club on lots of different levels.
"That is important because my background in management is one in which I try to affect the club in many ways.
"As a manager you will you always be judged on results and that is something you will always be aware of, but the bigger picture is there are lots of elements to a successful club and I take great pride in being part of that development. That is why I feel it is a good fit."
Derby were beaten in the Championship play-off semi-finals by Hull City last season, the third season in a row that they have failed to live up to their billing as one of the favourites for promotion.
In 2013-14, the Rams lost in the play-off final to Queens Park Rangers, while they missed out on the play-offs completely in 2014-15 when they suffered a home defeat against Reading on the final day of the season.
"The squad has potential and although the club have come close to promotion on a number of occasions, there is still room for improvement," the Nottingham-born former Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough defender said.
"It is really important to look forward with an optimistic outlook.
"Whenever you take over a football club in the Championship with stature, and Derby is certainly a club with stature, then that [promotion] is one of the main aims.
"The timeframe is always going to be debatable but the infrastructure is such that it's important we maximise what we have here already.
"The squad is in a pretty healthy state, that is not to say there won't be tweaks to that. But first and foremost it's about assessing the squad we have.
"We want to get promotion and that is never easy in what is an exceptionally competitive league."
Pearson has been given credited for setting Leicester on the path to their astonishing Premier League title win last season.
Many of the key players of Claudio Ranieri's champions were signed by Pearson, including captain Wes Morgan and current England striker Jamie Vardy, who joined for £1m from Fleetwood Town in 2012.
Pearson's second spell as manager culminated in a phenomenal end to the season which saw them avoid relegation thanks to a run of seven wins and one draw from their last 10 games.
But he was sacked at the end of the season and was reluctant to talk about his thoughts on his former team's success.
"It's a fantastic story and it's a story that gives a lot of clubs hope for the future," Pearson said.
"I have purposely not been seeking to be in the public domain. I have my views on the story and I am delighted that they have continued to progress.
"It really is an amazing story but I am here to speak about being the manager of Derby County.
"My main concern and focus is about getting to grips with this job and using my experiences with my previous jobs to help."
Having once again dismissed talk that he had interfered with team selection, chairman Mel Morris was quick to praise his new manager's character and no-nonsense reputation.
"I like the fact that he is a strong guy," Morris said. "You can have a discussion and don't need to dance around things.
"I like Nigel's approach to that. You end a conversation knowing you have finalised that point and there is nothing hanging over.
"We had a lot of very, very high-calibre candidates but we interviewed Nigel and the way he spoke about football and about the need to build the club really struck a chord with us.
"The fit is uncannily good."
Pearson said he will assess the playing staff before thinking too much about adding to his squad, something which Morris indicated he would back.
"Of course, if he wants to make tweaks, then we'll look to support that, while working within the guidelines [of Financial Fair Play]," Morris added.
"But certainly if he needs support, he will get the support he needs."


A 47-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in a Berkshire wood by a man who approached her from behind.

Thames Valley Police said she was walking in High Woods, Woodley, between 14:00 and 14:10 BST on Friday.
A man walked up behind her, touched her inappropriately and fled in the direction of Kingfisher Drive. The woman shouted at him to stop.
The suspect is white, slim, between 5ft 3in and 6ft, with dark hair around the side of his head and bald on top.
He was wearing a royal blue polo shirt with a mustard-coloured line around the collar.
PC Zoe Eele said it was "a very distressing incident for the victim".


Swansea City have spent the last decade on the up, but their rise from the brink of extinction to Premier League prosperity has faltered of late.

Their ascent once seemed irrepressible - a team playing attractive football, backed by a board comprised of primarily local businessmen and, uniquely in the top flight, a fans' representative.
The Swans were lauded as the antithesis of modern football's greed, an antidote to a sport riddled with knee-jerk reactions and short-term thinking.
Now, however, they are just another club in a relegation scrap.
In the midst of their worst run of form since promotion to the Premier League in 2011 and with hostility mounting off the pitch following an American takeover in the summer, the club is at its lowest ebb for years.
So what is going wrong at Swansea?
On paper, a 3-1 defeat by Manchester United may seem a fairly unremarkable result, but Swansea's most recent loss was indicative of the malaise that has consumed the club this season.
The Swans were abject in every facet of the game, booed by their own fans as they trailed 3-0 after just 33 minutes against a United side who had failed to win their previous four league games.
In only his fourth fixture in charge, Swansea manager Bob Bradley questioned his players' commitment as he reflected on their sixth defeat from seven matches.
"It's a tough spot, there's no two ways about it. We understand very clearly where we are," he said.
"There's no hiding from the situation."
A 10th game without victory left the Swans second from bottom of the Premier League table and contemplating the stark prospect of relegation.
This squad is arguably Swansea's weakest since they were in the Championship, with an underwhelming summer transfer window failing to compensate for the departures of former captain Ashley Williams and forward Andre Ayew.
Although their sales were worth a combined £32m, Williams has yet to be replaced properly in central defence and new strikers Fernando Llorente and Borja Baston - the latter arriving for a club-record £15m - have struggled to make much of an impression.
Since Kenny Jackett's appointment when the club was in League Two in 2004, Swansea have evolved and improved almost every year.
This season, however, they have stagnated and are in danger of a first relegation since 2001.
The defeat by Manchester United was significant not only because of events on the pitch, but because of the antipathy brewing in the stands.
Cries of "we want our club back" were heard at the Liberty Stadium, as fans directed their fury towards the club's new American owners, Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan, and the directors from whom they had bought their controlling stake of 68% of shares in the club in July.
Chairman Huw Jenkins - who made more than £8m by selling 8.2% of his 13.2% stake - was singled out for criticism, having previously been praised as the driving force of Swansea's recent rise.
He led the consortium that saved the club, then in the fourth tier, from financial ruin in 2002 but, along with vice-chairman Leigh Dineen and fellow directors such as Martin Morgan, Jenkins is now facing the wrath of the fans who believe their saviours are acting in self-interest.
The Supporters' Trust raised concerns about the takeover, claiming it was not consulted on some decisions, one of which - the final call on Bradley's appointment - prompted an apology from Levien and Kaplan.
Even the Trust, however, has not been without its problems, with the supporters' body also apologising for failing to disclose the payments made to its former representative on the board, Huw Cooze.
The unrest off the field has been particularly striking because it is in such startling contrast to the communal spirit and continuity with which the club has been run in recent years.
Whereas the discord at board level may be out of character, Swansea are no strangers to regular managerial upheaval.
There were four managers between 2007 and 2014: Roberto Martinez, Paulo Sousa, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup.
A steady and largely smooth succession, these changes were the result of successful tenures - Martinez jumped up to the Premier League with Wigan, Sousa joined Leicester and Rodgers moved to Liverpool, prompting Laudrup's arrival.
The Dane enjoyed unprecedented success in his first season - winning the League Cup, the club's first major trophy, and qualifying for the Europa League - but his sacking in February 2014 sparked a period of instability.
Whereas previous managers left of their own accord and bequeathed teams on the up, Swansea were now faced with the challenge of arresting a slump.
Garry Monk prospered initially but, since Laudrup's departure, the Swans have had four managers in less than three years.
After Alan Curtis' short stint as caretaker and Francesco Guidolin's nine months at the helm, current boss Bradley was thrust into a daunting scenario with Swansea 17th in the table.
The first American to take charge of a Premier League side, the 58-year-old recognised he faced a "huge" job to save his new club from relegation.
It has been a chastening start to Bradley's reign and, after four games, he is still searching for his first win.
After flickers of improvement in his first two matches against Arsenal and Watford, Swansea were comprehensively outplayed at Stoke and then utterly humiliated at home by Manchester United.
Bradley has chopped and changed tactically and in terms of personnel, but the Premier League is an unforgiving environment for a manager trying to familiarise himself with a new squad and a new competition.
With a difficult match away against Everton - and a reunion with former captain Williams - to come on Saturday, it may be some time before Swansea can rouse themselves from their current predicament.


Demolition of the decommissioned Didcot Power station has been set back at least two years after a collapse that left four dead, the BBC has been told.

It is a year since Ken Cresswell, 57, John Shaw, 61, Michael Collings, 53, and Christopher Huxtable, 34, were killed when the boiler house came down.
Relatives are due to visit the site where a memorial will be held later.
RWE Npower planned to have it cleared by the end of 2017, but an expert said the collapse had delayed it until 2019.
A minute's silence will be held at the site at 14:00 GMT.
Mark Coleman, chairman of Coleman & Company, which employed the four victims, said: "Today is the saddest of days. It is exactly one year since the tragic events at Didcot claimed the lives of Chris, John, Kenny and Mick."
Speaking on behalf of the families, lawyers Irwin Mitchell said: "The families want to know why this terrible event occurred and we will support them in getting the answers they deserve."
Thames Valley Police said the investigation, which the HSE are also involved in, is continuing on-site.
Det Ch Insp Craig Kirby said: "To date more than 1,300 statements have been taken, over 2,600 physical and documentary exhibits have been collected, along with 60,000 still images and video footage."
RWE NPower has not announced a new demolition contractor and said there was currently no timescale for work being completed.
An Npower spokeswoman said "due diligence" and consultations with various agencies would have to be completed again once a new firm was appointed.
Mark Anthony, editor of Demolition News magazine, said at the moment the site was "in limbo".
Debris from part of the building brought down in a controlled explosion in July still remains, and the three cooling towers and a chimney also need to be demolished.
The four deceased demolition workers were employed by Coleman and Company, which withdrew from its contract in September.
The coal-fired facility was closed in March 2013 after 43 years of service, and a major incident was declared on 23 February.
The last of the bodies was not discovered until September and the cause of the collapse is being investigated jointly by police and the Health and Safety Executive.
Mr Cresswell and Mr Shaw, both from Rotherham; Mr Collings, from Teesside; and Mr Huxtable, from Swansea; will be remembered at the site with the laying of flowers and a period of silence.
Mr Anthony said it was "too early to know what went wrong" and any prosecution resulting from the collapse might not be concluded until 2020.
RWE Npower said a new contractor should be in place "within weeks" but there was currently no timescale for work to be completed.


Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj has joined fellow Premier League side Sunderland on a season-long loan.

The move reunites the 21-year-old with former boss David Moyes, as well as ex-team-mates Donald Love and Paddy McNair who joined for a £5.5m fee this week.
Belgium international Januzaj had asked to leave Old Trafford on a permanent transfer but United preferred a loan.
He has scored five goals in 63 appearances for the club and is under contract until the summer of 2018.
Januzaj spent four months on loan to Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund last season, but played only 12 games before returning to his parent club.
United boss Jose Mourinho said of the switch: "He fits in my plans. That is why he is on loan at a Premier League club
"If he doesn't fit in my plans, I don't care where he is going, I just send him to Borussia Dortmund where he didn't play one match. He is talented."


A former Royal Marine has spoken of his life-changing injuries 10 years after being severely wounded in the line of duty.

18 February 2017 Last updated at 00:16 GMT
Mark Ormrod, from Plymouth, lost both legs and his right arm when he stood on an IED in Afghanistan 10 years ago.
He said: "Losing my limbs made me a lot more passionate for life."
Since being injured he has become a motivational speaker, a performance coach and an author.
The former soldier said after his recovery he felt "10 times more driven".


Two 15-year-olds have been given life sentences with 20-year minimum terms for the murder of a mother and daughter in Lincolnshire in April.

Dinner lady Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and Katie, 13, were smothered and stabbed while they slept at home in Spalding.
Sentencing them, the judge said it was "a terrible crime which has few parallels in modern criminal history".
The killers were 14 at the time, apparently making them Britain's youngest double-murderers.
The judge at Nottingham Crown Court, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, said the case had "defining and particularly chilling" features, and condemned the killers' conduct as "grotesque".
Jurors heard that the killers went on to share a bath, have sex, and watch four Twilight vampire films after the murders in Dawson Avenue, Spalding, on 13 April.
For more on this and other Lincolnshire stories
Addressing the teenagers, the judge told them: "There is a clear intention to kill both victims - both defendants admitted wanting to murder them.
"There was remarkable premeditation and planning - it was, on any view, substantial, meticulous and repeated."
He added: "The killings were brutal in the form of executions, and both victims, particularly Elizabeth Edwards, must have suffered terribly in the last minutes of their lives."
Mrs Edwards and her daughter were repeatedly stabbed by the couple, who were described in court as having a Bonnie and Clyde-style relationship
Mrs Edwards was stabbed by the boy eight times, twice in the throat, in a deliberate attempt to ensure her daughter was not woken by screams or cries for help.
Katie was stabbed twice in the neck with severe force before she was smothered by the boy.
During his sentencing remarks, the judge said both teenagers were equally responsible for the murders and had "revelled in what you achieved".
"I see no reason to distinguish between you in any way," he said. "Had you been adults you may have been facing the whole of your lives in prison for this double murder."
Outside court, Karen Thompson, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the East Midlands, said: "This is one of the most distressing and disturbing cases that I have ever encountered.
"Our deepest sympathies are now with the extended family and friends of Elizabeth and Katie Edwards as they attempt to come to terms with this horrific crime."
Det Ch Insp Martin Holvey, of Lincolnshire Police, said it had been "a rare and unprecedented case".
"The planning that went into these brutal murders of Elizabeth and Katie, as they slept in their own beds, was cold, ruthless and chilling - as was the lack of remorse shown by the two juveniles afterwards."
In court Peter Joyce QC, prosecuting, detailed for the first time the account given by the boy shortly after he was arrested.
He said the pair had met up and both agreed to kill Mrs Edwards and her daughter after "the girl had asked him to kill both of the victims as she did not like the smell of blood".
"He went on to describe the killing of the mother, Elizabeth, and said that during the attack she had struggled and scratched his face, back and bum," Mr Joyce told the court.
"After about three minutes she had stopped struggling and had gone limp. He had got off the bed and taken off his trainers since they had made the floorboards creak."
The boy then went into Katie's room, bent down and pushed the knife through her throat before using a pillow to smother her, the court heard.
Defending the boy, Simon Myerson QC said the two children "became trapped in a fantasy of their own devising".
Andrew Stubbs QC, representing the girl, said the pair were in a "toxic relationship" and were "almost playing chicken with each other" as they spurred each other on to commit the killings.
The pair pleaded guilty to manslaughter at a hearing in September but later the boy admitted to murder before the trial began. His girlfriend maintained her innocence to murder but was found guilty of two counts.


A US policeman has been charged with assault after a 57-year-old Indian man was thrown to the ground, an incident he says left him partially paralysed.

Footage from police cameras shows a confrontation between Sureshbhai Patel and two officers in an Alabama suburb.
Mr Patel speaks no English and tries to walk away from the officers, who eventually shove him to the ground.
He has filed a legal case accusing the officers of racism, and the FBI is also investigating.
Police officials in Madison, Alabama, apologised to Mr Patel and his family at a news conference on Thursday.
They said one of the officers involved in last Friday's incident had been arrested, and officials had recommended that he be fired.
The officer involved "did not meet the high standards and expectations of the Madison Police Department", said Madison Police Chief Larry Muncey.
Mr Patel had only recently arrived in the US to help care for his grandson, who was born prematurely.
He was walking outside his son's home on Friday morning when police said they received a call from a neighbour about a suspicious person.
According to the civil rights complaint filed in court on Thursday, Mr Patel told the police officers who stopped him "no English, Indian", and gave his son's house number.
A police officer then threw him abruptly to the ground, injuring him seriously, the complaint said.
Mr Patel's son, Chirag Patel, told the local media in Alabama that his father had to undergo surgery to fuse two vertebrae in his spine and that he was still unable to move his left leg.


Thousands of people have attended the funeral in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, of top Hezbollah military commander Mustafa Amine Badreddine.

He died in an explosion near Damascus airport, the Lebanon-based group said, adding it would announce "within hours" its report into the killing.
Hezbollah has sent thousands of troops to support Syria's President Assad.
In 2015, the US said that Badreddine was behind all Hezbollah's military operations in Syria since 2011.
He was also charged with leading the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri in Beirut in 2005.
Obituary: Mustafa Badreddine
Profile: Lebanon's Hezbollah
Who stands accused of Hariri killing?
Images from the funeral showed the coffin being carried among a mass of supporters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, some of them chanting "Death to America" and Shia slogans.
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in the capital, says some at the funeral blamed Israel for the killing, with one mourner saying: "Hezbollah has many spies."
Another said that without Badreddine, "Daesh [another name for so-called Islamic State] would be here".
An initial report by Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV said that Badreddine, 55, had died in an Israeli air strike. But a later statement by Hezbollah on al-Manar's website did not mention Israel.
Israel's government traditionally refuses to comment on such deaths and has done so again.
But Israel has been accused by Hezbollah of killing a number of its fighters in Syria since the conflict began.
The group was established in the wake of the Israeli occupation of Lebanon in the early 1980s, and has called for the "obliteration" of Israel.
Asked who might have carried out the attack, Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said that, within hours "we will announce in detail the cause of the explosion and the party responsible for it", adding there were clear indications of those responsible.
One Hezbollah MP in Lebanon, Nawar al-Saheli, said: "This is an open war and we should not pre-empt the investigation but certainly Israel is behind this. The resistance will carry out its duties at the appropriate time."
Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We don't know if Israel is responsible for this. Remember that those operating in Syria today have a lot of haters without Israel.
"But from Israel's view, the more people with experience, like Badreddine, who disappear from the wanted list, the better."
However, any of the armed groups seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad might have have sought to kill the man co-ordinating Hezbollah military activities.
A number of Twitter accounts supporting Syrian rebel groups and the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front said Badreddine was killed in a battle in Khan Touman, southern Aleppo, rather than in Damascus.
Khan Touman was captured by a coalition of groups including al-Nusra Front last week and has been subject to heavy shelling in recent days.
No official sources have commented on the reports.
Born in 1961, Badreddine is believed to have been a senior figure in Hezbollah's military wing. He was a cousin and brother-in-law of Imad Mughniyeh, who was the military wing's chief until his assassination by car bomb in Damascus in 2008.
According to one report, a Hezbollah member interrogated by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), described Badreddine as "more dangerous" than Mughniyeh, who was "his teacher in terrorism".
They are alleged to have worked together on the October 1983 bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut that killed 241 personnel.
Badreddine is reported to have sat on Hezbollah's Shura Council and served as an adviser to the group's overall leader Hassan Nasrallah.
An indictment from the ongoing Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague details Badreddine's role in bombings in Kuwait in 1983, that targeted the French and US embassies and other facilities, and killed six people.
He was sentenced to death over the attacks, but later escaped from prison.
Badreddine was tried in absentia by the Hague tribunal over the killing of Rafik Hariri.
He was indicted on four charges and was said by the tribunal to be "the overall controller of the operation" to kill Mr Hariri.
Three other Hezbollah members also stand accused of their role in the assassination.
One mourner at the funeral asked about Badreddine's involvement said simply "lies".
The Lebanese Shia Islamist movement has played a major role in helping Iran, its main military and financial backer, to prop up the government of President Assad since the uprising erupted in 2011.
Thousands of Hezbollah fighters are assisting government forces on battlefields across Syria, particularly those near the Lebanese border, and hundreds are believed to have been killed.


Wolves striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson says they are already getting a much clearer "message" of how to improve under new boss Paul Lambert.

The Scot's first game in charge was the encouraging 0-0 draw at Preston. But the Championship side have still not won in eight games, their worst run since the 2012-13 relegation season.
"One of the biggest differences is the work rate," said Bodvarsson.
"We're playing much faster and defending better," he told BBC WM.
"The message is much more clear now. A lot of the guys are taking it very positively.
"Paul Lambert has obviously come in with a plan. It is a clear message to all of the guys in the team about what their job is on the field now.
"Defensively, we were very good at Preston. Other than needing to be a little more clinical in the final third, I think we're improving a lot."
Iceland international Bodvarsson was one of previous boss Walter Zenga's first summer signings when he joined from German second-tier side Kaiserslautern.
Lambert's first home game in charge of 19th-placed Wolves is on Saturday against ninth-placed Sheffield Wednesday.
Wednesday have lost on their last five visits to Molineux, in a run of just two wins in 26 matches against Wolves.
Wolves' all-time leading scorer Steve Bull and fellow club legend Andy Thompson will make on-field appearances to mark the 30th anniversary of their moves to Wolves from neighbours West Bromwich Albion.
The club are expecting an attendance figure of 28,000, close to Molineux's 31,700 capacity, and comfortably their biggest crowd of the season.


Education authorities treated a potential alternative to closing an east Belfast school with "disdain", the High Court has been told.

A judge was told the possibility of Avoniel Primary School instead being amalgamated with nearby Elmgrove Primary was never properly considered.
A barrister for the school said: "It was the solution that dare not speak its name."
Education Minister John O'Dowd announced the school's closure in May.
A judicial review challenge has been brought on behalf of one child at the school with special educational needs.
With the school set to shut at the end of this month, lawyers for the child want the court to overturn Mr O'Dowd's decision.
Mr O'Dowd announced its closure as part of a rationalisation process that will see increased admissions and enrolment at Elmgrove.
Parents of pupils at Avoniel reacted with anger to the decision, claiming they have been left with little time to find a new school by September.
Lawyers representing the pupil claimed that the minister's decision should be quashed because a prior consultation process by the Belfast Education and Library Board was not properly or fairly conducted.
According to their case the parents believe that when this exercise was carried out, back in 2014, the board's proposals were already at an advanced stage.
The barrister told the court that Avoniel had been performing well.
"This is not some sink school, the closure of which is inevitably going to save pupils therein from further bad education. This is a good school," the barrister said.
Alleged failures by the education authorities to consider and consult on the possibility of amalgamation rendered the whole process flawed, it was claimed.
Accusing the board of "dismissively" turning its back on the option, the barrister added: "They treated it with disdain."
He contended that an expanded Elmgrove could ultimately end up moving into new or refurbished buildings on Avoniel's current site.
The barrister urged a judge to quash the outcome reached.
"This consultation process was flawed, and resulted in a flawed decision by the Minister," he said.
However, Attorney General John Larkin QC, representing the minister, questioned the merits of the legal challenge.
"This is an application characterised by needlessness and utter pointlessness," he said.
"It cannot achieve any substantive advantage to the applicant."
He also said the minister was never misled during the process.
The hearing continues.


Joyce Frost, who appeared as the "Old Woman" on BBC Radio 2's Steve Wright in the Afternoon, has died.

Frost, from Dagenham, Essex, had died "peacefully and pain free" last week, Wright announced on his Wednesday show.
The Old Woman, a regular character on the programme, would discuss the news and once presented a game of factoids with Hollywood actor Will Smith.
Wright praised her as "a complete natural on the air" and said she had been a "lovely, lovely person".
On Wednesday's show, Wright told listeners she had been "very opinionated and witty" and always cheeky, funny and charming.
Wright added: "It's a sad loss, thank you for being the Old Woman with us Joyce and we'll miss you very much."
BBC Radio 2's Steve Wright in the Afternoon aired its first episode in 1999 after moving over from BBC Radio 1.
The three-hour programme regularly features characters including The Old Woman and Barry from Watford, as well as popular segment Ask Elvis.
Ms Frost had not done radio before the programme but Wright said she was "unbelievably professional" and never fazed by the big stars.


An MEP who was expelled from UKIP has joined forces with Marine Le Pen, leader of the French party Front National, to create a far-right alliance.

Janice Atkinson, who is a South East MEP, has become vice president of the group at the European Parliament called the Europe of Nations and Freedom.
She was expelled from UKIP for bringing the "party into disrepute" over an expenses claim.
She denied any wrongdoing.
The alliance will also include representatives from far-right parties in the Netherlands and Austria, including Gert Wilders' Freedom Party.
Ms Atkinson said: "A stable and committed new group in the European parliament is launched, bringing new weight to bear against the ideology of the European Union.
"The bitter fruits of the European project are an everyday reality for citizens in Britain and for the whole continent of Europe.
"The mercilessness of the European agenda is felt by millions across Europe impoverished by the cruelty of the Euro. Mass immigration into Britain and Europe continues to accelerate at the behest of the same EU ideology."
The alliance will be the second Eurosceptic grouping in the parliament.
The other, Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy, is chaired by the UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
Ms Atkinson was thrown out of UKIP in March after allegations a member of her staff tried to arrange a false receipt for a meal.


The US military would have been within its rights to shoot down Russian aircraft that flew close to one of its warships in the Baltic Sea, Secretary of State John Kerry says.

Two Russian jets flew within metres of the ship on Monday, US officials said.
Russia's defence ministry said the Su-24 fighter jets "turned away in observance of all safety measures"  after observing the USS Donald Cook.
Mr Kerry criticised the gesture and said contact had been made with Moscow.
"We condemn this kind of behaviour," he told the Miami Herald and CNN Espanol in a joint interview.
"It is reckless. It is provocative. It is dangerous. And under the rules of engagement, that could have been a shoot-down."
He added that the US "is not going to be intimidated on the high seas" and that a message had been conveyed to Russia over the danger of such a gesture.
The chill between Putin & Obama
Individual Nato members' rules of engagement should clearly outline what are defined as "actions that might be construed as provocative", according to the organisation's own guidelines.
Applying those rules of engagement "requires commanders at all levels to exercise considerable judgment", Nato says.
Mr Kerry did not specify why the US Navy did not fire at the jets.
The two Russian jets flew over the US destroyer almost a dozen times, American officials said.
At one point the jets were so close, about 9m (30ft), that they created wakes in the water around the ship.
The ship was sailing close to a Russian navy base, Russia's defence ministry said.
"After spotting the ship, Russian pilots turned away from it in full compliance with safety measures.
"All flights of the Russian aircraft are in strict compliance with international rules of the use of air space above neutral waters."
The commander of the Donald Cook described the flights as a "simulated attack".
The passes were "unsafe, potentially provocative" and "could have caused an accident," officials said in a release.
The actions of the Russian jets may have violated a 1970s agreement meant to prevent dangerous incidents at sea, but it is not clear whether the US is going to protest.
A Russian helicopter taking pictures also passed by the ship seven times.
The Donald Cook was conducting deck landing drills with an allied military helicopter when the jets made their passes, according to a statement from the United States European Command.
The US suspended flight operations from the ship until the Russian jets left the area.
The next day, a Russian KA-27 helicopter flew circles at low altitude around the ship, followed by more jet passes.
The aircraft did not respond to safety warnings in English or Russian.


A Palestinian man has been charged with the murder of a British student who was stabbed to death in Jerusalem.

Hannah Bladon, 20, was attacked as she was travelling on a light rail train near the Old City, in Israel, on Good Friday.
Jamil Tamimi, 57, faces a charge of intentional murder over the attack on the University of Birmingham student.
The Derby County fan had been taking part in an exchange programme at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
See more stories from across Birmingham and the Black Country here
Ms Bladon's family said the student, from from Burton-upon-Trent, had been taking part in an archaeological dig that morning and described her as a "talented musician" and "enthusiastic rugby player".
The train was busy at the time of the attack as Christians marked Good Friday and Jews celebrated Passover.
A pregnant woman and a 50-year-old man were also injured when the tram came to a sudden stop in the aftermath of the attack.


The leaders of the divided Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus have resumed peace talks amid a "climate of optimism", the UN mediator says.

President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci met in Nicosia's neutral buffer zone.
UN envoy Espen Barth Eide said they "shared their vision for a united Cyprus".
Mr Akinci was elected last month. The Turkish-controlled north broke away in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup.
Since a Turkish military invasion in 1974 the island has been effectively partitioned, with the northern third inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and the southern two-thirds by Greek Cypriots.
Peace negotiations stalled last October, when the Greek Cypriots walked out in protest at the presence of a Turkish ship prospecting for natural gas off the island's south coast.
Correspondents say there are hopes that Mr Akinci, a leftist moderate, can push forward the new round of negotiations.
"The talks took place in a very positive climate and I believe that working in similar fashion, we can hope for progress," Associated Press quoted Mr Anastasiades as saying after Friday's UN-brokered meeting.
In an initial move, Turkish Cypriot authorities agreed to no longer require Greek Cypriots to fill in visa forms at crossing points to northern Cyprus, UN envoy Mr Eide told reporters.
Compensation for those displaced by the conflict is expected to be one of the thorniest issues in the talks.
UN peacekeeping forces estimate that 165,000 Greek Cypriots fled or were expelled from the north, and 45,000 Turkish Cypriots from the south, although the parties to the conflict say the figures are higher.
The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is diplomatically isolated, recognised only by Turkey.


A Dundee University art student will unveil her degree show work six weeks after she almost died from sepsis.

Amy Crawford, 22, from Carnoustie, was unable to stand by the time she arrived at the out-of-hours doctor service in Dundee at the start of April.
Ninewells Hospital surgeons performed a life-saving operation to remove a large septic abscess before it ruptured.
Amy said she would have been "devastated" to miss her degree show.
She said: "I was in so much pain when I got to hospital that I couldn't think of anything else.
"Even the ambulance staff were panicking when my pulse rate increased to 146 beats per minute, so I knew how serious it was.
"It was as I was lying waiting for my operation that I had a brief moment when I started thinking that I wouldn't get to my degree show and I would have wasted all that time and effort."
Amy is one of almost 350 students exhibiting at the university's Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design degree show.
She said that after "fantastic" support from tutors and university staff, she started to come in two days a week and "built up from there".
Amy said: "April was pretty much a write-off for me.
"I was bed-bound for weeks, so when I eventually was able to get up my muscles had wasted.
"I was so weak but I knew I had to get in to university to finish my work.
"I probably shouldn't have come in as much as I did but I had put so much into this that I was determined that sepsis wasn't going to ruin it for me."
Amy's exhibit is inspired by her experiences running art workshops for adults with dementia.
She said the work aspires to "inject humanity into the issue" by seeing past the disease itself.
Amy said: "If I had one piece of advice for art students it is to be as organised as possible because you never know what's round the corner."


Police officers can refuse to give a statement on custody deaths if there is a possibility they will be involved in a criminal complaint, the justice secretary has confirmed.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner said they attempted to get police statements over the death of Sheku Bayoh, 31, in Kirkcaldy on 3 May.
His relatives claimed they were told five versions of what happened.
Hundreds of people attended his funeral on Sunday.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson confirmed there was a change in police operating procedure on their co-operation with the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) to protect the rights of officers who may have been a witness to events.
Fife Labour MSP Claire Baker acknowledged that officers have the same right to protection from self-incrimination as any other citizen but said the change in regulations is impeding Pirc investigations.
Mr Matheson said he has received no complaint from Pirc about the scope of its powers.
Ms Baker said: "Sheku Bayoh died in police custody in Kirkcaldy on 3 May.
"There is an investigation ongoing into the circumstances of his death and his family understandably want answers.
"My understanding is that in a serious case such as a death in custody, the accompanying regulation five of PIRC Regulations 2013, which provides PIRC with the power to require information from police officers, does not apply and no witness can be compelled to give a statement.
"In addition, it has been reported that in March a Police Scotland memo was issued to police officers following an agreement with the Crown advising them that they do not have to provide operational statements relating to incidents that they have been involved with if there is a possibility of them being involved in a criminal complaint.
"It leads to a situation where at the exact stage where PIRC needs the strongest possible powers, its powers are restricted and officers are being advised that they do not need to co-operate where there is a possibility of criminal complaint."
She added: "I understand that police officers are entitled to the same protection as any other citizen.
"However, if there is to be policing by consent then surely there should be public confidence in the investigation.
"But at the moment, the current legislation, regulations and the guidance appear to create an environment where it is possible for key information not to be shared at key moments in the investigation."
Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said: "As I understand it, Pirc confirmed publicly that they made several failed attempts to secure statements and only recently secured a statement."
Mr Matheson said it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation.
He said: "In general terms, the member is correct that there were some changes to the operating standard procedure that she refers to.
"That was a change to reflect the particular circumstances where an individual officer may be a witness to a particular event and they are considered on a case-by-case basis when it comes to taking a statement from those officers.
"Routinely, though, the normal process would be that if they had been a witness they should not be relieved of their duties until an operational statement has been written, but that is also dealt with on a case-by-case basis."
He added: "To date, we have not received any representation from Pirc in relation to their particular powers." "PIRC have repeatedly advised the Bayoh family of their frustrations at their lack of powers, however, it is not for public servants such as PIRC to ask for changes in the law.
The solicitor for Mr Bayoh's family, Aamer Anwar, said they were "saddened" at the response to their concerns.
He said: "The government should have the courage to accept that there is a case to answer and to extend Pirc's powers, putting them on a par with their English counterparts at the IPCC.
"It really does not make sense that Pirc can only exercise its full range of powers when directed by the Chief Constable but not when directed by the Lord Advocate."


Radiohead have received nominations in all the major categories for the Music Producers' Guild Awards.

Their ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool, is up for UK album of the year, alongside David Bowie's Blackstar and Michael Kiwanuka's Love And Hate.
They are also shortlisted for single of the year, while their producer Nigel Godrich is nominated for the main prize, producer of the year.
That prize, however, no longer qualifies the winner for a Brit award.
Godrich faces competition from two-time winner Paul Epworth, who is nominated for his work on Adele's 25 and the Glass Animals album How To Be A Human Being.
The final nominee for best producer is Fraser T Smith, whose recent credits include Kano's Mercury-nominated Made In The Manor album and the debut EP by up-and-coming R&B singer Ray BLK.
The awards, now in their ninth year, also feature a new category, best self-producing artist, which sees James Blake, Jeff Lynne and Tarek Musa of Spring King go head to head.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 16 February, 2017. The main nominees are as follows:
UK Producer Of The Year
International Producer Of The Year
Self-producing Artist of the Year
Re-mixer of the Year
UK Album Of The Year
UK Single Of The Year
Studio Of The Year
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Science education centre Techniquest is to have its Â£1.3m grant from the Welsh government cut by 22% from April.

It has also been told it could lose funding altogether by 2019, putting its long-term future in doubt.
The 30-year-old hands-on learning museum in Cardiff and Wrexham relies on the funding for 40% of its income.
Education Minister Huw Lewis said Techniquest was "overly dependent on public funds" and it had to change.
Techniquest said it understands financial restraints and "is prepared to engage with the challenge of moving away from core public funding."
The educational charity is aimed at encouraging young people to engage with science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem subjects).
Since 1986, it has welcomed more than five million visitors, including 1.5m school pupils on organised trips.
It was first set up opposite Cardiff Castle in a gas showroom before moving to Cardiff Bay and it has been in a purpose-built centre since 1995.
It also has a centre on the Glyndwr University campus in Wrexham which was opened by the Queen in 2003.
Last year, 134,273 pupils visited Techniquest.
It also generates around Â£500,000 a year of its own income and exports interactive exhibits and educational resources to more than 20 countries.
Mr Lewis told AMs earlier that the funding model had to change.
"At a time of budgetary restraint, Techniquest is overly dependent on public funds. It's not a sustainable position, it's got to be restructured," he said.
"I know Techniquest acknowledges that and I've asked officials to work closely with them at a sensible reprofiling what public support for Techniquest looks like."
Techniquest has asked for five years to manage the transition and the Welsh government said it was "working actively with them to explore this and other opportunities in more detail".


A fund worth nearly £3m has opened for applications for economic, community and environmental developments in the rural Borders.

The LEADER scheme is a European Union and Scottish government programme administered by a local action group.
It aims to support small and micro businesses, farm diversification projects and social enterprises.
The key areas it hopes to boost are "tourism, food and drink, creative industries and renewables".
Councillor Stuart Bell said the funding was "excellent news" for the region and would help strengthen the economy.
"In previous years we have seen a fantastic range of projects achieve great things on the back of receiving funding through the LEADER programme, and I know that this will be the case again as the fund reopens to new applications," he said.
The scheme has the following funding available:
It is expected that the fund will start to award the first grants in June 2016.


People who drink three to four times a week are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who never drink, Danish researchers suggest.

Wine appears to be particularly beneficial, probably as it plays a role in helping to manage blood sugar, the study, published in Diabetologia, says.
They surveyed more than 70,000 people on their alcohol intake - how much and how often they drank.
But experts said this wasn't a "green light" to drink more than recommended.
And Public Health England warned that consuming alcohol contributed to a vast number of other serious diseases, including some cancers, heart and liver disease.
"People should keep this in mind when thinking about how much they drink," a spokeswoman said.
Prof Janne Tolstrup, from the National Institute of Public Health of the University of Southern Denmark, who led the research, said: "We found that drinking frequency has an independent effect from the amount of alcohol taken.
"We can see it's a better effect to drink the alcohol in four portions rather than all at once."
After around five years, study participants were followed up and a total of 859 men and 887 women group had developed diabetes - either type 1 or the more common type 2.
The researchers concluded that drinking moderately three to four times a week reduced a woman's risk of diabetes by 32% while it lowered a man's by 27%, compared with people drinking on less than one day a week.
Findings also suggest that not all types of alcohol had the same effect.
Wine appeared to be particularly beneficial because polyphenols, particularly in red wine, play a role in helping to manage blood sugar.
When it came to drinking beer, men having one to six beers a week lowered their risk of diabetes by 21%, compared to men who drank less than one beer a week - but there was no impact on women's risk.
Meanwhile, a high intake of spirits among women seemed to significantly increase their risk of diabetes - but there was no effect in men.
Unlike other studies, this research did not find a link between binge drinking and diabetes.
Prof Tolstrup said this could be down to the small number of participants that reported binge drinking, which was defined as drinking five drinks or more on one occasion.
Dr Emily Burns, head of research communications at Diabetes UK, said people needed to be wary as "the impact of regular alcohol consumption on the risk of type 2 will be different from one person to the next".
While the findings were interesting she said they "wouldn't recommend people see them as a green light to drink in excess of the existing NHS guidelines".
That advice suggests that men and women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week - equivalent to six pints of average strength beer or 10 small glasses of low strength wine - over the course of three days or more, with some days being alcohol-free.
Rosanna O'Connor, director of drugs, alcohol and tobacco at Public Health England, said: "It is not helpful to talk about the effect of alcohol consumption on diabetes alone.
"Consuming alcohol contributes to a vast number of other serious diseases, including some cancers, heart disease and liver disease, so people should keep this in mind when thinking about how much they drink."
Prof Tolstrup and her team have used the same survey to research the effect of alcohol on other conditions.
They found that drinking moderately a few times a week was linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disorders, such as heart attack and stroke.
But consuming any amount of alcohol increased the risk of developing gastrointestinal diseases, such as alcohol liver disease and pancreatitis.
Prof Tolstrup added: "Alcohol is associated with 50 different conditions, so we're not saying 'go ahead and drink alcohol'."


A woman has been charged with the murder of a man who collapsed and died at a property in south-west London.

Jaeseok Lee, 40, collapsed at an address in High Street, New Malden, at about 01:20 GMT on Wednesday. He died at the property.
Hyojung Lim, 43, of High Street, New Malden, has been charged with his murder, Scotland Yard said.
Ms Lim is due before Wimbledon Magistrates' Court later.


French Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi has died, nine months after suffering severe head injuries in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

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Bianchi, 25, had been in a coma since crashing his Marussia into a recovery vehicle at October's rain-hit race.
His family said: "Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end."
The Marussia team, now known as Manor, said Bianchi had left an "indelible mark on all our lives".
He is the first F1 driver to die from injuries sustained in a grand prix since Brazilian triple world champion Ayrton Senna was killed at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola in 1994.
Bianchi, who had suffered a diffuse axonal injury, died in hospital near his parents' home in Nice in the south of France.
His family said: "We thank Jules's colleagues, friends, fans and everyone who has demonstrated their affection for him over these past months, which gave us great strength and helped us deal with such difficult times.
"Listening to and reading the many messages made us realise just how much Jules had touched the hearts and minds of so many people all over the world."
Bianchi made his F1 debut with Marussia in 2013 and was also a member of the Ferrari young driver academy after previously working as a test driver for the team.
The Manor team said in a statement: "Words cannot describe the enormous sadness within our team this morning, as we come to terms with losing Jules.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"He has left an indelible mark on all our lives, and will forever be part of everything we have achieved, and everything we will strive for going forward."
F1's governing body, the FIA, said the sport had lost one of its most talented drivers.
"Jules Bianchi was a popular personality in F1, possessing the best of both human and sporting qualities," it said.
The accident happened when Bianchi's car slid off the track and into a crane picking up the Sauber of German driver Adrian Sutil, who had crashed at the same spot one lap earlier.
A working group of the sport's governing body, the FIA, investigated the accident and found that as Bianchi went off the track into the run-off area, the torque coordinator, which controls the rear brake-by-wire system, over-rode a fail-safe mechanism that should have cut the engine.
The investigation was unable to establish whether this affected the impact speed.
It also said that Bianchi "did not slow sufficiently to avoid losing control".
The world of motorsport has been paying tribute to Bianchi.
McLaren's Jenson Button posted on Twitter: "Last night we lost a truly great guy and a real fighter. RIP Jules, my sincerest condolences to his family and friends."
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean said: "Yesterday we lost one of the best guys and best drivers I've ever met. I'll miss you so much my friend.
Williams' Valtteri Bottas paid tribute, saying: "Woke up to the very sad news. RIP Jules. You will be never forgotten. My thoughts are with the family."
"No words can describe what his family and the sport have lost. All I can say it was a pleasure knowing and racing you," tweeted British driver Max Chilton, who was Bianchi's team-mate last year.
"Rest in peace dear Jules. We lost a great fighter today. All my thoughts are with you and your family," tweeted endurance racer Andre Lotterer.


Women's chances of being elected to the assembly need to be boosted to prevent it "stagnating", campaigners claim.

Men are more likely to be in safer seats while women are defending most of the marginals in May, according to the Electoral Reform Society (ERS).
It fears there could be as few as 22 female AMs out of 60, compared to 25 at the 2011 election and 31 from 2005-7.
It calls for women to be selected for safer seats, and extra regional AMs to be created giving more opportunities.
An ERS report on Monday identified 11 eleven "battleground" constituencies that might change hands in 2016, of which women were defending ten.
By contrast, women were holding just eight of the 29 constituency seats judged by the society to be safe for the sitting party.
As a result, the ERS claimed the number of women AMs could "flat line", projecting between 22 and 28 women elected.
Prof Laura McAllister of Liverpool University said the Welsh Assembly and Welsh Government had been "world leaders" in women's representation.
"From 2000-2005 over half of all cabinet ministers, and from 2005-2007 over half of all Assembly Members were women - a global first," she said in the foreword to the report.
"But that early promise has stalled and, as this report shows, Wales now risks falling back."
Steve Brooks, director of ERS Cymru, said: "This report makes clear that we are at risk of seeing a stagnating Senedd when it comes to female representation this May.
"Parties need to take action to ensure that women are selected in winnable constituency seats, particularly when sitting AMs retire.
"But overall, we need a larger assembly to give space for the diversity of Wales to be represented - with more proportional list AMs, where women are more likely to be selected."


Mitt Romney's presidential campaign increased its fundraising lead over President Barack Obama in June, official figures show.

Mr Romney and the Republicans
          raised $106m (Â£68m)
, $35m more than Mr Obama and the Democrats,
          who raised $71m
.
Both camps raised more than in May, when the Romney bid took in $77m and the Obama camp $60m.
The totals exclude millions raised by independent groups that support each candidate.
The Obama campaign released its June numbers in an email to donors.
"If we lose this election, it will be because we didn't close the gap enough when we had the chance," the email says, issuing another call for donations.
Mr Obama's campaign has been regularly warning supporters that he is in danger of becoming the first sitting president in history to be outspent by his opponent.
Super PAC rise
Mr Romney and the Republican National Committee have an estimated $160m cash in the bank to spend on the campaign, they confirmed on Monday.
About 20% - or $22.8m - of money raised by the two groups in June were from donations of $250 or less. The campaign said it received donations from all 50 states and from Washington DC.
Their rivals, the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee, had previously reported a combined $140m cash on hand at the end of May.
Campaign finance rules limit individuals to donations of $2,500 per donor per election cycle. National party committees are limited to $30,800 per donor per calendar year, but transfers can occur between the two.
However, independent groups known as political action committees (PACs) are allowed to fundraise without limits in order to support a candidate - but they cannot co-ordinate with the official campaign.
These groups are playing an increasingly prominent role in elections. Major "super PACs" supporting Mr Romney, including Restore our Future and American Crossroads, have raised a combined $91m.
According to Politico
, backers of the main pro-Republican super PACs are aiming to raise as much as $1bn during this election cycle.
By contrast, Priorities USA Action, the main Democratic super PAC supporting Mr Obama, has raised just $40m so far,
          the New York Times reported
 on Sunday.
Despite its fundraising bonanza, correspondents say the Romney campaign has struggled recently to gain the initiative.
Last week he found himself pressured on his response to the Supreme Court healthcare ruling, and he has faced renewed scrutiny over his financial affairs in recent days.
Several polls show the president retains a lead in some key swing states.
However, Mr Obama's re-election campaign found little to crow about in last Friday's lacklustre jobs report - a reminder of the US economy's precarious position, just four months before November's election.
On Monday, Mr Obama renewed calls to extend tax cuts for those making under $250,000 - but not for those earning above that sum.
The move is not expected to pass Congress but rather help Mr Obama frame his "economic fairness" argument in his campaign for re-election.