What has the European Union done for the Welsh environment and would our countryside and seas be better off if we stay or go?

When it comes to environmental law, the EU has amassed more of it than anywhere else in the world.
Advocates say it has been a driving force for improving air and water quality, protecting endangered species and promoting renewable energy.
But Leave campaigners say Wales and the UK are "losing their voice" when it comes to making the rules.
Remain campaigners point to Wales' coastline as one obvious place where EU laws have had a tangible impact.
Wales has some of the cleanest bathing water in the UK, its beaches attracting hoards of tourists as a result.
Each of our 103 swimming spots have to be sampled under the EU's Bathing Water Directive and the latest results showed not a single one failed water quality standards in 2015 - 82 were rated "excellent".
But it has not always been that way, with the UK pumping untreated sewage into the sea until the late 1990s.
"Many of our rivers and seas were nothing short of open sewers," according to Plaid Cymru AM and Remain campaigner Llyr Gruffydd.
"The UK was considered the dirty man of Europe.
"Now that has all changed and largely because of our membership of the EU and the obligations that we have in terms of protecting the quality of drinking and bathing water and the air we breathe."
The idea that pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions do not recognise political boundaries is often used to justify EU-wide environmental laws.
The UK government is currently the subject of an EU infringement proceeding surrounding sulphur dioxide emissions from Wales' largest coal-fired plant at Aberthaw in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Coal-fired plants are being phased out here to meet clean air rules set by the EU - and to help hit the UK's own strict climate change targets.
Wales' endangered species are also protected by European laws such as the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive.
Construction companies can face long delays and significant expense if great crested newts or dormice, for example, are found on land intended for development.
At a building site in Northop Hall, Flintshire, Andy Davies of Anwyl Construction showed me around the six acres (2.5 hectares) of mitigation land the company had provided to house badgers and newts.
"We've created ponds and a badger set - the whole process took around three months and cost in the region of Â£150,000," he said.
Wildlife campaigners said the rules offered a lifeline for our rarest plants, animals and birds.
But Leave campaigners are heavily critical of the bureaucracy involved in EU legislation, claiming environmental law would be better handled directly by the Welsh and UK governments.
Nathan Gill, UKIP's leader in Wales, said that after a Brexit vote "all the legislation would be looked at, the things that work for us we'll keep but the things that are expensive and don't work we'll get rid of."
He also argued the UK would have a stronger voice on the international stage.
"Countries like Japan, Fiji and Iceland - tiny nations - who aren't part of any customs union or any trading block like the EU still participate on the international scene when it comes to environmental protection," he said.
The economy and immigration may have been the main talking points of the referendum campaign so far.
But the EU's impact on our environment is also huge - and worth considering - according to both sides in this debate.


Saudi Arabia's king has appointed his son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince - replacing his nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef, as first in line to the throne.

King Salman's decree also means Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 31, will become deputy prime minister while continuing as defence minister.
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 57, has been removed from his role as head of domestic security, state media say.
He has pledged allegiance to the new crown prince, his younger cousin.
Saudi Arabia has typically been ruled by kings in their 70s or 80s.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman's rapid ascent is seen by the younger generation as a sign that things are changing.
Before his latest promotion, he was responsible for leading Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, overseeing the kingdom's energy policy and economic reform.
He must have already ruffled a lot of feathers in a royal family that was used to being presided over by a succession of elderly men, the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports.
His father King Salman is 81 and reportedly not in the best of health, our correspondent adds.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman could, potentially, lead Saudi Arabia for decades, heralding a long period of internal stability.
However, the new crown prince is close to US President Donald Trump, and could ratchet up pressure against Iran - which would raise tensions in the region.
The rise of Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been meteoric.
When I met him in Jeddah in 2013 he described himself as simply "a lawyer". Today he is a heartbeat away from ruling the most powerful country in the Arab world.
Despite being the driving force behind Saudi Arabia's damaging and inconclusive military campaign in Yemen, he is largely popular at home, especially with younger Saudis.
He has swept away many of the ineffective timeservers in government offices and replaced them with young, Western-educated technocrats. He has set out a possibly over-ambitious development plan, "Vision 2030", and announced plans to sell off part of the vast state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco.
He has also forged ties with Washington and the Trump administration.
But his biggest and most risky move may yet prove to be his bid to curb the power of the conservative religious establishment. Washington likes this move, but others closer to home do not.
The founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz (known as Ibn Saud), had dozens of sons, and there are as many as 15,000 princes and princesses in the royal family.
In 2006, a decree was passed setting up a committee responsible for electing the king and crown prince. The committee is made up of senior princes of the Al Saud royal family and is known as the Allegiance Council.
Mohammed bin Salman's new promotion to crown prince was approved by 31 out of 34 members of the council.
Analysts say those in power tend to appoint their sons to roles that will enhance their chances of being promoted - so when monarchs and crown princes change, sons can come into and out of favour.
King Salman, a son of King Abdulaziz, acceded to the throne in January 2015 after the death of his half-brother Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.
He launched his first major cabinet reshuffle a few months later, promoting Mohammed bin Nayef to crown prince and Mohammed bin Salman, who was relatively unknown at that time, to deputy crown prince.
Experts say the second reshuffle has reduced uncertainty over the line of succession, and means the king has averted a potential power struggle between his son and his nephew.
The decree promoting Mohammed bin Salman includes a clause preventing him from appointing one of his own sons as his heir.
It is the most influential Arab country - and a key ally of Western powers including the US and the UK.
The kingdom is also the world's second largest oil producer - and the Saudi royal family is thought to be one of the richest ruling families in the world.
It is guardian of the two most holy sites in Islam, and regards itself as leader of the Sunni community worldwide.
The kingdom is a key player in Sunni attempts to block Shia Iranian influence in the Middle East.
It has launched air strikes on Yemen to fight Houthi rebels, who Saudi Arabia believes are backed by Iran. However, the campaign has been criticised for human rights violations - including the killing many civilians.
Recently, Saudi Arabia also joined efforts to impose a blockade on Qatar.
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef was the kingdom's security chief for many years and was known for his strong stance against jihadist militants.
As deputy prime minister and interior minister, he headed up the counter-terrorism portfolio, and also had good relations with Saudi Arabia's Western allies.
State media broadcast footage showing Mohammed bin Nayef meeting Mohammed bin Salman after the succession was announced.
The former crown prince said "I am content" and "I am going to rest now. May God help you", while the new heir replied "May God help you. I will never do without your advice".
Reaction to the appointment of the new crown prince was largely (and unsurprisingly) celebratory, although Saudi Arabia's regional rivals took the opportunity to criticise the kingdom.
Saudi-funded Al-Arabiya TV ran blanket coverage and emphasised the positive effect the appointment had on the country's stock exchange.  Similar reports appeared in other friendly Arab states.
But in Iran - Saudi Arabia's bitter rival - several news outlets described the appointment as a "soft coup".
Similar language was used by the Pro-Qatari HuffPost Arabi, which called the appointment "a coup in the royal palace".
Syrian state media's largely neutral report came with a considerable sting in the tail.
Coverage ended with a reminder to viewers of a "tyrannical regime" which "lacks the most basic democratic principles" and "supports terrorism".
Jihadists on social media celebrated the reshuffle, anticipating that the changes would pave the way for internal strife within the House of Saud and eventually bring about its downfall.


The New South Wales Greyhound Racing board has stepped down amid an industry crisis over illegal live baiting.

An ABC Four Corners report on Monday showed live piglets, possums and rabbits being chased and killed by dogs during training sessions.
Greyhound authorities have suspended over 20 trainers in three states. Some could face jail for animal cruelty.
NSW Racing Minister Troy Grant said the revelations showed the current system of self regulation had failed.
"The government is committed to ensuring anyone caught blooding their dogs will be kicked out of the sport for life and we will restore the integrity of the industry," he said.
Mr Grant said the NSW Greyhound Racing board had "agreed to formally disband", and their powers would be transferred to an interim CEO.
"They have agreed with me that the community has lost confidence in the industry, and we now need the clear air in order to reform and reshape the industry," he said.
Some of the video, filmed in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, showed struggling animals being flung around a mechanical lure before being torn apart by greyhounds. One possum was spun on the lure for almost an hour.
Live baiting is outlawed but some trainers believe it gives their dogs an advantage in races.
The footage also captured trainers apparently discussing ways of disposing of unwanted dogs, which is against racing regulations.
Senior figures in Australia's greyhound industry have strongly condemned the practice of live baiting.
Greyhounds Australasia Chief Executive Scott Parker described the footage as "appalling".
The industry's biggest sponsor, Macro Meats, withdrew its support in response to the report.


A cyclist has died after being hit by a lorry in West Dunbartonshire.

The man's bike was struck by an Asda articulated lorry on the A82 at Dunochter at about 11.00 on Sunday.
The incident happened on the west bound carriageway between the Kilbowie roundabout and the Erskine Bridge. The cyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.
The west bound carriageway was closed with diversions in place. Police have appealed for witnesses.
Sgt Archie McGuire of Police Scotland said: "Inquiries are at an early stage to establish the exact circumstances of this incident and it is essential that any witnesses come forward as soon as possible.
"I would like to speak to anyone who was on the A82 around 1100 hours this morning, particularly those travelling on the east bound carriageway, who may have seen what happened.
"I would also like to see any footage of the incident which may have been captured on a dash cam or by any local businesses or properties with CCTV."


Palestinian and Israeli media have very different perspectives on the announcement that the rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, have agreed to form a unity government.

Most Palestinian commentators welcome the deal, though some urge caution in the light of the failure of previous attempts at reconciliation.
Writing in the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority's newspaper, Al-Hayat al-Jadidah, Yahya Khalaf says that the deal invalidates an argument regularly used by Israel, which can "no longer talk of the absence of a partner representing the entire Palestinian people".
In the rival Palestinian camp, an adviser to the Hamas-led government in Gaza points out that the agreement still has to be tested on the ground. Writing on the Hamas website Filastin Online, Youssef Rizqa says that the deal will strengthen Palestinian dealings with Israel only if it is "a genuine partnership that will take our people out of a dark tunnel".
Two commentators in the pro-Fatah paper Al-Ayyam are also cautious. Talal Awkal says further progress will require "very strong determination on the part of the Palestinians", while Abdul Majid Suwaylim predicts that many difficulties still lie ahead, as there are "no easy solutions to complicated problems".
Some Palestinian papers also refer to the reactions of the US and Israeli governments.
The Jerusalem-based paper, Al-Quds, notes Washington's expression of "disappointment" that the deal could seriously complicate peace talks, while Al-Hayat al-Jadidah says that Israel's immediate reaction to the announcement was to bomb Gaza.
The announcement is covered prominently in the Israeli press, with several papers highlighting the Israeli government's profound unease at a deal that could signal the end of disunity in the Palestinian camp.
Alex Fishman, writing in the centrist paper Yedioth Aharonot, speaks of the Israeli leadership "exploding with anger". He goes on to say that Benjamin Netanyahu's government will find it impossible to accept Hamas as a negotiating partner, and that it will insist that the US takes a firm line to ensure that the Islamist movement is not granted international respectability.
"Now the ball is in the United States' court - if there is no blunt American reaction, this will be the start of a diplomatic landslide that will lead to the recognition of Hamas by Western countries," Mr Fishman warns.
Commentators in the liberal paper Haaretz take a rather more positive view of the Fatah-Hamas deal, pointing out that the new alignment could help to kick-start the Middle East peace talks after years of stalemate.
Zvi Barel says that the agreement "passes a sharp message to Israel and US that the division of Palestine is over" and that they must deal with Hamas.
And Barak Ravid says that Israeli should "rejoice" at any deal that has the potential to bring all the Palestinian factions on board. He argues that any Israeli government that is sincere about wanting to achieve a two-state solution should "see the reconciliation agreement as an opportunity, not a threat".
A commentator in the pro-Netanyahu paper Yisrael Harom, on the other hand, sees the deal as an act of desperation on the part of the leaders of Fatah and Hamas. Eyal Zisser says that it is hard to see how the long-standing differences between Fatah and Hamas can be reconciled, and that "one must not assume that the unity government - if it is formed at all - will survive".
An Israeli Arab commentator, Khaled Abu Toameh, is also of the opinion that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas decided to go for a reconciliation deal only after all other attempts to move the peace talks forward failed.
"Realising that his moves have had almost no impact on decision-makers in Israel and the US, Abbas finally resorted to the issue of reconciliation and unity with Hamas... Abbas has only one thing in mind: how to extract concessions from Israel and the US," Mr Toameh writes in the English-language Jerusalem Post.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.


Scotland's two biggest airports have reported record numbers of passengers for 2016.

Edinburgh International Airport said 12.4 million passengers flew through the capital last year - an increase of more than 11% on 2015.
And Glasgow said 9.4 million passengers travelled through its doors, an increase of 7.5% in its 50th anniversary year.
Aberdeen reported a 12.2% decrease in the number of passengers.
However, the airport said there were signs the downturn that has hit the north-east economy was beginning to slow, with 230,000 passengers travelling through Aberdeen in December 2015
A total of 3.1m travellers used Aberdeen International Airport during the course of 2016.
Edinburgh Airport said its record-breaking figures reinforced the airport's position as the "fastest growing" in the UK, with the increase down to the new international routes launched in 2016.
New services to Rome, Paris, Helsinki, Reykjavik and Warsaw have been added over the past 12 months.
December 2016 saw 863,147 people pass through the airport - a big increase on the same period in 2105.
Chief Executive Gordon Dewar said it was a "great achievement" for the airport.
"We have continued to enhance passenger choice by offering more routes and more destinations - and people have responded by choosing to fly in and out of Edinburgh Airport in greater numbers than ever before," he said.
"To have smashed this record - exceeding last year's growth rate and having helped over 12.36 million passengers through the airport - highlights the draw of Edinburgh as a destination and the growing global appeal that Scotland holds."
Glasgow Airport said it had seen a 9.2% increase in international traffic and a 5.5% increase in domestic numbers, which it put down to the introduction of 25 new routes and services in 2016.
The airport has created new links to Marseille, Sofia and Brussels, as well as adding a direct service to Toronto in Canada and extra flights to Orlando in the US.
It also launched Scotland's first direct link with South Korea.
Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: "2016 was an unforgettable year with so many highlights. To record our best-ever passenger numbers month after month and to carry 9.4 million passengers was a huge accomplishment and to do it in our Golden Anniversary was extra special.
"It was also particularly pleasing that we were able to considerably increase our connectivity across Europe and this is set to continue in 2017 with the launch of six new routes to Munich, Bergen, Lisbon, Valencia, Palanga in Lithuania and Zadar in Croatia."
Carol Benzie, managing director of Aberdeen International Airport, said: "As expected, 2016 proved to be challenging, however, we did see a significant slowing of the decline in our numbers during the latter part of the year.
"The decrease in November's and December's figures were the smallest we had experienced in 2016 which suggest we have come through the worst of the downturn."
Ms Benzie added that the airport had started 2017 on a "much stronger footing" with Ryanair and airBaltic services returning and new Flybe direct flights to London Heathrow coming in March.
All three airports urged the Scottish government to make "swift and substantial" cuts to airport passenger duty (APD).
Ministers want to replace APD, but a consultation on the proposal last year was met with a mixed response.


A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a man found dead at his home in East Sussex.

The body of Paul Jefferies, 52, was found by police at his house in Coggins Mill Lane, Mayfield, on 25 February following concerns for his welfare.
A post-mortem examination showed he died from multiple injuries.
The boy, from Crowborough, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of killing Mr Jefferies on 23 February. He has appeared before magistrates.
A 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man from Crowborough and a 17-year-old girl from Eastbourne were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. All three have been released on bail until 21 April.


A city's second attempt to decorate its Christmas tree has faced new ridicule.

Last week people criticised Leicester's "half-finished" tree, which the city council explained had struggled with "heavy tinsel".
The new version, revealed on Thursday's switch on, has been mocked as "a disgrace" and "an absolute joke".
Officials said they had received "excellent feedback" but said "sadly it seems you can't please everyone".
Problems began when the first tree, in city centre, appeared to have been left with only the top decorated.
The council said the tinsel it had ordered was "actually really thick" and had bent the tree's branches.
Thursday night's switch-on ceremony was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, who saw the tree had been strung with lights.
The multi-coloured lights were concentrated on the top of the tree, with any formal pattern being avoided.
Several people took to Twitter to criticise the new design and a video of the switch-on posted on BBC Leicester's Facebook page prompted many derisory comments.
Andy Betts said: "The tree looks like the lights have just been dumped on it".
"That tree is a disgrace," Leanne Graham said in her comment while Rachael Betts said the tree was "an absolute joke".
Lisa Vickers' view was: "It looks like someone has attacked it with 100 tins of silly string".
Linda Smallman Varney commented: "It's embarrassing for Leicester".
Kelly Ann Smith called it "a right chuffing mess" and David Hodgson said: "I think I preferred how it looked a couple of weeks ago!."
A spokesman for the city council said: "Around 20,000 people enjoyed the switch-on of the Christmas lights in the city centre last night and we had some excellent feedback from the people there.
"Sadly it seems you can't please everyone, but we hope that thousands more people enjoy the rest of our Christmas activities, including meeting Santa's real reindeer in Jubilee Square this Saturday, and visiting the fantastic winter food festival at the market on Sunday."


Perhaps the most surprising aspect of England's series victory over South Africa was that, in the end, beating the world number ones was not a surprise at all.

Yes, the Proteas were without fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander but, even before England arrived, they seemed a team in decline.
In contrast, England have been on an upward curve in all formats since the beginning of last summer thanks to a change of management, the right players in the right roles and a new aggressive style.
Alastair Cook's side have knocked South Africa from the top of the world rankings, but remain fifth themselves. However, home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan this summer and then a tour of Bangladesh before a very difficult trip to India present the chance to improve that status.
The Ashes, lost in a whitewash, have been regained, and the limited-overs cricket is a world away from the humiliation of the 2015 World Cup.
There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the England cricket team.
Probably the most exciting Test cricketer in the world right now.
Ben Stokes hits the ball hard, bowls fast and catches flies. Though he has the ability to change the course of match in the space of a session, he is much more than an impact player.
For all that his 258 in the second Test against South Africa seemed like the work of a one-man highlight reel, it was also a sustained assault of the sort very few in the world can pull off.
Removing Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum in successive balls in the first Test against New Zealand in May was exhilarating, but Stokes was also able to pound away over after over to take 6-36 in the Ashes-sealing win at Trent Bridge.
"In Stokes, England have a cricketer who will cause headaches for teams all around the world," wrote former England captain Michael Vaughan.
"He has a touch of genius about him and shows just what talent England boast."
There was a time not too long ago when England relied almost exclusively on the runs of Alastair Cook and Joe Root, and the wickets of James Anderson.
Yes, Cook and Root still need more help from the rest of the top five, but South Africa have been beaten with Cook and Anderson barely contributing.
England are now blessed with the type of match-winners who made their two most recent formidable Test sides - Vaughan's Ashes-winners of 2005 and Andrew Strauss's class of 2010-11 - so successful.
Stokes forms a lethal lower order with Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, who was also named man of the match in the first Test for the seven wickets he took with his off-breaks.
As Anderson has struggled for fitness, Stuart Broad has flourished to the extent that he is now ranked as the number one Test bowler in the world. The resurgent Steven Finn has arguably been England's most consistent threat in South Africa.
"Broad, Stokes and Root can all turn the momentum in a session," said BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew. "We know what a fully fit Anderson is capable of and Finn showed during the Ashes that he can bowl a magic spell."
Of the 11 who played for England in the series-clinching win against South Africa in Johannesburg, eight were under the age of 30, while captain Cook has only just turned 31.
"The majority of them have a number of years left in them and it really is a side that should get better and better," Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 live.
With youth, comes exuberance. The England team that won three consecutive Ashes series between 2009 and 2013 was successful, but not necessarily popular thanks to a turgid, attritional style.
When in doubt, the England of 2016 attack. At the beginning of last summer, a naturally aggressive group of players were gathered and given the freedom to play by the new management. They may also have been inspired by Brendon McCullum's New Zealand.
"England looked at New Zealand and thought 'we can play cricket like this'," said Agnew.
Vaughan added: "For two or three years England were attritional because of the players they had. Now when England get going it is very difficult to top them."
While England's gradual improvement began after the dismissal of former coach Peter Moores, it is unfair to simply say it is a result of his exit.
More accurate would be say England have benefited from a change of approach. Moores' hands-on method, arguably stifling, has been replaced by the laid-back, work-in-the-shadows of Trevor Bayliss.
The Australian may be economical with his words, but that seems to be an approach that suits this talented England team, who listen when he speaks. Cook even admitted that a "kick up the backside" was delivered by Bayliss at lunch on day three in Johannesburg.
"I certainly don't raise the voice, but the message gets across in my way," said Bayliss. "Probably the proof is in the pudding - they then went out and backed that up."
Bayliss was, in part, hired for his limited-overs expertise. Experience of the Indian Premier League would boost an England team that had fallen behind the rest of the world in white-ball cricket. A measure of how successful he has been will come at the World Twenty20 in March.
But England teams are always judged on Test results and, more specifically, the Ashes. Looking ahead to the Australia trip in 2017-18, how sweet would it be for Bayliss, a New South Welshman, to be holding the urn in Sydney?
Before the Ashes, England's most daunting Test assignment will be the trip to India at the end of this year. To win there, they will need Moeen to improve his bowling average in Asia from its current 48.
More importantly, England still need to settle on their top three. Alex Hales and Nick Compton, brought into the side for the South Africa series, are yet to cement their places, even if they have been backed by Bayliss.
In particular Hales, Cook's eighth opening partner since 2012, needs a score in the fourth and final Test, especially after being caught by the keeper or slips in four or his six innings so far.
"To me, he hasn't got the technique," said former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott. "He may have talent for hitting the ball in one-day cricket, but I don't think he can survive for a time in Test cricket."
Runs for Hales in the final Test would cap the tour for England. Even with failure, he could get more chances in the summer, or Compton could be promoted to create a space for the likes of Gary Ballance or James Vince. The make-up of the top order is the final piece of England's puzzle.
"There are good times ahead," said Vaughan. "If they can get some consistency at the top of the order, they will really take come beating.
"Everyone will talk about Australia. Can England go there and really compete? I think they can."


A court in Zimbabwe has thrown out a "criminal insult" charge brought against an MP accused of calling  first lady Grace Mugabe a "fool".

Justice Wadyajena of the ruling Zanu-PF party will now be tried on the lesser charge of "disorderly conduct".
The case is seen as part of party wrangling over who should succeed 91-year-old President Robert Mugabe.
Two camps have emerged - one backing Mrs Mugabe, 50, and the other Deputy President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 69.
Mr Wadyajena is reported to be loyal to Mr Mnangagwa.
He denied the charge, and is out on bail of $800 (Â£500).
Mr Wadyajena was quoted in court papers as having told a Zanu-PF member in Mrs Mugabe's camp, Jimayi Muduvuri, that "you are a fool, as well as that 'mother' of yours".
The first lady is referred to as "amai", meaning mother, by supporters of Zanu-PF.
The incident is alleged to have happened at last month's Zanu-PF conference in the resort town of Victoria Falls, where Mr Mugabe warned against factionalism in the party.
The BBC's Brian Hungwe in Zimbabwe says it is not surprising that a magistrate's court in Victoria Falls threw out the "criminal insult" charge as the constitutional court scrapped that law last year.
The "disorderly conduct" charge that Mr Wadyajena now faces carries a maximum prison sentence of six months or a $200 fine, in contrast to the one-year sentence or $300 fine under the previous charge.
The first lady took over the ruling party's women's league in 2014 after spearheading the expulsion of former Vice-President Joice Mujuru and her supporters from Zanu-PF.
Mr Mnangagwa is a veteran of the independence struggle, and served as President Mugabe's spymaster in the 1980s.


The daughter of a woman from Cardiff who has been missing for exactly one year said the family were "desperate" for answers.

Lorraine Ridout, who was 57 when reported missing, of Gabalfa, was last seen on Aberporth Road on 31 January 2016.
There have been no confirmed sightings since and police are still trying to establish what happened.
Her daughter Christine urged anyone with information to come forward.
The police investigation, which has included searches of the River Taff and two family properties, has been described as "the largest urban search police in Cardiff have ever undertaken".
But it has failed to find any clue to Ms Ridout's whereabouts.
She was last seen between 19:00 and 20:00 GMT that day after heading to a friend's house but did not arrive.
Her daughter assumed she had stayed at an auntie's house but when she did not come home the following evening she "realised that something was wrong".
Christine Ridout said: "My mum's handbag was there, her phone, her tobacco. Anyone who knows my mum knows she goes everywhere with tobacco.
"This is unusual for my mum, she doesn't like to go to areas she's unaware of.
"We're a year down the line, where searches have been carried out, we have done as much as we can as a family to look for my mum but at this stage you just don't know where to look any more."
Christine Ridout said her mother's disappearance "hit home" when the family had to spend her birthday on 20 December and their first Christmas without her.
"If you haven't got any closure... if you don't know where your mum is or you don't know what's happened to her, it wasn't the same," she said.
She described her mother as funny, who loved music and singing and was a Marvin Gaye fan.
"She was just lovely, if she could help you then she would," she added.
Son Peter said: "Obviously it's difficult, no more closure at this stage and her not being found. It's been really tough as a family."
The pair appealed for people who may know anything to come forward, "no matter how small" the information.
Anniversary leaflets were handed out to people in and around Fairwater on Tuesday afternoon.
"My mum was lovely and she deserves to be found, whether it's good or bad we can't do the right thing by my mum without any answers," Christine Ridout added.
Det Insp Mark O'Shea, of South Wales Police, said: "Something occurred that stopped her returning home to her much-loved family."


Health bosses in north Wales have approved an interim budget which is set to deliver a net deficit of £14.2m.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is trying to save £42.8m over the next year to break even by 2017.
Several board members told an extraordinary meeting in Wrexham they were "uncomfortable" agreeing the budget.
As part of the budget, a £5m spend towards tackling patient waiting times was approved.
A spend of £3m will also be used towards initiatives to boost care in the community, to try and reduce the number of people being admitted to hospital.
The interim budget will be submitted to the Welsh government on Tuesday, as part of the operational plan for the coming year.
The health board's director of finance Russell Favager said: "All public sector organisations across the UK face similar challenges.
"The budget and financial plan the health board has approved reflect the balance between financial stability and the risk of unintended impact on maintaining safe, high quality care.
"The board has therefore taken the unusual step of agreeing a budget which we know will result in an overspend in the coming year, but which will drive us back towards a long-term position of financial balance."
Betsi Cadwaladr, which is the largest NHS organisation in Wales employing more than 16,000 staff and serving 650,000 people, runs hospitals including Ysbyty Gwynedd, Glan Clwyd Hospital and Wrexham Maelor.
Savings outlined include:
"There is no doubt that this budget will create a real challenge in some parts of the health board but it is critical that the board establishes a strong financial grip for [its] long term viability," said Mr Favager, who took over as finance director last August.
In 2013, a damning report by health and financial watchdogs revealed a series of financial and "significant" management failures.
It found operations had been delayed and waiting lists allowed to grow at hospitals to avoid financial problems getting worse while infections had been under-reported.
The health board now has a new chairman and chief executive and the Welsh government has been helping it make improvements.


At least 15 Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been killed in clashes with Islamic State militants, as they move on the group's stronghold of Dabiq.

A monitoring group reported that the rebels were killed by landmines that exploded while they attempted to secure the village of Turkman Barih.
One rebel commander said he expected to reach Dabiq, which is about 5km (3 miles) to the west, within 48 hours.
Dabiq holds great symbolic value to IS and features heavily in its propaganda.
The small town is named in Islamic apocalyptic prophecies as the site of an end-of-times showdown between Muslims and their enemies.
An alliance of Syrian Arab rebel groups, supported by Turkish air strikes, tanks and special forces, launched an operation to drive IS militants and Syrian Kurdish fighters from an area along Turkey's border with Syria in late August.
Since then, they have captured the key towns of Jarablus and al-Rai, and taken control of some 960 sq km (370 sq miles) of territory, according to Turkey.
On Monday morning, Turkish military officials said there had been "intense" clashes south of al-Rai in the past 24 hours, which had left 15 Syrian rebels dead and 35 others wounded.
Turkish warplanes, artillery and rocket launchers meanwhile targeted dozens of IS targets, they added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, put the death toll at 21 and said the rebels had been killed by landmines and booby-traps planted by IS militants near Turkman Barih before they withdrew on Sunday.
The rebels have captured other villages near Dabiq in recent days and were expecting to reach the town's outskirts within 48 hours, a commander of the Sultan Murad rebel group, Ahmed Osman, told Reuters news agency on Monday.
The US-led multinational coalition against IS was also supporting the rebels as they advanced "to within a few kilometres of [IS]'s weakening stronghold Dabiq", US special presidential envoy Brett McGurk wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening.
Also on Monday, Syrian government and Russian warplanes carried out more air strikes on the nearby city of Aleppo, as troops continued an all-out assault on besieged rebel-held areas, activists said.
The International Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations and the Syrian Observatory also reported that air strikes on Sunday had damaged and put out of service a key hospital in a part of Hama province controlled by the rebels.
The facility near Kfar Zeita, which is known as the "Cave Hospital" because it is built inside a mountain, was probably hit by "bunker-buster missiles", the hospital's director Dr Abdallah Darwish said.
The strikes came a day after the main trauma hospital in rebel-held Aleppo was put out of service after being hit for the second time in a week, activists said.


Cardiff City have signed Hull's Scotland international goalkeeper Allan McGregor on loan until the end of the season.

Bluebirds manager Neil Warnock had said he was keen to bring in a Premier League goalkeeper before Saturday's Championship game with Burton.
McGregor, 34, is behind Eldin Jakupovic and former Cardiff number one David Marshall in Hull's pecking order.
The former Rangers and Besiktas keeper has yet to play this season.
He joined Hull in 2013 for £1.5m and has made 103 appearances for the club.
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A Dublin woman has gone on trial charged with assisting the suicide of another woman, in what is believed to the first prosecution of its kind in the Republic of Ireland.

Gail O'Rorke, has denied assisting the suicide of 51-year-old Bernadette Forde between 10 March and 6 June 2011.
Ms O'Rorke, 43, from Kilclare Gardens in Tallaght, faces three charges.
They include attempting to assist in a suicide by making arrangements for Ms Forde to travel to Switzerland.
She is also charged with aiding and abetting a suicide by helping to secure and administer a toxic substance.
A third charge concerns procuring a suicide by making funeral arrangements before Ms Forde's death.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Ms Forde died at her home in Dublin on 6 June 2011 after being denied travel to a clinic in Switzerland.
She was diagnosed in 2001 with progressive multiple sclerosis and her condition was compounded by a car accident in 2008 that left her wheelchair-bound.
Ireland decriminalised suicide in 1993 but the jury was told assisting a suicide remains an offence.
A prosecutor said Ms Forde was facing the bleak prospect of losing mobility and bodily function and the prospect of a distressing and difficult death.
He said the jury would be in no doubt that Ms Forde had made the decision to end her life and had told her family about this.
Ms O'Rorke was a part-time carer and friend to Ms Forde.
The prosecution told the court that Ms Forde had planned to travel to Zurich to end her own life and the travel arrangements had been made with the help of Ms O'Rorke.
However, the plan was abandoned when the police were notified by a travel agent.
The court heard that after the intervention of the police, Ms O'Rorke could not have been in any doubt about the law relating to assisting a suicide.
The prosecution's case is that she later assisted Ms Forde to obtain medication to end her life, the court was told.
The medication was ordered from Mexico on the internet and Ms O'Rorke made the payment and was present when the package was delivered, the prosecution said.
A recording of Ms Forde's last words was played to the jury.
In it, Ms Forde outlined how she could not continue to suffer due to her medical condition.
The court heard her say her plan to die was "me, totally me, and nobody else".
Ms Forde repeatedly expressed her frustration with the law in what she described as "this bloody country".
The case is expected to last for two weeks.


Police have said for the first time that they believe a woman seen in the River Clyde in Glasgow was a missing teenager from Renfrewshire.

Sarah Goldie, 18, was reported missing from her home in Renfrew on Friday night. Her bag was later found near to where a woman was seen in the water.
Police said officers from their specialist marine unit were continuing to search the River Clyde.
They also appealed for anyone with information to get in touch.
Police previously said that Ms Goldie left home at about 11:00 on Friday.
At about 18:00 she took a taxi from Glasgow to Renfrew, and was dropped off in Torridon Drive area.
About 19:40, police received a call about a young woman in the River Clyde near the Broomielaw and George V Bridge.
Emergency services including a helicopter began a search and two men entered the water, but the woman could not be found.
Ch Insp Mark Sutherland, of Police Scotland, said: "Our inquiry to trace Sarah Goldie continues and I would like to thank the public who have responded so positively to our appeals for information which has allowed us to speak to a number of significant witnesses.
"We have been piecing together Sarah's movements on Friday in both Renfrew and Glasgow through CCTV evidence and witness accounts.
"We have spoken to a number of people who witnessed an incident close to the King George V Bridge in Glasgow later that evening and now firmly believe that the young woman who was seen in the water is Sarah Goldie from the Renfrew area."
Ch Insp Sutherland added: "We have continued to keep Sarah's family updated throughout our inquiry.
"No-one else is believed to have been involved in the incident that led to Sarah entering the water.
"I would again like to thank everyone who took the time to contact police and would continue to ask that anyone with information about Sarah can contact Glasgow City Centre Police."
Ms Goldie is described as white, 5ft 6in tall, of medium build, with brown eyes and sandy/strawberry blond straight hair.
She was last seen wearing a khaki green Parka-type jacket with a fur hood and was carrying a cherry-red handbag.


Real Madrid went top of the La Liga table thanks to a hard-fought victory over Athletic Bilbao.

Karim Benzema put Real 1-0 up after Isco squared it to the French striker.
But Sabin Merino levelled after Pepe and Dani Carvajal failed to take the ball from Javier Eraso.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a host of chances for Real but substitute Alvaro Morata, on his 24th birthday, was the hero at the second attempt after Gorka Iraizoz saved his shot.
Relive the action as it happened.
Real Madrid were the fourth team to top La Liga this weekend. Barcelona went to the summit on Saturday thanks to their 3-2 injury-time win over Valencia.
Earlier on Sunday, Sevilla went top when they won 1-0 against Atletico Madrid, who had gone into the weekend as league leaders.
Only three points separate Real, who started the game in fifth place, and Atletico, who now occupy that spot.
Ronaldo looked short of confidence with his finishing throughout the game, although he was not afraid to try.
He had 11 shots in the game, more than Athletic's combined total of 10, but only two of those were on target.
The Portugal captain, who missed the start of the season through injury, has only scored two goals in six La Liga games this season with both coming in convincing victories.
His malaise was best summed up when Lucas Vazquez found him in space in injury time, with Athletic having taken risks in a bid to find an equaliser.
Ronaldo had plenty of time to pick his spot or go round Gorka Iraizoz, but instead he shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Match ends, Real Madrid 2, Athletic Club 1.
Second Half ends, Real Madrid 2, Athletic Club 1.
Corner,  Real Madrid. Conceded by Gorka Iraizoz.
Attempt saved. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez.
Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid).
Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Club) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Markel Susaeta (Athletic Club).
Corner,  Real Madrid. Conceded by Aymeric Laporte.
Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Eraso (Athletic Club).
Hand ball by Mikel Rico (Athletic Club).
Substitution, Athletic Club. Muniain replaces Enric Saborit.
Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Club) is shown the yellow card.
Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid).
Etxeita (Athletic Club) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Iñaki Williams (Athletic Club) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Goal!  Real Madrid 2, Athletic Club 1. Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner.
Attempt saved. Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Gareth Bale with a cross.
Attempt missed. Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Corner,  Real Madrid. Conceded by San José.
Attempt missed. Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez.
Substitution, Athletic Club. Markel Susaeta replaces Sabin.
Attempt missed. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Toni Kroos.
Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Iturraspe (Athletic Club).
Substitution, Athletic Club. Iturraspe replaces Raúl García.
Offside, Real Madrid. Marcelo tries a through ball, but Álvaro Morata is caught offside.
Substitution, Real Madrid. Álvaro Morata replaces Karim Benzema.
Foul by Karim Benzema (Real Madrid).
Etxeita (Athletic Club) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Mateo Kovacic.
Attempt blocked. Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez.
Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Karim Benzema.
Offside, Athletic Club. Raúl García tries a through ball, but Iñaki Williams is caught offside.
Offside, Real Madrid. Toni Kroos tries a through ball, but Karim Benzema is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Toni Kroos following a set piece situation.
Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.


Police are treating the death of a man who was found seriously injured in a Glasgow street as suspicious.

Officers were called to reports of a disturbance in Midcroft Avenue, near its junction with Ashcroft Drive, in the city's Croftfoot area at 02:25.
The injured man died at the scene a short time later.
Police Scotland said they were trying to establish the man's identity and a post mortem examination would be carried out to establish how he died.


Supermarket firm Booths has announced it is cutting 100 management jobs as part of restructuring plans.

The company, which has 31 branches across northern England, also said it planned to close two stores in Lancashire later this year.
Booths retail director Paul Minett said the "tough decisions" would enable the firm to have a "profitable future".
The firm said it was opening a new store in St Anne's and redeveloping its branch in Poulton-le-Fylde.
A new store will also open in Burscough, Lancashire, in July.
Mr Minett added the firm wanted a simplified management structure based on an estate of "profitable, vibrant stores".
The Preston-based retailer said it anticipated that the majority of employees at the closure-threatened stores in Ansdell in Lytham and Marton in Blackpool would be able to secure positions at the new branches.
However, due to an overall reduction in staff operating hours, it would be consulting  with employees.
Recently-opened stores at Hale Barns in Greater Manchester and Barrowford in Lancashire had created about 400 positions, it added.
The company, owned by the Booth family since 1847, currently has 31 stores in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Cheshire and Greater Manchester.


Racquet manufacturer Head has defended plans to extend its contract with Maria Sharapova, despite her positive test for banned drug meldonium.

The five-time Grand Slam champion has already lost the backing of Nike and Tag Heuer, while Porsche has suspended its relationship with her.
Head chairman Johan Eliasch told the BBC that Sharapova, 28, "made an honest mistake, it was not with intent".
Sharapova will be suspended from 12 March and could face a four-year ban.
Talking on BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight, Eliasch added: "It cannot be right that people with health issues should have medication alternatives eliminated for no reason.
"There is no clinical testing that supports that meldonium would have any performance-enhancing effects.
"If there should be sanctions my sentence would be that she should teach tennis for three months."
Russia's Sharapova tested positive at the Australian Open in January.
In an earlier statement, Head described Sharapova as "a role model and woman of integrity who has inspired millions of fans around the world to play and watch tennis".
It added: "The honesty and courage she displayed in announcing and acknowledging her mistake was admirable.
"We look forward to working with her and to announcing new sponsorships in the weeks and months ahead."
Meanwhile, Russian biathlete Eduard Latypov has been suspended after testing positive, the Russian Biathlon Union has confirmed.
The International Biathlon Union temporarily suspended the 21-year-old after traces of the banned substance were found in a sample taken last month.
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Russia has lost hosting rights to two international sporting events in the wake of the McLaren report into doping.

The country gave up a World Cup biathlon meeting set to be held in March and was stripped of a speed skating meet for the same month.
Britain withdrew from the biathlon event on Wednesday, citing "dishonest comments" from Russian athletes.
The report claims more than 1,000 Russians benefited from state-sponsored doping between 2011 and 2015.
Despite the Russian Biathlon Union saying the country should "only be punished if our guilt can be properly proved", the move was welcomed by Anders Besseberg, president of the International Biathlon Union.
"This is a first important step by the RBU to show to the IBU and to the world of sport that the current situation is taken very seriously," he said.
The biathlon event was scheduled to be held in Tyumen with the speed skating in Chelyabinsk.
On 14 December, Russia also lost the right to host the 2017 bobsleigh and skeleton World Championships.


League One relegation rivals Blackpool and Oldham Athletic played out a goalless draw at Bloomfield Road.

The hosts nearly took the lead when Jim McAlister headed Danny Philiskirk's flick but Danny Lafferty backheeled the ball against the post and away.
The Latics fought back when Aaron Amadi-Holloway set up Forte but his long-range drive went wide of the post.
Lafferty could have sealed it for Oldham but Dean Lyness saved his strike and Curtis Main headed over late on.
Match ends, Blackpool 0, Oldham Athletic 0.
Second Half ends, Blackpool 0, Oldham Athletic 0.
Foul by Danny Philliskirk (Blackpool).
Jonathan Forte (Oldham Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. Martin Paterson (Blackpool) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner,  Blackpool. Conceded by Joel Coleman.
Corner,  Blackpool. Conceded by James Wilson.
John Herron (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James Wilson (Oldham Athletic).
Attempt missed. Martin Paterson (Blackpool) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Corner,  Oldham Athletic. Conceded by Tom Aldred.
Foul by Clark Robertson (Blackpool).
Carl Winchester (Oldham Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Tom Aldred (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jonathan Forte (Oldham Athletic).
Substitution, Blackpool. Uche Ikpeazu replaces Jack Redshaw.
Corner,  Oldham Athletic. Conceded by Tom Aldred.
Attempt missed. Brad Potts (Blackpool) header from the right side of the six yard box is just a bit too high.
Attempt missed. Brad Potts (Blackpool) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right from a direct free kick.
Clark Robertson (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Liam Kelly (Oldham Athletic).
Attempt saved. Liam Kelly (Oldham Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Martin Paterson (Blackpool) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner,  Blackpool. Conceded by James Wilson.
Attempt saved. Martin Paterson (Blackpool) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Curtis Main (Oldham Athletic) header from very close range is just a bit too high.
Attempt saved. Daniel Lafferty (Oldham Athletic) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Foul by Martin Paterson (Blackpool).
James Wilson (Oldham Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Tom Aldred (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Curtis Main (Oldham Athletic).
Substitution, Blackpool. John Herron replaces David Norris.
Substitution, Oldham Athletic. Michael Jones replaces Rhys Murphy.
Substitution, Oldham Athletic. Curtis Main replaces Aaron Holloway.
Attempt blocked. Martin Paterson (Blackpool) right footed shot from long range on the left is blocked.
Corner,  Oldham Athletic. Conceded by Hayden White.
Substitution, Blackpool. Martin Paterson replaces Mark Cullen.
Attempt missed. Mark Cullen (Blackpool) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt saved. Carl Winchester (Oldham Athletic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Will Aimson (Blackpool) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.


The man who was awarded the George Medal for trying to stop the murder of MP Jo Cox has died, his family says.

Bernard Kenny was stabbed as he intervened when Thomas Mair attacked Mrs Cox in Birstall, West Yorkshire in 2016.
Mr Kenny's son said the 79-year-old, who was honoured in June, had died on Monday morning.
Mair stabbed Mrs Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen, 15 times and shot her three times.
During Mair's trial, Mr Kenny told the court he had been waiting for his wife by the library in Birstall when he saw right-wing extremist Mair going "berserk".
He said he thought he could jump on his back and "could take him down" but was then stabbed in the stomach.
After the attack more than 80,000 people signed an online petition calling for Mr Kenny to be awarded the George Cross for his bravery.
Former miner Mr Kenny is understood to have been part of the rescue operation during a 1973 Yorkshire mining disaster., in which seven men died.
Tracey Brabin MP, the former Coronation Street and Eastenders actress who was elected in Jo Cox's constituency after her death, said Mr Kenny was "brave and selfless".
She added: "Bernard will forever be remembered as a true hero, both as a member of the Miners' Rescue Team and as a constituent of Batley and Spen who risked his life to protect Jo Cox."
Labour MP Yvette Cooper has paid tribute to the 79-year-old, saying he was "a true hero, a very brave man".


Nottingham Forest striker Nicklas Bendtner has joined Norwegian champions Rosenborg for an undisclosed fee.

The 29-year-old Denmark international signed a two-year deal with the Championship club in September, but only made seven league starts.
The former Arsenal player scored two goals in 17 appearances in total.
He had fallen out of favour in recent weeks, with forwards Britt Assombalonga, Zach Clough and teenager Ben Brereton all starting ahead of him.
The transfer window is open until 31 March in Norway, with their season starting in April.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


A French judge has issued an international arrest warrant for the son of the president of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, reports say.

Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue is being sought on money-laundering charges.
Mr Obiang, the son of President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mbasogo, denies any wrongdoing.
The judge, Roger Le Loire, issued the warrant after Mr Obiang refused to be interviewed by magistrates on charges of corruption, legal sources say.
Mr Obiang's lawyer told the AFP news agency that he had not been informed that any mandate for his client's arrest had been issued.
He added that any such warrant would be a "non-event" due to Mr Obiang's status.
"Mr Obiang has judicial immunity as he is the vice-president of Equatorial Guinea and therefore could not attend the summons," Emmanuel Marsigny told AFP.
According to French newspaper Le Monde, the warrant for Mr Obiang - known as Teodorin in his country - was issued on Thursday.
French judges are investigating allegations that several African leaders have bought assets in France with embezzled state funds.
They are looking at President Obiang as well as Congo-Brazzaville's President Denis Sassou Nguesso, and Omar Bongo, the late president of Gabon.
Correspondents say Teodorin Obiang, who also serves as agriculture minister, is known for his lavish lifestyle.
He recently hit the headlines when he honoured his promise to pay his national football team $1m (Â£641,000) for winning the opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations which Equatorial Guinea co-hosted earlier this year.
The original legal complaint was brought by Transparency International, an anti-corruption campaign group that accuses several African leaders of acquiring property, cars and luxury items in France using misappropriated public money.
In October 2011, the US government said it would seek to recover assets worth more $70m (Â£44m) from Teodorin Obiang. A month earlier, French police seized several luxury cars from him.
Equatorial Guinea is one of Africa's largest oil exporters, but most of its 720,000-strong population lives in poverty.
President Obiang seized power from his uncle in 1979 and was re-elected in 2009 with 95% of the vote.


Rotherham have released goalkeeper Lee Camp following their relegation to League One.

Camp, 32, made 60 appearances in two seasons with the Millers.
Defenders Stephen Kelly, 33, Joel Ekstrand, 28, Kelvin Wilson, 31, and Tom Thorpe, 24, and midfielder Chris Dawson, 22, have also been released.
The club have offered new deals to defenders Joe Mattock, 26, and Richard Wood, 31, and midfielder Richie Smallwood, 26.
The Millers have triggered the one-year option in 25-year-old striker Danny Ward's deal but he is expected to move on.
Meanwhile, they have also put in an offer to Cardiff for midfielder Tom Adeyemi, 25, after he spent the season on loan at the New York Stadium.


Russia has warned the US-led coalition fighting in Syria that it will view its aircraft as targets, after the US shot down a Syrian military plane on Sunday.

The coalition said the Syrian Su-22 had bombed US-backed fighters battling so-called Islamic State in Raqqa province.
Russia, the Syrian government's main ally, also said it was halting communications with the US aimed at preventing such incidents.
The White House says it retains the right to self-defence in Syria.
Spokesman Sean Spicer said it was important to keep lines of communication open with Russia.
It comes at a time when the US-led coalition and the fighters it is supporting on the ground attempt to oust IS militants from the city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the "caliphate" they proclaimed in 2014.
"Any aircraft, including planes and drones belonging to the international coalition operating west of the River Euphrates, will be tracked by Russian anti-aircraft forces in the sky and on the ground and treated as targets," the Russian defence ministry said.
However, it stopped short of openly saying it would shoot down coalition aircraft.
Reuters news agency quoted a US military spokesman as saying it was repositioning aircraft over Syria in the wake of the incident, to ensure the safety of American crew members.
Russia also denied the US had used a communications channel before the Su-22 fighter bomber was shot down, and said it was ending a memorandum of co-operation with the coalition aimed at preventing air incidents and guaranteeing flight safety.
But the chairman of US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Joe Dunford, said it was seeking to re-establish the "deconfliction" communications line with Russia, adding that it had remained in use "over the last few hours".
It is not the first time communications have been suspended between the two sides - in April, the hotline was shut down after the US launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syria's Shayrat airbase in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town in Idlib province.
The US and Russia had agreed to resume communications last month.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May called on Russia to continue using available measures to "reduce the chance of misunderstandings over what is a crowded airspace", Reuters reported.
Why are air combat kills so rare?
Russia's ministry of defence has responded sharply. In addition to the usual rhetoric - the charge that the US is violating Syrian sovereignty and breaking international law - there is a practical step - the immediate suspension of the co-ordination channel set up to avoid clashes between US and Russian forces.
There is a threat too, namely that in areas where Russian aircraft are operating, coalition drones and aircraft west of the Euphrates river will be tracked and "treated as targets". It should be noted that the co-ordination mechanism has generally worked well and its operation is as much in Moscow's as Washington's interest.
A previous "suspension" of the mechanism by Russia seems to have been by word only - behind-the-scenes contacts continued. But as the battle for eastern Syria steps up, Russia and its Syrian government ally seem intent on drawing a line in the sky.
Read more from Jonathan Marcus here
The Su-22 fighter bomber was engaged by an F/A-18E Super Hornet after it dropped bombs near the town of Tabqa in Raqqa province on Sunday afternoon, the Pentagon said.
It is believed to be the first air-to-air kill of a manned aircraft by a US military jet since the Kosovo campaign in 1999.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters who are leading the offensive on Raqqa, were operating in the Tabqa area.
A statement from the coalition's Operation Inherent Resolve said pro-government militiamen had attacked SDF units, driving them from the town of Ja'Din.
The coalition conducted what it said was a "show of force" - a reported buzzing of the pro-government troops by jets - to stop the attack and then called Russia to try to "de-escalate the situation and stop the firing".
However, the Su-22 dropped bombs on SDF positions a few hours later, the coalition said, and "in accordance with rules of engagement and in collective self-defence of coalition-partnered forces [the plane] was immediately shot down".
Attempts to warn the plane away using an emergency radio frequency failed, the US military's Central Command said.
Both Russia and Syria say the warplane was on a mission against IS about 40km (25 miles) south-west of Raqqa, when it came under fire.
Russia said in its statement that the Syrian pilot had ejected over IS-controlled territory and "his fate remains unknown".
Syria's army said the "flagrant attack" would have "dangerous repercussions".
Despite Hollywood blockbusters showcasing close-range aerial battles, they have almost vanished from modern warfare.
"The era of dogfighting is largely over," says Justin Bronk, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, specialising in combat airpower.
"After the totally lopsided kill-to-loss ratio attained by the US Air Force and US Navy during the First Gulf War, it is a very rare thing for regimes under attack by the US and its allies to send fighters up in defence - since they know how it will end."
Read more
Although this is the first time the coalition has shot down a Syrian jet, there have been an increasing number of incidents between the two sides:
Separately on Sunday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had launched several missiles into eastern Syria, killing a "large number" of IS fighters. They said it was in response to an IS-claimed attack on the Iranian parliament earlier this month which killed more than a dozen people.
Iran attacks boost IS morale
Islamic State group: The full story


John Higgins has played down his previous success at the Welsh Open as he targets a fifth title this week.

The Scot, 40, has won the ranking tournament three times in the last six years, and four times in all.
"It doesn't really matter," the defending champion told BBC Radio Scotland. "There are probably other players that are more favoured than me.
"It would be great if I could win it for a fifth time but we will just have to wait and see."
Four-time world champion Higgins opens the defence of his title against Andy Hicks, 42, a former World and UK Championship semi-finalist, on Monday.
"He used to be a really good player," Higgins noted. "He is is not a professional anymore, he just plays for fun now.  But he won't have any expectations on him to win, he can just enjoy himself, so it is a tough game for me."
Higgins is one of 12 Scots in the 128-man first-round draw and is monitoring the progress of youngsters like Ross Muir, 20, Rhys Clark and Scott Donaldson, both 21, and Eden Sharav, 23.
"Young Rhys Clark just beat [1997 world champion] Ken Doherty in the China Open qualifiers," Higgins noted. " I was playing on the next table and was 3-1 up thinking I was going quite well, and he'd already won 5-0.
"He's left-handed and plays just like Jimmy White, really quickly.  It is brilliant to see some of these young Scottish players coming through."
While the younger generation strive to make progress, Higgins - who has won two more ranking titles this season in Australia and China to take his haul to 28 - has no plans to retire.
"I have got nothing else to do!" he joked.  "I am going to keep playing as long as I can.
"The practice gets harder as you get older.  I saw how the likes of Steve Davis, John Parrott and Jimmy White found it tougher to practise once they had families.  I am the same, with three kids.
"There is a lot more travelling nowadays, but I still love competing against the best players around the world."
Full Welsh Open draw


Gay people will receive a formal apology from the Church of Scotland following its long "history of discrimination" under plans that signal another "seismic softening" of Kirk policy towards homosexuals, according to The Herald.

A cross-party group of Nationalist and unionist MSPs have signed up to a formal pledge aimed at ending "unhelpful polarisation" in the political debate in Scotland and across the globe, writes The Scotsman.
The rising tension over President Donald Trump's determination to force North Korea to end its production of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles took a dramatic twist when a senior official in Pyongyang said his country could soon start weekly missile tests, reports The National.
The i newspaper also covers the story and writes that North Korea has warned it will launch a "pre-emptive nuclear strike" to deter an attack by US military forces.
The Times claims Europe is braced for a new migrant crisis after the newly victorious Turkish president indicated that he was preparing for a fight with Brussels by restoring the death penalty and demanding visa-free travel across the Continent.
Prince William has called for the end of the "stiff upper lip" culture, says the Scottish Daily Mail, after his brother Harry confessed that he struggled to cope with their mother's death.
The Scottish Daily Express also runs with the story and says that the Duke of Cambridge has said he wants his children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, to grow up feeling free to talk about their emotions.
The Daily Record writes that dozens of people who booked to have their weddings at Guthrie Castle may be affected by claims the venue was intentionally doubled-booked by a former member of staff.
The Courier also covers the story and says that couples who are set to marry at the Angus castle are being urged to contact the venue immediately to check their bookings.
Britain's "most wanted man" Harris Binotti is living under police noses near Govan police station in Glasgow in "defiance" of a global manhunt, reports The Scottish Sun.
The Daily Star of Scotland says stars of the Only Way is Essex TV show were caught up in the acid attack at a nightclub that left 12 people in hospital.


New Prime Minister Theresa May has made Boris Johnson, the former London mayor who led the Brexit campaign, foreign secretary in her new government.

He replaces Philip Hammond, who becomes chancellor. Ex-Energy Secretary Amber Rudd is home secretary and Eurosceptic David Davis is the Brexit secretary.
Ex-chancellor George Osborne was fired, the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said.
On arriving at Downing Street, Mrs May vowed to lead a government that works for all, not just the "privileged few".
The UK's second female prime minister promised to give people who were "just managing" and "working around the clock" more control over their lives.
Downing Street said she took a number of "congratulatory phone calls" from other European leaders on Wednesday evening, where she told them "some time" would be needed to prepare for EU exit talks.
In her appointments announced so far, Michael Fallon continues as defence secretary, and Liam Fox, who resigned as defence secretary in 2011, has a new role as secretary of state for international trade.
Mrs May has spoken of the need to reunite the Conservative Party after the EU referendum, in which she backed a Remain vote.
Her new line-up includes big jobs for prominent Leave campaigners Mr Johnson - who was initially tipped as the next prime minister after the Brexit vote - Mr Fox, and Mr Davis, whose job title is "secretary of state for exiting the European Union".
UKIP leader Nigel Farage tweeted that the appointments of Mr Fox and Mr Davis were "inspired choices", adding: "I feel more optimistic now."
On Twitter, Mr Osborne, who was chancellor throughout Mr Cameron's tenure, said the job had been a "privilege", adding: "Others will judge - I hope I've left the economy in a better state than I found it."
The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said Mr Osborne had been "told his services were no longer required" because his "brand" was seen as "too tarnished".
Mr Johnson said he was "very humbled" to be appointed foreign secretary.
He said Mrs May had made a "wonderful speech" earlier, saying there was a "massive opportunity in this country to make a great success of our new relationship with Europe and with the world".
But Lib Dem leader Tim Farron predicted Mr Johnson would "spend more time apologising to nations he's offended" than working as foreign secretary.
The new prime minister had spoken by phone to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Downing Street said late on Wednesday.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said the PM had "emphasised her commitment to delivering the will of the British people to leave the European Union".
She added: "The prime minister explained that we would need some time to prepare for these negotiations and spoke of her hope that these could be conducted in a constructive and positive spirit."
The biggest surprise is the appointment of Boris Johnson, the Tory members' darling, as the foreign secretary - one of the greatest offices of state, with a hugely different role as the UK contemplates life outside the EU.
There will be arguments in the coming days of course about how that role will compare and possibly pull against the newly-created "minister for Brexit", a role that's been filled by arch Eurosceptic David Davis, a serial campaigner for civil liberties who is difficult to placate. The Eurosceptic Liam Fox is in charge of drumming up trade.
But the decision that marks the clearest break with the past is the sacking of George Osborne, David Cameron's fixer and political friend for so long.
Read more from Laura
Earlier, after returning from Buckingham Palace, where she was formally appointed as prime minister by the Queen, Mrs May made a speech from outside 10 Downing Street.
Her husband Philip was standing behind her as she highlighted the "precious bond" between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and between "every one of us".
"That means fighting against the burning injustice that if you're born poor you will die on average nine years earlier than others," Mrs May said.
For an "ordinary working class family", she added, "life is much harder than many people in Westminster realise".
"When it comes to opportunity, we won't entrench the advantages of the fortunate few, we will do everything we can to help anybody, whatever your background, to go as far as your talents will take you," Mrs May said.
Mrs May also paid tribute to her predecessor, David Cameron, saying he had been "a great modern prime minister".
Mr Cameron earlier gave his final speech as prime minister, saying it had been "the greatest honour" of his life and that the UK was "much stronger" than when he took over.


The stuntwoman who died in a motorcycle accident while filming Deadpool 2 has been identified as Joi SJ Harris.

Ms Harris, who was reportedly the first licensed female African American road racer in the US, was killed on Monday morning in Vancouver, Canada.
Eyewitnesses said she had lost control of the bike, jumped a kerb and crashed into a building.
Deadpool 2 star Ryan Reynolds said he was "heartbroken, shocked and devastated" at her death.
Production on the film has been temporarily halted.
Local media say Ms Harris had successfully practised the stunt several times before the fatal accident.
Ms Harris has previously been described as a pioneer encouraging more women and African Americans to enter professional road racing.
Black Girls Ride Magazine said in 2015 that she was "leading the pack in more ways than one".
"I am everything people never saw in this sport," Ms Harris told the magazine, adding that the high costs of road racing were a barrier, and most of her competitors were young, affluent white men.
During her first race, she said: "I was alone for most of the day, scared and in tears. I had no-one to talk to, and I didn't know what I needed."
"Sisters on the track are few and far in between. I want to show them that there's more for them to be exposed to. I want to get kids interested through experience."
According to her online profile, Ms Harris had been racing professionally since 2012.
Deadpool 2 was said to be her first film as a stunt performer.
On the FAQ section of her website, Ms Harris said that when it came to crashing, she was "not quite scared, but it crosses my mind at times, but a racer can't let it stop us".
She said that "everything takes time", and encouraged readers to "face your fears".


Cardiff "can cope" with the 170,000 people expected to pour into the city for the Champions League Final, organisers have said.

It will host the final when Juventus play Gareth Bale's Real Madrid on Saturday.
And Cardiff will be "at capacity", the Football Association of Wales (FAW) has said.
But Alan Hamer, who heads its organising committee, said the Welsh capital can "absorb" the influx.
Authorities have already said the final - the world's biggest club football match - will mean Cardiff will be at its "busiest ever" in 2017's single largest sporting event.
Mr Hamer said the scale of occasion had been the "biggest challenge" for the FAW, its lead organiser.
"When you look at cities the size of London and Berlin, [with] big footprints, we're pretty much taking every parcel of land in Cardiff.
"So, the size has been a challenge, but it's also an advantage because when people do come, they can walk around pretty easily.
"I think that will put Cardiff on the map and make it different to other finals."
The match will be the biggest sporting event ever staged in Wales, with a live global TV audience of 200 million and security arrangements on a similar level to the 2014 Nato summit in Wales.
But Mr Hamer said the massive number of visitors is not unprecedented.
"It's been done before. I think when Wales played Ireland in the 2005 Grand Slam [rugby] game They said about 250,000 people were in the city," he said.
"We know the city can cope."
The women's Champions League final will be held on Thursday at Cardiff City Stadium at 19:45 BST, with the men's final at the same time two days later at the re-named National Stadium of Wales.
Attractions arranged for visiting fans include fan meeting points for either team, a floating pitch for a legends' game and a Champions League Festival in Cardiff Bay.
The latter will be open on Saturday from 11:00 to 17:00 on Saturday.
Unlike during last summer's Euro 2016 championship, Cardiff will not host a fanzone where the match can be watched on a large screen.
Mr Hamer said the organisers had spoken to the police and decided against it.
"We would have loved to have been able to put a public screen in but the problem we faced is the city is already going to be at capacity.
"If we had put a free-of-charge, public screen in the city - particularly now that Real Madrid [and] Gareth Bale [are in the final] - we would have so many people coming in from local areas. The city would basically become gridlocked."
Mr Hamer said no other Champions League final host city had ever installed a free-of-charge public screen for the match.
"Attracting lots of ticketless fans can be a big problem. We're maxed out on accommodation, on transport.
"There are lots of bars in Cardiff - it's unique. There's lots of places that people can watch the game. We would urge people to watch it in their local clubs as well."
On Friday, the FAW announced the stadium's roof would be closed for safety reasons during the final.
It said the security operation for the four-day period, from 1 to 4 June, will be the "biggest ever seen" for a sporting event in the UK.
Police have said there will be a "ring of steel" around the event with significant road closures.
Mr Hamer said he wanted fans to be "reassured" the city would be safe and urged local people to take advantage of the event.
"The best footballers in the world are on our doorstep and these opportunities don't come around very often so people shouldn't be complacent and think 'well, we'll see them next time'.
"Who knows? There might not be a next time, so now's the time to get involved in the event," he said.


A woman flew from Istanbul to Paris with an infant girl hidden inside her hand luggage, Air France has said.

The airline said the child, travelling without a ticket, was discovered on board the flight on Monday night.
An airport source told AFP news agency that the woman was a resident of France who was in the process of adopting the child, from Haiti.
The airline notified the French authorities but prosecutors decided not to press charges.
The woman was in the transit zone in Istanbul but was prevented from boarding her flight with the child, the source told AFP.
She then bought a new flight ticket and hid the child in a bag.
Once on board, she placed the child at her feet under a blanket, but the girl needed to go to the toilet and was noticed by other passengers, the source said.
It's not clear how old the child was - one source said she was four years old, another that it was a one- or two-year-old baby.
"The cloth bag belonged to a woman sitting at the back of the plane. At one point she opened the bag and her neighbour on the other row of seats saw something moving inside. He alerted flight attendants, who then discovered a baby," a passenger named Vincent told French news website Planet.fr (in French).
The woman and the girl have been held at Charles de Gaulle airport while authorities investigate the case.


One of Africa's most celebrated visual artists, Ivorian Frederic Bruly Bouabre, has died aged 91.

Bouabre created many of his hundreds of small drawings while working as a clerk in various government offices.
He also created an alphabet of pictograms to transcribe the oral traditions of his people, the Betes.
In the last 25 years his work has been exhibited at several of the world's most important art galleries and museums.
His work was displayed at last year's Venice Biennale, both at the international exhibition, called The Encyclopaedic Palace, and at the Ivory Coast pavilion.
"Bouabre is himself a kind of builder of encyclopaedias because his personal work consists in inventing a specific African alphabet," the Ivorian curator and art critic Yacouba Konate told the BBC at the time.
"He thinks it's easier for an African to learn, to get new knowledge, when he works inside an African writing system, an African language."
Mr Konate said Bouabre also documented the scarification on people's faces in various West African countries.
According to the Venice Biennale organisers, Bouabre worked as a civil servant until 1948, when he had a vision after which he dedicated himself to art.
Jonathan Watkins, from the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham and curator of a recent an exhibition of Bouabre's in Seoul, said during the vision he saw different coloured circles in the sky.
"It lead him to the conclusion that he was put on earth as a kind of prophetic character. He called himself 'Cheikh Nadro'.... 'the one who never forgets,'" he told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme.
His visual alphabet language was portrayed on more than 400 small cards using ballpoint pens and crayons, with symbolic imagery surrounded by text.


Channel 4 has commissioned a second series of dark comedy Black Mirror.

Created by journalist Charlie Brooker, the series is a bleak look at modern society, with three vignettes looking at how technology affects our lives.
The first episode, in which a fictional Prime Minister was blackmailed into having sex with a pig, prompted 322 complaints to Ofcom and Channel 4.
But it also won a Golden Rose for best comedy at this year's Rose d'Or Television Festival.
Brooker, who wrote the opening two episodes of the first series,
          announced its return on Twitter
.
A further three episodes have been commissioned, with filming due to start in August.
Channel 4's head of comedy, Shane Allen, said
          in a statement
: "British drama seems particularly obsessed with murder and the past, often together. Black Mirror is a rare modern look at where society and individuals could be headed.
"Charlie Brooker exudes that same pioneering spirit of Dennis Potter and Chris Morris with their daring, complex, compelling originality."
Brooker added:  "Half of the things in the first run of Black Mirror seem to be on the verge of coming true.
"If the stories from the second run start coming true then we're REALLY in trouble."
After a heavy advertising campaign, the first series of Black Mirror averaged 1.5 million viewers across its run. It picked up a further 2.1 million views via video on demand services.


Swansea City are hoping midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson will be fit to face Everton in the Premier League.

The 25-year-old Iceland international was substituted in the 2-0 win over Leicester and missed the 2-1 Capital Cup defeat at Liverpool.
Manager Garry Monk praised the player who has scored once and has seven assists in eight Premier League appearance this season.
"He's been brilliant, his contribution is there for everyone to see," he said.
Sigurdsson was signed from Tottenham in the summer having previously played 18 times for the Swans on loan from German side Hoffenheim in 2012.
He has been a key player in Swansea's rise to sixth place in the Premier League, and had a hand in both goals against Leicester.
He suffered a groin injury in that match, with the Swans hoping his early substitution will help him make the starting line-up at Goodison Park on Saturday.
"Gylfi's done very well for us," added Monk.
"He's come in and started very well from the first game - like all the squad.
"I think they're growing in confidence and hopefully they can only get better. I think he can only get better."
Swansea are also hopeful that South Korea international Ki Sung-Yueng will shrug off the shoulder injury he suffered at Anfield.
Monk concedes that Everton will be a stern test after making a poor start to the season.
The Toffees - under former Swans boss Roberto Martinez - picked up only one point from their opening three matches in the Premier League, but have won their last two outings against Aston Villa and Burnley, scoring six goals in the process.
And that recovery does not surprise Monk,
"I know they had a difficult start adjusting to playing in Europe, having to cope with the demands of that like we did last season and I think they were adjusting to that really," said Monk.
"The bottom line is they've got a very good squad, people they've bought for a lot of money and those people are showing what they can do right now, so we have to be right on our game."


Log books from the early Antarctic expeditions indicate that the area of summer sea-ice around the continent has barely changed in size in a century.

Researchers have studied the records of pioneering explorers, including Captain Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton.
The study suggests that Antarctic sea-ice is much less sensitive to climate change than the Arctic, which has declined dramatically.
The research has been published in The Cryosphere journal.
A century ago Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton were among those who ventured into completely uncharted territory.
They were the bravest explorers of their age. At the time, their voyages brought a totally new understanding of the Antarctic landscape.  And now their records are giving scientists new data on the impacts of climate change.
Some data collected by whaling vessels suggests the extent of Antarctic summer (December, January, February, March) sea-ice was significantly higher during the 1950s, before a steep decline returned it to around six million square kilometres (average across the four months) in recent decades.
But the log books of the "heroic explorers" show that over the long term, the amount of ice has changed very little. It has merely ebbed and flowed.
Dr Jonathan Day of the University of Reading who led the study says his analysis indicates that the extent of Antarctic summer sea-ice is at most 14% smaller now than during the early 1900s.
"The Antarctic sea-ice a hundred years ago was fairly similar to what it is today. That is not much if you contrast this with the Arctic which has lost 26% of its extent," he told BBC News.
Dr Day says his results suggest the climate of Antarctica may have fluctuated significantly throughout the 20th Century, swinging between decades of high ice cover and decades of low cover, rather than a steady downward trend.
"We know that sea-ice in the Antarctic has increased slightly over the past 30 years, since satellite observations began. Scientists have been grappling to understand this trend in the context of global warming, but these new findings suggest it may not be anything new.
"If ice levels were as low a century ago as estimated in this research, then a similar increase may have occurred between then and the middle of the century, when previous studies suggest ice levels were far higher."
Captain Scott died along with his team in 1912 after missing out on being the first to reach the South Pole by a matter of weeks. Shackleton's ship sank after becoming trapped in ice in 1915 as he and his crew attempted the first ever cross-Antarctic trek.
Scott and Shackleton went to the Antarctic in search of glory - but a century on - their ultimate  legacy will be to have helped scientists learn more about climate change.
Follow Pallab on Twitter


A more powerful earthquake has rocked the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto in the middle of the night, a day after an earlier tremor killed nine people.

The magnitude-7.3 quake hit at a depth of 10km (six miles) at 01:25 on Saturday (15:25 GMT on Friday) in Kyushu region. At least three people died and hundreds were injured.
A village has been evacuated after a dam collapsed, media reports say.
A tsunami warning was issued, and lifted some 50 minutes later.
Japan is regularly hit by earthquakes but stringent building codes mean that they rarely cause significant damage.
This new earthquake in Kyushu was much bigger and hit a wider area than the one that struck Kumamoto on Thursday night, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo.
In one town near the coast, the city hall has been so badly damaged there are fears it could collapse. A hospital has been evacuated because it is no longer safe.
Thousands of people have fled on to the streets and into parks - where they are huddled under blankets looking dazed and afraid, our correspondent says.
But there are numerous reports of people trapped inside buildings, including at least 60 inside an old people's home.
Public broadcaster NHK says the dam collapsed in the Nishihara village.
Television pictures showed thousands of people filling streets and parks, looking dazed across the region.
NHK had warned of sea waves of up to 1m (3ft).
Japan's nuclear authority said the Sendai nuclear plant was not damaged.
The quake was originally assessed as magnitude 7.1 but revised upwards to 7.3 later.
Gavin Hayes, a research geophysicist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) in Colorado, told the BBC that the latest earthquake would hamper the earlier rescue operation that was already under way.
He said more damage could be expected as the earthquake had been shallower and the fault-line had been much longer.
"The ground surface would have moved in the region of 4-5m. So, you are talking very intense shaking over quite a large area. And that's why we'll probably see a significant impact from this event."
The Associated Press news agency said guests at the Ark Hotel near the Kumamoto Castle, which was damaged, woke up and gathered in the lobby for safety.
Thursday's magnitude-6.2 quake caused shaking at some places as intense as the huge earthquake that hit the country in 2011, Japan's seismology office said.
That quake sparked a huge tsunami and nuclear meltdown at a power plant in Fukushima.
Most of those who died in Thursday's quake were in the town of Mashiki where an apartment building collapsed and many houses were damaged.
More than 1,000 people were injured.
Some 40,000 people had initially fled their homes, with many of those closest to the epicentre spending the night outside, as more than 130 aftershocks had hit the area.
Japan is one of the most seismically active areas on Earth, accounting for about 20% of global quakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater. Seismometers are recording some kind of event every five minutes, on average.
It is through bitter experience that Japan has learnt the strategies to mitigate damage, injury and death. Not only does it implement some the best building construction practices but it has also established an early warning network.
This system relies on the lightning analysis of the developing quake, establishing its location and strength. Alerts are then broadcast that can give people more distant from the epicentre vital seconds' notice.
Just 10 seconds is more than sufficient to drop and get under a sturdy table or open the doors of a fire station.
The prospect of buildings already damaged in Thursday's quake toppling over in this latest tremor will be a concern.


Rock band U2 paid an emotional tribute to murdered MP Jo Cox as they brought their Joshua Tree tour to the UK.

Bono, who worked with the MP on the Make Poverty History campaign, dedicated Ultraviolet (Light My Way) to her memory.
"She lived her life championing the lives of others," he told the audience at London's Twickenham Stadium.
Mrs Cox, 41, was shot and stabbed in June last year during the EU referendum campaign.
The tribute was one of several moments when U2 paused to acknowledge global events, including the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London.
For their encore, the band asked Noel Gallagher on stage to sing Don't Look Back In Anger, which became an unofficial anthem of resilience in Manchester after a suicide bomber killed 22 fans outside an Ariana Grande concert in May.
Gallagher also dedicated the song to the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
A day earlier, U2 had invited 50 of the firefighters who tackled the blaze to watch their rehearsals and soundcheck.
And Bono echoed Jo Cox's maiden speech to Parliament - "we have more in common than that which divides us" - as he made a plea for tolerance towards immigrants.
"Us Irish are immigrant people," he said, "and of course we came here into this great, Great Britain and we thank you for giving us safety and sanctuary for all these years.
"We hope it won't stop."
It was a testament to U2's experience and sincerity that these moments did not overshadow or unbalance the evening; which was, at heart, a celebration of their career-defining album The Joshua Tree.
Written against the backdrop of the Cold War, The Joshua Tree reflected the two sides of the American dream, with the Irish band seduced by its glamour but repelled by what bassist Adam Clayton called "the bleakness and greed" of the Reagan era.
Thirty years later, it remains an eerily relevant ode to a divided America.
"It seems like we have come full circle from when The Joshua Tree songs were originally written, with global upheaval, extreme right wing politics and some fundamental human rights at risk," said guitarist The Edge earlier this year.
So while most bands revisit classic albums as an exercise in nostalgia (or luring back lost fans), U2 seemed energised, even hungry on this anniversary jaunt.
The tour itself boasts technology that would have been unthinkable in 1987 - from the sampled instruments that bolstered their sound; to the 200-foot, 8K LED video wall that formed a backdrop to the set.
At the start of the show, however, U2 spurned both those luxuries.
The video screens were set to standby as Larry Mullen, Jr strode onto a small, tree-shaped satellite stage and launched into Sunday Bloody Sunday's instantly-recognisable drum riff.
He was soon joined by his bandmates, who played a four song pre-history of The Joshua Tree, facing each other in a circle, like the Dubliners who put on their first London shows 38 years ago, using Â£3,000 they'd borrowed from their families.
Performing without spotlights or video screens in the broad daylight was a brave move in front of 80,000 fans - but it brought the best out of both sides.
The audience were forced to focus on U2, and U2 were forced to play their hardest, as Sunday Bloody Sunday led into New Year's Day, followed by Bad and their breakthrough single Pride (In The Name Of Love).
The raw power of those songs - more often reserved for encores - set the stadium on fire. Grown men played air guitar and bellowed the choruses, clasping each other around the shoulders when they weren't punching the air.
For once, Bono was humbled, saying: "Thank you for letting us back into your lives."
With the crowd still singing the chorus to Pride, the band moved to the main stage, and played Where The Streets Have No Name silhouetted against the burnt  orange colour of a sunset.
This was exactly how the original Joshua Tree tour began in 1987 and it proved similarly effective 30 years later.
Indeed, the screens were consistently used to great effect. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For was set against a slow-moving shot of a desert highway; while With Or Without You saw the band play against dramatic time-lapse footage of Death Valley.
Later, before Exit, they showed a clip from the 1950s TV Western Trackdown, in which a shady con-man named Trump tries to frighten the residents of a small town into building a protective wall.
Rather than preach to the audience, as he has in the past, Bono simply let these clips - and the music - do the talking.
The star, who recently turned 57, was in better voice than on previous tours. What he has lost in range, he has gained in depth and gravitas.
When he sang Mothers Of The Disappeared, accompanied by a video of women holding candles in honour of the young Chilean men murdered by Augusto Pinochet, the purity of his emotion echoed around the stands.
That song concluded the Joshua Tree section of the show; freeing the band up to play some crowd-pleasers for the encore.
They raced through Beautiful Day, Elevation and Vertigo - three songs that exposed how U2 stopped soul-searching in favour of stadium-filling in the 21st Century.
In the mosh pit, they were a highlight, but elsewhere they felt like the musical equivalent of a Happy Meal.
Achtung Baby's Ultraviolet and One felt more nourishing - raising hopes that U2 will tour that album when it reaches its own 30th anniversary in 2021.
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