The coalition has suffered its biggest defeat in the Lords since being elected over plans to charge single parents to use the Child Support Agency.

An amendment by Conservative peer Lord Mackay was backed by 270 votes to 128 - the largest in a series of defeats for the Welfare Reform Bill.
He argued it was unfair to charge lone parents who had tried and failed to get their ex-partners to pay maintenance.
The government said it would seek to overturn the defeat.
On Monday, the government was defeated in the Lords in a vote on its plans for a £26,000-a-year household benefit cap.
That amendment, put forward by the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, was backed by Labour, Lib Dem and crossbench peers, but the government has insisted it will press ahead with the plan.
Wednesday's defeat over child support was by a majority of 142 - the previous largest defeat was a loss by 112 votes on plans to abolish the chief coroner.
The BBC's political correspondent Ben Geoghegan said the latest defeat was particularly significant, not just because of its scale but because the rebellion was led by a former Conservative minister and supported by so many party grandees.
The list of Tory rebels included former ministers Lord Lawson and Lord Carrington - who, like Lord Mackay, both served under Margaret Thatcher.
The current system costs the taxpayer £460m a year and ministers say it leaves 1.5 million children without effective financial support.
Q&A: Welfare changes row
They want to encourage parents to come to their own arrangements rather than relying on the state to set child maintenance payments.
They are seeking to introduce an up front charge of £100 or £50 plus a levy of up to 12% on maintenance payments if a single parent had taken "reasonable" steps to get the other parent to come to a voluntary agreement on child support.
The government says the poorest parents will only have to pay £20 up front and charges will not apply in cases where there has been domestic violence.
But Lord Mackay said: "I am entirely in favour of that but if that proves impossible where the woman is at the stage where there is nothing more she can do, the only thing she can do is pay.
"And what does that do? If anything that might make her not go to the Child Support Agency at all and the child may lose their maintenance."
Labour peer Lord Morris said he was "aghast" at the plan, asking: "What is the purpose of imposing on the most vulnerable people a charge of this kind?"
Tory peer Lord Newton of Braintree said he had "no problem with the case for reform", but the proposals were "not just".
Cross-bencher Baroness Butler-Sloss, a former family barrister and judge, said there were fathers "who would simply not pay".
She told peers: "The idea that a mother in very poor circumstances, where the father has left her with young children, who finds herself having to seek social benefit from the state which she may not have sought before ... she then has to pay a fee for the welfare of her children, where she may not have any money and he may have some, it is profoundly unfair."
Speaking on behalf of the government, minister Lord De Mauley said Lord Mackay's amendment would require the state "to try to arbitrate" on whether a parent had taken reasonable steps.
He said parents could challenge the decision, adding to the "cost and complexity" of the system, and even if they were allowed to offer a "self-declaration" that they had taken all reasonable steps, the scheme would cost £200 million to the end of March 2019.
He said there must be a "clear financial incentive" to encourage parents to reach their own maintenance settlements, adding: "We no longer require parents to use the CSA. We do not want it to be the default option.
"We don't want to return to the days when the state is encouraging parents to blame each other."
A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "We are disappointed that the Lords seem content to leave in place a system that has consistently failed children and we will seek to overturn this in the House of Commons.
"Our reforms would see a doubling of support for families going through a break-up to come to their own financial arrangements with a far improved statutory scheme in place for those that really need it.
"It is right and fair that there is a charge for using a service that can cost the taxpayer around £25,000 per case and almost half a billion pounds per year."


Lincoln Christmas market risks becoming a "flop" after it was revealed the 2013 event made nearly £80,000 less than predicted.

A drop in coach parties and fewer stallholders have been blamed for the event making just £4,000.
The figures follow a £100,000 loss in 2012, but the City of Lincoln Council maintains the event's future is secure.
It is however, proposing a 12% rise in pitch fees, which a business leader said could drive stallholders away.
Linda Wardale, chairman of the Bailgate Traders' Group, said traders may not be able to afford the increase.
"There will not be the variety of stalls there and it could be a potential flop," she said.
The 2012 event was heavily criticised for a one-way system, introduced to tackle overcrowding.
While coach numbers have declined in recent years, a council report said there was "a significant decrease" in 2013. The council said there were 438 in 2012, compared to 314 last Christmas.
There was also a fall in the number of stalls - from 243 to 199 - and parts of the castle were unavailable.
The report admits "it is increasingly clear that a fundamental review of the business plan is required" and recommends a 12% increase in pitch fees - to a maximum of £1,411.
Council leader Ric Metcalfe, said that some stall holders were making a "significant amount of money" at the Christmas market and should contribute to the running costs.
"Given there are very significant overhead costs falling on the council primarily but other public authorities as well, it's only fair that those businesses should share the infrastructure costs of maintaining the event," he said.


A former Army colonel who died after his canoe capsized in the River Tees in County Durham has been named.

Andrew Pullan was canoeing at Whorlton Lido near Barnard Castle on Saturday when he had to be pulled from the river by his instructor and given first aid.
The 47-year-old was flown to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. He died at 07:30 GMT on Sunday.
Colonel Pullan commanded the former 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment between 2006-2008.
He was married with two children and had recently retired.
Durham Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and an inquest into Col Pullan's death would be carried out.


The oldest pub in a Ceredigion seaside town, said to have inspired Dylan Thomas poems, will be turned into accommodation by Brains Brewery.

The Dolau Inn at New Quay, which opened in the 18th Century, is on the Dylan Thomas trail.
A petition to try and save the pub has received 500 signatures in a week, with campaigners saying a lot of local history is linked to the building.
Brains, which owns the pub, has been asked to comment.
Mel Newman, who started the petition, said: "It's not just the oldest pub but it's one of the oldest buildings in New Quay. I think it's important it remains here."
Historian Sue Passmore said the pub dates back to the 1750s.
"Dylan Thomas wrote his Quite Early One Morning play in New Quay when he was living here during the Second World War," she said.
"You can tell when listening to it or reading it that it's definitely based on New Quay and its locals. And if you look at Under Milk Wood you can see that is just a development of Quite Early One Morning.
"So it'd be a real shame if the Dolau stopped being a pub as it's been such a part of New Quay."


Independent advisers have been appointed to help NHS Tayside meet "prolonged and considerable" financial challenges.

A report from Audit Scotland last year found the health board needs to make savings of around £175m over the next five years.
The Scottish government said the move to appoint advisers was part of its approach to helping NHS boards.
It has has provided loans of £24.3m to the board over the last four years.
It has now appointed an Assurance Advisory Group to provide expertise on financial planning and "transformational change" to the board's management team.
Ministers said the measure was part of its approach to helping NHS boards.
The group will be chaired by Prof Sir Lewis Ritchie and will report back to Paul Gray, chief executive of NHS Scotland, within three months.
Audit Scotland said NHS Tayside's potential budget deficit for 2016-17 stood at £11.65m.
It said managers were faced with making "unprecedented" savings of £58.4m during that period.
Over the next five years, savings of £175m will need to be made, while NHS Tayside will also have to repay £20m of loan cash to the government.
Mr Gray said: "NHS Tayside has put in place a transformation programme to deliver improved services to patients and better cost effectiveness.
"This plan sets out how the board will achieve financial balance.
"The advisory group I have appointed, chaired by Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie, will work with NHS Tayside to help them deliver this programme.
"I have asked them to report back to me within three months on the robustness of the plan and  the progress made to date.
"I am confident it will help NHS Tayside to put in place the steps required to achieve a sustainable financial balance."
Prof John Connell, chairman of NHS Tayside, welcomed the appointment.
He said: "The wealth of experience of the members will bring further external perspective to the planning and delivery of our transformational programme.
"Against the background of the scale of challenge we face, the additional capacity the group will provide is also welcomed as we acknowledge our staff are working hard to deliver the day-to-day care and treatment for patients, their families and communities, at the same time as planning to transform services."
Holyrood's Public Audit Committee had expressed concerns over NHS Tayside's plan ahead of a meeting with the board on Thursday.
Convener Jenny Marra pointed to additional government loan requests and proposals for "high or medium risk" savings.
"The financial recovery plan that NHS Tayside has submitted is still deeply worrying," she said.
"At tomorrow's meeting, we expect to get detailed answers on how they'll make these savings without impacting NHS Tayside jobs and vital patient services."


A young Yazidi woman who survived trafficking and gang-rape by so-called Islamic State militants is to be appointed a UN ambassador.

Nadia Murad, who is also a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, will become the UNODC Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.
Her "appointment marks the first time a survivor of atrocities is bestowed with this distinction," the UN said.
Ms Murad was captured in Iraq in 2014. Six of her brothers were murdered.
The 23-year-old told the BBC she had also been subjected to sexual and physical abuse.
"Under their rule, a captured woman becomes a spoils of war if she is caught trying to escape. She is put in a cell and raped by all the men in that compound. I was gang-raped."
She said she had been bought and sold several times by the militant group. She, however, managed to escape.
Since her escape, she has been advocating for the end of human trafficking.
Ms Murad's ambassadorship "will focus on advocacy initiatives and raise awareness around the plight of the countless victims of trafficking in persons, especially refugees, women and girls," the UN said.
Her induction ceremony at the UN will be witnessed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Ambassador Samantha Power and attorney for Ms Murad, Amal Clooney.


Blue skies and hot sunshine have continued into the working week after temperatures peaked at 32C (91F) in London, beating Sunday's hot weather.

Overnight, it was hotter in parts of the UK than it was in Istanbul during the day.
The mercury hit 24C (75C) at midnight at London City Airport - hotter than in the Turkish city where temperatures stayed below 21C (70F).
Temperatures had reached 30.2C (86.36F) in south-west London at the weekend.
Monday's top temperature was recorded at RAF Northolt in west London.
Forecasters have anticipated highs of 33C (91.4F) during the days to come.
In the West Midlands, working dogs at Stourbridge fire station needed to cool down.
Firefighters tweeted pictures of the dogs jumping for water from hosepipes and wrote: "@WestMidsFire even the fire dogs feeling the heat @Stourbridgefire white Watch"
In Lancashire, roads were seen melting in the high temperatures.
The Hesketh Bank and Tarleton Community Group wrote on Facebook: "If your [sic] thinking of avoiding Hesketh Lane I would think twice about using Taylors Meanygate unless you want tar all over your car. The road has melted."
Surrey Police said there had also been an incident of a road melting in Guildford, where spilt oil had "melted into the tarmac due to the heat".
BBC Weather Watchers captured the skies at sunset on Sunday, and as Worcestershire woke to glorious blue skies on Monday.
The high temperatures have been attributed to warm air originating from the tropical Atlantic.
In some spots, the strength of the UV has been recorded as being as high as that in Cyprus and Gibraltar.
And BBC Sussex took its Big Bus Tour to seaside resort Bognor Regis.
The Met Office said the first half of the week would see temperatures in the high 20s or low 30s for many across England and Wales, but there was some cloud and drizzle to the far north of Scotland.
Temperatures are expected to return nearer to average over eastern parts of the UK on Tuesday, but the fine, very warm and sometimes humid conditions in the south will continue until Thursday.
The Met Office has issued a level three amber heatwave warning from Monday to Thursday, "meaning there is a 90% probability of heatwave conditions", according to its website.
It means health and social workers should ensure high risk groups, including the elderly, children and those with medical conditions, are kept cool and hydrated.
Public Health England has also issued hot weather advice, with people urged to keep an eye on older people and young children as well as those at risk with heart and lung conditions.
Tips include to:
People are also urged not to leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle, particularly young children and animals.


The mother of Westminster attacker Khalid Masood has said she is "shocked, saddened and numbed" by his actions.

Janet Ajao said she had "shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident".
Masood killed three people when he drove a car into pedestrians last Wednesday. He then fatally stabbed a police officer before being shot dead.
Meanwhile, police say no evidence has been found of links between Masood and so-called Islamic State or al-Qaeda.
Mrs Ajao, from Trelech in Carmarthenshire, said: "I wish to make it absolutely clear, so there can be no doubt, I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity.
"I wish to thank my friends, family and community from the bottom of my heart for the love and support given to us."
Masood, 52, who was born as Adrian Elms but later took his stepfather's name Ajao, carried out his attack within 82 seconds.
It has emerged that police believe he drove up to 76mph as he crossed Westminster Bridge.
The Islamic State group has said it was behind the attack.
But Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, of the Metropolitan Police, told BBC Panorama that, while Masood "clearly had an interest in Jihad", police had so far found no evidence of an association with the group or al-Qaeda, or that he had discussed his plan with others.
He said: "His methods appear to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low-cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but I have no evidence or information at this time that he discussed this with others."
Mr Basu also said there was also no evidence Masood was radicalised in prison in 2003 - describing this as "speculation".
He said Masood was not considered to be a threat by the security services or counter-terror police and was not part of investigations connected with Luton - where he had once lived - or the long-banned al-Muhajiroun network.
He added: "I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why. Most importantly so do the victims and families."
Masood's victims were PC Keith Palmer - who was stabbed outside Parliament - Aysha Frade, who was in her 40s and worked at a London sixth-form college, US tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, and retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes, 75, from south London.
Thirteen people are understood to remain in hospital.
It understood the car Masood used was seen driving in the area around the bridge at some point before the attack.
It may have been on the day or before that, although it remains unclear what the purpose of this was.
It is also understood Masood's phone connected with messaging app WhatsApp minutes before the attack, which police say started at 14:40 GMT.
The revelations have prompted a debate about the responsibilities of messaging services.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said encrypted messages must be accessible to intelligence services fighting terrorism, stressing there must be "no place for terrorists to hide".
She is holding talks with other EU ministers in Brussels to discuss ways of preventing further attacks and will meet technology firms later this week..
Earlier, the family of the US tourist killed in the attack said he bore no ill will to anyone and had spent his life "focusing on the positive".
Kurt Cochran's family said they had "felt the love of so many people" since his death.
Mr Cochran had been with his wife, Melissa, on the final day of a holiday in Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary - their first trip abroad. She suffered a broken leg and rib and a cut head.
Meanwhile, Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood, who was hailed a "hero" for giving first aid to PC Keith Palmer, said he was "heartbroken" he could not do more to save the policeman's life.
Mr Ellwood, a Conservative MP and former Army officer, performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on PC Palmer in New Palace Yard, Westminster.
He tweeted that he had been "deeply humbled and overwhelmed" by the messages of support he had received since the attack.
Officers investigating the attacks are holding two people from Birmingham on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. Nine people have so far been released without charge, while a 32-year-old woman arrested in Manchester remains on police bail until late March.
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A teenage rapist who was caught in bed with a 12-year-old girl by her mother has been given a four-year custodial sentence.

Downpatrick Crown Court heard Brandon John Rainey, 18, had "groomed" his victim with flattery, cannabis and prescription drugs.
Rainey pleaded guilty to charges of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault, all on 1 April last year.
The judge said it was clear Rainey knew his victim was 12.
The court heard the girl's mother caught the pair in bed together after they had exchanged social media messages.
It was claimed the mother physically assaulted Rainey before calling police.
Rainey, whose address was given as c/o the Young Offenders Centre, denied any wrongdoing when interviewed by police, but when DNA evidence was put to him, he claimed the girl told him she was 16.
Jailing him, the judge said it was clear that Rainey knew at all times his victim was a child of 12 and that even after he had been caught and assaulted by his victim's mother, he continued to send the girl messages "to try to avoid detection".
Rainey also told her to clear and delete any previous messages he had been sent.
The judge said that as well as being under a suspended sentence at the time of the rape, Rainey had been in court that day and had been made the subject of a year-long conditional discharge for public order offences.
It was because of his record, his attitude to the offence and because of his behavioural and mental health problems coupled with a history of "substance misuse and abuse" that the judge said he was deeming Rainey to be a "significant risk to the public".
The judge said he believed the public would be best protected by an extended sentence, meaning that when eventually released by the Parole Commissioners, Rainey would have to serve an extra two years on supervised licence.
Rainey was also barred from working with children, ordered to sign the police sex offenders register and made the subject of a 10 year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.


York climbed off the foot of the National League with an impressive win to leave Eastleigh still chasing their first win of the year.

In a hectic opening quarter-of-an-hour, City took charge with two goals from Jon Parkin.
Sean Newton's long seventh-minute throw-in was headed on by Vadaine Oliver for Parkin to volley home at the far post, and the striker then finished off a similar move with another close-range finish six minutes later.
York keeper Kyle Letheren had a moment to forget when he failed to deal with Ross Stearn's simple in-swinging free-kick and allowed the ball to bounce between his legs into the back of the net.
After the break, Spitfires defender Gavin Hoyte somehow cleared Amari Morgan-Smith's close-range shot off the line.
Substitute Tyler Garratt then hit the post at the other end with a bouncing 25-yard drive.
Oliver nearly restored York's two-goal lead when his header from an Asa Hall corner was pushed against the bar by keeper Ryan Clarke.
But the striker was not to be denied as he wrapped up the points with 10 minutes left, holding off Ayo Obileye's challenge before steering a shot into the bottom corner.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, York City 3, Eastleigh 1.
Second Half ends, York City 3, Eastleigh 1.
Ayo Obileye (Eastleigh) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, York City. Danny Holmes replaces Adriano Moke.
Reda Johnson (Eastleigh) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Eastleigh. Sam Matthews replaces Ben Close.
Goal!  York City 3, Eastleigh 1. Vadaine Oliver (York City).
Substitution, Eastleigh. Scott Wilson replaces Craig McAllister.
Simon Heslop (York City) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Eastleigh. Tyler Garrett replaces Ross Stearn.
Second Half begins York City 2, Eastleigh 1.
First Half ends, York City 2, Eastleigh 1.
Goal!  York City 2, Eastleigh 1. Ross Stearn (Eastleigh).
Goal!  York City 2, Eastleigh 0. Jon Parkin (York City).
Goal!  York City 1, Eastleigh 0. Jon Parkin (York City).
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.


A deal paving the way for elections to Labour's shadow cabinet could be done well before the party's proposed review in November, the BBC has been told.

The agreement, which is being brokered by the party's chief whip Rosie Winterton, would involve MPs being permitted to elect only a proportion of shadow cabinet places.
Progress had been made and "this will be sorted", one shadow minister said.
Reinstating elections has been a key demand of MPs who quit this summer.
Labour has also said a "not insignificant number" of MPs will return to the shadow cabinet next week - in advance of any formal agreement on elections - among them some "surprising names".
Some members of the NEC and the current shadow cabinet believe that Mr Corbyn cannot return to parliament in a couple of weeks time with continuing vacancies on his frontbench.
At the very start of this week's conference in Liverpool, speaker after speaker at a Labour First rally - filled to the gunnels by those who hadn't voted for Jeremy Corbyn - called for shadow cabinet elections as a way of bringing about unity between the pro and anti-Corbyn factions.
While on the surface no progress appeared to have been made since then at the conference or on the party's NEC, under the radar a parallel process was taking place involving the chief whip and members of Mr Corbyn's staff.
Whether the deal would be enough to bring back high-profile Corbyn critics remains to be seen. But there is some confidence that a deal is on the cards that could see some of those roughly 60 front bench positions begin to fill up.
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson had made the case for MPs to have some say over who sits at the party's top table at a meeting of the ruling NEC last Tuesday.
No agreement was reached but Watson pressed Corbyn to agree to the demand at Saturday's night NEC meeting in Liverpool as a sign that he was willing to compromise but also to settle the issue swiftly so it didn't hang over the conference.
Instead, and despite the talk of unity, Jeremy Corbyn backed a demand to remove voting rights from NEC representatives appointed by the party's leaders in Scotland and Wales - neither of whom backed his re-election. The attempt failed.
So why are shadow cabinet elections so controversial?
Well, the shadow cabinet appoints three members of Labour's ruling NEC. The fear in the Corbyn camp is that if MPs elect the shadow cabinet they will also choose the three NEC representatives, all of whom wouldn't necessarily back the leader.
The NEC is particularly important because - as recent failed court challenges to its authority prove - it is regarded as the body which will decide on the rules of any future leadership contest.
One Corbyn critic confided: "I don't give a stuff about sitting in the shadow cabinet - I do care about the NEC places."
Despite the likely deal, some of the more contentious consequences of shadow cabinet elections still won't be hammered out until there is a wider review of party democracy and the BBC understands this is unlikely to happen until November,
So - as part of a wider review - if MPs were given at least some say in choosing the top team there could be counter-balancing changes to the NEC's membership which favour Mr Corbyn.
And there may be proposals to give the increasingly left-wing party membership some say in the shadow cabinet too.
Members of Mr Corbyn's inner circle say the delay in deciding the issue of elections owes more to the leader's character than to any Machiavellian manoeuvring by his allies.
They have explained he wants to talk to leading critics and former frontbenchers one-to-one and see how they can work together and this goes beyond just filling front bench posts.
But we have spoken to some of those approached by Mr Corbyn and members of his office and almost all of them saw some form of shadow cabinet elections as essential before committing to a return.


Six men involved in a drugs and money-laundering network across Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Leicester have been jailed.

They were sentenced at Preston Crown Court for offences including conspiring to supply Class A drugs and money laundering.
Gang leader Zahid Khan, 40, carried out the drug deals and used couriers to transport heroin, cocaine and cash.
Police had seized 1kg of heroin, 1kg of cocaine and nearly Â£50,000.
Lancashire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit began investigating the gang in January 2015.
They found couriers were taking drugs to and from Preston, Accrington, Bolton and Leicester.
A seventh man is due to be sentenced on 26 July. Two other men were given suspended sentences and community service after pleading guilty to money laundering offences.
Det Sgt Mark Lee said: "Our investigation revealed that Khan and his associates couriered drugs around the county and beyond and laundered the proceeds of their drug deals.
"As a result of this operation, we have dismantled a significant drugs network, taking large quantities of cocaine and heroin off our streets, ensuring that those involved in the conspiracy have been brought to justice."
A proceeds of crime investigation will follow.


Palaeontologists believe an animal that lived in what is now Skye 165 million years ago fed milk to its young.

Milk teeth have been discovered in the fossil jaw of a juvenile Wareolestes rex, a species of mammal from the Middle Jurassic.
Scientists suggest adult females secreted milk on to a bare patch of skin for their young to lap up.
Nipples and suckling as seen in modern mammals had still to evolve when Wareolestes rex lived.
The two centimetre-long jaw was found on Skye in 2015 and is one of the most complete fossils of the early mammal to be found outside of China.
Single teeth of Wareolestes rex have previously been found in England.
Palaeontologists from National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh and the University of Oxford have been examining the fossil from Skye.
Using micro-CT scanning technology, they have identified milk teeth and, inside the jaw, adult teeth that had not erupted through the gums.
The scientists said this showed that Wareolestes rex replaced its teeth once, like humans and other modern mammals.
It had a set of milk teeth, followed by a set of adult teeth.
This pattern of tooth replacement was an important step in the evolution of mammals and is linked to the production of milk to feed young, the scientists said.
Elsa Panciroli, the PhD student who led the research of the fossil, said: "This is such an exciting discovery.
"It's one of the most complete Middle Jurassic mammal fossils described from Scotland.
"This was a juvenile animal that was losing its milk teeth and the permanent teeth were just breaking through the gums.
"Tooth replacement like this tells us this early mammal fed on milk provided by the parent until it grew to adult size."
She added: "Wareolestes would have cared for its young, which is a behaviour we associate with modern mammals."
Living in a period when dinosaurs were the dominant animal, Wareolestes rex were a large mammal for the time, with adults growing to the size of a guinea pig.
The method of Wareolestes rex delivery of milk to its young is similar to that of platypus.
During the Middle Jurassic, Skye was covered in lagoons and filled with turtles, crocodiles, pterosaurs and dinosaurs.
Mainland Scotland was an island surrounded by a semi-tropical sea filled with marine reptiles and ammonites.


He's arguably one of the most famous people in the world.

If you haven't heard of Simon Cowell, chances are you have heard of one of his many artists.
But love him or hate him, how much do any of us really know about the boss of The X Factor?
Well, fret no more because he has opened up to Radio 1's Nick Grimshaw about "crazy" Miley Cyrus, his doubts about Olly Murs and who he thinks is the ultimate pop star.
As a kid Simon hated school and used to pretend to his parents that he was sick so he didn't have to go in.
The worst thing you could call a teenage Simon Cowell was a "show-off". However, he now hopes that is how he will be remembered.
At one point the 55-year-old worked at an estate agent, which he hated. We reckon he constantly looked like this.
Watch Radio 1's interview with Simon Cowell
The estate agent was based in swanky Mayfair in London - there's the Simon we know.
Simon's first job in the industry was working as a runner on a film set where he was paid £20 a week.
He's never looked back…
10 years since the X Factor began, Simon has said he is glad the show exists because it gives normal people the chance to become a star.
People like Olly Murs.
Simon has admitted that Olly almost did not make it to the live finals, but he decided to "take a chance on him".
"I don't think Olly would have got a contract outside the show, because the show defined his personality," Simon said. "I'm not interested in an object who just sings."
For Simon, others just had star quality …
"I used to call Cher Lloyd a brat, and she was, but I loved her," he explained.
"I didn't need to say, 'What kind of record do you want to make?' She knew exactly what record she wanted to make, even at 16. Those type of artists are rare."
And the world's number one performer?
Simon has admitted he does not know Beyonce well, but has called the singer "a killer in the nicest sense of the word".
"She wants to win. She always wants to be the biggest artist in the world and never, ever stops rehearsing or trying to get better," he said. "It's a dream to have an artist like that."
Simon also has a lot of time for Adele.
"I like Adele. She knows when to take time off and do things under her own way of doing things," he said. "She wants to take two years off, she takes two years off."
Speaking of some of the world's top female artists, Simon has revealed that Miley Cyrus went "too crazy too quickly".
"I think what Miley misunderstands is that coming from Hannah Montana, you are going to take a lot of that young audience with you," he explained.
"She can't suddenly appeal to 25-year-olds straight away. But I've met her and I liked her."
"That's the nature of the beast. People need to take their opportunity and run with it. I don't feel sorry for those who don't make it."
It's similar tough words for his ultimate rivals…
"Strictly Come Dancing are so competitive with us, it is beyond belief. I'm competitive with them, but I admit it. They say, 'We are the BBC, we don't care about ratings', but they do."
Simon has also claimed X Factor has more to it: "With that show you win a tin cup, on our show you've got a chance of winning a recording career. There's more at stake."
So, has there ever been a moment where Simon has literally pinched himself?
"Watching One Direction at Wembley Stadium, that moment will stay with me for the rest of my life," he said.
"Those boys grabbed their opportunity and just ran with it. They didn't want to be some horrible boy band, doing awful chorography, wearing stupid outfits and they really haven't changed since I have met them. I think they are my boss now."
But no matter what Simon has achieved in his career or will go on to achieve, he still has two dogs called Squiddly and Diddly...
Oh, Simon.
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An online petition against council plans to charge Parkrun for an event in Bristol has topped 51,000 signatures.

Stoke Gifford Parish Council voted on Tuesday to charge Parkrun a fee to use Little Stoke Park, near Bristol.
The decision caused an outcry, prompting the cancellation of this Saturday's run.
Despite fears hundreds of runners would turn up at Little Stoke Park in protest, only a couple of dozen were at the park earlier.
The council is the first authority to say it will charge Parkrun a fee for the use of its grounds.
Councillors voted six-to-four in favour of charges for "wear and tear", having said it was "unfair" to expect non-running residents to pay for the park's upkeep.
The event co-director, Becky Bushnell, said it meant the end of the Little Stoke event.
Organisers announced on Wednesday they were cancelling this week's Little Stoke Park run amid fears the number of runners may exceed the park's "safe limit".
With "emotions running high" people were urged not to go by Parkrun's chief operating officer Tom Williams.
Most heeded the advice but around 25 runners did brave the cold to show support.
Council votes to charge organisers for weekly run
Thousands back Parkrun petition
How a weekly fun run sparked a national outcry
Q&A: What is Parkrun?
Parkrun event called off after fee vote
Parkrun founder urges fee-row 'respect'
Matt Hawkins, from Bradley Stoke, said: "I wanted to turn up today to show that the council isn't going to stop me running.
"I expected more people but the weather hasn't helped as it's freezing cold and I think Parkrunners have taken the opportunity to go to other Parkruns."
Another runner said he was "disappointed with the turn out" but would "definitely be here every week - running".


Justine Greening has been appointed as education secretary in Theresa May's Cabinet reshuffle.

Ms Greening, who went to school in a Rotherham comprehensive, was previously secretary of state for international development.
She announced last month she was in a same-sex relationship, making her the first openly gay female Cabinet minister.
Her new department is to expand to take responsibility for universities.
Ms Greening, who replaces Nicky Morgan, said she was "looking forward to getting on with the job" when she arrived at the Department for Education.
She attended Oakwood comprehensive school - and along with David Blunkett who went to schools for the blind - becomes one of the few education secretaries to have attended a non-selective state school.
According to the Sutton Trust education charity, she joins a Cabinet with the lowest proportion of privately-educated ministers since Clement Attlee's Labour government of 1945.
Ms Greening studied economics at Southampton University and before entering the House of Commons in 2005 had worked as an accountant.
As well as being responsible for schools, colleges and universities, she becomes the minister for women and equalities.
She will inherit a higher education bill, which could raise tuition fees in England, with a second reading due next week.
The Association of School and College Leaders said that the new education secretary would face the "stark reality" of schools facing "real-terms funding cuts and a teacher recruitment crisis".
"We urgently need greater investment in the education system," said Malcolm Trobe, leader of the head teachers' union.
He also called for no delay in implementing a national funding formula for schools, announced by the previous education secretary.
Kevin Courtney, leader of the National Union of Teachers, said Ms Greening would have to tackle problems with teacher recruitment, excessive working hours and lack of school funding.
"Testing and assessment is in complete disarray," said Mr Courtney.
Russell Hobby, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, called for the end of the "chaos and confusion" of this year's controversial primary school Sats tests.
He told the new education secretary that the "government has not won the argument on academies" and that good and outstanding schools should be allowed to remain part of their local authority if they chose.
Liberal Democrat education spokesman, John Pugh, called on Ms Greening to "put a stop to damaging proposals to scrap Qualified Teacher Status and parent governors, as well as plans to vastly increase numbers of academies".


For Shay Har-Noy it was an 800-year-old puzzle about the burial place of Mongolian ruler Genghis Khan that sparked a very 21st Century business.

Mr Har-Noy was on an expedition to locate the lost tomb of the Mongol Empire founder, when satellite imagery firm DigitalGlobe donated some photos of potential areas for his team to scrutinise.
These images, taken from space, were enormous, and as nobody knows what the tomb actually looked like, there was no obvious place to start the search.
So Mr Har-Noy decided to crowdsource for clues.
He returned to Mongolia three times to investigate what he calls "anomalies" in the photographs, submitted by eagle-eyed armchair enthusiasts.
Could one of these have been the burial site?
Alas, no - the search continues. But he says: "We did find some ancient archaeological sites that are still in need of investigation."
The experience inspired him to set up crowdsourcing platform TomNod, which offered satellite imagery from DigitalGlobal to people running their own projects. DigitalGlobal eventually acquired the firm.
It's an example of how increasingly complex, high-resolution satellite images are being offered to wider audiences - amateurs, scientists, businesses, governments - via cloud platforms that can handle and share these huge digital files.
As well as looking for long-lost tombs and ancient civilisations, teams are collaborating to assess the damage following earthquakes or to monitor illegal logging and the destruction of the rainforests.
Volunteers took part in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and helped monitor the extend of flood damage in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew struck.
And there are plenty of business applications, too.
For example, DigitalGlobe's images are helping car-sharing service Uber find the best pick-up and drop-off locations for its drivers, telecoms companies site their wireless antennae more efficiently, and countries like Nigeria improve its maps.
"We collect [images of] 3.5 million square kilometres a day, in high resolution," says Mr Har-Noy, who is now a vice president at DigitalGlobe.
"Every road, building, backyard, business - every animal, stream, lake."
This amounts to 70 terabytes of digital images every day - imagine filling up 140 500GB laptops to the brim with data.
And DigitalGlobe has had satellites in space for the last 17 years.
This massive image archive is like "a giant high-resolution time machine", he says, because it provides a detailed record of how our world has changed - and is changing.
DigitalGlobe uses Amazon Web Services' cloud platform to store all this data, with the advantage that users don't have to download large files but can rely on AWS' flexible computing power to handle them.
"Instead of moving the giant files I can run analytics against them where the files are," says Mr Har-Noy.
The European Space Agency (ESA), which runs the Copernicus satellite earth observation programme, is also making its archive of images available to scientists and businesses across the world via the cloud.
"We realise our planet is a system and now we have humans as part of the equation," says Pierre-Philippe Mathieu, a data scientist at ESA.
"The only way to understand it is from space."
The archive, hosted by private cloud network Interoute, is being shared with everyone, from governments to entrepreneurs looking for ways to turn all this data into business opportunities.
ESA's pairs of Sentinel satellites are equipped with a range of sensors, from radar to interferometers, as well as high-resolution cameras.
These instruments are accurate enough to measure changes in ocean levels or soil quality, for example, or the shockwaves caused by an earthquake.
They can also track the spread of water pollution, the impact of fossil fuel burning, and changes in the size of the ozone layer hole.
"This kind of data has a very strong scientific impact," says Mr Mathieu. "Observation is the foundation of science - and it can lead to data-driven decision making."
Thanks to an open data initiative in common with many public bodies, academics, government ministers, even Inuit ice trekkers and the beauty industry, have benefited from access to this enormous gallery of "earth selfies", as Mr Mathieu once described them in a Tedx talk.
Some entrepreneurs have created apps for farmers, combining weather data, plant and soil analysis, and local intelligence, to help them maximise production.
Another app takes pollution imagery and localises it to allow runners to choose a route with the cleanest air.
"We're building a highway of information, and the backbone of that highway is the cloud," says Mr Mathieu. "Data is like money - if it doesn't move it has no value."
But analysing this growing treasure trove of images will soon require machines as well has humans, Mr Har-Noy believes.
This is why he is heading up an ambitious machine-learning project which he hopes will eventually enable images to be analysed and processed automatically by artificial intelligence rather than human eyes.
"Over the last three years there's been this explosion in the applicability of this technology and we are well poised to take advantage of that," he says.
His army of crowdsourcers now has a different mission.
"As machines get better we are using the humans to train the machines."
But will they be any better at finding Genghis Khan's tomb?
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A British ex-serviceman abandoned his Mount Everest climb some 500m from the summit to save a fellow mountaineer.

Leslie Binns, 42, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, turned around to save Sunita Hazra, an Indian woman, who was scaling the summit ahead of him.
He said he felt "immensely proud" to have saved a life but wished he could have also helped save another climber, who died on the descent.
Mr Binns was blinded in his left eye after an explosion in Afghanistan.
He was in the Army for 13 years, serving in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan and was blown up four times. He has been awarded two medals, including the Queen's Commendation for Bravery for finding improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan in 2009.
Ms Hazra, who is 32 and lives near Kolkata in India, left hospital on Wednesday.
Her brother Kingshuk Chatterjee told the BBC the family "cannot express our gratitude" to Mr Binns for saving her.
"He's the reason why she is still alive now," he said. "He is a very brave man."
Mr Binns, who now works in private security in oil fields in Iraq, said the incident happened when he was on a climb in the early hours of 21 May.
He was approaching an area nicknamed "The Balcony" - where climbing teams store spare oxygen bottles - when he noticed a "commotion" ahead of him.
"I noticed someone sliding down the fixed climbing lines towards me.
"All I could hear were the screams of terror as the person gained momentum. I braced myself to try and stop whoever it was, and managed to do so.
"At this time I didn't know that this was Sunita Hazra. I helped her upright and looked at her oxygen regulator. It was registering empty."
Mr Binns helped Ms Hazra recover and she attempted to continue her descent by herself, but collapsed after about 20 metres.
"It was at this point I decided to cancel my summit bid to help Sunita," Mr Binns said. He was about another 12 hours away from making the final ascent to the top.
"I climbed down to her and called my Sherpa. I told him we are not going up and we would give Sunita my spare oxygen bottle and take her down."
He says the descent was a perilous and difficult one, and on the way the three climbers found another man who was also struggling to descend, bringing him along with them.
Mr Binns said Ms Hazra and the other climber "kept collapsing", adding: "I fell into waist-deep crevasses no less than five times, which was very tiring, and we were also crossing blue ice which was very dangerous as we kept slipping."
Eventually he and Ms Hazra managed to reach his camp, but due to exhaustion and difficult weather conditions they were unable to bring the other climber along.
"I gave Sunita my sleeping bag in my tent. We then tried our best to get her warm by patting and rubbing her. She was suffering from hypothermia and her right hand was badly frost-bitten.
"I then remembered we had a flask of ginger tea. I used this to try and re-warm Sunita's hand. I dried it off and told her to keep it in her fleece pocket which would keep it warm."
Mr Binns says that while in his tent he heard the other climber's voice in the distance "but I was too exhausted to go back out - I literally collapsed and fell asleep".
In the morning, Mr Binns learned the other climber had been found and taken to his team. Ms Hazra's Sherpa came to collect her and help her to continue down the mountain.
But when Mr Binns continued with his own descent that next day, he came across the body of the other climber, who had died during his journey downwards.
Mr Binns believes Sherpas took the body down from the mountain, and is unsure as to how the climber eventually died.
Mr Binns said: "I truly regret not being able to do anything more for him. But I had nothing left in me that night and I tried my level best to rescue him, but he could not be moved. No summit is worth a life.
"I am immensely proud that I helped Sunita. I just wish I could have done more."
Mr Binns, who has climbed "all the major peaks in the UK", is now in Kathmandu and due to return to the UK to see his fiancee and daughter on 6 June.
"I wish Sunita and her family all the best and hope she makes a full recovery," he said.
BBC iWonder: The ups and downs of climbing Everest


A report into safety failures that forced 17 Edinburgh schools to close has highlighted a lack of proper scrutiny of the construction work.

The 250-page independent report gives a clear explanation of how the walls at the schools were badly built.
There were not enough wall ties, or they were the wrong type, and the wall cavities were not uniform.
The faults caused the wall at Oxgangs Primary School to collapse and they were also apparent at the 16 other schools that were declared unsafe.
The report also makes clear there was a lack of scrutiny and supervision that allowed those mistakes to be made.
It says the finger of blame is not pointed at one rogue builder because the work was done by multiple companies and bricklaying squads.
The problem is more significant than that, both to the construction industry and those commissioning buildings.
The report explains that City of Edinburgh Council could have employed someone, for example a Clerk of Works, to oversee the work on site. This costs money.
It goes on to explain that the assurances the council thought they were getting were not actually the kind of checks that were taking place.
This was a misplaced assumption on the part of the council.
Keeping costs down is one of the factors that appears often in the report.
It says "the procurers of buildings need to consider whether the drive for faster, lower cost construction may be being achieved to the detriment of its quality and safety".
An issue with finding out why the buildings failed is that none of the 66 people who gave evidence to the inquiry actually built the walls. They were not the actual bricklayers.
However one of the senior staff at VB Contracts who built the walls at Oxgangs, and others, has previously said they were told to build the walls in a way that is not considered good practice.
The inside and outside walls were not built at the same time, without making extra provision for the walls to be correctly connected to each other.
At Oxgangs, the outer wall was ripped off after a storm, dumping nine tonnes of masonry into the playground.
The independent report confirms that the two parts of the walls were not built at the same time and the report lists the problems that can cause.
Some of these are problems that ultimately led to Oxgangs collapsing.
Crucially, the report also states that the architects spotted the way the walls were being built at one school and highlighted it to the main contractor who, they say, ignored it.
PPP was the private finance model used to fund the schools.
Although the report says that aspects of the way the private finance model was put in place put the quality of the buildings at risk, it explicitly says the private finance method of funding was not the cause of the defective buildings.
The use of private finance is an intensely political matter which will be continue to be discussed at length.
However, the author of this report says there is nothing to stop private finance from delivering a high quality building if properly managed.
The key is using best practice associated with more traditional models of funding.
There are a number of points that may influence the way large public buildings are built in the future.
Adequate supervision of the building work is the one the report comes back to repeatedly.
It also recommends that any similar buildings are checked not just visually, but by physically looking inside the walls.
That applies not just to schools and not just to Scotland.
Parents, teachers and pupils expected the schools to be safe so they will want the lessons of Edinburgh to be learned far beyond the capital.


Social news site Reddit has issued a public apology for its coverage of the Boston bombings.

Its Find Boston Bombers thread - known as a subreddit - wrongly named several people as suspects.
The misidentified included 17-year-old Salah Barhoun and missing 22-year-old Sunil Tripathi.
Reddit has admitted that it helped to fuel "online witch hunts". The debacle has fuelled debate about how far such speculation should go in future.
"We all need to look at what happened and make sure that in the future we do everything we can to help and not hinder crisis situations," the apology read.
"Though started with noble intentions, some of the activity on Reddit fuelled online witch hunts and dangerous speculation which spiralled into very negative consequences for innocent parties."
It went on to apologise to the family of Mr Tripathi.
The family had to suspend the Facebook page they had created to find him because of the amount of negative comments they received. Mr Tripathi's name trended on Twitter and numerous news sites.
"We were very worried about Sunil and about each other because of how fast completely unsubstantiated claims were spreading," his sister Sangeeta Tripathi told the BBC World Service.
"Our entire neighbourhood and our house were surrounded by media trucks. On my personal cellphone I got 72 phone calls between 3am and 4.30 in the morning.
"We just really hope that something like what happened to our family - and it's happened to a few other people in the same media frenzy around Boston - doesn't keep happening and that we are conscious of how powerful some of our platforms are."
The tragedy in Boston created a huge amount of traffic on Reddit, peaking at about 272,000 users, according to Google Analytics.
As well as attempting to solve the mystery of who the suspects were, Redditors - as contributors to the site are known - also organised housing for people stranded in Boston, sent pizza deliveries to police and hospitals, and organised "dog therapy" in local parks for traumatised residents.
The apology concludes: "After this week, which showed the best and worst of Reddit's potential, we hope that Boston will also be where Reddit learns to be sensitive of its own power."


Atdhe Nuhiu's second-half goal helped Sheffield Wednesday overcome League Two side Oxford United to seal their place in the Capital One Cup third round.

The Owls broke the deadlock when Oxford failed to clear effectively and Nuhiu headed home from close range.
They nearly doubled the lead when Marco Matias reached Modou Sougou's cross but keeper Sam Slocombe saved his header.
Alex MacDonald almost found Oxford a late equaliser but his free-kick went just over the crossbar.


Dean Hammond scored a first-half hat-trick as Worcester completed their European Challenge Cup campaign with a 57-14 win over Enisei-STM.

Hammond's treble, plus tries from Val Rapava Ruskin and Sam Betty, gave Warriors a 35-7 half-time lead.
Further scores followed through Ben Howard, a penalty try which saw Enisei wing Igor Kurashov sent off, Sam Ripper-Smith and Max Stelling.
Mikhail Gachechiladze and Valeri Morozov scored the Russians' tries.
Kurashov was shown the red card 12 minutes from the end for illegally knocking the ball out of Hammond's hands as the Worcester wing threatened a fourth try.
Worcester's victory means they climb above Enisei to finish third in Pool Three.
Warriors: Howard; Humphreys, Braid, Te'o, Hammond; Shillcock, Baldwin; Rapava Ruskin, Taufete'e, Alo, O'Callaghan (capt), Spencer, Taylor, Betty, Cox.
Replacements: Singleton, Bower, Daniels, Kitchener, Ripper-Smith, de Cothi, Eden, Stelling.
Enisei-STM: Gaisin; Kurashov, Baranovs, Gerasimov, Simplikevich; Kushnarev, Shcherban; Morozov, Gasanov, Pronenko, Saulite, Gargalic, Gachechiladze, Temnov, Rudoi.
Replacements: Magomedov, Polivalov, Grey, Elgin, Budychenko, Uzunov, Mikhaltsov, Orlov.
Sin-bin: Kurashov (30)
Sent-off: Kurashov (68)
Ref: Daniel Jones
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.


Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill says the club will not be signing Bolton striker Zac Clough.

The Robins have had a £2m bid for Clough accepted by Bolton, but the player has chosen not to sign.
"That was has not got any more legs in it," Cotterill told BBC Radio Bristol.
"The agent said the deal would need to be a head-turning offer. We made an offer but it wasn't head-turning enough. I think it was good and fair and one that fits with our players."
Cotterill added: "In the end it was a no-go, but I still believe we were right not to pay what his agent wanted.
"I don't think he (Clough) was being greedy.  I understand it and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season. There's no animosity there."


Finance Minister Simon Hamilton has said the department of education will receive the "lion's share" of additional money in the Stormont budget.

He said the departments of health, employment and learning, enterprise and policing would also benefit.
The executive agreed the budget for 2015/2016 on Friday.
However, three of the parties, the Ulster Unionists, SDLP and Alliance, all voted against.
It was passed with a majority of 9-4, with support from the DUP and Sinn Féin.
An extra £150m is being given to executive departments, compared with the spending set out in the draft budget, which was published in the autumn.
The budget will be officially unveiled in the assembly on Monday.
Mr Hamilton told the BBC's Sunday Politics that the executive had been able to make "strategic allocations" to departments the public viewed as priorities.
"It's fair to say that the lion's share of that £150m, and in fact the biggest single allocation will go to the department of education," he said.
"That's in response to not only our desire within the executive to see a high quality education system, but also the consultation that was there, that was put out in the response that has come back from the public and the concern that there was that the classroom would be hit."
The finance minister also welcomed the fact that ministers had agreed a budget.
"I think the fact that we have been able to agree a budget and agree that budget well in advance of the deadline of doing it by the end of January, with two weeks to spare, is an achievement particularly when you consider where we have come from," he said.
"The fact that we have been able to find another £150m to put into the budget, to put into key frontline public services and also to underpin economic growth and to get agreement on that, I think it's something we should be welcoming."


Dundee's bid to become European Capital of Culture 2023 has been the focus of a conference in the city.

About 150 delegates attended the event, including Theresa Blegvad, culture convener of Aarhus in Denmark, the 2017 title holder.
Dundee, Leeds, and Milton Keynes have declared interest in the title, which two European cities share every year.
The UK was already lined up to host in 2023 before the country voted to leave the European Union last June.
It is not yet known whether the EU will let the UK host now that Article 50 has been triggered.
Aarhus is hosting four large-scale events, each attracting at least 40,000 people, during its European Capital of Culture tenure.
Ms Blegvad, who leads the Nordic office of Dundee-based learning and development company Insights, has been asked to support the team working on Dundee's bid.
She said: "Aarhus was going through a transformation when we applied for the title, much like Dundee is now.
"The change was already happening, but we seized on the unconscious to create momentum and purpose and drive more change.
"We consciously focused our bid on highlighting everything the city had to offer and the developments to become more modern and international.
"Things have continued to blossom since then."


North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the execution of 15 people this year, including several top officials, South Korean intelligence says.

The agency told a parliamentary meeting on Wednesday that they were executed by firing squad on spying charges.
Those killed include two vice ministers who challenged Mr Kim over his policies and members of an orchestra, intelligence officials said.
Mr Kim purged and executed his once-powerful uncle for treachery in 2013.
South Korean politicians were told that one of the officials killed was a forestry minister who had complained about North Korea's forestation plan, Yonhap news agency reported.
"Excuses or reasoning doesn't work for Kim Jong-un, and his style of rule is to push through everything," said Shin Kyung-min, a member of South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee, quoting an intelligence official.
From outside Pyongyang, it's impossible to know exactly what's going on in Kim Jong-un's inner circle.
The South Korean spy agency may have informants but it also relies on hit-or-miss methods like analysing photographs in the North Korean state-controlled media.
We do know that Mr Kim's uncle, Chang Song-thaek, was executed in 2013 because North Korean media reported it.
Last year, six important officials suddenly vanished from public view and South Korean media reported they had been executed.
If it is true that 15 senior people have been executed in the four months of this year - a rate of one a week - it would indicate that the regime is getting tougher.
Kim Jong-un has been in power for just over three years. He is as secure in his job as any dictator can be, but does he feel secure?
Mr Shin's office told Reuters news agency that the unnamed official had added that the executions were a "showcase" in response to what Mr Kim saw as a challenge to his authority.
Four members of North Korea's Unhasu Orchestra are also believed to have been executed in March.
Reports say that Mr Kim's wife, Ri Sol-ju was a singer in the orchestra before her marriage.
South Korean politician Lee Cheol-woo told Yonhap that the head of the orchestra had been executed, possibly for leaking family secrets.
There has been no confirmation from North Korea about the executions but Mr Kim has purged his opponents before.
In 2013, Mr Kim put his uncle, Chang Song-thaek, to death, along with a group of officials who had been close to him.
Mr Chang was seen as a mentor to Kim Jong-un during the leadership transition from his father Kim Jong-il in 2011.


We're sitting with Sam Torrance in the clubhouse at Woburn and the great man is chuckling.

He's leaning back in the couch and giving it the old 'Come on, what do they know?' when asked about the bookmakers making Davis Love's United States odds-on favourites to beat Darren Clarke's Europe at the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine this week.
What do they know? Probably a whole lot less than Torrance knows, that's for sure. Eight Ryder Cups as a player, one as a (victorious) captain and this week a vice-captain for the third time, his span in the matches stretches back 35 years to his rookie year of 1981 and an 18½-9½ shellacking at the hands of the American Dream Team at Walton Heath.
Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Ray Floyd. "They weren't bad, to be fair."
Eight of the Ryder Cup team that will do battle in Minnesota weren't born when Torrance, 63, hit his first shot in the matches. Six of them weren't around when he holed the winning putt in 1985.
When he played in his last Ryder Cup, in 1995, Rory McIlroy was six, Thomas Pieters was three and Matt Fitzpatrick had just celebrated his first birthday.
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The old dog has travelled a long road and his Ryder Cup experience is off the scale. This business of favouritism?
"Doesn't matter a damn who's favourite," he said. "Let them be favourites, we don't care. It's great that they're favourites.
"It takes a lot of pressure off us. It's very close, it's always very close. Papers make the favourites. The bookies make them favourites, but what do the bookies know?"
Where do you start cataloguing Torrance's Ryder Cup years? You go back to the beginning; Walton Heath, third week in September 1981.
Torrance was 28 when he made his debut, a winner of three tournaments on the European Tour. He was in good form, but good very rarely beats great. He came up against the invincibles that year.
The only majors that Europe had won in the 11 years leading up to the 1981 Ryder Cup were both claimed by Seve Ballesteros. By contrast, America had won three that year alone and had nine different major champions - and 35 majors - in their ranks.
Trevino had won five of them.
"I met Lee very early on in my career and he's been a dear, dear friend my whole life," said Torrance. "So he sees me on the Saturday night and the singles draw is out. (Europe were losing by five points). And he says, 'Sammy, I'm gonna beat the moustache off you'. 'OK, Lee'.
"I get up the next morning, I've come out of the hotel and he's waiting for his courtesy car. I've got my own car. I said, 'Come on Lee, I'll give you a lift'. 'Sure, Sammy, let's go'.
"You come out of the hotel and go right to go to the golf club - and he knew this. So I come out and turn left. 'Sammy, where you going? I said, 'To hell with you Lee, we're going to London, half a point each!' And he laughed.
"He beat me 4&3 (actually, it was 5&3). What a player. A dream player. Was he beatable?  If I had a gun. And, yes, I shaved my moustache off that night."
The first rookie that Torrance played with at the Ryder Cup was his mate, Ian Woosnam, at West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1983.
"We were on the putting green and we were playing Ben Crenshaw and Calvin Peete. Woosie was nervous. I said, 'Come on, for God's sake, I'll hit off the first, we'll kill 'em, come on, let's go'.
"We bounced up on the tee. I teed it up, hit the opening shot - lost ball. Gone. He hits an iron down the fairway, 6-iron to 3 feet, birdie. Nice one, Woosie."
Some conquer the nerves, some don't, but nobody understands what that first tee is like until they experience it, says Torrance.
"My favourite analogy is one I told (David) Feherty when he made it in Kiawah Island in 1991. He's my best mate. He says, 'Right, come on, tell me what it's really like...' I said, 'I can't'. It's like explaining to somebody who is not a father what's it like to be a father.
"You can't explain that bond that you have between you and your child. It's exactly the same with the Ryder Cup. You just can't explain it."
Torrance's best individual performance was his last, he says - his 2&1 win over Loren Roberts in the singles in 1995 at Oak Hill, only the second victory on American soil. "That boy could putt the eyes off the ball."
His most wounding loss? A 3&1 defeat by Tom Watson in the singles in 1989 at the Belfry. "I played great and I couldn't hole a damn thing. I'm wielding this big long putter and he's got the short twitchy one and he said to me afterwards - and I think it might have been a little bit of a dig - 'The only difference was our putting, Sam'.
"That loss hurt because I felt I could beat him and to get an opportunity to play a man as great as that, that's a scalp you want and I didn't achieve it."
There's not pause for thought about his most fearsome opponent. "Raymond Floyd - he just terrified me. He looked like a big gangster. He really did look like something out of The Godfather. 'You can't beat him. You'll be in trouble if you beat him'.
He faced Floyd in a fourballs match in 1985. Floyd won.
"He was the best. You can't say enough about him. His enthusiasm, his love for the game, his love for you, he would do anything for you (in a Ryder Cup week).
"You could say, 'Seve, I can't get this chip right from thick rough' and he'd spend 40 minutes with you showing you how to play it and you'd go to the French Open the next week and say, 'Seve, I still haven't...' And he'd say, 'Go away, I see you in two years, huh? Go away, go away'. Brilliant.
"We know how great Seve was and we all know how bad he was at the end and I think that was his greatest moment, at Oak Hill in 1995, when he played Tom Lehman. He could have been 10-down after nine he was that bad. He was one-down.
"We were all on the range, because he was first match out and we knew he was going to get beat and he knew he was going to get beat, but he had so much heart. He fought this man tooth and nail right to the end. When Seve walked into the room, he was like Elvis. Just magnificent."
Nick Faldo said of the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island that it "surrendered its dignity" that year. The original Gulf War had just ended and the feeling of patriotism swept around the event.
Some of the American team wore Operation Desert Storm baseball caps and the home crowd spent the three days in a frenzy. "It almost turned into a riot," said Woosnam.
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Torrance disagrees. "It wasn't a 'War on the Shore'. That was the press. The crowd were vociferous, of course they were. That's what it's like. That inspires us.
"Now, you can't really call it respectful when you get these idiots shouting 'get in the hole!' on a par five. What do they think we are, supermen?
"I don't even blame them. American sport is very noisy. You go to a baseball match or a football match, it's noisy.
"I don't care what noise they make. As long as they don't make noise when you're hitting. If that happens, there's going to be a problem, but it's not going to happen.
"Kiawah Island was not a war. Every time somebody says that to me, I correct them.
"It became the 'War on the Shore' because of the hat that Corey (Pavin) wore. He's wearing a hat for God's sake. A camouflage hat, he's supporting the Americans fighting in Iraq, or whatever the hell they're doing. He wasn't out there wearing a combat hat against the Europeans.
"It might have been an error of judgment him wearing it, but he wasn't wearing it for the reasons people thought he was wearing it. Brookline (in 1999) was the only one (when the Ryder Cup got out of hand) and it was one incident, one green. Actually, there were a lot more incidents that week, but we'll not go into that."
The 1985 Ryder Cup was held at The Belfry. The USA hadn't lost since 1957. Europe were 9-7 ahead going into the Sunday singles and history was in the air.
Torrance was drawn against Andy North, who had won his second US Open only a few months earlier. "I think I was out in 41," says Torrance. He was two-down at the turn and then double-bogeyed the 10th to fall three-down.
He pegged North back. Standing on the 17th tee, the American's lead had been cut to one. "On 17, I have a putt to go all-square and everything was shaking. You asked me when was I most nervous. That was it, right there. Somehow I kept it together, hit a good putt and it went straight in the hole.
"I hit a drive on 18 that was beyond belief and, as soon as Andy connected with his drive, I knew it was in the water, I knew he was dead. I just started crying. Sobbing. Coming off the tee and all the American wives were there and I so tried to stop this stupid crying. The tears were flooding down my face. 'Come on, show a bit of strength here'.
"I hit a lovely nine-iron to 25ft and I've gone like this with the club in my hands and Woosie appears for a cuddle and I give him such a clatter on the back of the head with my iron.
"The clunk was unbelievable. I thought he was going to go down, but the way we were feeling we weren't feeling any pain.
"Did it change my life? Absolutely - and so much for the better. To this day, I have people saying, 'I was there Sam, I saw that putt'. So was I. It was brilliant."
Such cool under pressure. How many Europeans this time are made of that kind of stuff? "12 of them," he says. Then he chuckles again, like a man who cannot wait for it all to get started.


A rescue effort has been launched after a teenage boy fell into a quarry in Pembrokeshire.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called at 20:55 BST on Sunday to reports of a boy in his mid-teens falling down a cliff.
It happened about four miles (6.4km) outside Haverfordwest in a village called Tiers Cross.
An ambulance has been sent to the scene but the extent of the boy's injuries are not known.


Scientists have raised the prospect that deep brain stimulation could help people suffering from severe anorexia nervosa.

In the small Canadian study three people were able to gain weight and had improvements in their overall mood after undergoing the procedure.
The researchers say larger trials are now needed to show whether this therapy could provide a last resort for people with difficult-to-treat anorexia.
The study is published in the Lancet.
Researchers  from the Krembil Neuroscience Centre and University Health Network in Canada conducted the study primarily to find out whether this procedure is safe in people with severe cases of the eating disorder anorexia nervosa.
Deep brain stimulation - which involves implanting electrodes into the brain - has previously  been used for people with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and obsessive compulsive disorder.
But this is the first time researchers have implanted the device into brains of people with such severe forms of anorexia.
They treated six women, aged between 24-57, for whom most conventional therapy had failed.
The researchers chose to implant the electrodes in an area of the brain which influences how people regulate their mood and anxiety.
They then switched on the device to deliver continuous electrical stimulation over the nine months of the study.
Lead author of the research, Dr Nir Lipsman, said this was not a study about simply flipping a switch to make people eat more.
Kim Rollins, 36, had suffered from anorexia nervosa for 20 years before she enrolled on the trial.
"At first I was sceptical - it is neurosurgery after all. But I was reassured by the physicians.
It has really turned my life around. I am now at a healthy weight. I was exercising non-stop all day with minimal food before.
Over a few months I gradually noticed I wasn't thinking about exercise all the time. And I can enjoy meals with my family now.
But it is not a miracle. I have to put  a lot of work into changing my thinking and I go to therapy and see a dietitian. But it has enabled everything to be much easier for me."
"Anorexia nervosa has many layers and we need to address the root causes. In many people with the condition this is related to difficulties in regulating mood and anxiety.
"So we wanted to see if influencing this area of the brain could help people with the condition," he said.
And after nine months three of the women felt their quality of life had improved and they had gained weight.
Crucially they were able to stick to this weight - something they hadn't been able to do since developing the condition, the researchers said.
Kim Rollins, who took part in the study and has suffered from anorexia nervosa for 20 years said: "It has really turned my life around. It has lifted my mood and lowered my anxiety... and lessened the compulsion I had to almost destroy my body.
"But it is not a miracle - I have to put a lot of work into changing my thinking and I go to therapy and see a dietitian. But it has enabled everything to be much easier for me."
Dr Lipsman said: "We think deep brain stimulation may have helped people view their illness in a different way and meant they felt more encouraged to engage in other therapy."
But the procedure was not without serious and unwanted effects.
One person involved had a seizure two weeks after the device was implanted and another suffered a panic attack during the operation to insert the device.
And for one person there were no improvements in mood, anxiety levels or weight by the end of the study.
The authors caution this procedure is not suitable for everyone.
"We worked very hard to identify a group of patients who had reached the limits of conventional treatment - for whom there is currently no effective therapy and therefore are at the greatest risk of death from the condition," Dr Lipsman said.
Prof Janet Treasure, of the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, who was not involved in the study but wrote a linked comment, said: "What we know is that if you can get effective treatment within three years of diagnosis, the chances of short and long-term recovery are much increased, but it is more difficult as time goes on. This is what makes this study so interesting."
She said the findings of the small study must be interpreted with caution, however.
Susan Ringwood, the chief executive of the national organisation, Beat, said: "When treatments fail to work, people with eating disorders can feel it is their fault, and that can make them very more reluctant to accept the help desperately they need.
"We are learning so much more about the brain and its role in eating disorders, and this study indicates an important new aspect that may lead to improved treatment."


South Sudan's leader Salva Kiir has said he will not lead his people back into conflict with the north over the disputed region of Abyei.

The region, seized by northern troops at the weekend, is also claimed by South Sudan, which is due to become independent from the north in July.
"We will not go back to war, it will not happen," Mr Kiir said in his first public statement since trouble began.
Analysts fear the dispute could reignite the north-south conflict.
A peace deal in 2005 ended 22 years of civil war in which some 1.5 million people died.
The status of Abyei was left undecided and a referendum, due last January, on whether the area should be part of the north or south has been postponed indefinitely.
In a national address, Mr Kiir said the south had "fought enough" and that it was time for peace.
He described the north's invasion of Abyei as an over-reaction, and said the area would eventually be reclaimed by the south.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has refused to withdraw his troops from the region, despite UN condemnation of the move.
Earlier, a southern minister in the national government resigned, saying "war crimes" had been committed in the disputed Abyei region.
The Satellite Sentinel Project has released satellite images of burnt huts and says they provide evidence of war crimes.
The project's spokesman Jonathan Hutson said other troop movements in the north were also a cause for concern.
"Satellite Sentinel Project has identified Sudan armed forces, those of the northern armies, massing near the contested border area of Abyei with heavy armour and artillery and tanks at a place called El Obeid - there's a barracks there," he told the BBC's World Today programme.
"They could reach Sudan's north-south border or Abyei town in less than a day without refuelling."
Aid workers say some 40,000 people have fled the fighting around Abyei - mostly southerners, heading further south.
"Tens of thousands have been displaced - the villages that they've left behind have been systematically razed," Mr Huston said.
David Deng Bol, manager of Mayardit FM radio station in Turalei, about 75km (45 miles) south of Abyei, told the BBC more than 25,000 people had arrived in that area in the last few days.
Many were camping under trees and in the rush to leave some families had been split up and children were missing, he said.
"The situation of the IDPs [internally displaced people] is very very bad. They sleep outside being affected by the rain, the places are cold, there's no food, no water or no medication," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
Meanwhile, the UN has said it believes militiamen from the Misseriya ethnic group were responsible for shooting at one of its helicopters on Wednesday.
The Misseriya are northern nomads and one of two groups to claim Abyei, along with the southern Dinka Ngok people.
They were armed by Khartoum and used to attack the south during the civil war.
Reports suggest many Misseriya have arrived in Abyei town since the northern armed forces took control of it on Saturday, accusations denied by one nomad leader as "nonsense".
Under the 2005 peace agreement, Abyei was granted special status and a joint administration was set up in 2008 to run the area until a referendum decided its fate.


A 12-vehicle crash in foggy conditions on an icy road has left one person injured in Norfolk.

The accident, on the A140 at Roughton at about 07:25 GMT, was one of 12 police dealt with earlier.
Some of the vehicles collided while others skidded off the road, Norfolk Police said.
The road was closed between the B1436 Thorpe Market Road junction and the White Post Road junction but reopened just after 12:20 GMT.
Read more on this and other stories from Norfolk
Insp John Chapman, from the road policing unit, said his team alone had dealt with seven accidents "in the space of an hour".
He said bearing in mind the weather conditions, "it didn't surprise me that we were suffering quite a high volume of road traffic collisions".
"Fortunately, there were no serious injuries in any of these... but there was obviously a high demand on our resources."
He advised drivers to "expect the unexpected" during the cold snap.


Five people were injured when a bus ploughed into the front of a house.

The single-decker vehicle crashed into the front of the property in Holmer Green, near High Wycombe, on Saturday afternoon.
Three passengers were injured, and a man and woman inside the house in Wycombe Road were also hurt. No-one else on the bus was injured, it is understood.
Carousel Buses has been approached for comment.
"Fortunately the two occupants of the property were able to leave the property with only minor injuries," a police spokesman said.
A structural engineer and contractors were working with a recovery team on Sunday to try to remove the bus, which was left embedded in the front of the house.
Police have appealed for people with information to contact them but no-one was arrested.
The spokesman said: "It was lucky no-one sustained serious injury."


Motorists should steer clear of cheap insurance deals sold in pubs, clubs, campuses and on questionable websites, a trade body has said.

So-called "ghost brokers" sell cheap, but bogus, motor insurance policies, leaving drivers at risk of big bills following accidents.
Some 26 cases are being investigated by the industry's team studying large-scale operations.
Similar ghost sales are being seen in other industries.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that unauthorised insurance advisers were touting for business in pubs and clubs.
They also advertised in some newsagents, via social media, and on "professional-looking" websites.
Drivers may be tempted by the cheap prices being offered, but policies were often invalid. This put them at risk of having their vehicles seized or facing prosecution, especially following an accident.
The ABI suggests that drivers shop around for a good deal, but check the authorisation and reputation of the provider.
Useful websites include the Motor Insurers' Bureau's Motor Insurance Database and the Financial Services Register.
The concept of ghost broking is not limited to insurance.
Evidence in the US points to individuals selling cheap airline tickets, some of which are bought on stolen credit cards.
The seller has disappeared by the time the traveller realises the ticket is invalid.
Nick Mothershaw, director of identity and fraud solutions at Experian, said his team helped insurers and others to identify how and where fraudsters were operating.
For example, they can pinpoint when multiple transactions have come from the same device, or when the same address has been used numerous times.


Astronaut Tim Peake has given Welsh schoolchildren a first-hand account of life in space - including how he listened to Lady Gaga before lift off and did somersaults brushing his teeth.

More than 200 pupils got to hear about Maj Peake's time on the International Space Station (ISS) during his visit to Techniquest, Cardiff.
The visit was part of his post-flight tour of the UK.
Maj Peake said he was "extremely touched" by everyone's support.
During his visit, pupils quizzed him about his six-month Principia mission - including those from Severn Primary School in Cardiff, Coed-Y-Brain Primary School in Caerphilly, Maesglas Primary School in Newport, Ysgol Abergwili in Carmarthen and Builth Wells High School, Powys, who communicated with him via a radio link in March.
Pupils from Blaenymaes Primary School, Swansea, were also there after failing to speak to Maj Peake during a live link-up event in Liverpool in February.
Pupil Ben, 10, said it was "exciting" they finally got to chat to him.
"To hear Tim Peake answer our questions was amazing," he said.
"From going to Liverpool then coming here, it's the best experience of my life."
Fellow pupil Katie, 10, added: "I can't believe it. The best thing is he is inspiring children like me to do what he has done."
Maj Peake's visit coincided with the science discovery centre's 30th anniversary.
Techniquest chief executive Lesley Kirkpatrick said: "Tim's journey and time on the International Space Station has given us a great opportunity to encourage children to be more curious about space and science."


Google has announced a version of its Android operating system designed specifically for wearable devices.

The first release of Android Wear is designed for smartwatches and helps them follow voice commands.
Google said it was also working with electronics firms, chip makers and fashion labels on wearable gadgets running Android.
One of the first Android Wear devices will be Motorola's Moto 360 smart watch that will go on sale in the summer.
The search giant's work on Android Wear builds on its experiences with Google Glass augmented spectacles.
Android Wear was announced via the official Google blog and marks a significant move for the company into the wearables sector.
In a blogpost Sundar Pichai, head of Android at Google, said the software would prove useful for gadgets that monitor key health parameters or which people use when they go running or cycling.
It could also lead to a class of devices that respond quickly to spoken commands including answering short questions, booking a taxi or sending a text without having to tap anything on a smartphone touchscreen.
Google said it was working on a new user interface for Android that reacted quickly, was driven by a person's voice and which drew on contextual information, such as a user's location, to be useful.
Software development kits which application developers can play with have also been released.
"We're always seeking new ways for technology to help people live their lives and this is just another step in that journey," wrote Mr Pichai.
The decision to move into wearables would pitch Google into more intense competition with arch-rival Apple, said Stuart Miles, founder of tech news site Pocket-lint.
"It's a threat to Apple because the Android ecosystem is growing so fast," he said.
Some of the early designs for Android Wear smart watches looked great, he added, and if that were combined with a good second-screen notification system it could win people over and get them to defect from Apple,
However, he said, his experiences of living with a Pebble smart watch for the last four months showed that people had yet to adapt to the appearance of such devices.
"The social element that is against it is that people think you are bored of them when you are looking at your smart watch," he said.


Ireland coach Joe Schmidt expects fly-half Jonathan Sexton to be fit for the Six Nations opener away to Scotland on 4 February.

Sexton suffered a calf injury during Leinster's 24-24 European Champions Cup draw away to Castres on Friday.
"There's not a lot of damage there, nothing's showing up that's overly significant," said Schmidt.
"We'd be confident he'll be able to train next week and therefore be fully available to face Scotland."
He continued: "Johnny's already starting back doing a little bit."
The New Zealander was also upbeat about the fitness of Sean O'Brien, with the Leinster back-row another player with a calf injury.
"He's slightly further ahead than Johnny," said Schmidt.
"We're confident he may train before the end of the week fully, but he should train fully next week."
Schmidt left out Bordeaux's Ian Madigan from his 40-man tournament squad following the fly-half's decision to play club rugby in France, and brought in Munster's uncapped midfielder Rory Scannell as cover for Sexton.
But he said former Leinster player Madigan could come back into Ireland contention later this Six Nations.
"The first time I saw Rory play for Dolphin against Belvedere he had a fantastic game at 10," said Schmidt.
"There's a big difference between that and Murrayfield but he would be the guy who could cover there.
"We've also got Paddy Jackson available obviously."
He added: "With Ian [Madigan], he could only have done those two first days' training with us. You only get that three-day opportunity with the window. So it complicates that.
"Ian had an injury earlier in the season so he hasn't had a lot of rugby really.
"I've kept in touch with Ian. He would slot back in pretty seamlessly for us, so that's still something potentially that we could look at."


Criminals are using the cover of the government's flagship energy policy to defraud money from homeowners.

The Green Deal offers loans to spend on energy-saving home improvement work with no upfront costs.
But trading standards officers have reported that cold callers are posing as Green Deal assessors while charging "administration fees".
Energy Minister Greg Barker told BBC Radio 4's You & Yours that this was simple criminality.
Green Deal loans are only available through government contracted assessors who are identifiable through an allocated number.
Complaints about fraudulent callers have so far been registered with trading standards officers in South Wales and West Yorkshire, where 12 complaints are being investigated.
One 76-year-old said she had been offered an "old age pensioner discount" for double glazing - with a 20% discount if she signed up that day.
Tim Keohane, senior trading standards officer in Caerphilly, said they were dealing with more than 20 complaints across south-east Wales.
"People are handing over up to Â£400 and not seeing anything again," he said.
"The sort of thing being said is that the Green Deal is absolutely free to householders and that they'll get Â£10,000 of work for nothing."
Door-to-door sales are permitted under Green Deal legislation.
In February, when asked if this was a safe method of promoting the scheme, Energy Minister Greg Barker said there were strict guidelines and a cooling-off period, but people "at the bottom of society" were unlikely to respond to the internet and newspapers.
Mr Barker has now told the BBC that potential victims are being protected by the rules.
"We have very strong consumer protection, these are fraudsters and if we catch them we will come down on them like a tonne of bricks," he said.
"It would be terrible if we allowed these fraudsters to hijack the Green Deal and prevent it being offered to those at the bottom of the heap in society."
He added the situation would be monitored closely but his inclination was to continue with the policy of contacting people in poor-quality accommodation directly.
Consumers are advised to look out for the Green Deal Approved quality mark which proves assessors and installers are government registered.
The Energy Saving Advice Service can also confirm valid assessors on 0300 1231234.


Rescue workers in Chile say the death toll from last week's floods has risen to 25 and could increase further.

There is growing concern for the 101 people still missing after last week's flash floods and mudslides in the Atacama region, which includes the world's driest desert.
President Michelle Bachelet visited the area on Saturday, promising to provide aid to help recovery efforts.
Chile's emergency services say about 2,700 survivors are now homeless.
Sniffer dogs are being used to try to find people who may be trapped under the mud, which swept down from the Andes mountains in torrents and is now hardening under the desert sun, the BBC's Chile correspondent Gideon Long reports.
About 30,000 people have been affected by the floods - the worst in the Atacama region in 80 years.
With much of the area caked in thick brown mud, and littered with rocks and trees washed down from the mountains, it will be weeks - if not months- before the region recovers, our correspondent adds.


Runners have called for refunds or discounts after organisers revealed the Brighton Half Marathon has been 146 metres (0.09 miles) short since 2015.

Some took to social media to show their annoyance, and others have said their personal best times had been affected by the news.
Organisers apologised unreservedly for the mistake on Friday.
The Brighton Half Marathon took place in February, while the city's full marathon takes place next weekend.
In a statement, organisers of the half marathon said they were contacted earlier in March by UK Athletics and an ensuing investigation had confirmed the course was too short.
Organisers said a turning point was positioned incorrectly for the last three races.
Race director Martin Harrigan said: "We are a team of runners ourselves so we fully understand the impact."
Simon Dowe, chief executive of the Sussex Beacon charity, which organises the event, said: "We can't apologise enough for this mistake."
Brighton Half Marathon elite race winner Eleanor Davis, from Cornwall, said she ran the race specifically to get a qualifying time for the London Marathon.
She said: "To find out afterwards that it counted for nothing was pretty devastating and concerning, but luckily, the London Marathon have been really kind and waivered it for me, so I can compete."
Chris Mattock was one runner who called for his money back, tweeting: "So no refund despite invalidating the qualifying time that I needed from the Brighton half marathon? Thanks"
James Allen wrote: "So Brighton half marathon course has been 146m short for last 3 yrs! Must be April fools day surely!!#get the basics right#shocking#athletics"
But Matthew Grey posted: "Brighton Half-Marathon : "If we make it 150m or so shorter, people will say 'I always do my best times at Brighton, it's my favourite' ".


Dundee FC has withdrawn its interest in a proposed £21m regional sports centre based at the city's Caird Park.

The new centre was to have provided training facilities for the club as well as being a training and competition venue for other sports.
The club said it was now working with Dundee City Council to find an alternative location.
An amended planning application for the sport centre is likely to be submitted early next year.
Dundee City Council leader Ken Guild said: "The football club withdrawing its interest has given us an opportunity to take another look at the site and see if there is another way to lay out the facilities that we want to have there in a more efficient and effective way.
"It will also offer an opportunity to locate the new facilities further away from potentially sensitive areas within the park.
"The eastern end of Caird Park is still an ideal location for this impressive centre where it will integrate with the existing athletics stadium and velodrome."
Dundee FC managing director John Nelms said: "The club maintains a good relationship with the council and we continue to work alongside them in relation to an alternative location for the club facility."
Sports including badminton, basketball, netball, rugby and volleyball will be provided for in the new building.
Objectors to the centre have highlighted concerns over protected species in the area.


Fernando Cardenal, a Nicaraguan priest who defied Vatican orders to leave the revolutionary Sandinista government in the 1980s, has died aged 82.

Father Cardenal was one of several Nicaraguan Catholic priests sanctioned for their involvement with Daniel Ortega's administration.
He was suspended from the priesthood after refusing to stand down from his post as education minister.
He led a successful campaign against illiteracy in Nicaragua.
Cardenal said he would be "committing a grave sin" to leave his position in the Sandinista government.
"I cannot conceive of a God that would ask me to abandon my commitment to the people," he explained in an open letter in 1984, after being expelled from the Jesuit order.
Cardenal was eventually readmitted to the order in 1996.
The Jesuit priest became an adept of Liberation Theology, a religious movement centred in Latin America that looked at Christianity from the perspective of the poor and socially oppressed.
Its critics said it combined Christianity with Marxist principles.
He was one of many priests in the impoverished Central American nation who supported the Sandinista rebels' fight against the authoritarian government of Anastasio Somoza in the 1970s.
When they overthrew Somoza in 1979, Cardenal joined the new government.
He led a campaign that within a few years had reduced illiteracy rates to 13% of the adult population and served as education minister between 1984 and 1990.
His brother Ernesto is a renowned poet who served as culture minister in the Sandinista cabinet.
Ernesto, 91, was famously reprehended in public by Pope John Paul during a visit to Nicaragua in the 1980s.