Almost 60 people have been helped to shore after getting cut off by the tide on sandbanks in separate incidents off the coast at Rhyl.

RNLI crews were first alerted to 30 stranded adults and children just after 12:00 BST on Sunday.
About 45 minutes later, two adults and a child were escorted to safety from a neighbouring sandbank, followed by a further 25 people soon after.
Coxswain Martin Jones said it was "quite an intensive hour" for the crew.


Supervisory boards at two big German carmakers are to hold emergency meetings later after they were accused of breaching EU cartel rules.

Volkswagen and Daimler have declined to comment on the allegations that they and other German car giants colluded to fix the price of diesel emissions treatment systems.
The claims first surfaced on Friday in a report by Der Spiegel magazine.
The issue is under investigation by EU and German anti-trust regulators.
Companies found to have infringed EU cartel rules are liable to pay fines of up to 10% of their global revenue.
Other firms under investigation are BMW, Porsche and Audi.
Speaking to journalists, Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche declined to comment on the allegations, noting that the European Commission had not begun formal proceedings against his company.
"We are well advised not to take part in speculation," he said, but added: "The automotive industry is currently making headlines, and not good ones."
Mr Zetsche was speaking after Daimler announced its second-quarter results, which showed a rise in operating profit of 15% to 3.74bn euros (Â£3.34bn).
The German car industry is also dealing with the fallout from the 2015 diesel car emission-rigging scandal, which erupted after Volkswagen was found to have cheated official tests by using special software to produce artificially low pollution levels.
VW, the world's largest car manufacturer, has admitted about 11 million cars worldwide were fitted with the device.
Last year, a US court ordered VW to pay a $14.7bn (Â£12bn) settlement over the scandal.
Analysis: Joe Miller, European business reporter
Once, they were the jewels in the crown of German industry, proud symbols of the country's unrivalled engineering and manufacturing expertise.
Now, carmakers such as Volkswagen and Daimler are more of a national embarrassment, with a seemingly endless stream of revelations muddying the "Made in Germany" brand.
The public scrutiny of German automakers may have started in 2015, when Volkswagen was found to have cheated on diesel emission tests. But now, allegations published in Der Spiegel point to collusion on diesel technology dating back to the 1990s, and involving most of the other large car brands.
None of this will help German carmakers in their fight against potential bans on diesel vehicles in some of the country's largest cities, such as Munich and Stuttgart.
The German government, the EU, and indeed the general public, are losing patience. The carmakers need a PR win, and quickly.
Whatever the outcome of Wednesday's board meetings, expect the carmakers to try and move the agenda on to new electric vehicles and futuristic autonomous technology.


Cardiff Blues earned a thrilling bonus-point win over Munster, denting the Irish side's bid to make the Pro12 play-offs.

Fly-half Rhys Patchell scored 19 points for the hosts with a try, four conversions and three penalties.
Munster's Darren Sweetnam went over for the opening try and Macauley Cook responded.
The hosts were never behind after Patchell's conversion as Matthew Rees and Garyn Smith also crossed.
Munster stay fifth in the table while Blues go level on 39 points with Ospreys but stay ninth, a place below their Welsh rivals.
Fly-half Keatley's early penalty was followed by centre Francis Saili sending wing Sweetnam over at the corner.
Patchell's first penalty came as Munster continued to dominate the opening quarter, but the hosts took the initiative before the break.
Number eight Josh Navidi broke away to pave the way for flanker Cook to touch down.
Keatley and Patchell exchanged penalties before hooker Rees' try increased the hosts' lead.
Hooker Sherry replied for Munster only for centre Smith to intercept and race to the line from 45 metres.
Patchell claimed Blues' bonus-point try as he went clear and after back-rower O'Donoghue went over, Jarrod Evans' last-minute penalty ensured Munster went home without a losing bonus point.
Cardiff Blues: Dan Fish; Aled Summerhill, Garyn Smith, Rey Lee-Lo, Blaine Scully; Rhys Patchell, Lloyd Williams; Brad Thyer, Matthew Rees (capt), Salesi Ma'afu, Cam Dolan, Josh Turnbull, Macauley Cook, Ellis Jenkins, Josh Navidi
Replacements: Kristian Dacey, Thomas Davies, Taufa'ao Filise, Lou Reed, Manoa Vosawai, Lewis Jones, Jarrod Evans, Gavin Evans
Munster: Andrew Conway; Darren Sweetnam, Francis Saili, Rory Scannell, Ronan O'Mahony; Ian Keatley, Duncan Williams; James Cronin, Mike Sherry, John Ryan; Dave Foley, Billy Holland (capt); Jack O'Donoghue, Dave O'Callaghan, Robin Copeland.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Dave Kilcoyne, Stephen Archer, Sean McCarthy, Jordan Coghlan, Cathal Sheridan, Johnny Holland, David Johnston.


The inquests into the deaths of the three London Bridge attackers have been opened.

Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba were shot by police at Borough Market on 3 June.
The men drove into pedestrians on the bridge then stabbed people at the market nearby, killing eight people and injuring 48.
The inquests were suspended at Southwark Coroner's Court pending further inquiries.
Rachid Redouane was originally identified as Rachid Elkhdar by fingerprints held by the immigration service, the court heard. The date of birth for Elkhdar was 31 July 1991.
Det Ch Insp Simon Moring said a statement from his wife confirmed he had entered the UK using that alias but his real name was Redouane and he was born in 1986.
The 30-year-old claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan and was based in Barking. National identity documents from Morocco reiterated his real name and age.
The inquest heard he died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen.
Khuram Shazad Butt was the only British citizen of the three and lived in Barking. The 27-year-old was born in Jahelum, Pakistan, and police say he was the ringleader of the attack.
The court heard he died of multiple gunshot wounds - coroner Andrew Harris said CT scans confirmed a number of "perforating penetrating wounds".
Butt, who was unemployed, had been identified by his fingerprints and DNA.
The coroner adjourned the inquests pending further inquiries and "decisions by the chief coroner".


Stimulating the part of the brain which controls movement may improve recovery after a stroke, research suggests.

Studies showed firing beams of light into the brains of mice led to the animals moving further and faster than those without the therapy.
The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, could help explain how the brain recovers and lead to new treatments.
The Stroke Association said the findings were interesting.
Strokes can affect memory, movement and the ability to communicate.
Brain cells die when their supply of oxygen and sugars is cut off by a blood clot.
Stroke care is focused on rapid treatment to minimise the damage, but some recovery is possible in the following months as the brain rewires itself.
The team at Stanford University School of Medicine investigated whether brain stimulation aided recovery in animal experiments.
They used a technique called optogenetics to stimulate just the neurons in the motor cortex - the part of the brain responsible for voluntary movements - following a stroke.
After seven days of stimulation, mice were able to walk further down a rotating rod than mice which had not had brain stimulation. After 10 days they were also moving faster.
The researchers believe the stimulation is affecting how the wiring of the brain changes after a stroke.
They detected higher levels of chemicals linked to the formation of new connections between brain cells.
Lead researcher Prof Gary Steinberg said it was a struggle to give people drugs to protect brain cells in time as the "time window is very short".
However he told the BBC that aiding recovery could be easier: "The advantage of treating during the recovery period is it's longer, potentially it could be years, so it has huge potential.
"I predict that the kind of study we're doing will help to push stimulation as a therapy for stroke and you can image how import that would be for the millions of stroke patients with disability."
Optogenetics uses an optic fibre to send light into the brain, which specifically activates cells that are genetically engineered to respond to the light.
It allows precision stimulation of parts of the brain in experiments.
The team at Stanford argue using optogenetics will allow them to uncover exactly what changes in the brain as it recovers from stroke,
Prof Steinberg said: "We're also looking to see if optogenetically stimulating other brain regions after a stroke might be equally or more effective.
"The goal is to identify the precise circuits that would be most amenable to interventions in the human brain, post-stroke, so that we can take this approach into clinical trials."
However, optogenetics cannot be used in people yet.
It would require genetic modification of the target cells, but Prof Steinberg argues "it may not be too far in the future that you're doing refined and elegant stimulation" with optogenetics.
Dr Shamim Quadir, from the Stroke Association charity, said: "This is a very interesting study using light to stimulate specific brain cells of genetically altered mice in the early days after a stroke.
"Using this optogenetic technique could be helpful in improving our understanding of the mechanisms driving stroke recovery, however it is too early to tell exactly how this research might be developed for the treatment of human stroke patients."


India's Supreme Court has agreed to revisit a previous judgement that upheld a law criminalising gay sex.

Three senior judges said the 2013 ruling would be re-examined by a larger bench of judges, in a move that has been welcomed by activists.
The judges said that the issue was a "matter of constitutional importance".
According to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a 155-year-old colonial-era law, a same-sex relationship is an "unnatural offence".
In deeply conservative India, homosexuality is a taboo and many people still regard same-sex relationships as illegitimate.
There has been a very vocal campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in India.
On Tuesday, the court heard a "curative petition" - meant to "cure" an earlier court order perceived as a "miscarriage of justice".
The court said the five-judge bench would be headed by the chief justice of India.
No date has been announced for the next hearing into the matter.
Members of the LGBT community, standing outside the court, broke into cheers and impromptu celebrations when the decision was announced, the BBC's Soutik Biswas said.
Activists say police and authorities often misuse the law to harass homosexuals. Under this law, a same-sex relationship is punishable by a 10-year jail term.
In its 2009 ruling, the Delhi High Court had described Section 377 as discriminatory and said gay sex between consenting adults should not be treated as a crime.
The ruling was widely and visibly welcomed by India's gay community, which said the judgement would help protect them from harassment and persecution.
However, several political, social and religious groups petitioned the Supreme Court to have the law reinstated, and in 2013 the top court upheld the law, saying it was up to parliament to legislate on Section 377.
However, an Indian MP's bid to introduce a private member's bill in the parliament to decriminalise gay sex failed.
Shashi Tharoor who also started a petition on Change.org over the issue, which has more than 40,000 signatories, said "it is time to bring the Indian Penal Code into the 21st Century".


A report has highlighted "failings" in how police handled the case of a woman who was found dead eight days after she was reported missing.

The body of 88-year-old Janet McKay, who had dementia, was found in Clydebank on 24 September 2015.
The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner was asked to review the handling of the case after it emerged a possible sighting was not passed on.
The Pirc report found "procedural and investigative failings".
It said officers had failed to take a statement from Mrs McKay's carer, who had visited her home in the Knightswood area of Glasgow on the day she went missing and would have been able to describe what she had been wearing.
The following day, police supervisors failed to act promptly in response to a reported sighting of Mrs McKay on the day she had gone missing.
Two days after Mrs McKay went missing, officers failed to pass on "significant information" about a sighting.
When this failure was recognised four days later, an officer failed to pass on the address of the person who had seen Mrs McKay - causing a further delay in progressing the information.
The report also said many officers had not followed standard procedures because they had were not fully aware of the guidance for missing person inquiries.
Although police had conducted a "timely" search for Mrs McKay, officers failed to obtain initial statements from key witnesses and failed to accurately record some of the initial information gathered.
Commissioner Kate Frame made a number of recommendations.
These included making all officers and staff aware of the procedures to be followed in such cases, and putting measures in place to ensure that the failings did not happen again.
She also said police should consider setting up a major incident room in high risk, vulnerable missing person investigations.
In a statement, Mrs McKay's family said: "We are aware of the findings of the Pirc report and are pleased to note that a number of recommendations have been made.
"We hope that going forward Police Scotland will look carefully at these recommendations and that valuable lessons have been learned.
"This has been a difficult time for our family. Janet was a loving mother and grandmother and we are thankful for the support we have received, but would ask for our privacy to be respected to allow us to come to terms with her loss in peace."
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams apologised on behalf of Police Scotland and offered his "heartfelt condolences" to Mrs McKay's family and friends.
"I fully accept the findings from the review by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) and Police Scotland will continue to work with them to ensure all the lessons identified are addressed and built into our missing person investigations," he said.


The mother of a holidaymaker stabbed to death in Cyprus has said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Estate agent George Low, 22, from Kent, died from a stab wound to the neck during a week's holiday in Ayia Napa.
His friend, Ben Barker, also 22, suffered four knife wounds to his back during the street attack in the early hours of Sunday.
Mr Low's mother, Helen, 47, from Dartford, said the pair had been due to fly home later the same day.
"We're just heartbroken," said Mrs Low, a community carer.
"We cannot believe something like this could happen to our son. We're just struggling.
"He loved it over there and everybody loved him.
"Nobody could say anything bad about George."
Mrs Low said she and her postman husband Martyn, 55, and their children Wesley, Laura, Oliver and Millie were unclear about the circumstances that led to her son's death.
Her son had spent two previous seasons in the resort as a club rep and manager, and was last there in June celebrating his birthday.
"We're just so numb," she said.
"He wasn't an aggressive person. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Relatives are now planning to fly out to Ayia Napa to bring Mr Low's body back to the UK.
"We hope they catch whoever was responsible," his mother said.
The Foreign Office has said it is supporting Mr Low's family, and is remaining in contact with the authorities in Cyprus.
Famagusta District Assistant Police Chief Georgios Economou has said witnesses described the two stabbing suspects as appearing to be foreign nationals.
He said investigators tracked some of the suspects' movements through CCTV cameras and that the authorities at all airports, ports and crossing points had been warned to lookout for the suspects.


Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov will meet in the Cincinnati Open men's final while Garbine Muguruza will face Simona Halep in the women's final.

Australian Kyrgios beat David Ferrer 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) while Bulgaria's Dimitrov advanced against John Isner 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (12-10).
Spain's Muguruza eased past top seed Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-2, while Halep beat Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-1.
Romanian Halep will become world number one if she wins the tournament.
"I think it's something special to get number one in the world," said Halep, who would move above Czech Pliskova.
"Everyone can get to number one now. The ranking is close. I really want that."
In the men's final, Kyrgios will be chasing his first title of the year after a hard-fought victory over stubborn Spaniard Ferrer.
"He was a nightmare to play, especially because I'm a tall guy and he's not the tallest guy," said Kyrgios, who beat world number two Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.
"In the tie-breaks I served well, but I definitely didn't bring my best tennis.
"I'm just really proud that I managed to scrap out the win."
Dimitrov saved a set point in the second set tie-break against American Isner before reaching his first Masters 1000 final.
"It's a good step," said Dimitrov. "I have been on the tour for quite some time now, and I appreciate those moments.
"I'm starting to appreciate them even more."
In the men's doubles, Britain's Jamie Murray and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares continued their flawless run as they eased past second seeds Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Brazil's Marcelo Melo 6-4 7-5 to reach the final.
The pair have not dropped a set at this year's competition and will face France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut - who also won their semi-final in straight sets.


A pedestrian has been struck by a taxi in Dundee after it mounted the pavement.

The injured pedestrian - a young man - is thought to have been walking with a group of people from a graduation ceremony at the Caird Hall.
The incident took place on High Street at about 18:00.
The man's injuries are believed not to be life-threatening. The driver of the taxi is thought to be uninjured.


Designer Ralph Lauren, who pioneered a luxury lifestyle look, has stepped down as chief executive of the fashion company he founded nearly 50 years ago.

Mr Lauren has given the role to Stefan Larsson, the president of the Gap-owned budget chain, Old Navy.
Mr Larsson will report to the designer who will continue to oversee the company's creative look and strategy.
Analysts say luxury brands are increasingly hiring from mass-market firms.
The iconic company has been struggling to boost profits as a stronger dollar reduces the value of sales from outside the US.
Mr Larsson is credited with reviving sales at Old Navy, where he offered the latest styles at low prices.
Annual sales under Mr Larsson's leadership rose 8% in 2014 and became Gap's biggest business.
Mr Lauren, who will turn 76 in October, said Mr Larsson would be in charge of growing future sales.
Speaking of his replacement, Mr Lauren said: "He understands what dreams are. In this business, it's about dreams because you are dreaming ahead and you're about progress and change and newness."
Ralph Lauren's shares rose more than 11% on Wednesday following Tuesday's announcement.
Odeon Capital analyst Rick Snyder said the change in chief executive was "positive" and  "just a natural progression."
He thinks Mr Larsson's background will help the Ralph Lauren brand to reorganise and create greater efficiencies in their supply chain.
Lauren's fashion empire includes some 25 brands including Polo, Club Monaco and Denim & Supply.  The company makes clothing, accessories, furniture, home decor items and footwear under its labels.
Mr Larsson, 41, led Old Navy from 2012 and has been credited with boosting sales, even as other Gap labels faltered. Before taking over Old Navy, he worked for the Swedish brand H&M for 15 years.
Ralph Lauren made $7.5bn (Â£5bn) in sales last year.
Mr Lauren said his successor was "exceptionally talented" and would bring "a fresh and exciting global perspective" to the company.


Commons leader Chris Grayling says the government is clarifying its plans to give England's MPs a veto over English laws, with a vote delayed to September.

A redrafted version of the plan will be published on Monday and debated for two days next week, Mr Grayling said.
He would then "publish and table a final set of standing orders" which MPs would debate after the summer recess.
Labour said the "reckless and shoddy" plans had descended into "chaos" while the SNP said it was a "shambles"
The government believes bills applying exclusively to England should not become law without the explicit consent of MPs from English constituencies and it wants to change Commons rules known as standing orders to give them a "decisive say" during their passage.
The plan had been for a new Commons stage to be introduced for laws passing through Parliament with England's MPs asked to accept or veto legislation only affecting England before it passes to a vote of all UK MPs at third reading.
Ministers say this will address the longstanding anomaly by which Scottish MPs can vote on issues such as health and education affecting England but English MPs have no say on similar matters relating to Scotland, where such policies are devolved.
A similar process would be used, including Welsh MPs, where matters covered only England and Wales.
However, the plans came under sustained attack earlier this week from Labour, SNP and Lib Dem MPs in an urgent debate, secured by former Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael.
The debate also revealed concerns among some Conservative MPs, which could have threatened a government defeat on the measures.
Shadow Commons leader Angela Eagle said the Commons schedule had been "clearly subject to last-minute, sudden change" and said the "shoddy" plans had "descended into chaos".
She claimed Mr Grayling had been "summoned to the prime minister's office to account for your role in creating this mess".
Mr Grayling said the changes were the result of having "listened to comments from MPs".
A senior government source said the modified proposals were technical changes aimed at clarifying how the new process would work, in particular in relation to measures which might not cover Scotland but which had knock-on effects on its funding via the Barnett formula.
The source said: "It's not a rewrite in any shape or form."
The prime minister's official spokeswoman said that David Cameron had discussed the matter with Mr Grayling and the delay "respected the parliamentary process".
She added that the "policy hasn't changed" and ministers remained committed to delivering it so that every part of the UK had a say on matters relating to them.
But the SNP's Pete Wishart said the government was in "headlong retreat" on the issue.
"What this farce underlines is how weak the Tory government is with its wafer-thin majority, and how strong opposition can force them to change course," he added.


The United Nations says it has received reports that Syrian forces in Palmyra prevented civilians from leaving, ahead of its fall to Islamic State militants.

The UN, though not present in Palmyra, cited "credible sources".
It said it was "deeply concerned" about the plight of civilians remaining in Palmyra, amid reports of summary executions.
IS has also overrun the World Heritage site adjacent to the modern city, raising concerns about its future.
The militants have previously demolished ancient sites that pre-date Islam.
UN cultural organisation Unesco says its destruction would be "an enormous loss to humanity", but no damage has been reported there yet.
IS has also taken control of a military airbase and a notorious prison near to Palmyra.
Meanwhile, IS has seized the last border crossing between Syria and Iraq after Syrian government forces withdrew, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The loss of the al-Tanf crossing in Homs province means the Syrian government does not control any of the country's border posts with Iraq.
The fall of Palmyra comes just days after IS captured the major Iraqi city of Ramadi.
The US has acknowledged the militants' gains are a "setback" for coalition forces targeting IS, but President Barack Obama insisted the US was not losing the war with the group.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the problem of IS was "not going to be solved overnight".
"Until we're able to build up local forces on the ground in Syria who can take the fight to Isil [IS] in their own country," he said, "this is going to continue to be a difficult challenge."
Many questions will now be asked in Damascus and Baghdad - and above all in Washington - about how the militants have managed to score major advances in both Iraq and Syria this week despite all the efforts to stop them.
IS was supposed to be on the defensive in Iraq, where the prime minister announced weeks ago the launching of a campaign to drive the militants out of Anbar province. Now he's lost its capital, Ramadi, just days before they took Palmyra in Syria.
The Western coalition's bombing campaign has clearly hurt IS where it could. But it could never compensate for ground forces which are not competent, equipped or motivated enough to stand firm and hit back.
Only the Kurds in the north of both countries, most recently in north-eastern Syria, have proven able to do that.
Saving history from the jihadists
IS threat to 'Venice of the Sands'
Your memories of Palmyra
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN in Geneva, told the BBC that the organisation believed the population of Tadmur, the modern settlement next to Palmyra, was about 200,000 - of whom about a third had fled.
Many civilians were only able to flee on Wednesday and Thursday, once Syrian government forces themselves had fled and IS took over the city, she said.
Electricity has been cut off since Wednesday after retreating government forces apparently destroyed power plants, she added.
Syrian state media said pro-government forces had pulled out after "assuring the evacuation" of "most" of the inhabitants of Tadmur.
An activist who has family members in Palmyra told the BBC that his relatives wanted to flee but there was no way out.
IS fighters were searching the city for Syrian army soldiers, he said, and residents were being warned via mosque loudspeakers not to hide them.
He also said the inhabitants were angry that Western media were focusing on the ancient ruins, and not the population.
"People think the West cares more about the civilisation than about the people who created or initiated this civilisation," he said.
The UN also believes that IS has been carrying out door-to-door searches in the city, Ms Shamdasani said.
Unesco's director-general, Irina Bokova, appealed to all sides to preserve the ruins.
"We have to protect such incredible vestiges of human history," she said.
Ms Bokova told the BBC that protecting sites like Palmyra had become a security imperative, as well as a cultural concern, because, she said, the militias were using trafficked artefacts to get funds.
"This is part of the financing of extremism and it is absolutely imperative that we stop these channels of illicit trafficking."
Elsewhere in Syria, 40 rebels from Islamist factions were killed in Aleppo when a rebel headquarters was bombed by an explosive barrel, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The dead include three commanders, the group claimed.


Tiger Woods has embarked on countless comebacks but this one will surely be the most demanding.

It will be two months since his last competitive action when he ends a voluntary leave of absence by teeing off at the Masters next week.
This isn't the usual story of recovery from injury, it is a return from a much deeper malaise. Furthermore he is embarking on it on the most high-profile of stages.
Wherever he plays, Woods finds himself the centre of attention but this is magnified to a potentially uncomfortable intensity at the Masters. It's one of those golf tournaments that genuinely transcends.
An embarrassing lack of form prompted Woods, who has four Masters titles among his 14 majors, to take the break that is about to end.
It is now more than a year since the 39-year-old had surgery to alleviate debilitating back trouble and as he embarked on his 2015 season, Woods spoke of his delight at being pain free and able to practise at will.
Yet his game was all over the place. He shot his worst professional round with an 82 when he missed the cut at Phoenix.
A week later his back seized up and he couldn't get his legs to generate any power through the hitting zone when he made a miserable start at Torrey Pines. He hobbled off after just 11 holes.
That was on 5 February; he had managed just 47 holes before it was time to go back into hiding.
Chris DiMarco, the man Woods beat the last time he won the Masters back in 2005, told Golf Channel viewers he thought that injury was just an excuse to get off the course.
"He was embarrassed to be out there," DiMarco said, dismissing Woods' claim that misfiring glutes had forced him to quit. "He wasn't doing anything good, and I think there was something wrong and he couldn't take care of it."
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Woods had been trying to bed in a new swing under the tutelage of bio-mechanics expert Chris Como. The idea was to find an action that wouldn't hurt his increasingly fragile frame.
But it came at a cost. Woods lost his short game to an astonishing degree.
Faced by routine chips, there was no guarantee that he would even hit the green, never mind send his ball anywhere near the hole. Chips were chunked short or bladed long.
Once the game's most reliable figure around the greens, Woods had seemingly fallen victim to the psychological curse of the yips.
It's a condition that many coaches believe incurable. Woods' former tutor Hank Haney contends that you have to learn new ways to play the game, eliminating use of the shots that are contaminated by this mental/physical curse.
That pragmatic policy will be hard to accomplish at Augusta, a hugely demanding course that puts a high premium on short-game accuracy and imagination.
Woods played a practice round there last Tuesday and is reported to have shot a two-over-par 74 that contained some rather iffy chips. The greens will be much more treacherous once they hit tournament speed.
The first time he faces one of those shots at next week's Masters, the four-time champion's nerve will be tested like never before.
Ten years ago DiMarco was on the receiving end of the extraordinary curling chip-in for birdie on the 16th that helped force a play-off won by Woods.
That was the former world number one at the height of his powers, someone who could seemingly summon golfing genius whenever it was required.
But those days are long gone. Woods is now ranked 104 in the world and as DiMarco observed: "This is a make‐or‐break week for him.
"I thought when I played with him he had the greatest mind ever and he was the strongest mind I've ever seen, but it's getting mental.
"If it doesn't get fixed, I don't know if he can overcome it."
By announcing his return in these circumstances, Woods has ensured he will dominate the agenda in the build-up to the year's first major.
It will be fascinating to see whether he sticks to his usual mantra of saying he's only there to try to win or whether he concedes that his expectation levels have to be somewhat lowered.
That might be the most sensible course of action but it would be counter to Woods' career philosophy.
Either way his return provides another boost to a tournament that was already being eagerly anticipated with world number one Rory McIlroy seeking completion of a career grand slam.
As England's Ian Poulter tweeted: "Was it ever really in doubt....Best show on earth just got better."
But the big question is how much better is Woods' golf game following a two-month absence? We and he will only find out once his bid for a fifth Masters title begins on Thursday.
You can listen to coverage of the Masters on BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra; watch live coverage of the final two rounds on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Red Button and highlights of rounds on Friday. Follow live updates on BBC Sport Online from 9-12 April.


Venezuela has extended a partial border shutdown with Colombia and sent another 3,000 troops to the area in a crime crackdown.

Mr Maduro has shut a crossing in the state of Zulia and declared an emergency in three of its cities.
He says the border area has been infiltrated by Colombian paramilitaries and criminal gangs.
In recent weeks, Mr Maduro has closed several other border crossings and deported more than 1,000 Colombians.
Many Colombians have settled on the Venezuelan side of the border, married Venezuelans and had children there.
Having shut main frontier points in Tachira state last month, Mr Maduro also ordered the closing of the Paraguachon crossing in Zulia state to the north late on Monday.
The Venezuelan opposition says the border measures aim to heighten fears of a foreign enemy as a way of boosting the president's popularity.
The move follows an attack by smugglers in which three soldiers and a civilian were injured last month. Mr Maduro blamed the attack on right-wing paramilitaries from Colombia.
The 2,200km-long border (1,400 miles) between the two countries is porous and there has historically been a steady flow of people both ways.
But increasing price disparities between goods on either side of the border have generated a thriving smuggling business.
Venezuela's socialist government subsidises many basic food items and petrol in the oil-rich nation is extremely cheap.
Venezuela closed its border with Colombia for the first time last year.


Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has said India will be crucial to getting "the next billion online" and helping to combat poverty.

Speaking to college students in Delhi, Mr Zuckerberg said expanding Internet access was key to economic growth.
Reports say some 900 students turned out for the session at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
Last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the headquarters of Facebook in California.
With more than 130 million users, India is Facebook's largest market outside the United States.
"If you really have a mission of connecting every person in the world you can't do that without connecting people in India," Mr Zuckerberg told the students.
"We have the second biggest community in India and we want the next billion to come online."
Mr Zuckerberg said Internet access helped create jobs and lift people out of poverty.
Last month, Mr Modi hailed the political power of social media during his visit to the Facebook headquarters.
Mr Modi has said he wants to connect all India's villages to the internet - around a billion Indians currently lack internet access.
Facebook says its internet.org project, which offers free access to a bundle of mobile phone web apps, can help get the developing world online.
But it has drawn criticism in India, accused of favouring Facebook over local services.
"We have a moral responsibility to look out for people who do not have the Internet... and make sure the rules don't get twisted to hurt people who don't have a voice," the Facebook CEO said on Wednesday.
Mr Zuckerberg visited the Taj Mahal on Tuesday.
"It is even more stunning than I expected. It's incredible what people can build - and what love can motivate us to build," he wrote on Facebook.


The pound has fallen after disappointing manufacturing, trade and construction data suggested the UK economy is failing to gain momentum.

Output in both the manufacturing and construction sectors fell in May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Separate data from the ONS showed that the UK's trade deficit widened in May.
Sterling fell 0.7% against the dollar as analysts suggested an early interest rate rise was now less likely.
Recent weeks have seen speculation that the Bank of England could raise rates later this year.
This followed a surprisingly close vote on interest rate levels at the Bank's last meeting, when three members of the Monetary Policy Committee backed a rate rise.
In addition, the Bank of England's chief economist, Andy Haldane, said last week it needed "look seriously" at the possibility of raising interest rates to counter the recent pick-up in inflation.
However, reacting to the latest economic figures, Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank, said: "It's all building up a pattern here that says the economy is clearly losing momentum.
"It's not pointing to a particularly dynamic second quarter. Under those circumstances, the timing of the hawks on the Monetary Policy Committee pushing for a rate hike doesn't look great."
The ONS figures showed that manufacturing output fell by 0.2% compared with April, whereas analysts had expected it to rise. The sector was hit by a 4.4% drop in car production - the biggest fall since February last year.
The wider measure of industrial output fell 0.1% following a 0.2% rise in April.
Construction output was also worse than expected. It fell by 1.2% in May from April, and was also down 1.2% in the three months to May - the sharpest such drop since October 2015.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "The construction sector now is feeling acutely the adverse impact of Brexit uncertainty on the willingness of households and firms to make long-term financial commitments.
"It's extremely unlikely that overall GDP growth accelerated in Q2 to the extent required to convince the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that higher interest rates are needed immediately."
The trade figures showed that the UK's total trade deficit in goods and services widened by £1bn to £3.1bn between April and May 2017.
In the three months to the end of May, the deficit widened to £8.9bn from £6.9bn in the previous quarter, which ONS senior statistician Kate Davies said was mainly due to "high imports especially from outside the European Union".
The UK's economy grew by 0.2% in the first three months of 2017, a sharp slowdown from the rate of 0.7% seen in the previous quarter.
The economy has been affected by a slowdown in the UK's service sector, with indications that households are seeing their incomes squeezed by accelerating inflation.


Two teenagers playing Pokemon Go late at night in their car in Florida were shot at by a householder who mistook them for burglars, police say.

The man said he shot at their car after they refused to stop when he challenged them on Saturday. They were not hurt.
He said that earlier he had heard the pair say "did you get anything"?
Police in Florida have used the incident as an opportunity to issue guidelines for teenagers and parents on safely playing the game.
Police say they received a call from the parents of one of the teenagers when it was noticed later that bullets had caused a flat tyre, News4jax reported.
The parent said the teenagers did not realise they were being shot at, and thought that the man was only trying to scare them.
The guidelines issues by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office include best practice tips for Pokemon Go players. They advise players to:
The sheriff's office also advises parents of Pokemon Go players to:
According to data from SimilarWeb, people are now spending more time playing Pokemon Go than they are on Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The game has also been installed on more Android smartphones in the US than the dating app Tinder.


Substitute Yemi Odubade scored a late winner to give Maidstone a 2-1 victory over Macclesfield at the Gallagher Stadium.

After five without a win, the last thing the Stones needed was to concede an early goal. But visiting striker Chris Holroyd was given two early chances, one of which he chested into the net after eight minutes.
However, Liam Enver-Marum turned the ball in to level for the hosts eight minutes later.
Macclesfield could easily have gone back in front, but Danny Whitaker saw his penalty saved by Lee Worgan. The Silkmen also came went when David Fitzpatrick hit the post.
Odubade was to have the final say with a tidy finish past Craig Ross with a minute remaining.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Maidstone United 2, Macclesfield Town 1.
Second Half ends, Maidstone United 2, Macclesfield Town 1.
Goal!  Maidstone United 2, Macclesfield Town 1. Yemi Odubade (Maidstone United).
Substitution, Macclesfield Town. Sam Madeley replaces Danny Whitaker.
Substitution, Maidstone United. Yemi Odubade replaces Liam Enver-Marum.
Jamar Loza (Maidstone United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Substitution, Maidstone United. Jack Paxman replaces Dan Sweeney.
Substitution, Macclesfield Town. Danny M. Rowe replaces Chris Holroyd.
Substitution, Maidstone United. Ben Greenhalgh replaces Tom Murphy.
Second Half begins Maidstone United 1, Macclesfield Town 1.
First Half ends, Maidstone United 1, Macclesfield Town 1.
Chris Holroyd (Macclesfield Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Tom Murphy (Maidstone United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal!  Maidstone United 1, Macclesfield Town 1. Liam Enver-Marum (Maidstone United).
Goal!  Maidstone United 0, Macclesfield Town 1. Chris Holroyd (Macclesfield Town).
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.


A law calling for councils to be able to ban live animal exports from ports they own has been backed by a Kent MP.

Craig Mackinlay, the MP for South Thanet, has introduced the bill in the House of Commons following the reintroduction of live animal exports at the Port of Ramsgate.
The exports were banned by Thanet District Council in 2012 after the deaths of more than 40 sheep.
However, this was overturned by the High Court in 2014.
Two sheep drowned at Ramsgate in September 2012, and 44 had to be destroyed, after a lorry was stopped at the port by animal health inspectors.
Mr Mackinlay said the local community was "unified" in its support for a ban.
He said: "There's a lot of activists across Kent that don't want to see this trade through Ramsgate Port.
"So I think this really does hit what local people want and that's why I brought it forward."
However, critics have said giving councils that own ports the ability to ban exports was unfair.
Frank Langrish, from the National Farmers Union, said: "If you ban livestock from going through, what's to stop them banning other products?
"This is legitimate trade, legal trade. The more important thing is that animals should travel the shortest distance in the quickest time."


A man has been killed in a two-car crash on the A74(M) near Lockerbie.

The accident involving a silver BMW and grey Ford Kuga happened on the southbound motorway near junction 18 at about 04:45.
Police said one man was pronounced dead at the scene and another was taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and released after treatment.
The road was closed for about 10 hours while investigations continued but reopened at about 15:00.
Sgt Leigh McCulloch said: "Inquiries are at an early stage to establish the full circumstances surrounding this fatal road crash and it is important that we speak to any witnesses who were driving on the motorway around the time it happened.
"In particular we would like to speak to the driver of a grey Toyota who is understood to have passed the scene just after the incident occurred.
"We would also appeal to anyone else who was driving on the north or southbound carriageway around the time of the crash who may have seen either of the cars involved, or even witnessed what happened, to get in touch."


A £4.5m scheme to improve the quality of bathing water on the Cumbrian coast is up and running.

The project has seen the capacity of Allonby's wastewater treatment works doubled, United Utilities said.
A new underground storage tank has been created to capture more storm water and reduce sewer spills.
Ultraviolet equipment that kills bugs has raised the quality of the treated wastewater which is returned to the sea, the firm added.
Allonby, on the Solway coast, was rated "poor" in 2015 under European standards known as the revised Bathing Water Directive.


Speeding motorists have been given the choice of accepting a fine or facing a Kids Court made up of schoolchildren.

Drivers caught exceeding the 20mph limit outside Montgomery Primary School, in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, were faced with the tough choice.
The shamed motorists were grilled by a panel of children, who asked why they were speeding and if they were aware they could have hit a child.
Of 20 people stopped on Tuesday, 18 opted to face the panel.
The remaining two will be prosecuted.
Abdul was one driver who chose to face pupils rather than accept points on his licence or a Â£100 fine.
"You do see the harsh reality of speeding and the effect it could have on somebody's life if you do have an impact or collision with one of them," he said.
Mel Jones, of Birmingham City Council, said a child is injured on the city's roads daily, and one is killed or seriously injured each week.
There have been 33 serious collisions with children in the last three years in Sparkbrook, she said, and she hoped getting motorists to speak to potential victims would help raise awareness.


The friend of a woman who said she was raped by Derbyshire's chief fire officer sent a letter to frighten him, a court heard.

Sean Frayne, 48, denies attacking the woman in a Derbyshire pub in 2006, claiming the sex was consensual.
The alleged victim's friend told the court he sent the letters to Mr Frayne without her knowledge and denied it was an attempt at blackmail.
He said he wanted to scare Mr Frayne into going to the police.
The friend, who is not being named to avoid identifying the alleged victim, told Derby Crown Court that he first heard about the attack seven years after the event.
He said the woman did not want anybody else to know and the pair tried to report the Mr Frayne, of Fixby, Huddersfield, anonymously.
He told the court he wanted to confront Mr Frayne himself so he wrote two letters.
The court was told that the woman found out about the notes when Mr Frayne and his wife turned up on her doorstep.
The letter-writer told the jury the woman went to see him afterwards and was "hysterical", thumping him because of what he had done.
Under cross-examination, he was asked why the letters demanded money from Mr Frayne.
"It's to scare him. All men, everybody, likes money and they don't want to lose it," he said.
"I just wanted to scare him to go to the police."
The trial continues.


Kilmarnock will hold talks with Billy Davies in the next 48 hours with a view to making him their new manager.

The Rugby Park side have targeted the former Motherwell, Preston, Derby and Nottingham Forest boss to replace Gary Locke, who resigned after Saturday's home defeat by Hamilton.
Davies has been out of management since being sacked by Forest in March 2014.
The 51-year-old's first game in charge could be the Scottish Cup tie with Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday.
Kilmarnock, who are second bottom of the Scottish Premiership, have put Lee McCulloch in temporary charge.
The former Rangers defender, who joined the Rugby Park club as a player and first-team coach in the summer, will be helped by assistant manager Peter Leven and youth coach Alan Robertson.
The Ayrshire club have won only two of their last 13 Premiership matches - losing 5-1 to bottom club Dundee United and 1-0 to Hamilton in consecutive weeks - and have the threat of relegation hanging over them for the third successive season.
They have escaped the previous two years, but would face a play-off against the runners-up from the Championship if their situation remains the same.
The Kilmarnock board believe an experienced manager like Davies would enhance their chances of avoiding that possibility.


Dumfries and Galloway Council has apologised over using an image of the wrong accident on website details of events to mark the Quintinshill crash.

The local authority posted a picture of the Harrow and Wealdstone disaster which happened 37 years later.
Events are taking place in Gretna to mark the 100th anniversary of the Quintinshill crash on 22 May 1915.
The council apologised for the "oversight" and said the picture had now been changed.
The error was pointed out to the BBC Scotland news website via its south of Scotland Twitter feed.
More than 200 people died - most of them soldiers - in the accident during World War One near the Scotland-England border.
The Harrow and Wealdstone crash claimed more than 100 lives in 1952.


A 10-year-old boy, who needs urgent surgery for jaw cancer, is in Poland and could be back in the UK by Christmas, a family court has heard.

Lawyers in the case said the boy's parents had sought a second opinion.
In October, a High Court judge, heard the Polish boy had vanished and made a written order stating efforts should be made to find him.
Mr Justice Mostyn granted an application, made by an NHS trust, allowing doctors to perform surgery.
He had urged the boy's parents to co-operate with doctors.
Doctors said the boy's parents preferred to treat their son with "Chinese medicine".
Specialists said the boy would die a "brutal and agonising death" within six months to a year if a tumour was not removed "very soon".
He was told there was evidence the boy, who cannot be identified, had left his home in England with his mother and that his father had boarded a ferry bound for France.
At the latest hearing, lawyers told another judge at the Family Division of the High Court in London that the boy had been traced to an address in Poland.
They told Mr Justice MacDonald that the boy was with his mother and that his father had returned to England.
Lawyers said the plan was for mother and child to return to England by Christmas.
Mr Justice MacDonald heard submissions from lawyers representing the hospital, the boy's father and from Cafcass - a Government-funded social work organisation which reviews local authority plans for children.
The case is due to be re-analysed at a further family court hearing in January.


England's Danny Willett is five shots off the lead after day two of the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur.

Willett added a 69 to his opening 65 to be eight under alongside Miguel Tabuena, Soomin Lee and Jorge Campillo.
"I'm struggling a bit with my body," said the 28-year-old. "My energy levels collapsed on the back nine and I started making a few silly mistakes."
Nathan Holman followed his 64 with a 65 to be 13 under, with England's Richard Bland also shooting 65 to be two back.
The Australian picked up shots on the third, fourth, sixth and 13th and despite playing in the afternoon's tougher conditions, also made birdies at three of the last four holes.
World number 13 Willett, who is seeking back-to-back wins following his victory in the Dubai Desert Classic a fortnight ago, added:  "I'm going to see the physio then catch up on some rest, because I'm feeling very tired.
"But the flags were also quite tricky today and the wind's picking up a bit, so I can't see the scoring being too ridiculous. And I would've taken eight under after two rounds."


Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is to be recalled to give evidence a second time to the Iraq Inquiry.

He is one of a number of key figures, including former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, asked to appear  before the Chilcot committee again.
In January, Mr Blair defended his decision to take the country to war, saying he had no regrets about it and that Saddam Hussein was a "monster".
The inquiry said it wanted "more detail" in some key areas.
Earlier this year Chairman Sir John Chilcot said there could be more hearings if there were gaps in the evidence or points that needed clarifying.
The committee has now named the individuals who have now been asked to appear again or provide more information as well as a small number of new witnesses.
Mr Blair and other witnesses will appear between 18 January 2011 and 4 February.
As for his initial appearance, a public ballot will held to allocate tickets for the central London hearing - with a third of the 60 places set aside for families of those who served or were killed in Iraq.
The BBC's Diplomatic Correspondent Nicholas Witchell said it was not clear why Mr Blair had been asked to appear once more, but there must be significant details that the inquiry wished to clarify following its analysis of documentary evidence and a number of private hearings over the summer.
Iraq inquiry: Why is Tony Blair being recalled?
In seven hours of questioning earlier this year, Mr Blair said the Iraqi regime posed a danger to international security and he would take the same decision again to take part in military action.
In an update on its progress, the inquiry said it would be seeking "further evidence" on certain matters.
"As we draft our report it is clear that there are some areas where we need further detail," Sir John said. "I am committed to taking the majority of this evidence in public."
"In some cases we will be writing to witnesses or government departments asking them to provide a written statement of events, responding to specific questions set out by the Committee. In other cases we will be taking oral evidence."
Other witnesses to be recalled include Mr Straw and former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Bryce while current Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell and Sir Stephen Wall, once Tony Blair's adviser on European affairs, will appear for the first time.
Former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, who admitted his view changed about the necessity for a further UN resolution legitimising military action in the run-up to the conflict, has been asked to give further written information.
Among those asked to do the same are John Williams, head of news at the Foreign Office in the run-up to the war, who was involved in early versions of the September 2002 dossier which has since become notorious for its suggestion Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes.
Dr Brian Jones, a senior member of the Defence Intelligence Staff who raised concerns about the 45-minute claim will also provide written evidence.
Neither have, so far, contributed to the inquiry.
The committee has been holding hearings since November, in which it has questioned a host of former Labour Cabinet ministers, senior military commanders, civil servants and diplomats.
A number of former government lawyers have argued that the invasion was unlawful.
From 26 September to 1 October, four of the five-member inquiry panel visited Iraq for private discussions with leading politicians and officials.
Sir John has stressed the final report, not expected to be published before March, will be "full, thorough, evidence-based and frank".
"We are independent of government and will not shy away from criticising if we find fault or if we conclude that errors have been made. We are determined to produce a report that will be useful to future governments," he added.


The UK's biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, has reported a 23.5% drop in profits during the first half of its financial year.

Tesco's pre-tax profits in the six months to 24 August were £1.39bn, which the firm blamed on a challenging retail environment, particularly in Europe.
UK like-for-like sales - which exclude new store openings - fell by 0.5%.
Shares in Tesco initially fell 4.4%, before recovering to close just 0.3% lower at 358p.
Rival Sainsbury's reported a 2% rise in like-for-like sales during the second quarter of its financial year.
Tesco said profits fell 67% in Europe to £55m, while Asian profits, excluding China, dropped 7.4% to £314m. UK trading profits rose 1.5% to £1.13bn.
Tesco also saw margins being squeezed, in what is already a notoriously competitive retail environment. Group profit margins fell from 5.4% to 4.9%.
Sainsbury's was the only one of the "big four" supermarkets to increase its market share in the 12 weeks ending 15 September, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel. Its market share rose 0.2% to 16.6%.
Tesco's market share fell to 30.2% from 30.9% over the period, although it is still considerably larger than its nearest rival Asda, which has 17.3% of the market and also saw its share drop.
Last year, Tesco announced it would be spending £1bn on improving its stores in the UK, investing in shop upgrades, product ranges, more staff, as well as its online offering.
As well as its traditional competitors, the firm is fighting an increasingly tough battle with discount supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl.
Aldi saw UK pre-tax profits surge 124% to £157.9m in 2012, with the company saying it attracted a million more shoppers through its doors.
Tesco has also beat an expensive retreat from the US, recently agreeing to sell 150 of its Fresh & Easy stores to the investment company Yucaipa Companies.
Tesco's chief executive, Philip Clarke, said the retailer was making progress and was strengthening its UK business, but he saw little improvement in consumers' spending power.
"There is less pessimism around, but customers are still not seeing real disposable incomes improve," he told the BBC's Today Programme.
"They are, perhaps, feeling a little better about the future," he added.
Neil Saunders, managing director of retail consultants Conlumino, said that as Tesco continued with an organisational overhaul, results needed to show signs that it was moving in the right direction.
"Against this standard it is fair to say that Tesco is making some progress, especially on the UK front," he said.
"However, they also indicate some more worrying signs that there are a number of deep seated issues on the international scene that need to be addressed."
David Gray, retail analyst at Planet Retail, noted food sales had held up, fuelled by warm weather in July and August and its food-focused "Love Every Mouthful" marketing campaign.
"We expect to see further positive news on food sales in the months ahead as improvements to product ranges come through," he said.
Tesco's results came as the firm announced a joint venture with China Resources Enterprise (CRE).
The UK firm will combine its Tesco China business, which includes 134 Chinese stores, with the 2,986 stores held by CRE's Vanguard business.
Tesco will have a 20% stake in the business, which it said would have sales approaching £10bn.
Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King said his firm was the only major supermarket increasing its market share.
"Our groceries online business grew by over 15% in the quarter and is now worth over £1bn in annual sales." he said.
"Our convenience business grew 20% year-on-year as customers topped up more frequently during the warm summer weather."
Sainsbury's said sales of its own-brand products had continued to rise at more than twice the rate of branded goods, with its premium Taste the Difference range growing particularly strongly.


If many Londoners knew little about Sadiq Khan until this contest, it is likely they will know even less about the team that will help him govern at City Hall if he wins.

Every mayor has the right to appoint two political advisers and up to 10 other staff, giving them a chance to surround themselves with trusted lieutenants and a chance to hit the ground running.
So who might form Sadiq Khan's team to help him carry through on his campaign promises?
It's likely the man who ran his campaign, David Bellamy, will continue as Khan's right-hand man as his chief of staff.
And helping to deliver on the big issue of the election - housing - it's likely Mr Khan will stick with James Murray, an Islington councillor who advised the campaign on housing and stood in at debates for Mr Khan.
There may also be a return to City Hall for Neale Coleman, an advisor to both Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson. Heavily involved in delivery the Olympics and its legacy, he briefly worked as head of policy for Jeremy Corbyn.
Seen as capable and pragmatic, he's likely to have a role in settling Team Khan into the eight-floor offices.
Another name being touted is that of Andrew Adonis - a former cabinet minister and currently the head of the National Infrastructure Commission.
With big projects like Crossrail 2 and HS2 coming down the track, his expertise could prove key, but it may require him to walk away from the national job.
If he's looking for a deputy mayor for policing, the smart money seems to be on current Assembly member Joanne McCartney, a trained barrister and Labour member for Enfield and Haringey, who has chaired the assembly's Police and Crime Committee.
Fiona Twycross, who has worked on the Fire Authority, may also be rewarded.
Former Bethnal Green MP Oona King, who backed Mr Khan when he first announced he was running, may enter City Hall in a communities role.
Expect roles too for policy director Nick Bowes - widely seen as the ideas person behind the new mayor's campaign - and Leah Kreitzman and Jack Stenner, who have been key members of team Khan since he became Labour's candidate.
Ex-journalist Patrick Hennessy, who ran communications for Mr Khan during the election campaign, is likely to continue selling the message.


Syria could become a "failed state" similar to Somalia, the former UN envoy to the country has predicted.

Veteran diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, who stood down last week, also said that the conflict would "blow up" and spread beyond Syria's borders.
His warning came as a Norwegian vessel with the first part of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal left the country.
The operation to destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal is several months behind schedule.
Mr Brahimi made the comments in an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel in one of his first interviews since stepping down.
"It will be become another Somalia," he warned. "It will not be divided, as many have predicted. It's going to be a failed state, with warlords all over the place."
He criticised Iran and Russia for supporting the Syrian government,  and said President Bashar al-Assad was "100% aware" of the way the war was being conducted.
"He knows a hell of a lot. Maybe he doesn't know every single detail of what is happening, but I'm sure he is aware that people are being tortured, that people are being killed, that bombs are being thrown, that cities are being destroyed," he said.
More than 160,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict started in 2011, with millions forced to flee their homes.
Mr Brahimi said that both the Syrian government and the opposition had committed war crimes "every day" and warned that "people will be held responsible one day".
The Algerian diplomat said the conflict would destabilise countries close to Syria and further afield.
"The UN Security Council had no interest in Afghanistan, a small country, poor, far away. I said one day it's going to blow up in your faces. It did. Syria is so much worse!" he said.
Mr Brahimi chaired two rounds of peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition movement in Geneva, but the negotiations ended in deadlock, prompting his resignation.
On Sunday, a Norwegian cargo ship carrying about 500 tonnes of chemical weapons from the Syrian government's arsenal set sail for Finland and the United States.
The operation to completely destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpile was meant to have been completed by 30 June.
However, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) says this deadline will now not be met.
Correspondents say fighting and the threat of attack by rebel groups has severely delayed the removal of the weapons.
Syria's chemical weapons
•21 August 2013: Chemical weapons attack in Ghouta region near Damascus
•14 September: US and Russia agree deal on destruction of Syria's chemical weapons
•31 December: Initial deadline for removal of most dangerous "Priority One" chemicals from Syria - missed
•4 February 2014: Initial deadline for removal of less hazardous "Priority Two" chemicals - missed
•27 April: Revised deadline for removal of all chemical stocks from Syria
•30 June: Deadline for destruction of Syria's entire chemical arsenal
Destroying Syria's chemical weapons
Syria chemical weapons removal plan


A man has been arrested following an 11-hour stand-off with armed police in south London.

Officers had spent the day in Dumbarton Road in Brixton, having been alerted at 06:20 GMT to a man "in possession of what looked like a firearm".
Residents from two blocks of flats were evacuated but have since been allowed home.
The man, in his 40s, was arrested on suspicion of having an imitation gun at about 17:15 GMT, police said.


Liverpool has been named as the host of the 2018 Boccia World Championships in August next year.

The event, the biggest on the boccia calendar outside of the Paralympics, will run between 9 and 19 August at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool.
Britain's David Smith, who won gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympics and is a two-time individual world champion, will be one of the 192 competitors.
"I'm so excited that the Worlds will be held in the UK," he said.
"Performing in front of a home crowd in London 2012 was one of the finest moments of my career."
Boccia is a precision ball sport that is played by people with cerebral palsy and other impairments that affect motor skills


A fault with bus lane cameras in Belfast has led to more than 700 fines being cancelled.

Media playback is unsupported on your device
28 July 2015 Last updated at 19:00 BST
Six cameras and a mobile detection unit were introduced last month to catch drivers illegally using the lanes, but a timing problem with the cameras has since been discovered.
Motorists who have been incorrectly issued with fines, when they had committed no driving offence, will now be refunded.
BBC Newsline's Michael Fitzpatrick reports.


Drones are being used by researchers to study endangered southern right whales in their Australian breeding grounds.

The unmanned aerial vehicles captured a rare white southern whale calf on film as well as recording scenes little known about by scientists.
Record numbers of the whale species have been recorded in their Great Australian Bight breeding grounds.
Australia's southern right whale population is estimated to be 3,000 - 20% of its pre-whaling population.
Murdoch University and Curtin University have been researching southern right whales for almost two decades.
The whales are found only in the oceans of the southern hemisphere. They inhabit waters close to Antarctica during the summer and migrate north in winter.
Curtin University researcher Claire Charlton said it will take many years for the animals to come off the endangered list.
"To assess their health and recovery, long-term population monitoring in the order of decades is required," she said.
The Great Australian Bight is famed for its vast stretches of sheer cliffs. With water access restrained, the whales can be sighted only from the air.
Drones are equipped with rangefinders which allow the vehicles to assess the size and health of mothers and their calves over the three-month breeding season.
Murdoch University researcher Fredrik Christiansen said the research team have assessed more than 170 whales since the season began in late June.
"This project will benefit the conservation of southern right whales by teaching us more about their health and reproduction," he said.


Talks between 12 nations to agree the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal may have failed last week, but New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key has told the BBC that he is confident the pact will be signed by the end of the year.

Media playback is unsupported on your device
10 August 2015 Last updated at 01:41 BST
New Zealand was one of the original nations involved in the TPP, which if a deal is concluded will  create a "mega regional" bloc with a combined GDP of $28 trillion.
Mr Key explains why he was optimistic that an agreement will be reached.
Go to the Asia Business Report website for more programme clips.


Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey is to guest judge on Strictly Come Dancing next month.

The 51-year-old actress will replace Len Goodman for a week while the head judge takes a break.
Grey won Dancing with the Stars - the US version of the celebrity dance show, on which Goodman also judges - last year with her partner Derek Hough.
She will join fellow judges Craig Revel Horwood, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli on the panel on 5 and 6 November.
"I so look forward to making the pilgrimage to the birthplace of the greatest dance show, the mecca of spray tans and tangos, and to sit in for the great and pernickety Len Goodman," Grey is quoted as saying.
Goodman films Strictly and its US counterpart concurrently, with Dancing with the Stars airing live on Monday and Tuesday straight after the judge finishes his duties with the UK show.
Fellow judge Tonioli also sits on the US judging panel, alongside US choreographer Carrie Ann Inaba.
"Flying back and forth between London and LA doing the two shows is very gruelling, so this year the BBC have kindly agreed to give me a week off to rest," Goodman said.
A BBC spokesman added: "It was always agreed that Len would take a week off from Strictly due to his commitments with Dancing with the Stars."
Goodman will return to the UK judging panel from 12 November.
Grey remains best known for her role as Frances 'Baby' Houseman in 1987's Dirty Dancing, in which she appeared with the late Patrick Swayze.


The world's food security is increasingly reliant on 14 "chokepoints" for trade, a think-tank report has warned.

UK-based Chatham House says more needs to be done to protect key transport routes such as the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal and the Turkish Straits.
Almost 25% of the world's food is traded on international markets.
This, the report says, makes food supply and prices vulnerable to unforeseen crises or climate change.
Infrastructure at the chokepoints is often old and would struggle to cope with natural disasters which are expected to grow in frequency as the planet warms, the report authors add.
They urge governments to invest in "climate-resilient" infrastructure, and diversify food production and stocks.
The report gives examples of how reliant the world is on this trade:
"The risks are growing as we all trade more with each other and as climate change takes hold," says Laura Wellesley, one of the study's authors.
There are risks for both the food security of importing countries and the economies of those exporting food, she added.


LG has announced the first all-in-one PC to be powered by Google's Chrome operating system.

Until now the Linux-based OS has only come pre-installed on laptops or boxes that required a separate monitor.
Chrome-based computers tend to be cheaper than comparable Windows-powered rivals in part because Google does not charge manufacturers to include its software.
However, they run a more limited range of applications.
Popular products including Skype, Powerpoint, Photoshop and iTunes are all unavailable.
However, Google promotes a range of free and paid web-based alternatives that can be run through Chrome OS's browser.
The popularity of what LG is calling "the first-ever Chromebase" may depend on its price.
The 21.5in (55cm) 1080p full-HD screened model resembles Apple's iMacs, HP's Spectre One range and Dell's Inspiron One family, which cost Â£700 or more.
However, it only has 16 gigabytes of storage - a relatively low amount - as it is Google's intention that users store much of their work in the cloud. This should help cut costs.
But the South Korean firm is holding back the suggested price of its machine until at least January, when it will be formally launched at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Samsung has already had success selling Chrome OS laptops, which have have dominated the two-year old ecosystem.
In a report covering the July-to-September quarter, the market research firm IDC said other vendors - including Acer, HP and Google itself - only represented a "tiny volume" of sales.
Samsung's success has helped Chrome OS machines represent rare growth in the PC market, which has lost sales to smartphones and tablets.
IDC said ChromeOS devices had experienced 1,542% growth over the previous year, which compared with a 12% decline in the notebook and laptop market and a 10% fall in the PC sector as a whole.
The research firm notes that with 697,000 units sold in the third quarter, Chrome OS still represented a tiny fraction of the market.
Even so, a tech analyst from another firm said Microsoft still had cause for concern.
"It will still be worried about Chrome OS as a competitor to Windows because it was previously caught out by the resurgence that Apple saw with its Mac OS," said Chris Green, from Davies Murphy Group.
"Chrome OS also helps promote Google's own services, which consumers will then continue to use on Android or other smart devices instead of Microsoft's.
"Looking at the new device, while I think the desktop market is in terminal decline, consumers are still buying all-in-one units as hub devices that they can use for everything from ordering groceries to watching movies. And that's a space LG wants to be in."


Seventeen women who have served as ministers in France say they will no longer be silent about sexual harassment in politics.

All 17 signatories to the declaration are current or former ministers.
Among them is Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund and France's former finance minister.
On Monday, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Denis Baupin, resigned over sexual harassment claims, which he denies.
Sex harassment 'impunity' attacked
French 'sex pest' resignation leaves bitter taste
In the declaration, the women call for a toughening of the law against sexual harassment, as well as specialist desks set up in police stations to deal with such complaints.
Examples of some of the sexual harassment suffered by the women are also given in the article.
It explains that Fleur Pellerin, who was culture minister in Francois Hollande's Socialist government from 2014 until this February this year, rarely suffered harassment until she was appointed to office.
After her first appointment in government, she was asked by a male journalist if she was given the job "because you are a beautiful woman".
"They feel entitled to have a laugh and to make unwelcome gestures such as patting a woman on the buttocks," another signatory, former Women's Rights Minister Yvette Roudy, told French news channel La Chaine Info on Sunday.
"Some women aren't so offended but others are very offended and are now speaking out.  It's time women talk about it and make it known that they are not being complimented but are effectively being treated as whores."
Denis Baupin groped one female Green Party member and sent explicit messages to others, female former Green Party colleagues said in interviews in French media last week.
France Inter said the women chose to come forward after Mr Baupin gave his support in March to a high-profile campaign criticising violence against women.
One of his accusers, Green Party spokeswoman Sandrine Rousseau, said Mr Baupin had groped her breast in a corridor and tried to kiss her.
His lawyer said Mr Baupin could sue the women who made the allegations.
Mr Baupin's wife, Emmanuelle Cosse, who is the housing minister in Mr Hollande's government, was not among the signatories.
Attitudes to privacy, sex and sexual harassment in France were also brought into the spotlight in May 2011, when former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York over the alleged rape of a hotel maid. The charges were eventually dismissed.
In March 2012 he faced another serious scandal, when French police launched an investigation over his alleged involvement with a gang suspected of hiring prostitutes. He was later cleared of the charge of "aggravated pimping".


Worcestershire captain Daryl Mitchell compiled his second hundred of the season against Hampshire to help rescue his side against their fellow County Championship Division One strugglers.

Only 21 balls were possible in a rain-hit morning session at New Road.
After Australian paceman Jackson Bird had taken his third wicket, the hosts then looked in some discomfort at 25-3.
But Mitchell put on 142 with teenager Joe Clarke (70), finishing the day on 105 as Worcestershire closed on 228-5.
Worcestershire got off to a bad start when Richard Oliver, their T20 matchwinner against Durham the day before, was out to only the fourth delivery he received, leg before wicket to Bird.
After an early lunch following the mid-morning downpour, Tom Fell then edged Bird low to wicketkeeper Adam Wheater before the recalled Tom Kohler-Cadmore was bowled without playing a shot.
But the meeting of last season's two promotion winners then changed course as Clarke joined Mitchell, who made an unbeaten 142 at Southampton in May, only for Hampshire to be saved by the weather.
Kohler-Cadmore came in for his third Championship start of the summer as Alex Gidman was still feeling the effects of a blow he took on the helmet on the first day against Nottinghamshire a week ago.
The home side also opted to play an extra spinner, in-form T20 specialist Brett D'Oliveira coming in for seamer Ed Barnard.
Worcestershire skipper Daryl Mitchell told BBC Hereford & Worcester:
"It's always pleasing to get a hundred and when we were 25-3, it's doubly pleasing to get us out of a bit of trouble. We will see how important it is at the end of the game.
"It's a good wicket, pretty dry and not a lot of grass, and I thought batting first was important with two spinners in the team.
"There was a bit of cloud cover and it did nibble around a little we overcame that and Joe Clarke played a fantastic innings."
Hampshire coach Dale Benkenstein told BBC Solent:
"It was a solid day but, at 25-3, there was a real opportunity and we got a little bit excited. We have not had those opportunities, especially recently.
"It's a fairly good, slow, placid wicket. We almost tried to get wickets but they got a bit away from us.
"If you bowl in good areas there is enough in the wicket and it's hard to score."


Scotland have called up loose forward Blair Cowan as an injury replacement after lock Grant Gilchrist's Rugby World Cup was ended by injury.

Gilchrist, 25, was withdrawn during the first half of Scotland's 39-16 win over USA on Sunday.
London Irish's Cowan, 29, born in New Zealand to a Scottish mother, was in Vern Cotter's initial training squad for the tournament.
The Scots, who top Pool B, face South Africa on Saturday.
Cotter's men lead the Springboks by three points with Scotland having picked up bonus-point wins from their opening two fixtures against Japan and USA.
"We're all really disappointed for Grant who is an important player to the group, both an athlete and as a decent human being," Cotter told the Scottish Rugby website.
"Blair, who comes in, was a bit unfortunate to miss out on selection in the initial 31-man group, but has shown great character to continue his work, stay fit and focussed, in case such an opportunity came up.
"He knows our systems well having spent a lot of time with this group before and during our pre-season campaign and will fit in seamlessly, and bring his freshness, leadership and enthusiasm to our training ahead of some very tough Test matches."
Cowan, who started every match in this season's Six Nations, admitted he was "devastated" to miss out on the original squad but insists he is ready to face the Springboks.
"The (coaches) know what I can do," he said, "I don't need to prove myself. I just want to come up here and be positive. Even if it's just in training, I'll just bring some energy.
"And if I'm called up to play on Saturday am I ready? Yeah - just show me the jersey."
South Africa lost to Japan but took two bonus points by virtue of their four tries and being within six points of the winners.
A bonus-point 46-6 win over Samoa followed for Heyneke Meyer's side.
In the absence of Gilchrist, Cotter still has Tim Swinson and brothers Jonny and Richie Gray available as second-row options.
David Denton, John Hardie, Josh Strauss, Alasdair Strokosch and Ryan Wilson are the back-row forwards already in the Scotland squad.


Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Americans must stop their "hysteria" about an alleged Russian deal with US President Donald Trump.

"This is simply some kind of hysteria. You can't seem to stop. Do we need to give you a tablet?" he said in a debate at the St Petersburg Economic Forum.
A US journalist had asked him if Russia had reached a secret deal with Mr Trump to soften US sanctions on Russia.
Mr Putin again denied Russian meddling in the election that Mr Trump won.
The allegations of Russian interference in the presidential election were "harmful chatter" detrimental to international relations, security and the fight against terrorism, he said.
"This is an attempt to resolve domestic political issues by using foreign policy instruments," he said.
"It's easier to say 'we're not to blame - the Russians are to blame, they interfered in our election, and we're good'. This reminds me of anti-Semitism. The Jews are blamed for everything," he added.
The US intelligence agencies say the hacking of the US Democrats last year bore the hallmarks of Russian state security services.
President Trump's campaign aides are currently being investigated over possible collusion with the Russian government.
Mr Putin accused the West of carrying out "crude and systematic interference in Russian affairs for many years".
Russia: The scandal Trump can't shake
US Congress issues Russia probe subpoenas
Earlier, Mr Putin urged US business executives to help improve Russian-US relations, amid continuing Western sanctions.
He said those relations had hit "their lowest point since the Cold War".
"I want to pass the buck back to you - help us to restore a normal political dialogue," he said at the forum.
Besides the US allegations of Russian meddling, tensions have risen during the Ukraine and Syria conflicts.
Russia remains under US and EU sanctions because of its involvement in the Ukraine conflict and annexation of Crimea.
Western governments back Sunni Arab and Kurdish groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed militarily by Russia and Iran. But Islamic State (IS) jihadists are being targeted by both the West and Russia.
"I appeal to you and the US side: help the newly-elected president too, and his administration," Mr Putin told the US business leaders.
Russian Ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak is at the centre of US suspicions about Kremlin contacts with the Trump team.
Mr Putin poured scorn on the allegations. "They're talking such drivel... Our ambassador met someone. What's an ambassador supposed to do? It's his job."


Victoria police were "working hard" to arrest an "aggressive" abusive father who later beat his young son to death, an inquiry in Australia has heard.

But Senior Constable Paul Topham said they were foiled by the justice system and a flawed police database.
Luke Batty was killed by his father Greg Anderson at a cricket oval in the Melbourne suburb of Tyabb in February. Anderson was shot dead by police.
A probe into how authorities could have stopped the killing began on Monday.
Snr PC Topham said on Thursday that the police "weren't mucking around with [Anderson], we were trying to get him... we were all working hard behind the scenes to try and apprehend this guy".
"We put him up before the courts and the courts let him out. We've gone the mental health route, it didn't work."
'Astounded'
In his account of events since he first arrested Anderson in January 2013, Snr PC Topham painted a picture of Anderson as an intelligent suspect who knew how to stay out of police custody.
Snr PC Topham had arrested Anderson after he assaulted and threatened to kill his former partner Rosie Batty. He said Anderson "became extremely aggressive" at the arrest, but was "smart enough to shut it down before it got to the next level".
A court decided to grant Anderson bail, which "astounded" Snr PC Topham. "We knew it was a marginal address that he'd disappear from after a few days," he said.
Snr PC Topham said Anderson later changed his address and was unable to be tracked down, and also knew a procedural loophole that ensured he did not need to report to the police.
The police issued several warrants to arrest Anderson. Officers had served papers on Anderson two weeks before the killing, but could not arrest him because of a flaw with the police database.
Snr PC Topham said he considered Anderson "100% bad, not mad", adding that he had no regard for authority and "knew what he was doing".
The Luke Batty case has shocked Australia. Ms Batty has since become a high-profile advocate against domestic violence.
The inquest continues.


Google has said the number of requests it has had from governments to share information about its users has gone up by 120% in the past four years.

The rise was blamed on an increase in users, but the company also said more governments were starting to "exercise their authority to make requests".
In releasing the data the search giant renewed its calls for government surveillance reform.
Last year, 53,356 requests for data were made globally, Google said.
The majority of requests come from the US - but the figures do not include bulk surveillance carried out by the country's National Security Agency (NSA).
Google has been publishing the twice-yearly Transparency Report since 2009.
Not all requests Google receives are successful. In the period of July to December 2013, 69% of the UK government's 1,397 requests resulted in user information being passed over.
In the US, 83% of 10,574 requests were granted.
"We consistently push back against overly broad requests for your personal information," wrote Richard Salgado, Google's legal director.
"But it's also important for laws to explicitly protect you from government overreach.
"That's why we're working alongside eight other companies to push for surveillance reform, including more transparency."
Following revelations from whistleblower Edward Snowden into US spying - technology companies have been pressing for more openness in the activities of governments.
Google has joined some of the sector's big hitters - including Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter - in pushing for the right to publish data into national security requests as well demands made for law enforcement purposes.
In a separate publication on Friday, two Google engineers revealed the extent of state-sponsored hacking attempts on journalists and news organisations.
The engineers suggested that 21 of the top 25 news organisations in the world had been targeted - and that while general users face such attacks, journalists were "massively over-represented" in the study's data.
Shane Huntley and Morgan Marquis-Boire presented their findings at the Black Hat security conference in Singapore.
Mr Huntley told Reuters: "If you're a journalist or a journalistic organisation we will see state-sponsored targeting and we see it happening regardless of region, we see it from all over the world both from where the targets are and where the targets are from."
He added that Chinese hackers had accessed a US news organisation - which was not named - by sending out a fake questionnaire to staff.


A bus and three cars have been involved in an accident on the A9 near Inverness.

The crash happened at 07:45 about a mile north of the Black Isle side of the Kessock Bridge
The incident caused tailbacks for a time.
There are no details at this stage of whether anyone was injured in the accident.


Labour's Welsh members would reject any attempt to split from the UK party, two Labour AMs have told BBC Wales.

Former Welsh Government minister Leighton Andrews said the Welsh arm of the party should consider a divorce if differences grow with Labour in Westminster on Brexit.
But Mike Hedges said members would throw the idea out.
Jenny Rathbone said it would be "political suicide" for Welsh Labour to go it alone.
Darren Williams, member of Labour's ruling national executive committee and prominent Jeremy Corbyn supporter, said a split would achieve "nothing positive".
Ms Rathbone, Labour AM for Cardiff Central, said: "To even consider breaking away from the UK Labour party would be political suicide because not many people would follow him and then we'd have two different parties competing for election."
She said she detected no appetite for a split in the Labour group in the assembly.
"The membership at large would totally disagree," she said. "The membership at large would be aghast I think at the prospect of breaking away from the UK Labour Party. I absolutely don't know anybody apart from Leighton who thinks along those lines."
Ms Rathbone, who supported Jeremy Corbyn at the both leadership elections, added: "He is our leader. We need to unite behind him and this sort of conversation about having a separatist party is extremely unhelpful."
Mr Andrews spoke in response to a debate within the party over how involved the UK should be in the single market.
First Minister Carwyn Jones has advocated a Norway-style model of access to the single market, but Jeremy Corbyn later said Britain should leave the single market.
Later John McDonnell, shadow chancellor, said Mr Jones and Mr Corbyn were saying the same thing on Brexit.
Mr Andrews suggested that if UK Labour's Brexit position moved away from that held by Welsh Labour ministers then a divorce should be considered.
Mr Hedges, who had also backed Corbyn in his leadership campaigns, said: "If people want to split let them be prepared to go out and ask the membership if they want to split.
"I think the party members would reject it by two to three to one," the AM for Swansea East said.
"I also know that the party members voted for Jeremy Corbyn in very large numbers, who I'm absolutely certain Leighton Andrews didn't vote for."
He said Mr Andrews, who lost his Rhondda assembly seat in May 2016, "is out of step with his constituency and out of step with the Labour party".
"It seems to me the logic of where Leighton Andrews is going is he's saying we need Welsh independence so we can negotiate our own Brexit deal."
In the last year Welsh Labour has won greater powers within the Labour party to make its own decisions - but remains part of the overall organisation.
Darren Williams added: "A divorce between the British and Welsh parties would achieve nothing positive.
"The proposal ignores the fact that people in Wales voted not just for Welsh Labour but for Jeremy Corbyn and the most progressive UK manifesto in many years."


For some in China the sky does not need to be the limit, especially when you can build a glass-bottomed suspension bridge across it.

Tourism sites in the central Henan and Hunan provinces have been constructing vertigo-inducing skywalks in a bid to attract visitors.
And it seems to have worked, attracting thrill-seeking tourists and locals, all wanting a chance to experience a bird's eye view of the Chinese countryside.
One of them is student Li Shu Zhen, 19, from Hangzhou city.
She shared with the BBC her experience of climbing the Brave Man's Bridge in Pingjiang county, Hunan province.
"You look down and feel a sense of fear, but you quickly recover from that and enjoy the scenery," she said.
"It was beautiful, almost as if one was walking on air."
The fully transparent bridge, which measures 300m long (984ft) and 180m high, first opened to the public in September.
It is one of the more popular bridges, with events - like mass yoga displays - often being staged on it.
Local officials say that glass panels were designed to withstand high winds and earthquakes,  as well as the "weight of 800 visitors".
Glass bridge fever has also spread to neighbouring Taiwan, where a 179m-high bridge opened in Nantou county.
Construction on the latest bridge, touted as the world's longest glass-bottomed walkway, is also nearing completion.
Standing at 300m high and stretching 375m, the bridge will hang above the Zhangjiajie grand canyon, also in Hunan province.
Gearing up for the bridge's 2016 opening, officials have even enlisted the public's help in naming it.
One of its engineers, Yang Guohong, from state-owned China Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance and Design Institute, said contractors had taken extra safety precautions.
"No matter how the tourists jump on the bridge, it will still be fine," he told the People's Daily newspaper.
"The steel structures beneath it are incredibly dense, so even if the glass breaks, visitors won't fall through."
But architects who spoke to the BBC said that such glass bridges were often "primarily a novelty, built as visitor attractions rather than commuter bridges".
Architect Keith Brownlie, who was involved in a glass bridge for The London Science Museum, said that the appeal was "thrill".
"It is the relationship between emotionally driven fear and the logical understanding of safety," he said. "These structures tread the boundary between those two contrasting senses and people like to challenge their rational mind in relation to their irrational fear."
Others felt that the bridges symbolised extravagance, especially in China.
"In architecture, glass has always been associated with luxury and often as a display of wealth," said bridge designer Ezra Groskin.
"Glass floor panels, used in the creation of invisible architecture, are not a new phenomenon. However its use is often restricted due to cost and practicality."
But how safe are China's glass bridges?
An incident in October sent terrified visitors fleeing in fear after part of a glass skywalk in Henan province's Yuntai Mountain Geological Park cracked, despite only being open for two weeks.
Park officials closed the walkway immediately, later saying there was "no reason for worry" and that the cracks had "no impact on safety".
But experts questioned the use of glass in an exposed mountain environment.
"While a glass structure designed by a competent engineer and manufactured by a specialist contractor has no greater risk in terms of structural integrity than any other building material, glass can be prone to localised shocks," noted architect Adam Holicska.
"The use of it in a mountain environment where there is a potential risk of rock impact can make it a questionable choice."
Architect Keith Brownlie added that the cleaning of glass panels and lack of slip resistance should also be considered in such an environment.
"One issue with glass decks is the problem of grip," he said. "Glass is slippery and so anti-slip properties must be provided,"
"Please, no more such bridges," commented a user on China's popular micro-blogging site Weibo. "Judging from this incident, it is only a matter of time before more serious accidents and deaths occur."
But glass bridge enthusiasts remain undeterred.
"I still would not hesitate to visit other glass bridges soon," Ms Li admitted.
Other netizens on the site also expressed similar opinions.
"I am confident that officials will step up additional measures after that happened,"  said one Weibo user.
"Thankfully deaths were avoided but one bad incident should not put one off from conquering such a spectacular bridge."
Another compared it to other bridges of the world: "If Sydney's Harbour Bridge experienced a crack, I doubt government officials would close it down. So we should not let such an episode affect our opinions about our unique Chinese structures."


An exotic spider known as one of the most venomous in the world has been found in a Staffordshire warehouse.

The deadly Brazilian Wandering spider was spotted beside damp wooden pallets from South America by Lee Hilton, a worker at shower and tap company Bristan, in Tamworth.
"I thought it was a wolf spider to start off with," he said.
Staff at Bristol Zoo found it to be a female, possibly the largest seen in the UK.
James Ship, an expert at Stratford Butterfly Farm, which also houses arachnids, said if bitten by the spider, "you would have about six hours' worth of pain".
He added: "If you weren't able to get anti-venom within those six hours, it can lead to paralysis and in some cases it can lead to death."
It is understood the spider is undergoing tests in London.


Compensation for an alleged drop in house values caused by a new tram line is being demanded by some Nottinghamshire householders.

The £570m project to extend Nottingham's tram to Chilwell and Clifton is expected to finish shortly.
But residents overlooking the tracks in Beeston have claimed property prices have been cut by as much as £40,000.
The city council and tram operator NET insisted experience showed property values would, in fact, increase.
Alison Dobbs is leading a group of about 49 homeowners and landlords on Lower Road & Fletcher Road.
"People have said it will increase the value but when you look, who would want to live this close to a tram track?
"We are being told by our chartered surveyor and other people the average loss is £30,000 to £40,000 per house," she said.
But NET project director, Chris Deas, said: "We are not aware of evidence being available that establishes that the value of properties alongside the new tram lines will fall.
"Experience from Line One and tram networks elsewhere in the UK suggests the opposite where, over time, houses near the tramlines have held or increased their value better than other local properties."
Long-term residents - though not landlords - have already received £1,500 compensation for the disruption during construction.
No claims can be made within the first  year of operation so the impact can be properly assessed.