ITV has confirmed it will air singing talent competitions The Voice and The Voice Kids from 2017.

The broadcaster announced it has signed a three-year deal for The Voice and a spin-off ITV2 show, as well committing to two series of a children's version.
ITV had previously refused to comment on reports it had bought The Voice, after the BBC revealed it had lost out to a rival broadcaster.
ITV's Peter Fincham said it had a place "alongside" The X Factor.
"ITV is the natural home of big entertainment so we are thrilled that The Voice and The Voice Kids are both joining our family alongside brilliant shows like The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent, Saturday Night Takeaway and I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here," director of TV Fincham said in a statement.
Earlier this month ITV confirmed its contract with X Factor had another year left to run, and said it planned to air a new series in 2016.
Simon Cowell's singing show has suffered falling ratings this year, as well as criticism of its new look and presenting duo Olly Murs and Caroline Flack.
The BBC's final season of The Voice UK begins in January, with Boy George and Paloma Faith on the new look judging panel alongside Ricky Wilson and will.i.am.
Owned by production company Talpa Global, The Voice started life as a Dutch talent show in 2010.
It now has around 65 versions broadcast in 180 countries, and nearly 30 versions of the junior edition The Voice Kids.


Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick on the opening day of La Liga as champions Barcelona thrashed Real Betis.

Arda Turan opened the scoring for Barca from close range, before Ruben Castro levelled from a free-kick.
Lionel Messi slammed home an excellent 22-yard strike before Suarez swept home from the edge of the box.
Suarez scored the fourth, Messi drove home from distance and Suarez curled home a free-kick for his third, before Castro added a late consolation.
Uruguay striker Suarez, last season's La Liga top scorer with 40 goals, has now scored 17 goals in his past six league games.
It was Barcelona's third game of the season, having beaten Sevilla 2-0 and 3-0 in the two legs of the Spanish Super Cup.
After the match, Barca confirmed "the beginning of an agreement with Manchester City for Claudio Bravo", the 33-year-old keeper who played against Gus Poyet's Betis.
Real Madrid get their season under way at Real Sociedad on Sunday (19:15 BST), with Atletico Madrid hosting Alaves two hours later.
Suarez was absolutely integral to Barcelona winning the title last season, scoring 14 goals in their final five La Liga games - all wins - including a hat-trick on the final-day 3-0 victory against Granada.
Real Madrid would have been champions had Barca dropped points in any of those games.
And the former Liverpool striker started off this season's league campaign in similar fashion, with three good finishes, including an excellent free-kick.
While Suarez and Messi's goalscoring heroics have come to be expected, Turan has been making the most of his opportunity to play up front with them.
With Neymar playing at the Olympics for Brazil, the former Atletico Madrid player has been in the front three this season.
The Turkey international, who was frequently a substitute or midfielder last season, was strongly linked with a move away in the summer, with reports Barca wanted to sell him.
But he stayed and has now scored three goals in his past two games, more than in his previous 27 matches for the club. He also had a goal rightly disallowed for offside.
With Brazil playing Germany in the Olympic final on Saturday (21:30 BST), Turan could have a run in the team if Neymar needs a rest on his return.
Match ends, Barcelona 6, Real Betis 2.
Second Half ends, Barcelona 6, Real Betis 2.
Attempt missed. Dani Ceballos (Real Betis) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Rubén Castro.
Hand ball by Lucas Digne (Barcelona).
Attempt blocked. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Sergi Roberto with a cross.
Corner,  Barcelona. Conceded by Aissa Mandi.
Attempt blocked. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Ivan Rakitic.
Corner,  Barcelona. Conceded by Antonio Adán.
Attempt saved. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Digne.
Corner,  Barcelona. Conceded by Antonio Adán.
Attempt saved. Lucas Digne (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lionel Messi with a through ball.
Foul by Lucas Digne (Barcelona).
Charly Musonda (Real Betis) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Goal!  Barcelona 6, Real Betis 2. Rubén Castro (Real Betis) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner following a set piece situation.
Attempt blocked. Rubén Castro (Real Betis) header from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Álvaro Cejudo with a cross.
Foul by Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona).
Rubén Castro (Real Betis) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Goal!  Barcelona 6, Real Betis 1. Luis Suárez (Barcelona) from a free kick with a right footed shot to the top left corner.
Luis Suárez (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Fabián (Real Betis).
Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Dani Ceballos (Real Betis).
Luis Suárez (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Aissa Mandi (Real Betis).
Arda Turan (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Fabián (Real Betis).
Rubén Castro (Real Betis) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Rubén Castro (Real Betis).
Substitution, Barcelona. Lucas Digne replaces Jordi Alba.
Corner,  Barcelona. Conceded by Antonio Adán.
Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Munir El Haddadi.
Attempt missed. Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ivan Rakitic with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Barcelona. Conceded by Charly Musonda.
Substitution, Barcelona. Munir El Haddadi replaces Denis Suárez.
Hand ball by Álvaro Cejudo (Real Betis).
Dani Ceballos (Real Betis) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dani Ceballos (Real Betis).


Scott Brown has told BBC Sport he is willing and ready to play for Scotland in the World Cup qualifier against England in June.

The Celtic captain has yet to hold talks with Scotland coach Gordon Strachan, but hopes to be selected for the crucial encounter at Hampden.
Brown announced his retirement from international football in August, citing concerns over injury problems.
However, he reversed the decision and faced England at Wembley in November.
He earned his 52nd cap in last month's World Cup qualifying victory over Slovenia at Hampden, a result which kept the Scots' feint hopes of qualifying for Russia 2018 alive.
West Brom midfielder Darren Fletcher assumed the captaincy after Brown elected to withdraw from Scotland duty last year, though the Celtic man reclaimed the armband against Slovenia in Fletcher's absence.
Scotland sit fourth in World Cup qualifying Group F, having collected seven points from their first five fixtures.
England top the group on 13 points, with Slovakia second on nine points and Slovenia one point ahead of Strachan's side.
You can watch the interview with Scott Brown on Football Focus on BBC One, Saturday 8 April at midday.


There is a "real danger" that ferry freight traffic could be diverted away from Wales if there was a hard border with Ireland, a Labour AM has claimed.

Eluned Morgan said leaving the European customs union could require "immense infrastructure" at Welsh ports.
In response to concerns, Brexit minister David Jones told AMs on Tuesday that it "remains to be seen" whether there will be customs checks.
It is not yet clear what kind of border would exist with Ireland after Brexit.
There have been calls for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to remain fully open after the UK leaves the European Union.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants a "seamless, frictionless border".
The United Kingdom has had a common travel area with the republic since the 1920s.
Ms Morgan fears that, if the border between the north and south of Ireland remains "soft", it could result in more stringent checks between Wales and Ireland.
"There is a real danger that if there is a hard border with Wales, but a soft border with Northern Ireland, then freight will be transported via the easier borderless route from Belfast to Liverpool or Cairnryan to Larne," the Mid and West Wales AM said.
"Four hundred lorries an hour pour off the ferry at Holyhead, and in the summer we welcome hordes of tourists from the Irish Republic to Wales through Fishguard," she added.
"If we were outside the customs union, it is hard to see how these goods and people could be let in without being inspected."
"In order to do that the port would have to create an immense infrastructure to park all 400 lorries."
The customs union is the agreement where countries in the EU do not impose tariffs on each other's goods and put common external tariffs on goods from countries outside the agreement.
Ms Morgan said the fallout of Brexit could mean "more money, more infrastructure and more red tape".
Ms Morgan put her concerns to Brexit Minister David Jones at a hearing of the assembly's external affairs committee on Monday.
He said there had been discussions with the UK's Border Force on the issue and that the Home Office was in process of developing policy.
Mr Jones said Holyhead was "very important" for freight traffic.
He said the Anglesey port "already had problems" in terms of lorries, with a lorry park opened there to ease the issue.
Asked by Plaid Cymru AM Steffan Lewis whether there would be customs and border checks, Mr Jones said: "That remains to be seen.
"The importance of freedom of movement on the island of Ireland and between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom is something that the government regards as paramount.
"Therefore we intend to come up with a solution to what otherwise might seem to be a difficult problem.
"We intend to make sure that the common travel area continues."


Last ditch talks to reach a deal on the junior doctors contract in England are being extended into next week.

The government and the doctors' union have agreed to continue negotiating until Wednesday.
The talks, hosted by conciliation service Acas, which started on Monday are seen as the last chance for the two sides to agree a deal.
They were set up following a series of strikes and included the first-ever full walk-out by doctors.
It comes after the government announced in February it would be imposing the contract from this summer after previous talks failed.
Discussions first started in 2012, but broke down in 2014, before Acas hosted talks at the turn of this year.
The main focus of this week's talks have been on Saturday pay, although the British Medical Association (BMA) team has also been raising other issues, including funding the government's seven-day NHS policy.
If these talks fail, the government has indicated it will push ahead with the imposition of the contract.
Hospitals are due to start sending out contracts for positions from the end of this month.
These will be for those medics graduating from medical school, but over the course of the next 12 months much of the rest of the 55,000-strong workforce will be moved on to the new terms and conditions.
Ministers have argued the new contract, which makes it cheaper to rota junior doctors at weekends, is needed to improve care.
Acas chair Sir Brendan Barber said the talks had been conducted in a "constructive and positive atmosphere" and some real progress had been made.
"This is a strictly time limited extension and represents a final opportunity to find an agreement as the basis for the resolution of this difficult dispute."
He said neither the BMA or government would be making any statement.
When it entered the talks, the government agreed to put imposition of the contract on hold, while the doctors' union suspended its threat of further industrial action.
Under the terms of the new contract, basic pay is to be increased by 13.5% on average, but other elements of the pay package are to be curbed, including what constitutes unsociable hours.
Day hours on a Saturday will be paid at a normal rate, while extra premiums that are being offered for the rest of the weekend are lower than what is currently paid.
As a result of the dispute between the government and the BMA, there were four strikes by junior doctors in England affecting routine - but not urgent care - between January and early April.
At the end of April there were two one-day strikes affecting all forms of care, including emergencies - the first such action in the history of the NHS.
Read more from Nick
Follow Nick on Twitter


A missing girl has been found safe and well while a man who was with her has been arrested, police have said.

Alicia Moran, 14, was last seen at her home in the Linthwaite area of Huddersfield at 16:30 BST on Sunday.
She was found earlier in Bristol after previous sightings of her in Manchester, West Yorkshire Police said.
A police spokesperson said a 24-year-old man from the Bristol area had been arrested in connection with her disappearance.


England captain Sean O'Loughlin says he would have preferred an Englishman in charge of the national team, but is looking forward to working with Australian Wayne Bennett.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Bennett, 66, was appointed head coach in February, succeeding Steve McNamara.
"As a patriotic Englishman, you always want everything to be English and everyone involved to be from England," O'Loughlin, 33, told BBC Sport.
"But I think that sport has changed and it is not always about that now."
England face Australia, New Zealand and Scotland in this year's Four Nations, which will be broadcast on the BBC and conclude at Liverpool Football Club's Anfield stadium.
Bennett is the most successful coach in Australian rugby league history, with seven Grand Final wins.
Media playback is not supported on this device
He has been given a two-year contract with England until the 2017 World Cup and will continue in his role as Brisbane Broncos boss.
"Wayne is someone who has a lot about him," added Wigan forward O'Loughlin. "You know what he has achieved in his career. When I first met him, I was impressed with his focus on the job and the preparations he wanted to do.
"Sometimes you introduce people in order to improve you and that is what the powers that be see Wayne doing.
"Whether we need an Aussie or Kiwi to do that, as long as it is pushing our sport forward, that is the main decision that comes into it."
During McNamara's five-and-a-half-year reign, England were runners-up in the 2011 Four Nations and also reached the semi-finals of the 2013 World Cup.
The former Bradford coach's last game in charge saw his side complete a 2-1 series win over New Zealand, the world's number one side.
Despite improvement on the international stage, Australian National Rugby League sides thrashed their Super League counterparts in all three games during the World Club Series earlier this year.
"Looking at the World Club Series games, you will see we haven't bridged the gap. But, with the number of top English players we have produced at international level, we are bridging the gap there," added O'Loughlin.
"We won the series against New Zealand last year, which was a massive step forward for us. We have teams who are more than capable of competing in the NRL. If Wigan went there, we would improve because of the strength of the competition.
"We may not win more games but it would improve our players massively. Coaches and players over here are always looking to get better and we keep trying to bridge the gap."
Full-back Sam Tomkins returned to England with Wigan Warriors after a two-year spell with New Zealand Warriors, but has been unable to play this season because of a long-term knee injury.
Forward Sam Burgess also returned to rugby league with the South Sydney Rabbitohs after a one-season spell with English rugby union side Bath.
"Just having a bloke like Tomkins back at the club is great," said O'Loughlin. "He has been good for the youngsters who have been playing in his position. He is always there to give his opinion at the club, he is a is positive influence.
"Burgess is a phenomenal player and it is great to have him back in an England jersey. He is is an inspirational player and does his job very well. He is very influential on the team and gets the best from the players around him.
"He is a good leader too. With him in the side, you have a better chance of winning."


Using smartphone apps to seek out partners for casual sex poses an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, researchers warn.

A study in Los Angeles, California, showed gonorrhoea and chlamydia were more common in gay men using apps than in those meeting in clubs or online.
Sexual health experts said technology was creating more opportunities for sex than ever before.
One of the apps, Grindr, said it was committed to promoting safe sex.
The researchers were curious about the impact of apps such as Grindr and Scruff which use a smartphone's location to help find partners.
They quizzed 7,184 men attending a sexual health clinic at the LA Gay and Lesbian Centre.
The results showed men were 23% more likely to have gonorrhoea and 35% more likely to be infected with chlamydia than men using other websites or clubs to meet new partners.
There was no difference in the risk of HIV between the groups.
Their report concluded: "Technology is redefining sex on demand.
"Advances which improve the efficiency of meeting anonymous sexual partners may have the unintended effect of creating networks of individuals where users may be more likely to have sexually transmissible infections."
Dr Steve Taylor, a consultant in sexual health and HIV medicine at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, told the BBC:  "Yes this is definitely something we are seeing in our sexual health and HIV clinics, both among gay men and heterosexuals.
"Without a doubt technology has facilitated rapid partner change and therefore it is a perfect environment for sexually transmitted infections and HIV to spread."
Justin Harbottle, a health promotion specialist at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "However good the sex is, it's not worth contracting a long-term condition.
"Gay men today have more opportunities to meet for sex than ever before.
"Part of the problem is that communication on dating apps can be brief, making it easy to cut corners on important discussions like safe sex."
He said condoms were still the best defence against infection.
Grindr told the BBC: "Grindr is highly committed to promoting safe sex within the community and strongly encourages our users to engage in safe sex practices, get tested and know their HIV status."
It added that it collaborated with a range of organisations to raise awareness about safe sex.


Solihull Moors defenders Theo Streete and Jordan Gough have left the club by mutual consent.

Streete, 29, needs surgery on a knee injury which has prevented him making an appearance for the National League club this season.
Gough, 26, joined Moors from Gresley Rovers in 2013 and has played 22 games this term, the most recent in the FA Cup against Luton on 3 December.
Solihull, meanwhile, have signed former Hednesford Town midfielder Simeon Maye.


A motorist launched a foul-mouthed verbal assault on BBC presenter Jeremy Vine as he cycled down a west London street.

The Radio 2 presenter was riding home on Friday after hosting his show when the driver tailgated him, beeping her horn.
He paused and she got out, shouting at him to "get... out the road" and appearing to kick his bike.
The incident has been reported to the Metropolitan Police.
Posting a video of the encounter on Facebook [warning: this video contains language that may offend], Vine invited viewers to "see what you think".
"I hate to overload our hard-working London police with footage from my commute, but I feel the person you see on the tape will at some point hurt someone very badly - either with her car or in a direct personal assault," Vine wrote.
A police spokesperson could not confirm whether it was being investigated.
The incident took place in a narrow street in Kensington after the black Vauxhall drove close behind Vine, beeping her horn.
"Concerned this motorist may be dangerous, I slow to explain," Vine captioned the video.
She yelled: "Why would you do that?"
"There's got to be a car's width," he replied.
Getting out of her car, she kicks out, telling Vine to "get ... out the road.
"I could be done for murder."
After passing him, she again got out of the car at a junction, warning Vine she would "knock you out... if you take a picture of my car again" and apparently making the shape of a gun with her hand.
"Wow. A gun. It's not appropriate," responded Vine.
The woman then drove off.
Vine has declined to comment further, saying the incident is now in the hands of the police.


Prosecutors in Panama have arrested the partners of a law firm involved in last year's Panama Papers scandal in which thousands of documents related to offshore accounts were leaked.

The arrests are linked to corruption and bribery allegations involving Brazil's construction giant, Odebrecht.
The two men, Ramon Fonseca Mora and Jurgen Mossack, were detained after two days of questioning.
The Mossack Fonseca partners now face charges of money-laundering.
There is information which "allegedly identifies the Panamanian firm as a criminal organisation that is dedicated to hiding assets or money from suspicious origins," said Panama's Attorney General Kenia Porcell, announcing the arrests.
The pair will be held in detention because they are considered a flight risk.
A defence lawyer for the two men described the evidence against them as "weak".
Odebrecht - Latin America's largest construction firm - has admitted to paying $1bn in bribes to obtain in contracts in 12 different countries.
In last April's "Panama Papers" leaks, more than 11 million documents from Mossack Fonseca were released.
They showed how some wealthy people were using offshore firms to evade tax and avoid sanctions.
Mossack Fonseca denied wrongdoing in the case and said it was the victim of a computer hack. It also maintained that the information leaked was being misrepresented.
Mr Fonseca had served as a minister in Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela's government but stepped aside earlier in 2016 after separate allegations linked his law firm to the corruption scandal engulfing the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras.


Coach Vladimir Weiss believes Georgia have to shock Wales to keep their World Cup qualification dreams alive.

Following their 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Republic of Ireland, in Dublin, Georgia are winless after two matches in Group D.
Weiss admitted the match at the Cardiff City Stadium could be the final hope for his side.
"This maybe the last chance to do it, to dream. This is very true," said Weiss.
''I hope we can take points from any team. We have quality, but we must show it, score goals and play with balance between attack and defence.''
Georgia will be without captain Jaba Kankave while defender Solomon Kverkveliya will play with protective head gear after an injury in the Ireland game.
Wales lead Group D on goal difference from Serbia, Austria and Ireland, who are all on four points.
Georgia, who lost despite encouraging showings against Austria and Ireland, are pointless and have only Moldova below them on goal difference.
Defender Zourab Tsiskaridze backed his coach and he too has been heartened by the form of his side.
''You open up the papers in Dublin and you could see the disappointment," said Tsiskaridze.
"Actually it said in big letters - ''Big Escape'' - that was the headline because we dominated that game, its a shame we did not get a point.
''We deserved three. It was the same thing with Austria, maybe not as fantastic a game, but we had three or four chances, but we were not able to capitalise on those chances.''
In the absence of injured Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey, Georgia say they will attempt to plan for the presence of Gareth Bale as they look to build on their record of having won all three previous encounters with Wales.
Tsiskaridze added: ''He has unbelievable quality. With the coach we will make some plan toward that, but it will be an honour to play against him if it happens.''


Nigeria has sent a "massive deployment of men and resources" to combat Islamist militants in three north-eastern states.

A statement said the drive was aimed at "asserting the nation's territorial integrity" and "enhancing security".
On Tuesday President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states after a series of deadly attacks by militants.
Fighters from the Boko Haram group are blamed for most of the violence.
The group, which has its roots in north-eastern Nigeria, is linked to bloodshed in which some 2,000 people have died since 2010.
Boko Haram has seized control of parts of the north-east over the past three years, and much of the violence has been confined to that region.
By Will RossBBC Nigeria correspondent
There is no doubt that the situation in northern Nigeria is deteriorating fast and now President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted as much. No-one else in the government had dared say a word.
The frequency and scale of the attacks carried out by Boko Haram have forced the president to take action and to silence some of his critics who accuse him of being out of touch and slow to react.
Some analysts have suggested that if left to fester there is little to stop Boko Haram from setting up its own Islamic institutions in the extreme north-east.
Will more boots on the ground improve the situation? Much will depend on how the troops behave. Analysts argue that the military has already lost the battle for hearts and minds and residents feel trapped between the two sides of this murky conflict.
Can Nigeria quell Boko Haram?
However, the group did bomb Nigeria's capital Abuja in 2011 and 2012.
The militants have forged closer links with al-Qaeda-linked militants in the Sahara region and have access to increasingly sophisticated weaponry. They are believed to move back and forth across frontiers, particularly the Cameroon border, say analysts.
Nigeria, a multi-ethnic nation of more than 160 million people, is also affected by conflicts over land, religion and oil.
Wednesday's Ministry of Defence statement said the army, police and other security agencies had begun operations to "rid the nation's border territories of terrorist bases and activities".
The declared aim that it will assert the nation's territorial integrity comes a day after the president said the state no longer controlled the entire territory of Nigeria, a somewhat embarrassing admission, says the BBC's Will Ross in Lagos.
The operation will focus on enhancing security of governmental structures after the president said attacks on government buildings and killings of officials and other civilians amounted to a declaration of war.
Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe are three of the poorest states, far removed from the southern oilfields that feed government coffers.
"We've had a lot of problems [of] border crime, and criss-crossing of the border by the insurgents, and there's also evidence that some of the insurgents really are non-Nigerians," presidential spokesman Doyin Okupe told the BBC.
From preachers to slave raiders
"As long as the terrorists can go in and out unchallenged, then we're in big trouble."
Residents and reporters in the north-east said there had already been an influx of extra troops and military hardware.
"I have never seen soldiers on the move quite like this before," said Ahmed Mari, who lives in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.
"A lot of fighting equipment has been deployed to Maiduguri," Hajja Maimuna, whose house is close to Maiduguri's Air Force base, told Nigeria's Daily Trust website.
"We are really terrified... Even though the state governor has not been removed, which is good, the truth is that Maiduguri is now a garrison town, full of angry soldiers who are ready to kill at the slightest provocation."
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state in the north.
Although they often attack Christians and government targets, they have also killed many Muslim civilians.


Claims that Wales has more to lose than other parts of the UK by leaving the European Union are "a great lie", a former Tory Welsh secretary has said.

David Jones admitted Wales did benefit from EU membership but may be even better off if the UK left the union.
The Clwyd West MP told BBC Radio Wales the Conservative Party was "probably overwhelmingly Eurosceptic".
He claimed more than 100 Tory MPs would be prepared to defy the wishes of the Prime Minister and back withdrawal.
David Cameron has promised an "in-out" referendum after he renegotiates the terms of the UK's membership of the EU.
Mr Jones called on the prime minister to focus on the rules surrounding benefits payments to migrants and measures to strengthen UK law.
"My assessment of the Conservative Party is that it's probably overwhelmingly Eurosceptic," he said.
"I think that if the Prime Minister does not achieve what we would like him to achieve, then we will certainly push for Britain to leave the EU."
Mr Jones, vice president of Conservatives for Britain, which wants to reform Britain's relationship with the EU, dismissed claims that Wales had more to lose from leaving the EU than other parts of the UK.
"This of course is frankly the great lie of those who want Britain to stay in the EU, come what may, put out that parts of the country such as Wales would be poorer," he said.
"My view is that the parts of the country such as Wales that do benefit from the EU as they do at the moment would actually be not only just as well off but could potentially be even better off as could the country as a whole."


Two men have been charged with a series of thefts and break-ins, including a raid on a Dundee used car dealership.

The men, aged 32 and 24, have been charged in connection with the theft of seven cars from Ancrum Autos on 12 December.
The other charges relate to a break-in at Dundee clothing shop Size, the theft of two cars in Liff and a break-in to C and K Communications in St Andrews.
They are expected to appear at Dundee Sheriff Court on Saturday.


Rory McIlroy is aiming to regain the world number one spot from Jason Day before the end of January.

Media playback is not supported on this device
McIlroy, a close second behind Day in the rankings, tees up in the South African Open on Thursday and plays in the Abu Dhabi Championship next week.
"If I play well this week, I have a chance going to Abu Dhabi to regain the number one spot," said McIlroy, 27.
McIlroy is playing in Johannesburg as a return favour to event host Ernie Els who teed up in the 2014 Irish Open.
Els extracted the commitment from the world number two when he played at Royal County Down three years ago in the tournament hosted by McIlroy's foundation.
Media playback is not supported on this device
After Nike's decision to pull out of the clubs and balls market, McIlroy will be using a mixed bag of clubs this week and he has also switched to a Titleist ball.
"I've decided what to start the year with which is a bit of Callaway stuff and a bit of Titleist stuff although I'm still trying some Taylormade woods out.
"But I think the clubs thing could be an ever-changing process in 2017.
"I'm really happy with the new golf ball. It's basically a matter of fitting everything around the golf ball."
After disappointing major performances in 2016 which included missed cuts at the US Open and US PGA Championship, McIlroy will aim for a more relaxed approach in the game's four biggest events this season.
"I need to start majors better and maybe that will start by putting a little less pressure on myself and going out and free-wheeling a bit more," he said.
"In the last year or so in the opening rounds of majors, I was a little bit tight and tentative instead of going out and playing my game," added McIlroy, whose 2017 will include marrying his fiancee Erica Stoll.
In April, McIlroy will have a third attempt at completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters but he is attempting not to be preoccupied by his Augusta challenge.
"The more years without me winning it, I realise that it's going to become tougher but there is so much more to be achieved, whether it's in [all] the majors or following up a FedEx Cup success with another one or trying to win the Race to Dubai again," he explained.
McIlroy's Christmas break included falling sick for a number of days and he used that time in bed to look back at his previous majors - including his final-day collapse at the 2011 Masters.
"If 2011 hadn't happened, would I be standing here having won a US Open, two PGAs and an Open Championship? You never know," he said.
After competing in Abu Dhabi, McIlroy will complete his Middle East swing in the Dubai Desert Classic in early February where his rivals will include Tiger Woods.
McIlroy believes Woods, 41, is entitled to take encouragement from his 15th place at his own World Challenge tournament last month in the Bahamas as he returned to action after more than a year out because of injury.
"He made more birdies than anyone else that week. He made a few mistakes as well but the signs are there and he's healthy again," added McIlroy.
"He's playing a lot of golf at the start of the season so hopefully the body holds up."


An Alloa woman has been banned from keeping dogs for three years after neglecting two animals in her care.

Lorna Wood, 34, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to Maisie and Lola by failing to provide adequate care and treatment for the two dogs.
Alloa Sheriff Court heard that the dogs were underweight as a result of not being fed properly.
The Scottish SPCA said both animals weighed about 13.2kg, almost 7kg short of their ideal weight.
SSPCA Inspector Louise Seddon said: "Maisie, the Border collie, was extremely thin under her coat and I could only feel bones rather than fat or muscle.
"Although it was difficult to pinpoint an exact timeframe as to how long they had been suffering, the vet confirmed that they had a lack of food for a number of weeks.
"Whilst in our care it became clear to us that Maisie and Lola were simply not being fed as they quickly put on a significant amount of weight when they were fed adequately.
"We are delighted that Wood has been dealt with by the courts and hope she will give serious consideration to her ability to care for animals in the future."


A tech start-up firm which thought it had secured a £100,000 investment on the BBC's Dragons' Den TV show has had the funding pulled.

Shortly after the show was aired on Sunday, technology entrepreneur Peter Jones tweeted that his investment did not go through.
The Glasgow-based firm had hoped to use the money to help fund the expansion of its Bluetooth tracker, Xupo.
The coin-sized tracking sensor helps people find misplaced personal items.
The tracker was launched by Strathclyde University graduates Raj Sark and Vincenz Klemt in 2014 after they raised nearly £27,500 in a crowdfunding campaign with Kickstarter.
The idea was born when one of the founders lost his travel bag, including a new laptop computer and passport, at Heathrow Airport.
During the show, Peter Jones had offered the investment for 30% equity of the business.
Xupo had forecasted £1m in revenues in the next year.
However, just after the show Peter Jones tweeted: "My investment with My Lupo (sic) didn't go through as some issues arose during due diligence. I still wish Raj all the best in the future."
A PR firm had already issued a press release on behalf of Xupo welcoming the investment.
Mr Sark had said he was "thrilled by the investment and Peter Jones' confidence in the product".
Mr Klemt had said the investment would help them strengthen their position in the UK and expand into Germany and France, followed by Italy and Spain.


If Jesus was alive today, would he be a member of the Chinese Communist Party?

Well, perhaps he would, according to one Beijing based priest, who serves in an official, state-sanctioned church. But before we hear from him, let's go back a bit.
The Chinese Communist Party once tried to destroy religion. It failed.
And today, according to some estimates, there are more Christians in China than Communist Party members. Up to 100 million will be celebrating across China this Easter weekend.
But what it failed to destroy, the Party still wants to control. So, an officially atheist government effectively runs its own churches and controls the appointment of its own priests.
Like Pastor Wu Weiqing from Beijing's Haidian Church.
"We have to remember first of all we are a citizen of this country," he says. "And we are a citizen of the Kingdom of God. That comes second."
Religion ban for Communist Party ex-officials
So then I ask him this: "If Jesus were alive today, do you think he would be comfortable with the Communist Party government in China?"
His reply comes without hesitation: "Absolutely. I think so."
The comment is a perfect illustration of the Communist Party's latest grand plan for religious belief.
Over the past two years, the authorities say they have been trying to develop their own, unique version of Christianity, "a Chinese Christian theology" according to one top official.
Such a theology needs to be compatible with China's political development, which it seems clear, really means subservient to it.
Dismay as church crosses removed in China
In this view of faith then it is easy to see why even Jesus finds himself being welcomed into the Communist fold.
Not everyone is ready to sign up, of course.
Inside a small, cramped apartment, a group of 10 people studies the Bible and sings hymns.
This is one of the hundreds of unofficial "home" churches in the city of Beijing. Attendees run the constant risk of harassment, and sometimes detention, by the authorities.
Xu Yonghai, leading the prayers today, has served a number of jail terms.
"Official churches are in fact just political institutes," he says. "It is impossible for us to leave Jesus and follow the Party."
In many ways, even the "home" churches have much more freedom than would have been imaginable 40 years ago.
And as with many things in China, cycles of repression and relative relaxation, come and go.
But with the Party's recent emphasis on making religion "compatible with the country's path of socialism" some fear that the room for freedom of worship is about to become even smaller.
So too will the possibility of religion acting as a critical, independent voice of conscience in modern day China.
"I choose to lead a Christian life within the law," Pastor Wu from the official church in Beijing says.
"I certainly will not do what the government does not allow me to do, let's say, preach the gospel in the subway to cause a lot of people to come to me and as a result the street or the road gets blocked."
For a government whose overriding concern is the prevention of mass gathering and unrest, it is the perfect, text-book answer.
Chairman Mao may have failed to destroy the church, but the modern Communist Party has gone one better, it has succeeded in co-opting it.


More than 50 suspects in a historical child abuse investigation have already died, police have revealed.

Operation Equinox was launched in 2011 into allegations of attacks in Nottinghamshire children's homes since the 1950s.
But the inquiry has faced criticism that, despite recording about 400 potential abusers, only three people have been jailed.
Officials said a lot of evidence had been lost over the decades.
Equinox has seen more than 300 men and women make 680 separate allegations.
Head of the operation, Det Supt Rob Griffin, said the figure of 400 suspects had to qualified: "Many of those are unidentified and actually all of the unidentified suspects could be one and the same person and we know that over 50 of them are dead.
"These days we rely so heavily of forensic evidence, phone evidence, CCTV, things like that.
"But when we are dealing with historical allegations and historical investigations such as Operation Equinox we don't have that benefit, so it makes it all the more challenging."
The authorities said sometimes this lack of evidence meant there was no realistic prospect of a conviction, and prosecutions were not brought.
However survivors were assured those who came forward would still be supported and believed.
But David Hollas, from the Nottinghamshire Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry Action Group, said the situation was unacceptable.
"We are very concerned with the number of cases going to court because there is absolutely no deterrent to people who abuse.
"And there is no incentive there to people who have been abused, including rape victims to come forward.
"More cases should be allowed to go to court and if the guy is found not guilty then so be it, he is found not guilty, at least the system has been seen to be done."


Fewer than 30 non-white people began teacher training in Wales last year.

Just 2% of those in Initial Teacher Education were non-white in the 2015-16 academic year, a Welsh Government report showed.
That compared to 1,200 who described themselves as white.
The Welsh Government said it was committed to making sure teachers were representative of communities and encouraged people from all backgrounds to consider teaching.
The percentage of people in Wales from black and minority ethnic groups was 4.1%, according to the latest official figures.
Uzo Iwobi, chief executive of Race Council Cymru, said racism and bad experiences in schools had put people off.
"We have been encouraging people to get involved in educating children because we feel racism and lack of tolerance comes from a lack of exposure to people who are in positions of authority or who impart knowledge," Mrs Iwobi said.
"It's very concerning there is such a low rate and something has to be done.
"We need mentors who are diverse-aware and understand working with people from diverse backgrounds."
Mrs Iwobi said some trainee teachers or assistants interested in teaching had quit or taken breaks because of "traumatic experiences".
"One of those people has been so stressed by their experience they have had to take a break.
"They are asking 'why has it happened to me, why have I not had the support I deserved?'"
Mrs Iwobi said the person in question had taken a break from a south east Wales school with a view to finishing the training elsewhere.
She also heard from young teachers in Swansea who had experienced discrimination.
"They went in as teaching assistants and had very difficult experiences, but these could have been people who went on to do PGCEs, they felt discriminated against by the teachers.
"They're saying 'I don't think I want to go back, I was traumatised by how badly I was treated, I was crying going back to school and dealing with this individual who was meant to be supporting me'."
Mrs Iwobi added in tightly-knit ethnic minority communities a lot of information was passed by word of mouth.
"If one person says 'I've had a brilliant experience at this supermarket', most people will head down there.
"And if they say 'I've just had a horrible experience in this school, I was unfairly treated', it is absolutely going to discourage people, even if they have felt teaching was their calling.
"If ethnic minority people are stopping becoming teachers, it's going to affect educational attainment, especially of young black kids looking for role models."
Reena Patel, acting deputy head at Fairwater Primary in Cardiff, said her experiences had been very positive - but added it was important for children to see people from ethnic minority backgrounds in positions of authority.
"I think they feel that they are not represented in senior positions so they don't feel as if they can go there," she said.


Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill has revealed he is in talks with the IFA over a new contract.

Media playback is not supported on this device
O'Neill's current deal expires after the final World Cup qualifier against Israel later this month, in what has been a disappointing campaign.
The former Northern Ireland player has won just one of his 12 games in charge.
"I've had discussions with the IFA board and they have been positive - I've said all along that I would like to continue in the role," said O'Neill.
"I think there has been a major transition in the squad, it's a very young squad with not much experience.
"They will be better for the experience of taking part in the qualifying campaign and I'll certainly be better for the experience of managing during it.
"I would like to get the opportunity to take this squad forward to the European Championship qualifiers."
IFA president Jim Shaw gave his backing to O'Neill following last month's humiliating 3-2 defeat by Luxembourg.
"I still see him as the man to take us forward to the European Championships," said Shaw in the wake of the shock result.
Following the squad announcement on Thursday for the Azerbaijan and Israel games, Shaw confirmed that talks with O'Neill had started but there was "no substantive input" so far.


Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, amid public concern over radioactive water leaks.

He ordered the plant operator to stem all the leaks within six months and gave instructions for decommissioning of two reactors.
Earlier this month, radiation levels near the plant's water tanks rose to a record high, according to officials.
The plant has been hit by several leaks in recent months.
The plant was crippled by the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Cooling systems for reactors were knocked out, causing meltdowns at three of them.
Water is being pumped in to cool the reactors, however this creates large amounts of contaminated water that must be stored securely.
Some of the water has leaked from the tanks, pipes, and damaged structures, leading to concerns contaminated water is mixing with groundwater that is flowing into the sea.
Mr Abe, who last visited the plant shortly after he took office in December, met representatives from plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco).
He inspected storage tanks holding radioactive water and water treatment equipment at the plant during his three-hour tour, reports say.
"I've urged Tokyo Electric Power Company to deal with the contaminated water leakage as its priority. I gave them three demands," he said.
These demands include earmarking discretionary funds "that managers on site can use to implement necessary safety measures".
It also includes a "deadline to complete the purification of waste water stored in tanks at the plant" and "decommissioning the idle No 5 and 6 reactors and concentrate efforts to solve problems".
The two reactors are in addition to four others that were earlier marked for decommissioning.
Earlier this month, the government pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to build a wall of frozen earth around the reactors in order to contain some leaks.
Speaking at the time, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the government "felt it was essential to become involved to the greatest extent possible".
During Japan's successful 2020 Olympic bid process, Mr Abe assured the International Olympic Committee that the situation at Fukushima was "under control".


People are voting across Merseyside in the general and local council elections.

Polling booths opened at 07:00 BST in the area's 15 constituencies, with results expected to be declared after midnight.
Votes will be counted after the polls close at 22:00 BST.
For the latest news from all the counts on Merseyside, go to our election live service or check the results on your constituency profile page.


The funeral of a former primary school worker who died in the Manchester terror attack has taken place in West Yorkshire.

Wendy Fawell, 50, from Otley, was killed when a bomb was detonated outside the Manchester Arena as an Ariana Grande concert was ending.
Ms Fawell travelled to the event on 22 May with friend Caroline Davis Osborne and their children.
The mother-of-two was last seen in the foyer area shortly before the blast.
More on this story and others in West Yorkshire
Family and friends of Ms Fawell attended a funeral service followed by a private function.
Ms Fawell and Ms Davis Osborne were waiting to collect their children when the attack took place.
Her daughter, Charlotte Fawell, 15, was taken to hospital in Oldham, with Ms Davis Osborne left seriously injured.
Adam Fawell, her 29-year-old son, previously said: "Mum was a wonderful woman, she'll be sadly missed.
"I would like to add how much it means to us what everybody at home and in Manchester have done to support us at this time."
Ms Davis Osborne, who wore bright clothing to the funeral in tribute to her friend, described Ms Fawell as "very caring and loving".
She said: "I think about it all of the time, when I go to bed I just see me and Wendy walking into the foyer, that's all I see when I shut my eyes.
"I can't see an end to how I feel at the moment, I'm still finding it really difficult to comprehend what happened and Wendy isn't coming back."
Staff at Oswald's C of E Primary School, in Guiseley, where Ms Fawell had previously worked, posted on Twitter expressing their "deep sadness" after the attack.


Sunderland have signed defender Sebastian Coates from Liverpool on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

Coates played 13 times for the Black Cats on loan last season, helping them stay in the Premier League.
The 24-year-old Uruguay international, who has been playing at the Copa America, is Dick Advocaat's first signing as Sunderland head coach.
Coates made just 17 starts in his four years at Liverpool, who have already completed six summer signings.
Advocaat's predecessor Gus Poyet brought Coates to Wearside in September and he returned from injury to play a key role in the club's successful fight against relegation.
He is set to return for pre-season training next week after being given extra time off following his international exertions.
Sunderland owner Ellis Short has made funds available for Advocaat to strengthen his squad.
Sporting director Lee Congerton said: "Sebastian was an important part of the team under Dick last season, and we're delighted that he has joined us on a permanent basis.
"He has Premier League experience and after spending last season on loan with us, he will be able to settle into the team very quickly."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman's body was found in a suitcase dumped in London's Grand Union Canal.

The men, aged 38, 34 and 30, were arrested on Monday at separate addresses. They remain in custody.
Police said they were aware of the woman's identity but would not name her until her next of kin were informed.
Her body was found near Delamere Terrace in Little Venice, west London, on Sunday.
An initial post-mortem test on the woman's body proved "inconclusive" and further tests are required, Met Police detectives have said.
Det Ch Insp Simon Ashwin said: "We now believe that the body, in a black suitcase, was placed in the Grand Union Canal at some point in the last two weeks.
"Whilst the body was recovered near to Little Venice it is highly likely that she entered the water further along the canal."
He said the force was "following a number of lines of inquiry" and it was conducting house-to-house enquiries as well as reviewing CCTV footage.


Italy have appointed former Juventus boss Antonio Conte as their new coach until 2016.

Cesare Prandelli resigned as Azzurri coach after they were knocked out in the World Cup group stage.
Former Italy midfielder Conte, 45, quit as Juventus boss last month, having won the Serie A title in each of his three seasons in charge.
He has also managed Bari and Siena to promotion from Serie B, as well as having spells at Arezzo and Atalanta.
The Italian Football Federation said in addition to his salary, Conte would receive a bonus for qualifying for Euro 2016, an added bonus for climbing at least five places in the Fifa rankings - Italy are currently 14th - and a third bonus if they reach the final of Euro 2016.
Conte is the second big appointment by the Italian Football Federation this week.
Carlo Tavecchio, who made a racist comment during his election campaign, was named as its new president.


US agents have arrested more than 90 people and shut down 16 underground labs making illegal steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said hundreds of kilos and thousands of litres of chemicals were seized in 20 states over five months.
Operation Cyber Juice focused on secret laboratories dealing in drugs obtained over the internet from China.
Agents also confiscated steroid powder, liquid and more than $2m in cash.
DEA acting administrator Chuck Rosenberg said too many young people were ruining their bodies and lives through steroid abuse, but this operation had attacked the "global underground steroid market, exposing its dangers and lies".
It began in April and ended with nine arrests on Tuesday.
The DEA said many of the drugs seized were bought from Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and then converted in secret labs into forms of steroids to be sold on the US black market.
In Arizona, four so-called steroid conversion labs were shut down and 150,000 doses of the finished product seized.


An inquiry panel investigating the deaths of dozens of elderly patients at a Hampshire hospital is appealing for relatives to come forward.

A review into the fatalities at Gosport War Memorial Hospital between 1988 and 2000 found an "almost routine use of opiates had almost certainly" shortened the lives of some patients.
Police investigated the deaths of 92 patients but brought no prosecutions.
The Gosport Independent Panel's inquiry is due to conclude at the end of 2017.
The panel, which was set up in December 2014, urged families with concerns over the treatment of their deceased relatives between the 1980s and early 2000s to get in touch.
Advertisements are being placed in newspapers in Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth, in Dorset.
Chairman, the former Bishop of Liverpool James Jones, who also chaired the Hillsborough inquiry, said six investigations into the deaths had already taken place.
Since the panel was launched, he said the number of families it was in touch with had tripled.
However, he said some had not yet come forward and assured them if they did they would be treated "in the strictest confidence".
The inquiry panel will not hear evidence but it will analyse documents from the police, coroners, NHS and other organisations the families dealt with, before writing its report.
Bishop Jones said the findings would first be shared with the families, before going to parliament.
The panel also includes geriatric medicine specialist Dr Colin Currie, investigative journalist David Hencke, former Scotland Yard Commander Duncan Jarrett and pathology and medical records expert Dr Bill Kirkup.
Inquests into 10 deaths at the hospital in 2009 found drugs were a contributory factor in some cases.
In 2013 a coroner gave a narrative verdict at the inquest into the death of Gladys Richards, of Lee-on-the-Solent, and said painkillers and sedatives given to the 91-year-old "more than insignificantly" contributed to her death in 1998.
In 2010 the General Medical Council found Dr Jane Barton guilty of a series of failings in her care of 12 patients treated at the hospital between 1996 and 1999.
Dr Barton was found to have prescribed "potentially hazardous" levels of drugs to patients who later died at the hospital.
Despite the council's findings, the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution on gross negligence manslaughter charges.


Profits at British Gas fell by 7% in the first half of the year as nearly 400,000 customers switched energy suppliers.

British Gas-owner Centrica said that its UK home operating profit fell to £516m in the six months to 30 June.
Residential customers numbers fell by 3%, or 399,000, which Centrica blamed on a "competitive environment" and the end of long-term contracts.
Total revenue fell 13% to £13.3bn and operating profit fell by 12% to £853m.
Commenting on the UK's vote to leave the European Union, Centrica said it expected the direct short-term impact on the company to be limited.
"However, the result creates general uncertainty which adds to challenges for UK businesses in all sectors, with implementation plans as yet unclear," it said.
Centrica said: "The UK is now a major energy importer and what happens in the European energy market will ultimately impact energy consumers in the UK. We will continue to engage with the UK Government and the European Commission as we move forward."
The company said that while residential customer numbers fell in the first half as a whole, they returned to growth in June after it introduced a 5% cut to domestic gas bills in March. British Gas was one of the last of Britain's "big six" energy suppliers to announce cut prices this year amid low wholesale gas prices.
While Centrica's operation that supplies energy to UK businesses returned to profitability in the first half, the company said its North American division was "significantly impacted" by record warm weather in the US compared with extreme cold in the first half of 2015.
Centrica said it had cut costs by £141m during the first half of the year as part of a strategy to make £750m in savings by 2020. This includes shrinking its headcount by 6,000 and Centrica expects to achieve 3,000 job cuts by the end of this year.
Shares in Centrica rose 1.6% to 245p in early trading as it struck an upbeat note on meeting its growth targets, despite factors such as a lower oil price.
Centrica chief executive Iain Conn said: "The first half of the year has been demanding for Centrica, but the response has been strong and I am encouraged by the progress we have made.
"I remain confident in our ability to deliver both attractive returns and underlying cash flow growth, as we continue to implement our strategy."


Glamorgan suffered their fourth consecutive home abandonment as their match against Surrey was rained off without a ball being bowled.

The two sides were left still in the top two slots in the T20 Blast Southern Group after being awarded a point each.
Their four no-results from eight matches is just one behind their worst weather-hit season in 2012.
Glamorgan face Kent on Sunday, 30 July while Surrey are away to Sussex on Thursday, 3 August.


A major warehouse blaze in Norfolk that triggered a number of explosions was likely started by a faulty electrical item, investigators have revealed.

The fire at E and S J Walpole, in North Pickenham, broke out during the fire service strike on 1 November last year.
Its intensity caused plumes of smoke that could be seen over 20 miles away.
Jason Snook at the haulage and storage firm said the area was still being cleared and it would "take stock" before deciding if it could be rebuilt.
Three explosions were heard as fork lift trucks powered by propane cylinders caught alight.
The blaze gutted the warehouse and caused structural collapse, but no-one working there at the time was hurt.
It was so fierce it took a number of weeks to establish a cause.
Mr Snook said the fire at the 21-acre site involved cardboard and packaging.
He said it had "affected the business", based in Dereham, but it had managed to "get on with it" and keep its haulage side running.
He said if the warehouse could not be rebuilt on the same site, the firm would consider opening one elsewhere.


Newcastle overpowered relegated Bristol on the final day of the Premiership season to finish eighth in the table.

Northampton's win over Harlequins denied Falcons seventh place and any hope of a European Champions Cup spot.
Mark Wilson and Vereniki Goneva tries helped put the visitors 18-3 up at the break, with Gavin Henson responding.
Goneva ran in one of three second-half Falcons tries as they held off a spirited Bristol fightback, which included four tries.
Bristol's one-season stay in the top-flight looked likely to finish with a heavy home defeat after Sonatane Takulua converted Marcus Watson try to start the second half before Jamal Ford-Robinson touched down for hosts.
The score sparked a period of sustained pressure from Bristol, only for Goneva to then pick off a pass and race the length of the pitch to wrap up the bonus point.
Almost immediately, prop Jack O'Connell responded for Bristol in what quickly opened up as a free-scoring contest.
Goneva pounced on a loose ball and as he looked to complete his hat-trick, he passed to Chris Harris to score in the 72nd minute.
And yet, there was still time for Jack Tovey and Mitch Eadie to add further consolation scores for the hosts, who are set for wholesale changes this summer, including the departure of 25 players.
Bristol's interim head coach Mark Tainton:
"I'm disappointed to have lost a game I was confident of winning. There is good spirit amongst the players.
"We made some mistakes in the first half which cost us dearly. We made wrong decisions but credit goes to the boys, they played to the very end and dealt well with what was a difficult game in a difficult season.
"The forwards played very well. We knew what to expect from Newcastle. It was our individual errors that gave them the opportunities and their back three was very good.
"I am very proud to have coached Bristol as a Bristol person. We've learned that the Premiership is unforgiving and that if you make errors you will concede points."
Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards:
"We did all that we had to but results elsewhere didn't go our way. The boys are a bit down we didn't get the Champions Cup place but they did all they could.
"The boys felt there was always a five-point win there for us but fair play to Bristol, they played well in the second half and are a good side and made it difficult for us.
"The players have adapted to minor changes to our way of playing in pre-season, and once we got that together the plans have kicked in and we kicked on from that.
"I suppose I would have taken this place at the start of the season. We are already planning for next season predominantly with a young side."
Bristol: Woodward; Edwards, Hurrell, Henson, Tovey; Searle, Mathewson; O'Connell, Jones (c), Cortes, Phillips, Sorenson, Jeffries, Robinson, Eadie.
Replacements: Crumpton, Dawe, Ford-Robinson, Glynn, Fenton-Wells, Uren, Pisi, Piutau.
Newcastle: Watson, Goneva, Harris, Socino, Sinoti, Hodgson, Takulua, Vickers, Lawson, Welsh, Green, Robinson, Wilson, Welch (captain), Fonua.
Replacements: Cooper, Harris, Wilson, Witty, Chick, Egerton, Willis, Tait
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.


A frog species that appears to be the world's smallest has been discovered in Papua New Guinea by a US-based team.

At 7mm (0.27 inches) long, Paedophryne amauensis may be the world's smallest vertebrate - the group that includes mammals, fish, birds and amphibians.
The researchers also found a slightly larger relative, Paedophryne swiftorum.
Presenting the new species in PLoS One journal, they suggest the frogs' tiny scale is linked to their habitat, in leaf litter on the forest floor.
Amphibians videos, news and facts: BBC Nature
Finding the frogs was not an easy assignment.
They are well camouflaged among leaves on the forest floor, and have evolved calls resembling those of insects, making them hard to spot.
"The New Guinea forests are incredibly loud at night; and we were trying to record frog calls in the forest, and we were curious as to what these other sounds were," said research leader Chris Austin from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, US.
"So we triangulated to where these calls were coming from, and looked through the leaf litter.
"It was night, these things are incredibly small; so what we did after several frustrating attempts was to grab a whole handful of leaf litter and throw it inside a clear plastic bag.
"When we did so, we saw these incredibly tiny frogs hopping around," he told BBC News.
The Paedophryne genus was identified only recently, and consists of a number of tiny species found at various points in the eastern forests of Papua New Guinea.
"They're occupying the relatively thick leaf litter of tropical forest in low-lying parts of the island, eating incredibly small insects that typically are much smaller than insects that frogs eat," said Professor Austin.
"And they're probably prey for a large number of relatively small invertebrates that don't usually prey on frogs."
Predators may well include scorpions.
Intriguingly, other places in the world that also feature dense, moist leaf litter tend to possess such small frog species, indicating that amphibians are well placed to occupy this ecological niche.
Before the Paedophrynes were found, the title of "world's smallest frog" was bestowed on the Brazilian gold frog (Brachycephalus didactylus) and its slightly larger Cuban relative, the Monte Iberia Eleuth (Eleutherodactylus iberia). They both measure less than 1cm long.
The smallest vertebrates have until now been fish.
Adult Paedocypris progenetica, which dwells in Indonesian swamps and streams, measure 7.9-10.3 mm long.
Male anglerfish of the species Photocorynus spiniceps are just over 6mm long. But they spend their lives fused to the much larger (50mm long) females, so whether they should count in this contest would be disputed.
Paedophryne amauensis adults average 7.7mm, which is why its discoverers believe it how holds the crown.
The remote expanses of Papua New Guinea rank alongside those of Madagascar as places where hitherto undiscovered amphibian species are expected to turn up, as they are largely undeveloped and not well explored.
Follow Richard on Twitter


A new organisation has been set up in Northern Ireland to support people who suffer from rare diseases.

The Northern Ireland Rare Disease Partnership aims to give sufferers and their carers an independent voice.
The group, created with the Patient Client Council, aims to improve treatment and care for those affected by rare diseases.
Jane Stewart is one woman who hopes that the new partnership will help families like hers.
She suffers from Spondylo Ephysial Dysplasia (SED) - a genetic condition which her young son, Saul, has inherited. It is a form of restricted growth or dwarfism.
"I wouldn't change myself or my son or children like him for the world. But I would change the world for them," she said.
"I feel a partnership for rare disease is going to be extremely useful for families like ours living with a rare condition.
"In the information that I have about the rare disease partnership, the focus is on education, provision of special services and support."
Richard Dickson from the Patient Client Council said: "This partnership aims to be a voice for those people scattered across Northern Ireland affected by rare disease with no other means to speak up for themselves."
The partnership will lobby and advocate on their behalf.


West Bromwich Albion have signed Hull City defender James Chester for a fee of £8m.

The 26-year-old has signed a four-year deal at The Hawthorns.
The Wales international played 156 league games for Hull, who were relegated from the Premier League in May.
Baggies boss Tony Pulis said: "James did very well for Hull City. I've had a good chat with him and he's the type of player I like."
Fellow Premier League side Leicester City were also interested in Chester, who started his career at Manchester United, making one appearance.
He joined Hull in 2011 following loan spells at Peterborough, Plymouth and Carlisle.
Hull manager Steve Bruce earlier told BBC Radio Humberside: "We've said all summer that it is inevitable that we are going to lose a few players because that is the fallout of relegation.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"He has served the club fantastically well in the time he has been here and how can you deny him the opportunity to play in the Premier League?
"The money we get from him we will re-invest back into the squad."
Bruce added that he expects winger Robbie Brady, 23, to be the next departure from the KC Stadium.
The Republic of Ireland international has been heavily linked with a transfer to Norwich City.
"We said from day one that if the price is right then we are not going to stand in anybody's way," he said.
"James and Robbie had one year left on their contracts and they made it clear they wanted to play in the Premier League. We have to look after the club."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Before Donald Trump became president he would often spend days holed up in Trump Tower in New York, shuttling in a private elevator between his penthouse apartment and office.

And it's been a similar story since he moved into the White House, where he divides his time between the East and West Wings, leaving only to spend weekends at Trump-branded resorts.
As a candidate he foreshadowed a homebody presidency - touting himself as the "America First" leader who would shun foreign travel to fix the "carnage" in the US.
But now he's on his way to Saudi Arabia, to Israel, to Rome, to Brussels and Sicily, with a hugely ambitious agenda. The two things are not at odds, HR McMaster, the president's National Security Adviser, told me.
"President Trump understands that America First does not mean American alone," he said.
"To the contrary, prioritising American interests means strengthening alliances and partnerships that help us extend our influence and improve the security of the American people."
Mr Trump will visit the centres of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths on this trip - a first for any president.
So how can he avoid the pitfalls that have befallen his interactions at home?
General Wesley Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander of Nato, had a few tips for a president who struggles to grasp foreign policy and stay on-message.
"Say the right things, don't say the wrong things, and maintain composure," he says.
"Some unexpected things are likely to happen, keep discipline, have the right frame of reference when you talk and say as little as possible when you don't know things."
Among the foreign-policy goals Mr Trump has set himself, the most ambitious is bringing peace to the Middle East - a geo-political conundrum that has stymied far more experienced presidents than this one.
But he seems to be confident. "It's something that I think is frankly maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years," he said during a recent meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
I asked Mr Trump's British-educated counter-terrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka whether the celebrity real-estate mogul-turned-president had the right qualifications for such a task.
"We have in the commander-in-chief, in the president, truly the master of the deal," he said.
"This is a man who spent 50 years negotiating - if there's anyone who can bring stability and peace it is Donald Trump."
More on the Trump presidency
So on the one hand you have a deal over the price of a piece of real estate in New York. On the other, intractable disputes that go back thousands of years over the right of return of refugees, final status for Jerusalem, whether to negotiate with Hamas, and on.
"I don't think it's not just a question of doing real estate deals," said Mr Gorka. "This is a man who didn't just do deals, he was monumentally successful in the hardest market in the world - Manhattan real estate. And at the end of the day, deals are about human beings."
In reality, Mr Trump might find the Middle East a harder market than New York. But even if he falls short of fixing the Middle East, the president's first foreign trip could serve as a welcome distraction from his woes at home.
There will likely be a warm reception waiting for him in Israel and Saudi Arabia, where he has two key things going for him: he isn't Barack Obama, who was widely disliked there by the end of his presidency, and he has taken a hard line on Iran.
The trip might also allow Mr Trump to divert the narrative from the Russia scandal, said Ron Christie, a Republican strategist who served in the Bush White House.
"The minute that he leaves the United States on that plane the entire focus would be what's going on abroad - what the president says and how he acts, as opposed to some of the domestic issues that are dogging him here at home.
"This is a good opportunity for him to turn the page and get a fresh start."
And if anyone needs a fresh start it's Donald Trump. The way the first 120 days of his presidency have gone, he might just find the warm air of Saudi Arabia and Israel a refreshing break from the fetid swamp of Washington DC.


Israelis have been targeted in a series of stabbing attacks by Palestinians, Israeli police say, amid escalating tensions in the region.

A Palestinian man was shot dead by police after attacking a soldier, after a Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man who then shot her, police said.
Later, an Israeli man was stabbed by a Palestinian man, police said.
Dozens of Palestinians were also reportedly hurt in clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank.
The violence has prompted the Israeli prime minister to delay a visit to Germany. Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Thursday, but his office said he wanted to stay to "closely monitor the situation".
In Wednesday's first attack, an Israeli man in his 30s was stabbed from behind in his upper body, sustaining moderate injuries, as he walked near the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif complex in Jerusalem's Old City, Israeli police said.
The man managed to draw his personal weapon and shoot the 18-year-old female assailant from Sur Baher in East Jerusalem, who was taken to hospital in a serious condition, he added.
Hours later, police spokesperson Supt Micky Rosenfeld said, a Palestinian man approached an Israeli soldier after getting off a bus in the town of Kiryat Gat in southern Israel and managed to snatch his rifle in a struggle that left the soldier with light injuries.
The man then fled into a residential building, where he reportedly forced his way into one woman's flat, grabbed a kitchen knife and attempted to stab her after realising that the rifle did not have a magazine. Israeli police then arrived at the scene and shot the man dead.
The assailant was later name as Amjad Gundi, a 20-year-old man from the West Bank village of Yatta.
In the third attack, a Palestinian resident of Hebron who is in his 30s stabbed a 25-year-old Israeli man outside a shopping centre in the central Israeli town of Petah Tikva, before being apprehended by security forces and taken into custody, a police spokesperson said.
An ambulance service spokesman said the Israeli was taken to hospital with moderate wounds.
In the evening, police officers on patrol in the Abu Tor district of East Jerusalem apprehended an Arab suspect with a knife after he tried to stab them, Supt Rosenfeld said. No injuries were reported.
The attacks come only four days after a Palestinian stabbed two Israelis to death in Jerusalem's Old City. Another Palestinian stabbed and wounded an Israeli teenager elsewhere in the city that day. Israeli police killed both attackers.
And last Thursday, gunmen shot and killed an Israeli couple as they drove with their four young children in the West Bank. Israeli police say five members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas have confessed to the shooting.
The Palestinian Red Crescent also reported that dozens of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli forces on Wednesday.
The most serious clashes occurred in the area of Beit El, east of Ramallah, and in the Nablus, Bethlehem and Jericho regions, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz cited the humanitarian organisation as saying.
On Monday, Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinian youths during clashes with protesters in the West Bank. Israeli media quoted military officials on Tuesday as saying one of them, a 13-year-old boy, had been shot by mistake.


Wayne Rooney's stellar career has been a headline-grabbing story of highs and lows - but he is at his lowest ebb after being dropped by Manchester United and now England.

He was once the first name on the teamsheet on the way to collecting regular silverware for his club, becoming England's record goalscorer and being appointed captain at Old Trafford and for his country.
Rooney, 31 on 24 October, has suffered his latest dramatic decline in status after he was left out by England interim manager Gareth Southgate for the World Cup qualifier in Slovenia, less than a month after suffering a similar fate at United.
He has been one of British football's most significant and influential figures since emerging as a 16-year-old at Everton in 2002 - but are we now reaching the end of the Rooney era?
Simple answer - no.
Rooney's defiant and measured response to his exclusion holds the key to this question, while England and Southgate will be well aware of the dangers of discarding the man who has scored an outstanding 53 goals in 117 appearances for his country.
He is moving increasingly to the margins but it was only in June that then England manager Roy Hodgson was lambasted for leaving Rooney out as one of six changes for the Euro 2016 game against Slovakia.
It was Rooney's exclusion that drew the most intense scrutiny around England's 0-0 draw, a damaging result when victory would have ensured they topped Group B.
Rooney is widely respected within England's squad, not just as a player but as character and leader. He has developed into a mature spokesman and is regarded as a superb influence, especially with younger players.
And for all his struggles and falling away from the brilliance that made his name, he has not declined to the point where he should be ditched completely from a squad still in recovery from the fiasco of Euro 2016, when England were knocked out in the last 16 by minnows Iceland.
Media playback is not supported on this device
The problem he has, and which Southgate has tackled, is that he is no longer good enough to be a natural fit in England's team. It is a difficulty he is also encountering at Manchester United.
Rooney played in a deep-lying midfield role in the 2-0 win against Malta, a position in which Tottenham's Eric Dier, who will be there against Slovenia, is better. He has been overtaken as the best 'number 10' by Spurs' Dele Alli, while Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge and Harry Kane, also of Tottenham, will be ahead as strikers when fit.
These are all factors that mean his days as a first choice for England are now over.
Southgate's decision is, in its starkest terms, the beginning of the end of an England career that is scheduled to finish at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
England's manager spoke about leaving Rooney out as "a football decision." It almost sounded like an attempt to sugar the pill - instead it revealed the brutal truth.
England are not yet in a position, however, where they are good enough to jettison a player of Rooney's ability and the experience he has gathered since making his international debut at just 17 years and 111 days in a 3-1 defeat to Australia at Upton Park in February 2003.
Gareth Southgate's eyebrows have started to head skywards at suggestions that he is "too nice" for the ruthless cut and thrust of management, especially with England.
The 46-year-old used the fact that he was forced to make close friends redundant at Middlesbrough as proof of his steel - and his decision to axe Rooney means that debate is over.
Southgate is regarded as a gentleman by those who know him well, but the accusations this means he is unable to make the tough moves now fall on stony ground.
He confirmed Rooney as captain after Sam Allardyce's departure, spoke glowingly about him after the Malta game, praising how he copes with the fierce attention he commands and how he shows such passion and commitment in turning up to represent England.
And then dropped him.
England managers such as Fabio Capello and Hodgson were often urged to exclude Rooney, but it was in Southgate's four-game interim reign that crunch time arrived and he acted decisively.
It might have been easier for Southgate to play Rooney in Slovenia then leave him out for the qualifier against Scotland at Wembley on 11 November because his situation at Old Trafford means he may have been able to make the move based on a lack of first-team action. He did not take the easy route.
Southgate, who presented Rooney with a special cap for becoming England's most-capped outfield player before the Malta game, has been brave in the way he also wants his team to be - but he will not be foolish enough to alienate such a figure of influence or cast him aside too soon.
It spoke volumes for Rooney's character and commitment that he was front and centre at England's pre-match media conference in Ljubljana even though he knew his own omission would be the only story in town and his entire international career would dominate the agenda.
He was there to make it clear he was going nowhere.
This, after all, is a player with five Premier League titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup and two League Cups to his name - but has he got the legs to stick around?
The problem now is the number of miles on Rooney's clock. And it is starting to show.
His Premier League career started as a 16-year-old with Everton in a 2-2 draw against Spurs on Saturday, 17 August 2002.
He has since played a total of 724 games for Everton, Manchester United and England, scoring 316 goals. Rooney has scored 246 goals for United, just three short of Sir Bobby Charlton's club record.
This represents a mammoth workload and the toll it has taken is becoming evident. Rooney is retreating away from areas where he can do damage, too often taking on the 'quarterback role' spraying passes. The trademark, game-shaping surges with pace and power of old now seem beyond him.
Time and tide wait for no man in football. The game does not allow even the greats to turn back time and Rooney is just another victim.
Southgate was at pains to stress this was a decision based on what is required against Slovenia - but the idea of England tackling any opposition without Rooney was unthinkable not long ago.
And when he was left out at Manchester United, manager Jose Mourinho was also soothing Rooney's anguish as he said: "He's my man. I trust him completely. He's as happy as I am at this moment. He's a big player for me, for United, a big player for this country."
United and England team-mate Chris Smalling was equally fulsome, saying: "Whatever the situation is, whatever game, whether he is on the bench or playing or whatever, he is always that same type of character and that's why he is England's main man and our main man."
Except that he is not - not any more. Rooney is being showered in compliments as he is being shown to the bench.
Rooney's natural fire for football also seems to have been extinguished in recent times - but could it be the twin blows inflicted by United and England will re-ignite the flame that once burned so fiercely?
Time will tell.
Rooney is now in uncharted territory - no longer an automatic choice for Manchester United and England and no longer feeling the unconditional love of supporters who once adored him.
The jeering aimed at him at Wembley on Saturday came from a tiny minority, while at United his relationship with fans has not fully recovered from the saga in October 2010 when he wanted to leave and appeared to question the club's ambition and quality of the squad before signing a new deal.
Rooney signed another five-and-a-half-year contract worth around £300,000 a week in February 2014 - a deal which means he is unlikely to be going anywhere fast.
He is unlikely to attract suitors in the Premier League or abroad given his age and salary, so the only serious future options appear to be China and the United States.
It remains to be seen whether Rooney still has the profile to match anything like his current earnings in Major League Soccer, which boasts former England colleagues Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
He has been linked with a lucrative deal to join his former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson at Shanghai SIPG in China. This is where the big riches reside away from Europe - but would it appeal to Rooney and his young family?
For now at least it looks like Rooney will stay to face the biggest fights of his football career with Manchester United and England.


The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a five-fold increase in prize money for global women's competitions from 2016 to 2023.

The ICC board said the increase recognised the "improved standard and professionalism in women's cricket".
Teams will compete for total prize money of $4.4m (£2.9m) during the period, including a pool of $1m (£656,000) for the World Cup in 2017.
The ICC has also increased the prize money on offer in the men's game.
Among the increases, the board has doubled prize money to $1m for sides that top the ICC Test Championship table each year at the cut-off date of 1 April.
It means the total prize money for the top-ranked Test sides and for men's and women's ICC events from 2016-2023 will be $65m (£42.6m), which the ICC said was a 41% increase on the last eight-year cycle.
The governing body has also announced that it will send director Giles Clarke - the former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board - and chief executive David Richardson to meet with the International Olympic Committee next month.
Cricket has not been played at the Olympics since 1900 but earlier this year the MCC called for the T20 form of the game to become an Olympic sport.


Colchester United midfielder Owen Garvan has had his contract with the League Two club cancelled by mutual consent for personal reasons.

The 29-year-old has featured in 53 U's games since joining in 2015, 18 of which have come this season.
"He came and requested the opportunity to leave for personal reasons," said director of football Tony Humes.
"We have been working with him over the past few weeks to resolve the situation in the best way possible."


As Eurovision fans prepare for Saturday's final in Ukraine's capital Kiev, it looks like the song contest has avoided yet another row - this time over the Bulgarian entrant.

Kristian Kostov visited Crimea in 2014 when it was annexed by Russia but this was not illegal, Ukraine officials say.
Russia's singer Julia Samoilova was earlier barred from entering Ukraine for performing in Crimea a year later.
That decision outraged Russia, who then decided not to broadcast the show.
Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 - a move that triggered international condemnation and led to anti-Russian sanctions by the EU, the US and a number of other countries.
On Thursday, Ukraine's border service said it was studying information that Kostov performed in Crimea in June 2014 after footage had emerged apparently showing the Bulgarian singing in the Artek children centre.
"We do not currently have information from our sources or any other law enforcement agencies that he may have visited the occupied peninsula contrary to the legislation of this country," it said.
But border service spokesman Oleh Slobodyan explained that - if media reports were correct - Kostov still would not have broken Ukrainian law.
He said legislation banning foreigners from visiting the annexed territory without permission from Ukraine - or directly from Russia - came into force only in November 2014 - four months after Kostov's alleged visit.
Mr Slobodyan added that Kostov, who at 17 is the youngest competitor, was a minor at the time, anyway. This meant, the official said, that the singer could not have been responsible and had to be accompanied by adults.
Born in Moscow in March 2000, Kostov could pick up a lot of the votes that would have gone to Samoilova, BBC's entertainment reporter Neil Smith in Kiev says.
Kostov's dramatic self-penned ballad is also a stirring enough composition to put him on course to better the fourth-place finish Bulgaria's Poli Genova managed last year, our reporters adds.


Suspected Islamist gunmen who stormed a hotel in Mali's capital, Bamako, have "no more hostages", officials say.

The Radisson Blu Hotel was stormed by special forces after gunmen entered it and seized 170 people, many of them foreign guests.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its offshoot al-Murabitoun said they carried out the attack, according to an agency used by jihadists in the region.
An unnamed UN official has said at least 27 people have been killed.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 12 bodies were found in the basement and 15 bodies were found on the second floor.
It is not clear if this includes two of the attackers who are reported to have died.
Special forces spent several hours chasing the attackers on the upper floors of the hotel. The US said the attack had ended. There is no confirmation from the Malian authorities.
One of the hostages killed was Geoffrey Dieudonne, a member of parliament in Belgium's Wallonia region.
Pictures showed some of the hostages leaving the hotel were wounded; earlier, the interior minister said two soldiers had been injured.
The US-owned hotel is popular with foreign businesses and airline crews.
Eyewitnesses said the gunmen had entered the hotel shooting and shouting "God is great!" in Arabic. It is not clear how many attackers there were - there are reports of up to 13.
The claim by an obscure Saharan jihadist group allied to al-Qaeda that they were behind the attack is a reminder that the country still faces an insurgency.
In 2013 French forces effected a stunningly swift reversal of al-Qaeda's takeover of most of Mali. But Mali is a large, poor country with porous borders and large areas of ungoverned space where jihadist groups have been able to hide and plan attacks.
It has not been helped by the ease with which weapons can come across from Libya, nor by the proximity of a murderous insurgency in Nigeria where Boko Haram reportedly killed more people last year than Islamic State did in Syria and Iraq.
It is clear that Mali will continue to need international military support. But to defeat terrorism in the long term it will also need secure borders, good governance and more economic opportunities for young Malians.
Why Mali is an insurgent hotspot
Profile: Al-Murabitoun
Find out about Mali
Before special forces stormed the building, a security source told Reuters that some hostages who were able to recite verses of the Koran were being freed.
Mali's presidency has tweeted (in French) thanking the security forces and friendly countries for their support in responding to the attacks.
Off-duty US servicemen helped in the hostage rescue operation. French special forces were dispatched to the scene.
There is as yet no established link with the attacks in Paris one week ago that killed 130 people.
In August, suspected Islamist gunmen killed 13 people, including five UN workers, during a hostage siege at a hotel in the central Malian town of Sevare.
France, the former colonial power in Mali, intervened in the country in January 2013, when al-Qaeda-linked militants threatened to march on Bamako after taking control of the north of the country.
Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has cut short a trip to a regional summit in Chad.
His French counterpart Francois Hollande said: "We should yet again stand firm and show our solidarity with a friendly country, Mali."
The UN force in Mali took over responsibility for security in the country from French and African troops in July 2013, after the main towns in the north had been recaptured from the Islamist militants.
Militancy in Mali: