National Trust calls for footpath around English coast

Britain’s biggest coastal landowner is calling on the new government to make good on a promise made under the coalition to create a footpath all around England’s coast. The National Trust is becoming increasingly concerned that the plan, which was championed by the Liberal Democrats, could flounder under the Tories.

Helen Ghosh, the charity’s director-general, said: “We strongly support the plans for a coastal path that allows people to enjoy the whole coastline, walking through a landscape that is rich in wildlife and heritage. We’ll work with government agencies, partners and other landowners to help deliver this vision.”

The call coincides with the announcement by the trust of a new acquisition in north Wales – a lovely piece of wildlife and archaeology-rich land on the Great Orme headland, home to rare butterflies, unique plants and nimble Kashmiri goats. Wales already has an 870-mile footpath around its coast and organisations such as the National Trust and the Ramblers were pleased when the former deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, announced in September last year that the building of a 3,000-mile coastal path around the entire English coast would be complete by 2020.

The £40m coastal path also appeared in the Lib Dem manifesto. The party promised: “We will complete the coastal path, boosting tourism and letting people explore the UK’s incredible natural heritage.” But the Lib Dems’ disastrous general election results could be bad news for the path.

Organisations including the National Trust argue that the creation of a coastal footpath will be a hugely popular and money-making piece of infrastructure. The Welsh path generated more money for the local economy than its £13m cost within its first year, while England’s south-west coast path creates £436m annually for the regional economy and supports 10,000 jobs.

For the charity, the timing of the footpath issue and the Great Orme acquisition is apposite. This year is the 50th anniversary of its Neptune campaign to protect areas of coastline under threat from development. The first Neptune acquisition was also in Wales – Whiteford Burrows on Gower near Swansea – and it now cares for 775 miles of coastline across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Ghosh said: “Over 50 years, the extraordinary generosity and support of people from across the world have enabled us to buy some of the most beautiful, dramatic and diverse coastline on these islands, enabling people to enjoy them and protecting them from development for generations to come. This campaign has tapped into that deep sense of connection with, and love of, the coast. 

“Without this, our coastline could look very different today. Our priorities for the future are to help create opportunities for people to enjoy the coast, protect our wonderful coastal heritage and to enrich the wildlife living on our shores.”

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has provided little comfort for footpath fans. A Defra source said it was “too early to speculate about departmental spending budgets at this time”, but added that funding for the project had always been committed on a year-by-year basis and money was in place for this year.

A Defra spokesperson said: “We have already opened up miles of our beautiful coastline for everyone to enjoy, boosting local tourism and growing the rural economy. We are working closely with Natural England to build on the progress we have already made.”

Meanwhile, the Great Orme, which includes the 140-acre Parc Farm, is regarded as a particularly fine catch for the Trust. On a summer’s day, when the short grass has turned a silver-grey, it feels a little like a slice of rocky Mediterranean coastline magically plonked on the Irish Sea. A good example of a limestone heath, it is full of rare plants, with esoteric names such as goldilocks (a type of aster), hoary rockrose, Nottingham catchfly, spiked speedwell, spotted cat’s-ear, Welsh hawkweed and wild cotoneaster – which occurs nowhere else in the world.

In midsummer, parts of the Orme swarm with tiny bright butterflies – the dark blue north Welsh subspecies of the silver-studded blue. The limestone crags, where feral Kashmir goats perch, also support a unique race of the grayling butterfly. Several rare moths occur, notably the silky wave – a small, day-flying white moth that occurs only on Gower, in the Avon Gorge, and on the Great Orme.

The area also features caves where the earliest signs of human occupation in north Wales were found and a large complex of Bronze Age copper mines. The acquisition means that plans to create a golf course here are off and control of the farm means that a grazing plan favourable to flora and fauna can be put in place.

England stun NZ to win first Test

LONDON: England completed a remarkable win to beat New Zealand by 124 runs in the first Test at Lord’s here on Monday.

New Zealand, set 345 to win on the fifth and final day, were dismissed for 220 as England won the 100th Test between the two countries to go 1-0 up in this two-match series ahead of the second Test at Headingley on Friday.

For England, without a permanent head coach following the sacking of Peter Moores and coming off the back of a disappointing 1-1 series draw in the West Indies, this was just the morale boost they needed.

New Zealand, who had earlier collapsed to 12 for three, were again in dire straits at 61 for five after man-of-the-match Ben Stokes had taken two wickets in two balls.

But the gritty BJ Watling, whose 59 was his second fifty of the match, and the dashing Corey Anderson (67), kept England at bay during a sixth-wicket stand of 107.

However, both batsmen fell in quick succession to leave New Zealand 174 for seven.

New Zealand were rocked from the outset of their second innings, losing both openers for ducks without a run on the board in a match where, for the most part, they had been on top.

The second ball saw Martin Guptill become James Anderson’s 399th Test wicket, caught in the slips by Gary Ballance.

New Zealand were still on nought when Stuart Broad’s first ball of the second over had Tom Latham lbw for a golden duck.

For New Zealand, it was all starting to become horribly reminiscent of their last Test at Lord’s, in 2013, when they slumped to 68 all out chasing 239.

The collapse continued when Broad, who took a Test-best seven for 44 against New Zealand at Lord’s two years ago, had Ross Taylor plumb lbw for eight. New Zealand took the score on to 61 before Stokes, who on Sunday scored the fastest Test century at Lord’s, off just 85 balls, struck twice in two balls.

Kane Williamson, who made 132 in the first innings, fell for 27 when he guided Stokes to Joe Root in the gully.

And next ball New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum played on to a Stokes inswinger.

Given a roar by the crowd worthy of Ian Botham or Andrew Flintoff, Stokes, the New Zealand-born son of former Kiwi rugby league international Ged Stokes, who came to England as a 12-year-old, charged in again.

But Corey Anderson survived the hat-trick delivery, allowing the ball to pass his stumps.

Anderson, in Stokes-like fashion, later pulled the Durham all-rounder for six.

Deciding attack was the best form of defence, Anderson completed a 44-ball fifty in which 46 of his runs — 10 fours and a six — came in boundaries.

Soon after tea, James Anderson nearly had his 400th Test wicket when Watling, on 40, was given out caught behind down the legside only for the batsman to overturn Indian umpire S Ravi’s decision on review.

But Watling had to go when he gloved debutant fast bowler Mark Wood through to wicket-keeper Jos Buttler.

England then saw the back of dangerman Corey Anderson, lbw to part-time off-spinner Root, with Ravi’s initial decision of ‘out’ seeing the tightest of ‘umpire’s call’ verdicts fall in their favour when the batsman reviewed.

New Zealand lost their next two wickets on 198 but, with the draw now their only realistic goal, last man Trent Boult somehow managed to get out playing an attacking upper-cut off Broad, with Moeen Ali taking a fine catch running back at third man.

Earlier, England were dismissed for 478 after resuming on 429 for six.

England captain Alastair Cook took his overnight 153 not out to 162.

His marathon innings came to an end when he was caught behind off Boult.

Cook batted for more than nine hours, facing 345 balls including 17 fours.

His exit was the start of a Boult burst that saw the left-arm paceman take four wickets for nine runs in 17 balls for final innings figures of five for 85.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND (1st Innings) 389 (J Root 98, B Stokes 92, J Buttler 67, M Ali 58; T Boult 4-79, M Henry 4-93)

NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings) 523 (K Williamson 132, M Guptill 70, R Taylor 62, BJ Watling 61 no, T Latham 59; S Broad 3-77, M Wood 3-93, M Ali 3-94)

ENGLAND (2nd Innings, overnight: 429-6)

A. Lyth c Southee b Boult 12

A. Cook c Latham b Boult 162

G. Ballance b Southee 0

I. Bell c Latham b Southee 29

J. Root c Boult b Henry 84

B. Stokes c Taylor b Craig 101

J. Buttler c Latham b Henry 14

M. Ali lbw b Boult 43

S. Broad b Boult 10

M. Wood not out 4

J. Anderson b Boult 0

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-12, W-5) 19

TOTAL (all out, 129 overs) 478

FALL OF WKTS: 1-14, 2-25, 3-74, 4-232, 5-364, 6-389, 7-455, 8-467, 9-478.

BOWLING: Boult 34-8-85-5; Southee 34-4-162-2 (1w); Henry 29-3-106-2 (3w); Craig 28-3-96-1 (1w); Anderson 3-0-13-0; Williamson 1-0-2-0

NEW ZEALAND (2nd Innings):

M. Guptill c Ballance b Anderson 0

T. Latham lbw b Broad 0

K. Williamson c Root b Stokes 27

R. Taylor lbw b Broad 8

BJ Watling c Buttler b Wood 59

B. McCullum b Stokes 0

C. Anderson lbw b Root 67

M. Craig b Stokes 4

T. Southee c and b Ali 20

M. Henry not out 10

T. Boult c Ali b Broad 10

EXTRAS (B-5, LB-7, W-2, NB-1) 15

TOTAL (all out, 67.3 overs) 220

FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-0, 3-12, 4-61 (Williamson), 5-61, 6-168, 7-174, 8-198, 9-198.

BOWLING: Anderson 14-5-31-1 (1w); Broad 16.3-3-50-3 (1nb); Wood 13-3-47-1; Stokes 11-3-38-3 (1w); Ali 8-3-35-1; Root 5-3-7-1;

UMPIRES: S Ravi (IND), Marais Erasmus (RSA)

TV UMPIRE: Rod Tucker (AUS)

MATCH REFEREE: David Boon (AUS)

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2015

Apple design guru Jony Ive promoted

Sir Jonathan previously held the role of senior vice president of design and helped design of some of the tech giant's most popular gadgets.

He was knighted in 2012 for his services to design.

The move was first revealed in an interview with Sir Jonathan in the Telegraphnewspaper.

In an internal memo to employees, published later by tech blog 9to5Mac, chief executive Tim Cook said Sir Jonathan's newly created role would now expand beyond its devices and into designing the company's retail stores, new California campus and even office furniture.

Apple is in the middle of building a new campus, also known as "spaceship" for its circular shape that will house about 12,000 workers.

"In this new role, he will focus entirely on current design projects, new ideas and future initiatives," Mr Cook said in the memo.

"Jony is one of the most talented and accomplished designers of his generation, with an astonishing 5,000 design and utility patents to his name."

Sir Jonathan has helped design products like the iPod, iPhone, iPad and smartwatch over the last couple of decades.

There were reports earlier this year that Apple was working on a car and he could be behind its design.

He will start the new role in July and team member Richard Howarth will take over as the new head of industrial design at Apple.

Outcry from O2 users as many lose signal

The business secretary, Sajid Javid, has urged phone provider O2 to “sort it out” after a flood of complaints from people who had lost the signal on their mobile telephones. He tweeted “No signal O2. Please sort it out” as annoyed customers went online to claim they have had no service for up to five hours.

People in Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow and parts of Northern Ireland and London have reported problems. The phone provider, which had suggested that people reboot their handsets and turn their phones on and off again, said there were aware of “some issues” and “isolated instances”.

In a series of tweets, O2 told customers: “We’re working flat out (and upright too) to get these fixed. Sorry for the problems,” and “Sorry for all the effort you’ve had to put in Ems. We’re making sure our engineers put in even more to fix the problems!”

O2 insisted that its engineers were “beavering away and working to fix ASAP”. It tweeted: “We’re aware of isolated instances where some customers have intermittent access to our service. We’re investigating and will update ASAP”.

Triple-murder suspect found dead after two-day manhunt

Members of the public found the body in a wooded area in Oxford, said Detective Superintendent Chris Ward, head of Thames Valley Police's major crime unit.

The bodies of Philip Howard (44), Janet Jordon (48) and daughter Derin (6) were discovered at 8.20pm on Saturday in Vicarage Road, Didcot.

Det-Supt Ward said though the body found in Marston Road, Oxford, had not been formally identified, he was satisfied it was Jed Allen.

He said: "The body was discovered in an area of woodland accessible by two members of the public. This area had not previously been searched by police.

"Our investigation continues but we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murders."

Mr Ward, who said an inquest would be carried out in due course, added: "My condolences go out to the families and loved ones. We have specially trained officers with the families and will continue to support them at this extremely difficult time.

"I would like to thank the public for all their help during this investigation, as well as their patience while we have been carrying out searches."

Detectives had earlier released images of Allen which seem to show him buying a large bottle of water in a shop just hours before the three victims were found stabbed to death at their home.

The heavily-built 21-year-old was caught on CCTV in WHSmith at Oxford railway station, 16km from the Didcot crime scene where detectives had found what they believe is the murder weapon.

More than 100 police, including specialist search officers, had been deployed to search Oxford University Parks where Allen worked as a groundsman.

Detectives believed that Allen had arrived in Oxford by train from Didcot at 5.45pm on Saturday.

Allen, a fan of the blade-wielding 'X-Men' comic-book anti-hero Wolverine, wore a distinctive spider tattoo on his left hand.

Meanwhile, Derin's young friends struggled yesterday to come to terms with her killing.

Parents with their young children flocked to All Saints primary school in Didcot, where she was a Year One pupil, to leave flowers and teddy bears.

Some could be seen crying outside the gates, visibly distraught at such terrible news. A community centre next to the school was opened to give local people a place where they could grieve together.

John Myers, the head teacher of All Saints, said the reaction had been "devastation, shock, sadness".

He said: "It's just a combination of so many emotions, it's such a terrible tragedy.

"Anybody's life is precious and to lose parents and particularly a young girl in such a dreadful manner is truly awful."

Mr Myers described Derin as "beautiful, gentle, quiet, smiley, happy, precious, a lovely girl".

He said they had seemed like "a perfectly normal, happy family".

Germany and France agree closer eurozone ties without treaty change

Germany and France have forged a pact to integrate the eurozone without reopening the EU’s treaties, in a blow to David Cameron’s referendum campaign.

Sidestepping Britain’s demands to renegotiate the Lisbon treaty and Britain’s place in the EU, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, François Hollande, have sealed an agreement aimed at fashioning a tighter political union among the single-currency countries while operating within the confines of the existing treaty.

The Franco-German proposals are to be put to an EU summit in Brussels next month, where Cameron is also to unveil his shopping list of changes needed if he is to win support forkeeping Britain in the EU.

The Franco-German accord, disclosed by Le Monde newspaper, calls for eurozone reforms in four areas “developed in the framework of the current treaties in the years ahead”.

Cameron has persistently called for a reopening of the treaties to enable the eurozone to integrate more closely while providing the British with a chance to reshape the UK’s relations with the EU and repatriate powers from Brussels.

EU members and senior officials in Brussels have repeatedly voiced their reluctance to reopen the Lisbon treaty – the EU’s fundamental constitutional document. The Franco-German initiative, likely to be endorsed by the 25 June summit, would definitively close the door on treaty renegotiation.

The move from Berlin and Paris came as the UK prime minister prepared to open his negotiations with the French and the Germans on Thursday and Friday.

Cameron faces a busy week on the referendum campaign. On Monday evening, he hosted the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, at Chequers– kicking off a charm offensive in which he will visit five European leaders.

A Downing Street spokesperson said that Cameron gave Juncker a tour of the house and gardens before they dined on a spring salad, followed by pork belly and vegetables and a dessert of lime bavarois.

“The prime minister underlined that the British people are not happy with the status quo and believe that the EU needs to change in order to better address their concerns,” said the spokesperson.

“Mr Juncker reiterated that he wanted to find a fair deal for the UK and would seek to help. They talked through the issue at some length in the spirit of finding solutions to these problems. They agreed that more discussion would be needed, including with other leaders, on the best way forward.”

The former prime minister of Luxembourg will play a subsidiary, if influential, role in the negotiations whose outcome will ultimately be decided by national government leaders.

On Thursday, a day after the state opening of parliament, Cameron will fly around Europe to meet the Danish prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, in Copenhagen, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, in the Hague and Hollande in Paris. The following day he will meet the Polish prime minister, Ewa Kopacz, in Warsaw before going to Berlin to see Merkel. He aims to speak to all other leaders of member states before the June summit.

The Franco-German pact, agreed as the Greek debt crisis comes to a head, was finalised last week on the fringes of the EU summit in Latvia and sent to Juncker at the weekend, Le Monde reported.

The summit in Riga last Friday was Cameron’s first opportunity since re-election to present his ideas to fellow EU leaders. But it appeared that Merkel and Hollande had bigger fish to fry.

Juncker is preparing policy options for the June summit on how to integrate the eurozone fiscally and politically as it struggles to emerge from more than five years of crisis. The Franco-German proposals are likely to settle the direction of policy. They talk of economic, fiscal and social convergence, combining German insistence on monetary stability with French demands for greater investment.

“Additional steps are necessary to examine the political and institutional framework, common instruments and the legal basis” (of the eurozone) by the end of next year, said the document, according to Le Monde.

The following year, 2017, Germany and France have general elections, narrowing the scope for negotiations with Britain.

The Franco-German policy proposal, said Le Monde, “shows that French and German leaders do not have much in common with David Cameron”.

Cameron and Juncker have not had an easy relationship. The UK prime minister opposed Juncker’s appointment as European commission president. After other EU leaders voted overwhelmingly in Juncker’s favour in June last year, Cameron described their decision as a “serious mistake” and a “backroom deal”.

The promise of an in/out referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU before the end of 2017 was a key element of the Conservative party’s general election manifesto. Cameron has promised to secure a better deal for the UK in the EU before campaigning for Britain’s continued membership.

The EU referendum bill, which will be announced after the Queen’s speech on Wednesday, will make clear that the people eligible to vote will be the same as in general elections, that is adults from the age of 18, Irish and Commonwealth citizens resident in the UK, and British citizens who have lived abroad for less than 15 years.

Downing Street said they did not comment on leaks, but pointed to a statement made by Cameron as he kicked off his timetable for renegotiation at the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga last Friday.

“There will be ups and downs – you’ll hear one day this is possible, the next day something else is impossible,” he said.

“But one thing throughout all of this will be constant and that is my determination to deliver for the British people a reform of the European Union so they get a proper choice in that referendum we hold: an in/out referendum before the end of 2017, that will be constant.”

England v New Zealand, first Test, day five: live

OVER 127: ENG 478/8 (Ali 43* Wood 4*)

Ali on strike for this over, that's more like it. He manages to donk a full toss away for two, slogs into the legside and it lands safe. Ali pulls for four and then gets one. Mark Wood, who can bat better than Broad on this match's evidence, tucks it away for four.

OVER 127: ENG 467/8 (Ali 36* Wood 0*)

Most people online seem to have had enough, and three dots balls for Mark Wood don't really counter that argument.

WICKET! Broad b Boult 10 Poor old Broady looks like a genuine number 11 these days. He manages to smear it down for a couple and then connects with a big six into the Tavern! Long levers and that. But the next ball, he swings again, backing away, an ugly shot and an ugly way to get out - bowled leg stump. Feet outside leg, waiting for the short ball. FOW 467/8

OVER 126: ENG 459/7 (Ali 36* Broad 1*)

A great stat from The Telegraph's Nick Randall that illustrates how exciting the England middle order is, or could become. The men batting at 5 ,6, 7 and 8 in this match (Root, Stokes, Ali, Buttler) have made 550 runs and counting over the two innings - that is the most ever scored in a Test for England.

Meanwhile, Broad faces up to Southee, and he is going to be on a strict diet of bouncer-yorker-bouncer-yorker. Survives the first five balls and pinches the strike off the sixth.

Here's Everything You Need To Know About Trevor Bayliss, the man who will very likely soon be England's coach.

OVER 125: ENG 458/7 (Ali 36* Broad 1*)

That brings Broad to the crease. His first ball goes for a couple of leg byes. Cook batted wonderfully yesterday but, without being harsh, I don't think it is a disaster for England's chances that their cautious captain has gone. Broad ducks a bouncer and then gets a single off a yorker.

Cook apparently feathers the ball behind off the inside, but the umpire stays unmoved. Kiwis review. I personally thought that was out, there was a clear snicky noise as it went through. Yep. It's going to be overturned

Didcot triple murder: Suspect 'had anger issues and struggled with troubled family life'

A 21-year-old suspected of murdering three members of his family had a troubled family life and had struggled with his mothers' alcoholism, it has been claimed.

Jed Allen, a former Oxford University groundsman, is been hunted by police following the murders of his half sister, Derin, six, his mother, Janet Jordon, 48 and her partner, Philip Howard.

All three bodies were found at the family home in Didcot, Oxfordshire, on Saturday evening. They are believed to have been stabbed.

As a major manhunt involving 120 officers continued in Oxford and Didcot on Monday, a former girlfriend wrote on Facebook that he had "always had family issues and anger problems".

The family's former landlady shed led light on Mr Allen's difficult upbringing.

And she claimed that two of Ms Jordon's other children were put up for adoption as a result of her alcoholism.

Jane Ilott, a former mayoress of Kidlington, who rented a property to the Jordon family, told the Telegraph: "She had a problem with drink. She wasn't an aggressive drunk but just wasn't herself.

"Jed would often come round and say to me 'Mummy has been drinking but don't tell her I told you because I will get in trouble'.

"One time my son had to go in through the window because we were at the door and could see her but she wasn't opening it.

"Another time we found her fallen on the patio alongside her baby and we were worried that she had dropped it."

Mrs Ilott said that when the council stopped paying Ms Jordon's rent, she let her live rent-free until she found somewhere else.

She added: "Jed was never unkind, always polite but sometimes tense. He was smiley, tall and very handsome.

"It must have impacted on him when two of Jan's children were adopted.

"He would have had a very difficult time back then. He did seem on edge and a little bit stressed."

Ms Jordon began to rent from the Ilotts in August 2004, moving to another of their properties in October 2005 where they stayed until 2006.

An undated correspondence between Mrs Jordon's mother, Heather Jordon, and Mrs Ilott, seen by the Daily Telegraph, apologises for an incident involving alcohol.

"An apology to you all for Jan's behaviour all round on Tuesday afternoon. I am absolutely gobsmacked by her and ashamed," it says.

"She was way out of order making a spectacle of herself.

"I am so sorry for that particularly as your grandchildren were there."

Margaret Davies from Didcot town council, for which Mr Allen worked as an apprentice gardener, described him as calm and normal.

She said: "He's worked for a couple of years for Didcot Town Council and has been calm, has been working in the parks and has been fine. Studying at Abingdon and Witney College - a normal person."

Meanwhile, a cousin of Mr Allen has urged him to give himself up to police.

Tyler Clarke told The Sun: "No-one can believe what has happened.

"The first thing I knew about it was when I saw it on the news. We just want to know why."

"If we could send a message to Jed it would be, 'Give yourself up'."

Mr Allen's Instagram profile, which is named Mr Meat Tank, reveals his interest in bodybuilding and comic book characters.

He attended Marlborough School in Woodstock and Abingdon and Witney College, where he studied for an NVQ Level 1 and 2 in horticulture.

Oxford University Parks, which was closed to the public on Sunday as police combed the 70-acre grounds, was reopened as the search area widened on Monday.

Speaking at a press briefing, Detective Superintendent Chris Ward from Thames Valley Police warned the public not to approach the suspect, describing the incident as a "tragic and sad event".

Mr Allen has a distinctive spider tattoo on his left hand and is described as white and of large build. Det Supt Ward emphasised the need to find him as soon as possible.

It is understood that the school attended by six-year-old Derin will be open on Monday for friends and parents to meet to support one another.

Malaysia trafficking: Could police have intervened?

Police in Malaysia say they have found 139 graves, and 28 camps, in remote areas near the border with Thailand which they believe were used to hold trafficked migrants.

The police say some of the graves contain more than one body.

Earlier this month the discovery of mass graves in secret migrant camps in Thailand prompted the authorities there to begin an anti-trafficking operation.

DUP leader Peter Robinson taken to hospital

First Minister has been admitted to hospital.

Peter Robinson was taken in just after 9am on Monday.

A spokesman for the Democratic Unionist Party said: "The First Minister felt unwell this morning and has been admitted to the hospital for some further tests."

It is understood the DUP leader is being treated for a suspected heart condition.

• Ed Miliband has 'zero economic common sense', says Peter Robinson

It is believed Mr Robinson, who is 66 years old, travelled to hospital in an ambulance.

He has been First Minister since 2008.

The Robinson family have requested privacy at this stage.

Mike Nesbitt, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), is among the politicians to wish Mr Robinson a speedy recovery.

He said: "I am sorry to hear that the First Minister has been taken into hospital this morning and I wish Peter a full and speedy recovery.

"Our thoughts are with him and his family."

And Deputy First Minister, Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness, wrote: "Concerned to hear First Minister Peter Robinson has been admitted to hospital. My thoughts & prayers are with him, Iris & family."

Mr Robinson has endured a stressful few months.

His party's electoral battle to regain the Belfast East seat in the UK parliament - which he lost to the Alliance Party's Naomi Long following a scandal involving his wife Iris in 2010 - was among the closest-contested in the general election.

And the DUP also faced fierce criticism over comments a candidate made, linking same-sex marriage to child abuse.

Tomorrow, the Northern Ireland Assembly is due to hold a crucial debate on implementation of welfare reform and Mr Robinson had warned that the power-sharing institution was in danger of collapse.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams was among others taking to social media to wish the First Minister well.

"Peter Robinson in hospital. I hope he is ok," Mr Adams said.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister and leader of the SNP, said: "Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Northern Ireland's First Minister, Peter Robinson."

West Ham United target Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti after Sam Allardyce's exit

Carlo Ancelotti has emerged as an ambitious surprise candidate for the managerial vacancy at West Ham United after Sam Allardyce's departure was confirmed within minutes of Sunday's (Monday NZ time) 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United.

West Ham had been expecting to announce the appointment of Rafael Benitez on Tuesday but the former Liverpool manager is now poised to replace Ancelotti at Real Madrid.

Ancelotti said on Saturday that he will take a year out if he loses his job at Real Madrid but West Ham are preparing to test that situation and it is understood that they have already made contact with intermediaries of the Italian.

The interest in Ancelotti, a former AC Milan and Chelsea manager, is a further sign of the sort of high-profile managers that have figured in West Ham's thinking and they already have decided on a shortlist of potential replacements for Allardyce.

The departure of Allardyce, by "mutual consent", was announced on the club's website immediate after the defeat against Newcastle, with the club adamant that the story was not published at half-time of the match.

The story initially had a 15.52pm time on it but the club insist that the clock's website was simply an hour out.

West Ham co-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold have already drawn up a profile of their ideal candidate. They believe the manager should be aiming for trophies and ready to make the club regular contenders for European football when they move into their new 54,000-capacity Olympic Stadium home next year.

They also want academy players to get their chance and a passing style of football that is in keeping with what is known internally as 'the West Ham way'.

After a deal to bring in Benitez was effectively derailed by the planned changes at Real Madrid, West Ham are now reconsidering their options.

On their list of candidates has been Real Sociedad coach David Moyes, Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, former player Slaven Bilic, who is leaving Turkish club Besiktas, former Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup, whose coaching contract in Qatar is also coming to an end, and Marseille manager Marcelo Bielsa.

Roberto di Matteo, who won the Champions League at Chelsea, may also come into contention after leaving Schalke. There have been a series of approaches to Moyes but he intends to stay in Spain. Bilic is available and keen.

It would clearly be quite a coup to entice Ancelotti. His fate at Real Madrid is expected to be confirmed this week and he has said that he will take a year out if he does lose his job.

Ancelotti, however, did love life in London while at Chelsea and will recognise West Ham's longer-term potential in the Olympic Stadium, even if improving on Allardyce's record will not be easy.

The obvious risk for West Ham is that they now unsuccessfully pursue a series of high-profile candidates and eventually appoint a manager less equipped than Allardyce to keep the club in the Premier League.

Allardyce has spent four seasons at West Ham, overseeing their promotion into the Premier League before then consolidating their position. He has already been offered the chance to coach Nigeria and will be among the candidates for the Sunderland job should Dick Advocaat leave this week.

Allardyce has struggled to win the support of West Ham fans and was adamant yesterday that his departure was best for both him and the club. "To stabilise the club for the big move to the new stadium is what I've done," said Allardyce.

"I have delivered everything that has been asked of me. We have built the team to get stronger and stronger. For me it's time to get out, get away, think about me and only me and the family for a change."

Spain’s ruling party punished in local and regional elections

Spain’s ruling People’s Party (PP) took a battering in regional and local elections on Sunday after voters punished Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy for four years of severe spending cuts and a string of corruption scandals.

In a test of the national mood ahead of general elections expected in November, the PP suffered its worst result in more than 20 years to herald an uncertain era of coalition as new parties rose to fragment the vote.

Spaniards rejected the stability offered by the PP and rival Socialists, which have alternated in power since the end of dictatorship 40 years ago, and opted for change in the shape of new parties – market-friendly Ciudadanos (“Citizens”) and anti-austerity Podemos (“We Can”).

Mr. Rajoy’s future looked bleak as his strategy to bet on an accelerating economic rebound to win a second term later this year was seriously undermined by his party’s poor showing.

“It’s a drubbing for the PP. The fear factor did not come into play and people voted for Podemos and Ciudadanos,” said Jose Pablo Ferrandiz of leading pollster Metroscopia.

Although the PP won more votes than any other party, it and the rival Socialists fell short of overall majorities in most areas. The two parties will have to negotiate coalitions with minority parties in 13 of Spain’s 17 regions that voted on Sunday, alongside more than 8,000 towns and cities.

Spain has virtually no tradition of compromise politics and the fragmented vote is likely to result in weeks of pact-building in the regions, which hold substantial devolved power and determine spending in key areas such as education and health.

“Market sentiment toward Spain may be favourable, but the political scene is becoming a lot more fragmented, boding ill for the formation of a stable and strong government after the parliamentary vote later this year,” said Nicholas Spiro, an analyst at Spiro Sovereign Strategy.

The PP received its worst result in countrywide municipal elections since 1991 and lost its absolute majority in regional bastions Madrid and Valencia, where potential left-wing coalitions could send the party into opposition for the first time in 20 years.

“I used to vote for the PP, but they are burnt out; they have been in power for too long. It’s time to clean the slate,” said Nacho, a 56-year-old doctor in Valencia who voted for Ciudadanos.

At the PP headquarters in Valencia, dozens of shell-shocked supporters, many of them young activists, fought back tears as they received the news their party would also likely lose control of the city to a left-wing coalition.

In Madrid, where there has been a PP mayor since 1991, Mr. Rajoy’s party marginally beat a leftist platform backed by Podemos and headed by 71-year-old retired judge Manuela Carmena. But there, as well, the Podemos-backed alliance is likely to team up with the Socialists to win power.

Podemos, often compared to Greece’s radical left party Syriza, had toned down its policies in recent weeks, scrapping more extreme ideas such as defaulting on the national debt.

“It’s time for total change,” said 31-year-old teacher Natalia Cendejas in Madrid’s old quarter, Lavapies, where immigrants and the working class rub shoulders with bohemians and tourists.

In Barcelona, another left-wing coalition headed by former community activist Ada Colau and backed by Podemos beat pro-independence parties Convergencia i Unio (CiU) and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), in a setback for the Catalan separatist movement.

“The people have won here, not a bunch of initials,” Ms. Colau said to cheering supporters, referring to the scramble of initials representing traditional Spanish political parties.

Patient’s leg cut off with old hacksaw as ‘B&Q was closed’

A health board is investigating how a surgeon at University Hospital Ayr came to use a hacksaw found in a store cupboard to amputate a patient’s leg.

The NHS inquiry follows concerns raised by theatre staff who witnessed the procedure and reported it to senior managers.

The patient, an elderly man, was admitted 

Newsmaker - Poland's new president heralds shift to the right

Andrzej Duda’s shock win in Poland’s presidential election has capped a rapid rise from backroom obscurity to head of state, and may herald a new political chapter in eastern Europe’s biggest economy.

Duda was a legal aide to conservative President Lech Kaczynski before his death in 2010 in a plane crash in Russia.

Now 43, Duda sees himself as spiritual and political heir to Kaczynski, recalling how, two days before the flight, the president told him that a generational change was afoot, and that it would be Duda and his peers who would take responsibility for the future of the country.

“When I remembered this after the crash, it sent shivers down my spine,” Duda told Rzeczpospolita newspaper.

He quit when Bronislaw Komorowski won the subsequent presidential race for the ruling centre-right Civic Platform, becoming a local councillor, then a member of the Polish parliament and eventually a lawmaker in the European Parliament.

But he was still a relative unknown when the opposition Law and Justice party, now led by the late president's twin brother Jaroslaw, endorsed him for the presidential election.

Some observers described him as a stand-in for Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who they said was unwilling to risk running against the popular Komorowski.

Duda’s unlikely victory, the conservatives’ first major electoral success in nearly a decade, has Law and Justice smelling blood ahead of a parliamentary election in the autumn, with potential ramifications for Poland’s standing in Europe.

“From our point of view, this election allows us to break the glass ceiling,” said Law and Justice deputy leader Adam Lipinski. “It paves the way to a clear win in the parliamentary elections.”

NEW OUTLOOK ON EUROPE

Born in the southern Polish city of Krakow, Duda is the son of two academics, and in his early years was a churchgoing and bookish boy scout. He earned a law degree, and later a Ph.D., from the Jagiellonian University, Poland's oldest academic institution.

In 2005, the year of Law and Justice’s last parliamentary victory, Duda became an adviser to the party’s parliamentary caucus, helping draft one of its flagship bills on vetting public officials who might have a communist past.

He went on to become deputy justice minister in the Law and Justice government, later joining President Lech Kaczynski as a legal adviser.

He was involved in a legal challenge to a bill introducing stricter state oversight over a network of Polish credit unions, drawing criticism from opponents who say this delayed the legislation and put the stability of the financial system at risk.

On Aug. 6, Duda will become Poland’s sixth president since its transition from communism in 1989, having defeated Komorowski in spite of opinion polls before the first round that suggested the incumbent would comfortably win a second five-year term.

Komorowski, Duda’s senior by almost 20 years, came off as lethargic, and failed to turn things around after the first-round defeat.

As head of state, Duda will be in charge of the armed forces, coordinating foreign policy with the foreign minister, signing or vetoing bills and drafting his own legislation. He will also appoint the head of the central bank.

That gives him and the Law and Justice party scope to change Poland’s relationship with the European Union, until now built on close cooperation with Germany and other major players in the bloc. The party is less enthusiastic about Brussels, arguing that Warsaw should focus more on its own interests.

Duda has also suggested Poland should curb foreign ownership in the banking sector. About two-thirds of Poland’s profitable and well-capitalised banking sector is foreign-owned.

He has also backed a conversion of mortgages denominated in Swiss francs into Polish zlotys at historical exchange rates, a move that would mean billions of zlotys in losses for the banks, and called for a new tax on bank assets like that adopted in Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

"One has to work on the Polish economy, so that we start getting closer to real prosperity and not prosperity on paper,” Duda said shortly before Sunday's run-off.