Best News: Have tweeting footie fans found Madeleine McCann?

The youngster was filmed during ITV4's live coverage of Seville's 4-2 penalties defeat of Portuguese giants Benfica on Wednesday night.

Fans claimed the girl in a red top shown clapping looked just like age-adjusted images of Madeleine, who vanished from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.

A picture of the girl in the crowd in Turin, Italy, went viral as hundreds became convinced it was Madeleine, who would now be 11.

Some claimed she even shared the missing girl's distinctive flawed eye.

'Please don't tell me this is Madeleine McCann, she has the same mark on her left eye.' Twitter user

The photo was retweeted to the Met Police which is conducting a £6million hunt for Madeleine.

One football fan who posted the picture of the girl on Twitter wrote: 'Looks like Madeleine at the Seville game.' Another added: 'Definitely does look like her! Unreal how much!'

One user said: 'Please don't tell me this is Madeleine McCann, she has the same mark on her left eye.''

A source close to the McCanns said while the girl in the photo bore some resemblance to images of how Madeleine may look now, the apparent flaw was in the wrong eye.

Madeleine's defect should be in her right eye while the girl in the crowd's appears to be in the left one.

'What is encouraging is that it shows everyone is still looking for Madeleine,'' said a friend of the family. Related articles

'That will give her family great strength.'

New ground searches near the apartment the McCanns were staying in when their daughter disappeared are expected to start within days.

Madeleine's doctor parents Kate, 46, and Gerry, 45, continue to believe their eldest daughter is still alive.

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Best News: Far Cry 4 announced – Himalayan setting revealed

Far Cry 4 - this time taking the action from tropical to tundra

Abandoning the sun-scorched locations of its predecessors, Far Cry 4 is coming this autumn and it will be climbing to the treacherous peaks of the Himalayas. Ubisoft has announced that the latest title in its open-world shooter series will release on 21 November, all set in a perilous region named Kyrat.

Not much else is known about the game just yet. Ubisoft has of course confirmed that there will be the usual array of vehicles, weapons and wild animals, the latter including elephants, which, according to Eurogamer, the lead character can ride. Intriguingly, the announcement claims that players will be able to, 'write their own story across an exotic open-world landscape' suggesting a slightly more emergent narrative. Apparently, the area is being ruled over by a 'despotic self-appointed king', which sounds a little like insane pirate Vaas from Far Cry 3.

'We wanted to take the franchise to the next level and create a game that will surprise players,' said executive producer, Dan Hay. 'Given the unique setting, we feel Far Cry 4 will stand out as a top first-person shooter and we're eager to reveal more about the game in the coming months.'

Demos of the title will doubtless be shown at E3, though it's surprising that Ubisoft has left it so late to announce such a major project. It will join stablemates Assassin's Creed Unity, Tom Clancy's The Division and open-world racer, The Crew, in a bust event for the French publishing giant, which like Rockstar is now pulling several studios into each of its key projects. Far Cry 4 has been developed at the company's premier Montreal studio in collaboration with Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft Shanghai, and Ubisoft Kiev.

Released in 2012, the last Far Cry title attracted critical acclaim for its vast explorable location, a tropical island teeming with wildlife. The new title will release on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

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Best News: Update: Is the Madeleine McCann case at a crossroad? – By Len Port

The Madeleine McCann case seems to have reached a critical juncture: police are planning to start a new phase in the investigation, but there is a very real risk it may collapse in disarray.

The paradox is explained by a fundamental difference in the way the Portuguese and British police go about their business.

The forthcoming investigative activities will be conducted by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) working on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Service.

The normal and preferred practice of the Met is to brief the media on an ongoing basis. They do not necessarily reveal full details, but pass on as much information as possible while still safeguarding operations.

The Met says this usually ensures that media coverage assists rather than damages an investigation.

The policy of the PJ is very different. It does not brief the media on current investigations. The Portuguese penal code forbids this in order to avoid releasing anything that might prejudice a case.

The PJ has made its position very clear to the Met and the Met has alerted the British media: there will be no briefings on the joint operation from either side.

The PJ has warned that if the British police do pass on information, or if journalists cause any disruption, the new phase of the Madeleine investigation will be closed, at least until any infringement is sorted out.

After talks with his PJ counterpart, the Met's assistant commissioner, Mark Rowley, fully accepted this. 'We respect the Portuguese position as we would expect them to respect our position if we were carrying out work on their behalf in the UK,' he said in a letter to editors. 'Collectively we all need to think carefully about our actions in this case.'

In a statement on Facebook last week, Kate and Gerry McCann said that 'interference' by journalists in the latest phase of the investigation 'not only makes the work of the police more difficult, it can potentially damage and destroy the investigation altogether - and hence the chances of us finding Madeleine and discovering what has happened to her.'

Just before the 7th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance on May 3, the British media were full of stories about a lone sexual predator assaulting British girls on holiday in the Algarve.

Immediately after the anniversary, the spotlight switched to ground searches planned for specific sites.

The Mirror started the rash of stories on the searches with a 'world exclusive' headlined 'Maddie cops to start digging up resort.' It reported a source close to the McCanns as saying that 'Kate and Gerry have been told police will be conducting the searches in and around Praia da Luz as soon as they get the green light from Portuguese authorities.'

The Mirror 's unnamed source went on to say that Kate and Gerry 'don't believe police are acting on any new tip off. They just need to carry out their own digs, looking for any possible clues that Portuguese authorities may have missed on their previous searches.'

Reports followed in several papers about growing tensions between the Met and the PJ. The Met was frustrated by the slowness of the bureaucratic process needed to get the searches underway. The PJ was irritated not only by media briefings, but also by the nature of the new phase of the investigation.

The PJ is said to have dismissed the Met's theory that Madeleine may have been abducted by a lone predator suspected of attacking British girls. Furthermore, the PJ is said to consider digging for evidence in Praia da Luz a waste of time.

A point the mainstream media almost never touch on is that a great many skeptical observers, privately or in online forums, seriously question why the Met and the British media do not budge from the abduction hypothesis. The skeptics also wonder if the investigation is going anywhere except into oblivion.

(*) Len Port is a journalist and author. Born in Northern Ireland, his first written pieces were published while he was working in the Natural History Museum, London. Since then he has worked as a news reporter, mainly in Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, South Africa and Portugal. In addition to reporting hard news for some of the world's leading news organizations, he has produced countless feature articles on all sorts of subjects for a range of publications. Now living in southern Portugal, his books include travel guides and children's stories. His ebooks - People in a Place Apart and The Fátima Phenomenon - Divine Grace, Delusion or Pious Fraud? are available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. His blog posts can be viewed at algarvenewswatch.blogspot.com

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Best News: Marlon King jailed for 18 months for dangerous driving

A former Premier League footballer has been jailed for 18 months for dangerous driving after a three-car crash left a man with a fractured elbow.

Ex-Sheffield United striker Marlon King was driving a Porsche on the A46 near Newark in Nottinghamshire when the crash happened in April last year.

The 35-year-old victim was airlifted to hospital after the collision.

King, of Torkey, Lincolnshire, was jailed in 2009 for sexually assaulting a woman and breaking her nose.

The Jamaican international has a number of other previous convictions including for dishonesty, drinking and driving and other motoring offences, including a prison sentence for handling a stolen car, while playing for Gillingham in 2002.

King, whose previous clubs include Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Watford, Wigan, Coventry City, Hull City, Leeds United and Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving at an earlier hearing at Nottingham Crown Court.

He has been banned from driving for three years.

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Best News: Lily Allen Turned Down Incestuous Role Opposite Brother Alfie Allen on Game of ...

Eamonn McCormack/WireImage

Safe to say this is one acting opportunity Lily Allen does not regret turning down.

The 29-year-old singer recently revealed, via a Reddit Ask Me Anything chat, that she was offered a cameo on the hit series Game of Thrones alongside her brother Alfie Allen, who plays Theon Greyjoy on the hit HBO show.

However, the brunette beauty turned down the role because it involved an incestuous scene in which Allen would have been felt up by her real life brother.

Allen explained, 'I've been asked to do a Game of Thrones cameo, they asked me if I'd be interested in playing Theon's sister, and I felt uncomfortable because I would have had to go on a horse and he would have touched me up and s--t. Once they told me what was entailed, I said no thanks. I would be open to doing a musical cameo like Sigur Ros, though.' PHOTOS: These stars are related?!

In the season two episode, 'The Night Remembers' Greyjoy meets a woman who he hasn't seen in years, and while the two are riding horseback, he intimately caresses her, only to later find out that she is his sister.

Yikes!

The part of Yara Greyjoy instead went to actress Gemma Whelan, who also appeared in last week's show.

While Lily is concentrating on her music career, having recently released her new album Sheezus, her brother continues to star on the hit series, and recently opened up to Entertainment Weekly about the forthcoming episodes.

'It gets dark,' he said. 'I don't think people will find it as hard to watch this year. It depends what kind of person you are. It's more of a mental torture than it is physical. It's daunting as an actor. I have to do more telling of the story with my eyes than with words. I've never really done that type before.' RELATED VIDEOS:

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Best News: Boy hails cat Tara that saved him from dog: 'She's a hero!'

Jeremy Triantafilo was playing in the drive of his California home on Tuesday when the dog attacked him, only for Tara to fly in, hurl herself at the dog and chase it away moments later.

The moment was caught on CCTV and spread like wildfire around the internet yesterday, attracting over 5 million views on YouTube.

Because this is 2014, ABC News of course went to interview the boy and his parents, who explained that Tara followed them home from the park five years ago and has lived with them ever since.

The cat immediately took to sleeping in Jeremy's crib with him when he was a baby, and formed a strong bond with the boy as was proven in her fearless rescue.

The four-year-old received a nasty bite from the dog that needed stitches, but is now recovering at home.

Bakersfield police identified the attacking dog as an eight-month-old Labrador-Chow mix, who apparently was known for having a dislike for children and bicycles.

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Best News: Sudan woman faces death for apostasy

A Sudanese court has sentenced a woman to hang for apostasy after she converted from Islam to Christianity.

'We gave you three days to recant but you insist on not returning to Islam. I sentence you to be hanged to death,' the judge told the woman, AFP reports.

Western embassies and rights groups had urged Sudan to respect the right of the pregnant woman to choose her religion.

Local media report the sentence would not be carried out for two years after she has given birth.

Sudan has a majority Muslim population, governed by Islamic law.

The judge also sentenced her to 100 lashes after convicting her of adultery.

Earlier in the hearing, an Islamic cleric spoke with her in a caged dock for about 30 minutes, AFP reports.

Then she calmly told the judge: 'I am a Christian and I never committed apostasy.'

Amnesty International said the woman, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, was heavily pregnant and should be immediately released.

The judge addressed her by a Muslim name, Adraf Al-Hadi Mohammed Abdullah.

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Best News: FA Cup final 2014: Arsenal v Hull City - why Gunners dare not lose

Last updated at 12:04 The FA Cup final: Arsenal v Hull City

Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website; full match commentary on BBC Radio 5 live

When Arsenal face Hull City in Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley, it will be four days short of nine years since manager Arsene Wenger last sampled the joy of lifting a trophy.

Since the moment Patrick Vieira's final kick as an Arsenal player secured victory on penalties over Manchester United in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in 2005, Wenger and the Gunners have been forced to measure their success in terms of Champions League qualification.

Wenger once described reaching the Champions League as the fifth trophy on offer to clubs at the start of the season - and it is one they succeeded in claiming for the 17th year in a row after fighting off the challenge of Roberto Martinez's Everton.

In reality, however, a club of Arsenal's stature and history cannot seriously be sustained by annual qualification for a competition they may never win as a substitute for tangible success.

Arsenal's tradition states that they must be seen to be winning trophies and not simply celebrating fourth-placed finishes.

Judged in those terms, the last nine years have been a bitter disappointment for a manager of Wenger's quality and a club of Arsenal's standards.

And on Saturday evening at Wembley, Wenger's Arsenal start as firm favourites to finally end the trophy drought that has been an almost ever-present shadow over one of the game's most respected individuals and a manager who brought such glorious success in the first half of his tenure.

Steve Bruce's astute management means Hull City will pose a serious threat but Wenger knows this is a game he dare not lose.

Should Arsenal leave Wembley without the FA Cup, the questions will come again about whether he can ever regain the sure touch of a decade ago, and whether he has lost the abilities that came as second nature after he arrived at Highbury in September 1996.

Wenger has shown every indication of extending his stay as Arsenal manager, dismissing rumoured interest from former club Monaco. But how would such disappointment sit with both him and a passionate fan base desperate for trophies rather than the consolation of a top-four place in the Premier League?

If Arsenal win, however, Wenger has every right to paint the season as a successful one.

He could also use a long-overdue triumph as evidence that he still has that power and would be able to support his never-ending supply of optimism and faith in his methods and players by pointing to the FA Cup, a piece of silverware that should never be devalued.

It would also surely give Wenger renewed enthusiasm that he is on the right lines. This is why Saturday represents one of the most important games in his Arsenal career.

As Wenger reflects on Arsenal's season, he is right to state mitigating circumstance with the loss of Theo Walcott to a serious knee injury and long absences for Aaron Ramsey, whose return provided vital impetus in the closing weeks of the season, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

But there was also the mystifying decision not to invest in a striker following the serious pursuit of Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez last summer. If it was such a priority then, why was it not rekindled in January when the need was even more acute?

To only bring in on-loan (not to mention injured) Swedish veteran Kim Kallstrom in the second transfer window, with Arsenal right in the hunt for the title at that time, was an obvious error.

Wenger, studying champions Manchester City and Liverpool racking up more than 100 league goals, made the observation that Arsenal must improve offensively - and for that he must go for top-class targets and be prepared to pay the price they cost.

He believes Arsenal are 'close'.

But with City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United certain to embark on significant recruitment this summer, Wenger must match them if this season is not to be seen in retrospect as a painful lost opportunity to reclaim the title.

Wenger said: 'It will be busy but the main thing for us will be to keep the stability because we feel we are close. We want to add something that makes us even stronger but, number wise, it will not be massive.'

What Wenger must add first, and what may yet shape any debate about his future and his standing among fans who by and large revere and respect what he has done for Arsenal, is win the FA Cup.

Bruce's street wisdom will no doubt see him play on the pressures that will be applied to Arsenal.

If Hull win it will be a moment in history - if they lose there will be disappointment but also great credit.

If Arsenal win it will be well received by those (and they include plenty in the media who are wrongly accused of having an anti-Wenger agenda) who admire this popular and gifted man who has brought so much to the British game and the Premier League.

If Arsenal lose he will, as he knows, face fierce criticism.

If Arsenal win it can mark the start of a new era of success for Wenger. If Arsenal lose the drought goes on and many will wonder whether he will ever bring trophies back to the club.

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Best News: Loughton man's 'vivid lottery dream' comes true

A man who had 'a very vivid dream' about the lottery said he was 'surprisingly spooked' when he scooped nearly £1.2m within a month.

Terry Vigus, 59, from Loughton in Essex, who dreamt about matching numbers on his ticket three weeks ago, won a jackpot prize of £1,171,812 in Saturday's Lotto draw.

The industrial engineer said he used family birthday dates as numbers for 'the first time in years'.

'Someone was on my side,' he added.

'Suddenly woke up'

He said his dream showed the lottery balls dropping and one by one they matched the numbers on his ticket.

'I had matched five and was waiting for the sixth ball to fall when I suddenly woke up,' he said.

'It was really annoying and I couldn't get it out of my head.'

He said he told his wife of 35 years, Linda, 58, but did not think more about it until last weekend when 'everything seemed to fit into place'.

Mr Vigus, who said he had 'only ever won a tenner' on the lottery before, said he wanted to thank his daughter, Lisa, because he normally bought a Lucky Dip ticket.

'For some reason she suggested I do birthday dates this time.... it's the first time in years we have picked them,' he said.

'It just feels like someone was on my side this weekend.... now my head is spinning and I can't sleep.'

He said he hoped to treat himself to a motor home to allow him to enjoy more fishing trips.

The couple are also planning to buy the house where they have lived for 23 years and pay off their daughter's mortgage.

'It's taking time for me to make sense of it but I know it will make life for the whole family so much easier,' he said.

The winning numbers in Saturday's Lotto draw were 03, 05, 08, 10, 16 and 17.

Three winners shared a prize fund of £3,515,436.

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Best News: Cat saves boy from dog: Video shows family feline save child from attack

In the footage entitled My cat saved my son, which appears to have been shot by a CCTV camera, a young boy is seen riding his bike on a driveway next to a parked car.

A shot taken from a different angle then shows a sandy-coloured dog trot into view on the opposite side of the stationary vehicle, and run up to the child.

Suddenly, the animal viciously bites into the boy's leg and drags him from his bike onto the tarmac.

Within seconds, the boy's cat hurtles towards the dog and chases it away, while the boy's mother tends to her son.

Having dealt with the dog, the cat returns to the boy, and the family flees the scene.

At the end of the footage, the boy's father assures viewers that his son is now safe and well - and shares a grisly photo of the boy's wound which required stitches.



Bakersfield police said the attacking dog, identified as an 8-month-old Labrador-Chow mix, had been surrendered by its owner's family after the Tuesday afternoon attack and was in quarantine and would ultimately be euthanized.

Police spokesman Sergeant Joseph Grubbs said the dog's owners, who live in the same neighborhood as the boy, said the dog did not like children or bicycles. He did not identify the owner by name. Additional reporting by Reuters

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Best News: Billy Connolly's Big Send-Off: part 2, ITV, review: 'fascinating and thought ...

The second part of Billy Connolly's Big Send-Off (ITV), a good-humoured and penetrating documentary about death, was a fine companion to the first. The material was fascinating and thought-provoking and was interspersed with gently acerbic comments from Connolly, as he sat with a cup of tea in a pub, speaking directly to camera.

In addition, the programme pulled off the tricky task of combining mordant humour with a more serious approach to its subject matter. It started with a rather nervous Connolly - who, last year, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer in the same week - laughing heartily when relating morbid jokes about dead hunchbacks coming back to life.

But then the tone changed and the documentary became nothing short of compelling. Connolly travelled to New Orleans, where a wall of victims' names represented a permanent witness to the atrocious level of gun violence that plagues the city (according to a local priest, children at the poorest high schools have a greater chance of being shot to death than soldiers serving in Afghanistan).

The programme ended with Connolly visiting an artist who was days away from death. His calm acceptance of mortality, coupled with his affection for life, was profoundly moving.

But even this was overshadowed by a beautiful scene in the anatomy department at the University of California. In the lab, a number of corpses lay beneath white sheets, awaiting dissection. But contradicting the popular perception of medical students, on the wall outside was a collection of notes that anatomy undergraduates had written to the cadavers that they had used in the course of their studies.

One was so affecting that I must quote it here. 'In your 91 years,' it read, 'I'm sure you gave many gifts, but I can only thank you for your last... I will never be able to repay you in full, but know that any life I change in my future career, any grace my patients may see in my hands, will be in your debt. Thank you.'

This was an intimate portrait of death, from the perspective of a man who is facing it. As, indeed, are we all.



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Best News: Sevilla take the penalty prize as Guttmann's 'curse' does for Benfica

Bela Guttmann's curse struck again. Benfica battered Sevilla for the majority of the 120 minutes but they could not score and after Oscar Cardozo and Rodrigo had their penalties saved, Sevilla won their third Europa League final in eight seasons and Benfica's run without a European trophy stretched to 52 years.

The story has it that Guttmann, the great Hungarian coach, cursed the club in 1962 when, having led the club to a second successive European Cup, he was denied a bonus by the board. He resigned and, it is said, as he stormed out of his meeting with directors, vowed the club would not win another European title in 100 years. Benfica have played in eight finals since and lost them all.

Miralem Sulejmani's bursts from a deep position on the right - he had a sort of shuttling role that transformed Benfica's 4-4-2 into a lop-sided 4-3-3 - drew bookings for Federico Fazio and Alberto Moreno in the first quarter of an hour, the former slightly unfortunately for a high foot, the latter for a clattering late foul. That second challenge flipped the Serb winger into the air and he landed awkwardly on a shoulder, an injury that forced him off after 25 minutes. Already without Enzo Perez, Lazar Markovic and Eduardo Salvio because of suspension, Benfica's resources suddenly looked rather stretched.

Still, it was they who created the better chances in the first half. Fazio, in particular, looked uncertain, allowing Rodrigo to sashay past him before hitting his shot rather too close to Beto after 39 minutes and then getting in a terrible muddle with Nicolas Pareja and gifting possession to Nicolás Gaitán. The midfielder ran on but never quite got a bouncing ball under control and although he poked it past Beto under pressure from his fellow Argentinian, it drifted wide, leaving him appealing in vain for a penalty.

The Uruguayan full-back Maxi Pereira drew a save from Beto with a close-range header and Ezequiel Garay might had turned the ball in at the back post after the keeper had spilled a deep free-kick; seeming surprised the ball had reached him, the centre-back rather stabbed at his shot and it was hacked away.

Sevilla's shakiness continued after the interval. Lima, finding space on the left of the box three minutes into the second half, seemed to have taken the ball too wide with his first touch but he beat Beto with a ferocious shot only for Pareja to get back to chip the ball to safety. By the time it was returned to the middle, Pareja has recovered to get in the way of Rodrigo's effort.

For Benfica, the sense was the chances only made things worse. They had seen this before, notably against Chelsea last season when they had much the better of the final before succumbing to Branislav Ivanovic's last-minute winner.

Pareja's two blocks seemed to induce neurosis and suddenly Sevilla looked genuinely threatening, Ivan Rakitic, the elegant Croatian playmaker, laid in José Antonio Reyes with a dinked through ball and after the former Arsenal man had put that chance wide, he sidefooted another opportunity straight at Jan Oblak.

Everything Benfica did betrayed their anxiety. Pereira, advancing on the right and gliding into the area after a deft first touch, squared for Lim, but he missed his kick, tripped by the demons of Benfica's drought rather than by Pareja as he steamed across to cover. It was all too hurried, too frantic.

Where in the first half they had tried to pass their way through and around Sevilla's holding pair of Stéphane Mbia and Daniel Carrico - on loan from QPR and Reading respectively, a bizarre dash of Championship blue and white in a European final - they went more and more direct. The momentum tipped their way again. Lima had a dipping effort palmed over by Beto. Garay headed just over with the keeper out of the picture, and then smacked a falling volley over amid some injury-time pinball. But still it would not come and so with Benfica fearing another failure at the last, the game went into an additional period.

In extra-time, Sevilla's Carlos Bacca, hitting the space behind Benfica as they committed men forward, broke. Sevilla's manager, Unai Emery, red elbow patches darting upwards in anticipation of glory, leapt from his bench, but the Colombian's shot flew just wide. And so it was left to penalties to uphold Guttmann's curse.

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Best News: M62 crash chickens given 'freedom' by pet sanctuary

Hundreds of chickens rescued from a motorway in Greater Manchester after a lorry hit a safety barrier are being rehomed by a nearby pet sanctuary.

About 1,500 chickens were killed when the lorry crashed on the M62 between junctions 11 and 12 at about 04:00 BST.

Hundreds of the surviving birds were herded up an embankment by workers from the nearby Dogs 4 Rescue and are now being given away to 'good homes'.

The driver of the lorry was uninjured in the crash.

Emma Billington, from the rescue centre, said she hoped they would 'go on and live normal lives'.

She said her colleagues had sprung into action after some of the birds began appearing in a field near the sanctuary for cats and dogs.

'All the cages were everywhere so it wasn't a case of being able to put them back in there,' she said.

'We just carried them up the embankment to safety.

'We were dealing with such high numbers and we were gathering them up as we were walking about. We were doing it for hours.'

She said it was not known who owned the chickens, but that dozens of people had already taken birds for their own gardens.

'The sadness is that this is the most freedom they have ever had so I'd like them to be really lucky and go on and live normal lives.'

The lorry crash closed parts of the M62 for several hours.

Michael Clarke of the Highways Agency said the organisation 'drafted in as much manpower as we could from across the North West' and received help from the emergency services and the RSPCA in order to clear debris and round up the remaining chickens.

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Best News: Irish Lotto Results Wednesday 14th May 2014

The Irish Lottery draw for Wednesday 14th May 2014 will offer players over 21 ways to win cash prizes, all revolving around players matching a winning combination of numbers. There are two sideline games in-play with the Irish Lottery on which ticket holders can opt in to entering for an additional fee, these additional games are the Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2. To be included within the Lotto Plus additions a player must pay a further 50c on top of the €1.50 main game cost. The top prize associated with the Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 are €350,000 and €250,000 respectively.

Draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday with ticket cut offs being enforced at approximately 19:40 on the eve of the draw, players are reminded to purchase tickets in advance to avoid disappointment. Purchasing tickets require lottery players to select 6 numbers between 1 and 45, if a winning combination is matched from the entered draw then a cash prize will be awarded.

The estimated lottery jackpot for tonight's game is at €6.5 million, this jackpot has been generated through a string of jackpot rollovers which boosts the following games top prize. Over 38,000 players won a cash prize with the previous game on Saturday 10th May 2014 but not a single ticket holder matched all 6 main game numbers without the use of the Bonus Ball. A triggered jackpot rollover then used the €6 million set aside for that games jackpot as the foundations of tonight's game.

For the Lotto Plus 1 and 2 games for the previous draw no jackpot winners were made however these games use a fixed tier which prevents the size of the top prize accumulating. almost 69,000 players matched a winning combination through these secondary games with the lowest prize being a €1 scratch card up to €2,500.

Irish Lottery tickets can be purchased through the official National Lottery or through using a lottery terminal at an approved lottery retailer. The following draw will be held on Saturday 17th May 2014 on which it's jackpot and prize structure will be calculated closer to the game. Players must be over the age of 18 and be familiar with the Irish lottery terms and conditions of play. Results of the main Irish Lottery Prize breakdown of the main lottery game

Once the data of the draw has been published the below table will update automatically. The winning numbers for Lotto Plus 1

The Lotto Plus 1 may take some time after the main draw to be revealed. Lotto Plus 1 winning prize structure

Once the data of the draw has been published the below table will update automatically. Drawn numbers of the Lotto Plus 2

The Lotto Plus 2 may take some time after the main draw to be revealed. Prizes available through the Lotto Plus 2

Once the data of the draw has been published the below table will update automatically.

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Best News: Humble Bundle launches 14-day series of daily games deals

Saints Row The Third is one of the first games in Humble Bundle's 14-day promotion.

The Humble Bundle website made its name by selling pay-what-you-want 'bundles' of games online, with charities benefiting from the sales. Weekly sales of individual games and a download store followed, but now it is expanding again.

The website has launched a '14 days of bundles' promotion, starting on 13 May and promising to offer a new deal every 24 hours for a fortnight.

'Expect some unique bundles curated specifically for this event. You will also see special deals on games packaged with great extras,' explained Humble Bundle on its blog. 'We are also opening up the vault and bringing back some bundles for one-night-only reunion shows and kicking off this festival with one of our favorites.'

The first is the return of one of the site's best-selling offers - The Humble Deep Silver Bundle - which includes Saints Row 2, Saints Row: The Third, Sacred 2: Gold Edition and Risen 2.

More games and downloadable content are thrown in for people who pay more than the average price ($6.30 at the time of writing) as well as another game, Dead Island: Riptide, if they pay more than $9.

Humble Bundle has been a reliable revenue generator for independent games developers in particular, and the latest bundle is no different.

In a little under 18 hours so far, it has generated more than 106,000 purchases and total payments of more than $672k, split between developer Deep Silver, charities the American Red Cross and Child's Play, and tips to Humble Bundle itself.

The 14-day promotion follows a high-profile bundle earlier in 2014 for games developer Sid Meier, which generated $1.7m of payments in its first two days, and ended up with more than $4.3m. Humble Bundle has also regularly offered bundles of Android games, providing a valuable source of revenues to indie developers struggling to make sales on the Google Play store.

In August 2013, founder John Graham told Rock Paper Shotgun that Humble Bundle had generated more than $50m in bundle revenue and raised more than $20m for charity since its first promotion in 2010.

* Saints Row: The Third - review

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Best News: Turkey coal mine disaster: Desperate search at Soma pit

Rescuers are hunting desperately for scores of Turkish coal miners still missing after an explosion caused a pit to collapse, killing at least 238.

Dozens escaped the pit in the western town of Soma, but officials say about 120 are still unaccounted for.

On a visit to Soma, PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said every aspect of the tragedy would be investigated and 'no stone would be left unturned'.

But protests erupted in the town, with crowds hurling abuse at the government.

Frantic relatives have gathered at the mine, waiting for news of loved ones. At the scene



'My son was two months away from retirement,' sobbed an elderly woman waiting at Soma's hospital. She held up two fingers to make her point and closed her eyes to stop herself from crying any further.

The hospital grounds have been taken over by the families of the trapped miners. Their wait has now become a vigil. Some sit and stare at the ground. Others sob. Every few minutes paramedics clear the crowd to take away someone who has fainted.

Dozens press up against the blue police barricades set up at the entrance to the hospital. They're desperate for news of the trapped miners. And they have nowhere else to go.

As ambulances took away an increasing number of bodies, some of the bereaved wailed uncontrollably and were carried away by their families.

More than 350 miners were rescued, but no survivors have been found in the last few hours.

Mr Erdogan said 80 of those rescued had been treated for injuries, none of which were serious. Nineteen of these had already been discharged from hospital.

'I just want everybody to know that the disaster will be investigated in every aspect and will continue to be investigated and we are not going to allow any negligence, or leave any stone unturned,' he told journalists in Soma.

Earlier he announced three days of mourning for the victims.

The BBC's James Reynolds in Soma says family members of missing miners are gathered at the hospital. They told him they would not move from there until they got information about their loved ones.

Meanwhile police fired tear gas and water cannon at about 800 protesters angered by the disaster as they tried to march from a university in Ankara to the energy ministry.

There were also reports of a protest in Istanbul outside the headquarters of Soma Holding, the company that owns the mine.

Far below ground

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said 787 people had been inside the mine when an electrical fault triggered the blast.

He added that carbon monoxide poisoning had claimed many lives.

The electrical fault triggered a power cut, making the mine cages unusable. Those trapped are reported to be 2km (1.2 miles) below the surface and 4km from the mine entrance.

The blast happened at about 12:30 GMT on Tuesday.

TV footage overnight showed rescuers helping workers from the mine, their faces and hard-hats covered in soot and dust. Some were carried on stretchers to waiting ambulances.

But by mid-morning, reporters at the scene said only the dead were being recovered.

Emine Gulsen, one of a group of women sitting near the entrance to the mine, cried: 'My son is gone, my Mehmet.' Mehmet, 31, had been working there for five years.

Coal mining is a major industry in the Soma area, helping to supply a nearby lignite-fired thermal power plant, but safety has long been a concern. Nearly 40% of Turkey's electricity production depends on coal.

The Soma mine was privatised in 2005.

An MP with Turkey's opposition CHP party has accused the government of rejecting a recent proposal for a parliamentary inquiry into mine accidents in Soma.

Ozgur Ozel told Today's Zaman newspaper that the motion had substantial support among opposition parties.

Our correspondent says Prime Minister Erdogan will see this tragedy as a test of his reputation, and he will be aware that the previous government lost an election after being seen to have mishandled the 1999 earthquake.

Turkey's worst mining disaster was in 1992, when 263 miners were killed near Zonguldak, on the Black Sea. Are you in Manisa? How have you been affected by the explosion? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.coRead the terms and conditions .uk, using the subject line 'Turkey'.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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Best News: Stephen Sutton: Fund-raising teenager dies after making over £3 million for ...

Stephen Sutton, 19, died, four years after he was first diagnosed with bowel cancer.

His mother, Jane Sutton, released a statement on the Stephen's Story Facebook page confirming his death.

'My heart is bursting with pride but breaking with pain for my courageous, selfless, inspirational son who passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of this morning,' she wrote.

'The ongoing support and outpouring of love for Stephen will help greatly at this difficult time, in the same way as it helped Stephen throughout his journey. We all know he will never be forgotten, his spirit will live on, in all that he achieved and shared with so many.'

In the hours following the announcement, donations for The Teenage Cancer Trust on Stephen's Just Giving page surged by more than £100,000.

Stephen made headlines for raising over £3million for charity after he posted an emotional farewell message to the followers of his Stephen's Story Facebook page. He had initially set out to raise just £10,000.

Soon, celebrities including Benedict Cumberbatch, Jason Manford, Simon Pegg and Russell Brand took to social media and encouraged others to give money to the cause.

Since then, more than 135,000 people from around the world have donated to his Just Giving page, with donations continuing to pour in after his death was announced.

Tributes for the teenager have been flooding in on Twitter, with many paying homage to his 'spirit' and 'bravery'.

RIP Stephen Sutton. A true hero & inspiration to us all. #stephensstory; Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) May 14, 2014

Sadly Stephen Sutton passed away this morning.Stephen's mum 'My heart is bursting with pride but breaking with pain' https://t.co/SOhhNcnywl; Just Simon Cowell (@JustSimonCowell) May 14, 2014

We're deeply saddened to hear that Stephen Sutton has passed away. He was a true inspiration to so many.; Cancer Research UK (@CR_UK) May 14, 2014

I'm deeply saddened to hear that Stephen Sutton has died. His spirit, bravery and fundraising for cancer research were all an inspiration.; David Cameron (@David_Cameron) May 14, 2014

Tragic news that Stephen Sutton has passed away. His bravery & determination to live life to the full was an inspiration to us all.; Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May 14, 2014

Stephen was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 15. In 2012 he was told his condition was incurable and in April this year he filmed a moving final farewell, believing he was about to die.

A month later, Sutton experienced what he described 'a miraculous recovery' after coughing up a tumour. Following successful surgery, he was well enough to be discharged from Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital on 2 May.

But he was readmitted on Sunday, with his family confirming that his condition had deteriorated 'due to a re-growth of tumours'.

In a lengthy post on his Facebook page Stephen's Story, on 8 May, Sutton said: 'I was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 2010. I then have had periods of remission and relapse, before doctors eventually described my disease as incurable in November 2012. Throughout this time I have underwent all manner of treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc) that have helped treat and prolong my life.

'I actually I see myself as very fortunate- despite being incurable for a while I have had a sustained period of very good health where I was able to go out and enjoy things thoroughly...

'Ultimately, there is no miracle cure for me. I am potentially the most positive and optimistic person in the world, but we have to be realistic with what we are up against. My disease is very advanced and will get me eventually, but I will try my damn hardest to be here as long as possible.'

In a statement after news of Stephen's death was announced, the Teenage Cancer Trust said: 'We are humbled and hugely grateful for what Stephen achieved and continues to achieve for us.

'The thoughts of everyone here at Teenage Cancer Trust are with Stephen's family and friends.'

The Teenage Cancer Trust will share details of a legacy plan for Stephen Sutton in the coming weeks.

If you want to donate to Stephen's Story, go to his Just Giving page.

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Best News: Fundraiser Stephen Sutton dies at 19

Teenage cancer fundraiser Stephen Sutton has died peacefully in his sleep, his mother said on his Facebook page.

The 19-year-old, from Burntwood in Staffordshire, raised more than £3.2m for the Teenage Cancer Trust after news of his plight spread on social media.

In a post announcing Stephen's death, Jane Sutton said he was a 'courageous, selfless, inspirational son'.

Stephen was diagnosed with terminal cancer aged 15.

Ms Sutton said in her statement: 'My heart is bursting with pride but breaking with pain for my courageous, selfless, inspirational son.

'The ongoing support and outpouring of love for Stephen will help greatly at this difficult time, in the same way as it helped Stephen throughout his journey.

'We all know he will never be forgotten, his spirit will live on, in all that he achieved and shared with so many.'

Stephen was readmitted to hospital on Sunday after developing breathing difficulties caused by the re-growth of tumours.

He had initially set out to raise just £10,000 for charity, but his fundraising campaign attracted huge attention last month after he posted a 'final' selfie online.

Stephen used a bucket list featuring things he wanted to accomplish before he died to help raise funds and give other people the motivation to 'enjoy life'.

It included playing the drums in front of 90,000 people, hugging an elephant and getting a tattoo.

Stephen, who was diagnosed with metastatic bowel cancer aged 15, was visited earlier this month at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital by Prime Minister David Cameron, who praised his 'incredible' efforts to help others.

Mr Cameron tweeted: 'I'm deeply saddened to hear that Stephen Sutton has died. His spirit, bravery and fundraising for cancer research were all an inspiration.'

Labour leader Ed Miliband also paid tribute and wrote: 'Tragic news that Stephen Sutton has passed away. His bravery & determination to live life to the full was an inspiration to us all.'

A number of celebrities and public figures also paid tribute to Stephen after news of his death emerged.

Comedian Ricky Gervais tweeted: 'RIP Stephen Sutton. A true hero & inspiration to us all.'

TV presenter Clare Balding added : 'Desperately sad to hear that Stephen Sutton has died. I feel privileged to have met him and heard him speak.'

The Teenage Cancer Trust, to which Stephen made the largest ever single donation in its history, said: 'We are humbled and hugely grateful for what Stephen achieved and continues to achieve for us.'

Bowel Cancer UK said Stephen had 'undoubtedly created greater awareness... that bowel cancer can affect younger people too and for this we owe him such gratitude.'

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Best News: Thousands of chickens killed in M62 lorry crash

Part of the M62 in Greater Manchester has been closed after dozens of live chickens escaped from a lorry following a collision.

The lorry was carrying 6,000 chickens when it hit a safety barrier at 04:00 BST on the eastbound carriageway between junctions 11 and 12.

The escaped birds were quickly shepherded back into the truck.

A spokesman said the motorway is likely to remain closed 'throughout the morning peak travel period'.

Michael Clarke, from the Highways Agency, said recovery of the lorry had proved 'quite complicated'.

Diversions are in place around the exit for Birchwood and the Eccles Interchange with the M60.

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Best News: Ben Affleck as Batman: Fans dissect first photograph

The first photo of Ben Affleck in character as Batman has been revealed by director Zack Snyder.

He is pictured standing next to the Batmobile in the brooding black-and-white shot, taken on set of the forthcoming Superman vs Batman film.

Although the actor was a controversial choice to play the caped crusader, the new photo has had a positive reception.

Many have suggested it shows the older Batman from Frank Miller's four-part comic book The Dark Knight Returns.

The 1986 series 'depicted an aged Bruce Wayne at the end of his career,' said Bryan Bishop on The Verge.

'Since Affleck is rumoured to be playing an older Batman in the upcoming film, it may not be surprising that Snyder would draw on Miller's grittier designs.'

Affleck displays 'serious muscle definition' and 'throbbing veins' in the photo, said Rolling Stone magazine's Jon Blistein.

The smoke-filled shot suggests the character will continue to be the 'brooding Batman we've come to know and love' from Christopher Nolan's tortured Dark Knight trilogy, he added.

Designed by Michael Wilkinson (300, Watchmen) the new Batsuit is 'more sculpted and comic-book-like than the armour-plated version worn by Christian Bale' in those movies, noted Matt McDaniel on Yahoo Movies.

'The suit hearkens back to Michael Keaton's, with its chiselled muscles and cowl attached to the cape. It also has smaller ears and a much larger bat-symbol across the chest than previous iterations.

'Affleck does, though, stand in the same clenched fist and lowered head pose favoured by Bale.'

Escapist magazine's Ross Lincoln said the 'rounder, old fashioned-looking cowl, and smaller ears' made Batman 'appear less a demonic personification of justice and more like an actual cartoon bat.'

'The Batsuit has always been a divisive feature,' wrote Justin Kroll for film trade bible Variety.

'Especially since George Clooney's costume in Batman and Robin, which came complete with the now-infamous 'Batnipples,' gave fans an advanced warning that the Joel Schumacher production might be troubled.'

It also ran a readers' poll, which saw 56% of fans approving the new-look Batman.

Affleck was not a universally popular choice to take over from Christian Bale.

A petition on Change.org urging film studio Warner Bros to 'remove Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the Superman/Batman movie' has gathered more than 97,000 signatures since his casting was announced last summer.

But he has laughed off the criticism, saying he is 'a big boy' who can 'handle' the backlash.

'When you get into the arena of those kinds of movies, these superhero movies, particularly ones that are working with characters that everyone's known for so long, everybody's got these strongly held opinions and preconceived ideas about what it should be,' he told Entertainment Weekly.

'At the same time, I don't think projections about something that hasn't happened yet are all that meaningful.

'I think at the end of the day, it's like any other movie or project: You go out and make it great, people will say it's great. If you go out and miss, you'll hear about it.

'The stuff beforehand is kind of just the noise that happens.'

Affleck will make his debut alongside British actor Henry Cavill's Superman, on 6 May, 2016.

The as-yet-untitled film is a sequel to Man of Steel and will also feature Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Ray Fisher as Cyborg.

Details of the plot are a closely guarded secret, but screenwriter David Goyer told San Diego ComicCon: 'We're actually not sure whether the title is Superman vs. Batman or Batman vs. Superman but yes, it's that rematch, that combination, the two guys onscreen and that's happening.'

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Best News: Claudia Lawrence: Police arrest man on suspicion of murder

North Yorkshire Police said a car has also been seized as part of the inquiries and Ms Lawrence's family have been notified. A spokesperson stressed that Ms Lawrence has not been found.

Ms Lawrence went missing from her home in York in March 2009. The 35-year-old was last seen alive by colleagues at about 3.05pm after finishing a shift at the University of York.

She failed to turn up for work the next morning (19 March) and was reported missing by her father.

Detectives have said repeatedly they believe Ms Lawrence has been murdered and that the key to the inquiry is her relationships with a number of men - relationships police have described as having an 'element of complexity and mystery to them'.

Her disappearance sparked one of the biggest investigations ever carried out by North Yorkshire Police. CCTV showing Claudia leaving work the day before she was reported missing

Last year, the new investigation team conducted a detailed re-examination of Ms Lawrence's home in the Heworth area of York.

In March, senior officers announced a series of new lines of inquiry on the fifth anniversary of the day she failed to turn up for work. The announcement coincided with a fresh appeal on BBC's Crimewatch.

They said the new forensic examination of her house uncovered the fingerprints of people who have not yet come forward.

They also found the DNA profile of an unknown man on a cigarette butt in the university chef's Vauxhall Corsa.

Police said before that Ms Lawrence's mobile and rucksack have never been found.

A team led by Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn spent two months re-examining Miss Lawrence's small terrace home.

Her father, who set up a website dedicated to finding his daughter, has previously described not knowing what happened to her as 'torture'.

'It's just a nightmare,' he said in March. 'Every day is eating into you, wondering what on earth has happened. It doesn't get any better. It gets more difficult as time goes on.'

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: 'Detectives investigating the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence have this morning arrested a 59-year-old man from York on suspicion of murder.

'Forensic examinations and searches are being conducted which are expected to be ongoing over a number of days.

'Claudia's family have been notified and are being supported by trained officers.

'The investigation team would like to stress that Claudia has not been found. Police cannot rule out the possibility of further arrests in the future as the review continues.'

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Best News: Stephen Sutton Now 'Too Sick To Communicate'

Terminally ill teenager Stephen Sutton, who raised more than £3m for charity after his story was publicised, has been left unable to communicate as his condition worsens.

His family have left a message on his Facebook page saying that because tumours have regrown in his airwaves, the 19-year-old is now too sick to continue posting messages.

The message also called for privacy so his family can focus on the remaining time he has with them.

The statement said: 'Unfortunately in the last 24 hours Stephen's condition has deteriorated to where he can no longer communicate through this page himself.

'Unfortunately the breathlessness which had him re-admitted to hospital is due to the regrowth of tumours which are blocking his airways, and not just due to infection as we had all been hoping.

'He is currently comfortable and stable, and we will let you know of any further developments.

'Right now however, as a family, we wish for a certain amount of privacy for us to spend what time he has remaining with him.

David Cameron visited Stephen and said he was 'an inspiration'

'We appreciate everyone's concern, and for all the love and goodwill sent his way, and indeed ours too, we thank you deeply x.'

He was readmitted to hospital on Monday after having previously been discharged when it appeared he had made a 'miraculous recovery' by coughing up a tumour.

At the time he revealed that he was suffering from breathlessness and said doctors thought there was something blocking his airway.

He wrote on Facebook: 'The doctors think there may be something restricting my airway again, they're not sure exactly what yet though (tumour regrowth, infection, inflammation, are all potential reasons mentioned), but are currently discussing the possibilities and my scan results to decide what to do next.'

Mr Sutton, from Burntwood in Staffordshire, was diagnosed with bowel cancer when he was 15.

Despite treatment the tumours spread, with doctors telling him the disease was terminal in 2012.

Hundreds of thousands of people have supported his fundraising efforts for the Teenage Cancer Trust since he posted a picture of himself in hospital in April with a goodbye message as he thought he was nearing death.

Among them was Prime Minister David Cameron.

The amount raised totals £3.24m to date.

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Best News: Buff Ben Affleck morphs into the hulking superhero as he takes his trusty ...

By Shyam Dodge and Jennifer Pearson

Ben Affleck is pumped up for his role as Batman, but on Tuesday he was a superhero dad in daughter Seraphina's eyes.

The star's five-year-old little girl was practically skipping with joy as he treated her to a visit to Brentwood Country Mart in Los Angeles.

Ben was spotted holding Seraphina's hand as they emerged from the quaint and upscale retail centre and crossed the parking lot.

The actor, who is bulking up for his role as the Caped Crusader in Zack Syder's Batman vs. Superman, currently in pre-production, sported the proof right there on his T-shirt.

Ben's charcoal grey shirt bore the logo of IPF Institute Of Performance & Fitness, which is based in Andover, Massachusetts that's located just outside of his Boston hometown.

Dark cargo shorts and trainers were also part of the ensemble on this 90-degree day in LA.

Seraphina, meanwhile, looked cute in a blue print sundress, and turquoise and pink trainers with pink and blue socks.

Ben was obviously happy to be spending some quality time with his little girl.

It appears that Ben's Batman will by far be the most brawny and muscular yet to fight crime in cinemas across the globe.

Batman vs. Superman director Zack Snyder shared a sneak peek on Tuesday, revealing a glimpse of the highly anticipated costume.

Batman vs. Superman isn't set to release for two whole years, but that isn't stopping Snyder from working up some excitement over the film's most anticipated prop.

In the black and white portrait, a heavily muscular Batman stands next to an all-new Batmobile, which is certain to send fans into a frenzy.

The director captioned his smoky Twitter picture: 'I shot this with my @Leica_Camera M Monochrom. #Batman #Batmobile #Gotham'.

The costume also appears to differ greatly from the Christopher Nolan Batman, where Christian Bale wore what looked to be a suit made of armour.

Affleck's incarnation sees a greyish bodysuit, contouring to his heavily muscled frame as he wears a midnight black cape and cowl.

Previous costumes such as 1995's Batman Forever (starring Val Kilmer) saw the world's greatest detective wear a suit with nipples for some odd reason, to the unending frustration and consternation of fans.

But Superhero aficionado and big screen director Kevin Smith allayed those fears last November when he was given a sneak peek of the new costume.

The Mall Rats director got a special preview of the suit for the upcoming Batman Vs. Superman movie and happily reports, 'There wasn't a single nipple on this fricking suit.'

Affleck takes over the role that was most recently filled by Christian Bale in the Christopher Nolan era of the caped crusader on film.

The Argo director will be the eighth actor to play Batman, following in the footsteps of such luminaries as George Clooney, Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton.

On Monday, Snyder teased another view of the Batmobile from the sequel to Man Of Steel. The photo is captioned, 'Could be time to pull the tarp... Tomorrow?'.

The film, currently set for release on May 6, 2016, will reprise Henry Cavill of his role as Superman, Affleck will take on the role of Batman, Israeli actress Gal Gadot will play Wonder Woman, and Jesse Eisenburg will be the evil Lex Luthor.

Some fans of the superhero series have criticized the production's casting of Batman and Lex Luthor.

To that Snyder says, ' we're casting according to what's happening in the script. And we're hoping that leads to enough originality, enough perspective on what we're doing that you get something fresh and exciting'.

Ben adds: 'The idea for the new Batman is to redefine him in a way that doesn't compete with Bale and Christopher Nolan's Batman but still exists within the Batman canon. It will be an older and wiser version... When people see it, it will make more sense than it does now or even than it did to me initially'.

Snyder's Man Of Steel, which followed the story of Superman, brought in more than $660 million worldwide last summer.

On top of the upcoming 2016 film, Batman vs. Superman, a third flick has already been announced.

Justice League will star Ben, Henry, and Gal in their respective roles for a film involving the heroes working together as a team.

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Best News: Mauricio Pochettino open to Spurs offer after Tim Sherwood sacking

Tim Sherwood has been sacked as Tottenham Hotspur manager.

Daniel Levy, the club's chairman, met Sherwood on Tuesday and, as widely expected, told him his contract was being terminated despite Spurs' sixth-placed finish. Southampton's Mauricio Pochettino is Tottenham's No1 target to replace him.

Sherwood was given an 18-month deal when he succeeded André Villas-Boas last December but he has had to contend with regular questions about whether he will stay the duration, as the club have monitored Holland's Louis van Gaal, Pochettino and Frank de Boer of Ajax.

Van Gaal is now bound for Manchester United, while De Boer, having said that Tottenham had sounded out the Ajax director of football, Marc Overmars, about his availability, is open to meeting Levy. Pochettino, though, has emerged as the frontrunner for the White Hart Lane job.

Pochettino is worried that Southampton will lose the midfielder Adam Lallana and the left-back Luke Shaw to Liverpool and Manchester United respectively and he has long maintained that he will assess his options in the summer, when his contract at the club will have one year to run.

A statement from Levy on Tottenham's website confirmed Sherwood's departure on Tuesday.

'We appointed Tim mid-season as someone who knew both the players and the club,' he said.

'We agreed an 18-month contract with a break clause at the end of the season and we have now exercised that option.

'Since appointing Tim as assistant first team coach in 2008 and then as technical co-ordinator in 2010 and head of football development in 2012, we have been supportive of him during football management changes throughout that period. On behalf of the club, I should like to state our thanks for all his efforts during his years with us. We wish him great success in his managerial career.

'Moving forward, now the season is over, we shall embark on the process of finding a new head coach. We have a talented squad and exciting young players coming through. We need to build on this season, develop our potential and inspire the kind of performances that we associate with our great club.'

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Best News: Zack Snyder posts first picture of Ben Affleck's Batman with the Batman vs ...

Director Zack Snyder followed up his initial picture with the dark image of Affleck as Batman in his forthcoming Man of Steel sequel (above).

Just yesterday, the 48-year-old US director tweeted a photo of the hero's car covered with a grey tarpaulin, along with a caption reading: 'Could be time to pull the tarp...tomorrow?'

Not one to disappoint his followers, Snyder followed through with his promise, although the batmobile is still not visible in full.

Patrick Tatopoulos, known for his work on 300: Rise of an Empire, has designed the new car, Variety reports.



Both photos are gloomy and menacing in style - perhaps a hint at what moviegoers can expect when Batman vs Superman hits cinemas in May 2016.

The upcoming film also stars Henry Cavill as Superman, with Jesse Eisenberg playing arch nemesis Lex Luthor and Israeli actress Gal Gadot in the role of Wonder Woman.

Last summer, Man of Steel was one of the biggest hits, grossing over $290 million at the US box office. But when the casting for Batman vs Superman was announced, fans were unimpressed.

Affleck was not a popular choice for Batman and the decision to select him as Christian Bale's successor garnered a great deal of criticism.

Snyder responded to the outrage in an effort to reassure comic book fans, telling Hero Complex: 'I understand the canon, I'm not crazy. I know what these characters need from a mythological standpoint.'

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Best News: Stephen Sutton: condition of teenage cancer patient and fundraiser worsens

The family a teenager with terminal cancer who has raised millions for charity have said his condition has deteriorated.

Stephen Sutton, 19, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, was re-admitted to hospital at the weekend with breathing difficulties.

On Tuesday his family said they had been told the breathlessness was due to the regrowth of tumours that were blocking the teenager's airways and said his condition had deteriorated in the last 24 hours.

Posting on the teenager's Facebook blog, his family said: 'Hi everyone, this is Stephen's family.

'Unfortunately in the last 24 hours Stephen's condition has deteriorated to where he can no longer communicate through this page himself.

'Unfortunately the breathlessness which had him re-admitted to hospital is due to the regrowth of tumours which are blocking his airways, and not just due to infection as we had all been hoping.

'He is currently comfortable and stable, and we will let you know of any further developments. Right now however, as a family, we wish for a certain amount of privacy for us to spend what time he has remaining with him.

'We appreciate everyone's concern, and for all the love and goodwill sent his way, and indeed ours too, we thank you deeply x.'

Sutton, who set up a bucket list of things to do before he died, has smashed his original £10,000 fundraising target, raising more than £3m for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

His fundraising efforts have attracted support from celebrities including Simon Pegg, Russell Brand, Stephen Fry and Simon Cowell.

More than 135,000 individual donations have been made on Sutton's Just Giving page with support coming from around the world.

Donations to the fundraising page, which he set up in January 2013 alongside a blog on Facebook, leaped last month after he posted a picture of himself in hospital with a 'goodbye' message.

But he made what he described as a miraculous recovery - coughing up a tumour and being discharged from hospital on 2 May.

The teenager was re-admitted to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth hospital at the weekend after developing breathing difficulties.

Commenting on his Facebook page, which had more than 800,000 likes, on Sunday, Sutton wrote: 'Unfortunately today I've ended up back in hospital. I had some breathing difficulties starting last night and after going to A&E have been admitted back to a ward for monitoring.

'I've still got the cough, then quite quickly developed a wheeze in my breathing and breathlessness upon any physical exertion.

'There's no immediate panic and I'm currently quite stable - I have been put on nebulisers and other meds which are currently helping my symptoms hugely.'

The teenager was diagnosed with bowel cancer when he was 15. Despite treatment, his tumours spread and he was informed his condition was incurable in December 2012.

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Best News: Harry Potter Spinoff 'Fantastic Beasts' to Hit Theaters Nov. 18, 2016

Warner Bros. has dated J.K. Rowling's first installment in the Harry Potter spinoff trilogy 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' for Nov. 18, 2016.

More to come...

Follow @Variety on Twitter for breaking news, reviews and more

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Best News: First look at Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman – plus his Batmobile

Zack Snyder, director of the forthcoming Batman v Superman film which is still without an official title, has unveiled the first look at Ben Affleck's Batman. An image on Snyder's Twitter account shows a stocky, glowering Affleck alongside the new iteration of the Batmobile - a similarly moody and hulking brute.

Snyder had teased the Batmobile in an image on Monday, showing it covered in a tarpaulin. His film, following his Superman movie Man of Steel last year, will feature Henry Cavill returning to the role of Superman as well as Jesse Eisenberg playing Lex Luthor.

Ben Affleck's wife, Jennifer Garner, had previously alluded to the new Batman suit being a 'total reinvention', and the changes are already evident: stubbier ears for one, a grubby matte finish, and a bulging physique that makes even Christian Bale's look lean. The film began shooting in October last year, and will reach cinemas in 2015.

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Best News: Sci-fi surrealist HR Giger, creator of Alien visions, dies in fall

HR Giger, whose 'biomechanical' artwork lent Ridley Scott's film Alien much of its terror, has died aged 74.

A spokesperson from his gallery in Switzerland confirmed the news. According to the Swiss press, he died from injuries sustained in a fall on stairs.

Born in 1940 in Chur, Switzerland, Giger studied architecture and industrial design in Zurich, before beginning a successful career in art and interior design from the mid-1960s onwards. Beginning with ink and oil paintings, he graduated to using an airbrush, which helped articulate his vivid, often disturbing style, characterised by dark sexuality and cyberpunk energy.

His painting Necronom IV, depicting a creature with a human torso and grotesquely phallic skull, was seen by Ridley Scott who used it as the inspiration for his sci-fi horror film Alien. Giger received an Academy Award as part of the visual effects team for the film; as well as the chest-bursting 'xenomorph' that is the film's central focus, Giger's designs also inspired the derelict spacecraft, the unfurling alien eggs, and the masked 'Space Jockey' gunner discovered on it. The film's producer Gordon Carroll described the artist's work as 'sick', but Scott was bowled over, later saying: 'I'd never been so certain about anything in all my life.'

The designs continued to be used in the subsequent Alien sequels, and in 2012 Giger contributed murals for Scott's most recent film in the saga, Prometheus; but he was left off the credits for Alien: Resurrection, prompting an angry letter to the studio that ended: 'As for those responsible for this conspiracy: All I can wish them is an Alien breeding inside their chests.'



In 1975 he was hired by fellow cult visionary Alexander Jodorowsky to design the world for his film adaptation of the science fiction novel Dune, which at one point was slated to star Salvador Dali. In the end, the film was directed by David Lynch with just a fraction of Giger's designs. 'My planet was ruled by evil,' Giger said of his Dune design, 'a place where black magic was practiced, aggressions were let loose, and intemperance and perversion were the order of the day. Just the place for me, in fact.' In a 2009 interview with Vice he credited Samuel Beckett, HP Lovecraft, crime writer Edgar Wallace, and his childhood fears amid World War II as key inspirations.

In the wake of Alien's success he became a go-to designer for repellent yet sensual imagery, with his work also used in horror sequel Poltergeist II and erotic sci-fi thriller Species, though he later said that 'I was only pleased with Alien, and with the other [films] I was not very happy with.' He designed a radically reimagined Batmobile for Batman Forever, shaped like a crooked X, but it was passed over for a more conservative design.

Giger also designed iconic and controversial record sleeves: on Debbie Harry's Koo Koo the singer appears with spears cutting through her face, while the poster insert for the Dead Kennedys' Frankenchrist prompted an obscenity trial. He also designed the cover for Emerson Lake & Palmer's 1973 album Brain Salad Surgery.

He later created ' Giger Bars' in Switzerland which used his designs for their interiors - he disowned another bar in Japan after they failed to properly realise his designs. In 1998 he opened the HR Giger Museum in Chateau St. Germain, Switzerland, which hosts the largest collection of his work alongside his own private art collection, featuring Dali, Ernst Fuchs and Bruno Weber amongst others.

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Best News: Caroline Aherne, Royle Family star, has lung cancer

Award-winning TV writer and comedian Caroline Aherne is recovering from treatment for lung cancer.

Macmillan Cancer Support confirmed that the Royle Family star, who has previously had bladder and eye cancer, would speak at an appeal to improve cancer care in Manchester on 26 June.

Aherne, 50, said of the appeal: 'I've had cancer and my brother's had cancer and we know how it affects people.'

She has starred in The Mrs Merton Show, The Royle Family and The Fast Show.

Nicola Cook, from Macmillan Cancer Support, said: 'Caroline's one of Manchester's own - she's loved here and people identify with her. We hope that if people see that Caroline is sitting down and talking to us then maybe they'll know that they can too.'

Aherne had eye cancer along with her brother when she was a child and also revealed that she had been treated for bladder cancer in the past.

Her brother Patrick told Macmillan Cancer Research that his sister was diagnosed 'late last year' and that 'the form of lung cancer that she is suffering from is genetic and linked to the retinoblastoma she had as a baby'.

'Her bladder cancer was also genetic and linked to the retinoblastoma,' he said, adding that she no longer smokes and is keen to raise awareness about the Macmillan cause rather than her medical condition.

Aherne said: 'They've asked me to get involved and I'm really glad that I can do my bit to encourage Manchester people to speak up about where things do go wrong with cancer care.'

The writer and actress said it was 'truly shocking' that the city had come bottom of 150 areas in England for premature deaths from cancer.

'Our survival rates are 25% lower than average and the number of people getting lung cancer is a third higher here than in the rest of England,' she said.

She added that her role on Channel 4 series Gogglebox would not be affected, and said: 'I will be narrating this week's Gogglebox, and I will continue to narrate Gogglebox for as long as Gogglebox want me.'

Aherne, who was born in London but lived in Manchester from the age of two, began her career as gossiping granny Mrs Merton.

Mrs Merton got her own TV chat show in 1995 and her no-holds-barred interviewing style ensured it became a hit.

The show won a Bafta in 1997 for best talk show and a BBC Comedy Award for top BBC One personality.

She was also one of the writers and performers on BBC Two's sketch series The Fast Show, which screened from 1994 to 2001.

With Craig Cash, she went on to write BBC Two's acclaimed comedy The Royle Family, which revolved around a family who spent most of their time slumped in front of the TV.

Collection of awards

Aherne and Cash also starred in the series along with Sue Johnston, Ricky Tomlinson, Liz Smith, Ralf Little and Jessica Hynes.

It ran from 1998 to 2000 and had a one-off return in 2006, in which the comedy was mixed with sadness when Nana died.

The Royle Family won two Baftas in 2000 and another in 2007 for best situation comedy.

Aherne's sometimes troubled personal life often featured in the tabloid press. She split from her first husband, New Order bass player Peter Hook, in 1996.

Problems in public eye

She was then involved in a relationship with television researcher Matt Bowers, who was caught on camera fighting with Hook at a party in Manchester.

Aherne split with Mr Bowers, who died from stomach cancer in 1997.

A suspected suicide bid in 1998 brought into sharp focus the problems she was having. Following a drug overdose, Aherne admitted she was an alcoholic and had not been aware of what she was doing to herself.

She moved to Australia to escape media scrutiny and within a year had written and produced Dossa and Joe - a sitcom about an Australian couple who do not do very much. She returned to the UK in 2002.

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Best News: Claudia Lawrence Disappearance: Man Arrested

A 59-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder by police investigating the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence.

Ms Lawrence, 35, was reported missing after failing to turn up for her shift as a chef at the University of York on March 19, 2009.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: 'The investigation team would like to stress that Claudia has not been found. Police cannot rule out the possibility of further arrests in the future as the review continues.

'Detectives investigating the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence have this morning arrested a 59-year-old man from York on suspicion of murder.

'Forensic examinations and searches are being conducted which are expected to be ongoing over a number of days. A car has also been seized as part of the inquiries.'

Forensic officers search Ms Lawrence's home in York

Ms Lawrence's family have been notified of the development.

North Yorkshire Police force has always said it believed the chef had been murdered.

But a long-running investigation which focused on Ms Lawrence's relationships with men drew a blank and a new team of detectives launched a cold case review in October.

Ms Lawrence was last seen at around 3.05pm on March 18, walking back towards her home, and that night she spoke to both her parents on the phone.

It is thought something happened to her after she left for work early on March 19.

Last year, the new investigation team conducted a detailed re-examination of Miss Lawrence's home in the Heworth area of York.

And, in March, senior officers announced a series of new lines of inquiry on the fifth anniversary of the day she failed to turn up for work.

Peter Lawrence made an appeal for information in March

The announcement coincided with a fresh appeal on Crimewatch.

They said the new forensic examination of her house uncovered the fingerprints of people who have not yet come forward.

They also found the DNA profile of an unknown man on a cigarette butt in her Vauxhall Corsa.

Ms Lawrence's father Peter has led a five-year campaign to find out what happened to his daughter.

He told Sky News he often wonders: 'Where are you Claudia? Are you safe? Is someone holding you? Have you been hurt? Even, of course, are you alive?

'It's actually, I suppose, a bit like a cancer and it just gets worse and worse because there is no resolution until we know what happened to Claudia.'

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