US nuclear launch officers suspended for 'cheating'
The Air Force said the security of the US nuclear programme had not been threatened
Thirty-four US Air Force officers in charge of launching nuclear missiles have been suspended over accusations they cheated on proficiency tests.
The Air Force said a small number of staff had been texting answers to the routine tests to others, while others had known but failed to report it.
The ranks involved range from 2nd lieutenants to captains.
The cheating allegations emerged during investigations into alleged drug use by personnel at other bases.
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told a news conference the cheating involved officers based at the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, and related to a monthly test all nuclear missile staff must take.
"Some officers did it," she said of the cheating. "Others apparently knew about it, and it appears that they did nothing, or at least not enough, to stop it or to report it."
Gambling scandal
Ms James said it was "absolutely unacceptable behaviour" but that the security of the nuclear programme was not in doubt.
"I want you to know that this was a failure of some of our airmen. It was not a failure of the nuclear mission," she said.
The 34 officers have had their security clearance revoked and the entire team in charge of overseeing missile launches will be re-tested.
Maj Gen Michael Carey was dismissed for "unbecoming" conduct
A further three officers have been suspended for allegedly possessing recreational drugs.
It is the latest scandal to hit the Air Force and nuclear missile force.
In August, a nuclear missile unit at Malmstrom failed a safety and security inspection, leading to a senior security officer being relieved of duty.
And in May, it was reported that 17 officers in charge of maintaining nuclear missiles were sidelined over safety violations at Minot Air Force base in North Dakota.
In October, the general in charge of America's long-range nuclear missiles, Maj Gen Michael Carey, was sacked, with officials citing a "loss of trust and confidence".
It later emerged he had been fired for conduct "unbecoming of a gentleman" during a work trip to Russia in July.
Gen Carey's removal came days after the Navy sacked Vice-Adm Tim Giardina, second-in-command of the US Strategic Command, over illegal gambling.
Strategic Command oversees everything from America's land-based nuclear missiles to space operations governing military satellites.
Egyptian officials have spoken of a high turnout in a referendum on a new constitution, with voters expected to endorse the removal of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
Top election official Nabil Salib told state TV that voter turnout was higher than in previous polls but gave no precise figure, AP news agency said.
The second day of voting on Wednesday passed off largely peacefully.
Nine people died on Tuesday in clashes involving Mr Morsi's supporters.
Some 400 people are said to have been arrested over the two days for disrupting the vote.
A senior interior ministry official told a private TV channel that turnout in the vote may exceed 55%, Reuters news agency said. He said preliminary results indicated that approval of the constitution may be more than 95%.
However, turnout was reported to be low in Muslim Brotherhood strongholds.
Mr Salib did not give a figure for voter turnout but said results were expected to be announced on Friday. State TV said initial results showed 50% turnout with more than 90% voting yes.
"The turnout will be the highest if compared to past polls," he was quoted as saying.
In the December 2012 constitutional referendum held while Mohammed Morsi was in power, 33% of Egypt's 53 million voters took part in the ballot. It was approved by 64% of voters.
The atmosphere outside a polling station in Cairo was similar to that of a rally, the BBC's James Reynolds says
The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Cairo says that there is no serious doubt that the authorities will get the yes vote they crave, not least because the referendum has been boycotted by President Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood party.
Our correspondent says that the level of participation in the poll is crucial - the army needs a strong turnout to endorse its own political powers and pave the way for its leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for president.
It is the country's third constitutional referendum in as many years - the army hopes that it will draw a line under a period of often violent turmoil.
Morsi supporters blocked a metro station in a Cairo suburb, stopping some trains, security officials said, but were quickly dispersed by police.
The new charter is to replace the constitution passed during the rule of Mr Morsi before he was removed last July. It remains unclear when exactly full results will be announced.
The BBC's Sally Nabil, at a polling station in Alexandria on Wednesday, said the number of people queuing as voting began was noticeably lower than at the same time the previous day.
However, another polling station for voters from outside Alexandria was busy, our correspondent reports.
Correspondents in Cairo also suggest that polling stations were not as busy as on Tuesday. The BBC's Ahmed Kilany says it was a similar story in the southern cities of Assiut and Sohag.
A huge security operation was in evidence throughout the two days of voting, with some 160,000 soldiers and more than 200,000 policemen deployed nationwide.
'Work hard'
The referendum is believed likely to lead to elections later in the year and Gen Sisi, who backed the overthrow of Mr Morsi, is considered almost certain to stand for president.
Wednesday's voting passed off mostly peacefully, in contrast to Tuesday. This voter in Tahrir Square was celebrating his participation in the vote
The credibility of the referendum is important for the authorities as they try to chart a political roadmap toward new elections for a president
Once again security was tight around polling stations
A police station was set on fire in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis but voting was generally peaceful on Wednesday
As darkness fell after the second day of voting, many Egyptians were keen to celebrate the apparent cementing of a new, post-Morsi era
The new constitution was drafted by a 50-member committee that included only two representatives of Islamist parties.
The authorities maintain that it is a crucial step towards stability.
Under the new constitution:
The president may serve two four-year terms and can be impeached by parliament
Islam remains the state religion - but freedom of belief is absolute, giving some protection to minorities
The state guarantees "equality between men and women"
Parties may not be formed based on "religion, race, gender or geography"
Military to appoint defence minister for next eight years
Critics say the new charter favours the army at the expense of the people, and fails to deliver on the 2011 revolution.
Mohammed Morsi, who was Egypt's first democratically elected president, is being held in jail in Alexandria, facing several criminal charges relating to his time in office. He says they are politically motivated.
More than 1,000 people have died in violence since Mr Morsi's overthrow.
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Lyrica tablets, used by the NHS to treat epilepsy, contain "legal highs"
Would UK ministers and officials really claim that a range of NHS-approved drugs have no "legitimate use" in order to justify an EU opt-out?
NHS England alone spends more than £200m a year on the drugs - used to treat Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, depression and insomnia - but Home Office minister Norman Baker has told parliament that "very little" legal trade in the medicines takes place.
The apparently preposterous British position comes about because, to admit these substances are marketed legitimately, would fundamentally undermine the UK's argument this week for claiming an opt-out from proposed European regulation of "legal highs".
A Home Office official has told me the UK government does not believe medicines should be included as a "legitimate use" for substances identified as legal highs.
This week the crime prevention minister Norman Baker announced that the government had decided to opt out of proposals for a directive on new psychoactive substances (NPS), fearing that they would "fetter the UK's discretion" to control legal highs.
Norman Baker, the crime prevention minister
The prospect of press stories about "Eurocrats" telling the Home Office how tough they could be on legal highs is a nightmare for the UK government. "Member states should not be prohibited from unilaterally introducing more stringent controls for NPS," Mr Baker argues.
In a ministerial statement this week he explains how the coalition government "strongly dispute the evidence base stated in the EU Commission's impact assessment which estimates that 20% of new psychoactive substances have a legitimate use".
This is a key part of the government's legal justification for opting out. Without a significant legitimate trade in NPS, questions over the single market disappear.
The Commission has argued for a Europe-wide directive on legal highs because it says different approaches across the EU "can impede their legitimate use… and fragment the internal market".
The Brits refuse to accept there is much "legitimate use" for substances notified to European authorities as NPS.
"Our evidence suggests the trade is overwhelmingly illicit," Mr Baker told a Lords Committee last year, "and therefore it is difficult to argue that this is a trade measure, when there is very little legal trade taking place on this basis."
Among them is Pregabalin, notified as a legal high in 2009. In 2012, NHS England alone spent more than £181m on the drug as a treatment for epilepsy, sometimes under the trade name Lyrica. The European market is worth considerably more.
Another substance notified to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) as a potential legal high is Aminoindan, from which a drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, Azilect, is derived. The health service spends around £9m a year on the treatment.
Again, ministers argue there is no significant legitimate trade in Aminoindan.
Another substance identified as a legal high, ODT, is a metabolite of the pain relief tablet Tramadol. NHS England spent £33m on such pills in 2012.
The Home Office itself notified the European authorities that Zopicline was being sold as a legal high. The NHS in England spends around £4m on Zopiclone as a treatment for insomnia each year and it is sold across the EU.
NHS England also spends around £250,000 on Nefazodone and Trazodone - drugs used for treating depression which include notified legal highs among their ingredients. Again, UK ministers appear to be claiming the substances should not be regarded as having "legitimate use".
It is hardly surprising that prescription medicines and potential treatments should also be turning up as legal highs. To recognise their medical use does not prevent UK ministers from introducing tough penalties for their illegal sale and possession. After all, diamorphine (heroin) is widely used within the NHS and is also a class A illicit drug.
NHS England spent £33m on Tramadol in 2012
It does, though, make it much harder to claim the legitimate market is "minimal at best".
The Swedes in 2011 alerted the authorities that Ostarine was being sold as a legal high. The NHS has suggested the drug has the potential to be an exciting new first-line therapy in the treatment of patients with lung cancer. Home Office ministers, though, dare not accept that the substance has a potential market across the EU.
Etizolam was identified as a legal high by the UK in 2011, a substance sold in chemists across many countries as a treatment for insomnia and anxiety. The Home Office also notified European drug monitors about Glaucine, a drug used in parts of Europe as an ingredient of cough medicine.
According to the European Commission, there are dozens more examples of substances currently being monitored as potential legal highs which have medicinal uses or properties.
And yet a Home Office official, David Greaves, told a House of Lords committee that, apart from two industrial cleaners and a "small number" of substances used to make medicines, "none of the other approximately 300 new psychoactive substances that have been reported to the EMCDDA have commercial or industrial uses".
There is a clear difference between the UK argument that legitimate uses for legal highs are "few and far between" and the EC argument that "the size of this market is considerable".
According to the Commission, almost a fifth of all new legal highs notified since 1997 have other uses, adding that, since data on legitimate use is not systematically collected, this may well be an underestimate.
I contacted the Home Office to ask how they could come up with such a different conclusion from the European Commission. A press officer tells me: "We disagree with how the Commission has defined legitimate use. They have included medicines and potential medicines. We don't think medicines should be included."
Why?
I am still awaiting a response to that question. But I think I know the answer. It is not because Norman Baker truly believes there is no legitimate use for a cancer drug or a market for an insomnia treatment. That is a ridiculous claim.
It is because, as Mr Baker said, "the proposed NPS regulation… is a harmonisation measure". And if avoiding that horror requires UK officials and ministers to claim NHS-prescribed medicines for epilepsy and Parkinson's disease have no legitimate use, then that is just what they will say.
The Golden Temple of Amritsar is the holiest site for Sikh devotees
Claims that Britain's Special Air Service regiment may have its fingerprints on the bloody storming of the Sikh Golden Temple 30 years ago have been getting a lot more attention back in the UK than here in India.
For outsiders looking in, that may seem surprising, given the traumatic impact of those events.
A few months after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the Operation Blue Star assault on Sikh rebels barricaded inside, leaving at least 400 dead, she was gunned down by her Sikh bodyguards.
"When a great tree falls, a nation shakes," was the famously chilling response of her son and successor Rajiv Gandhi.
As the 30th anniversary approaches of what many see as an anti-Sikh pogrom, no-one has yet been brought to justice.
It's hardly surprising then that today's ruling Congress party has little interest in opening up this chapter of Indian history for re-inspection, especially with its electoral fate in the balance.
Sikhs protest against the acquittal of politician Sajjan Kumar in May 2013, in a trial linked to the 1984 deaths
The current Congress leader, Sonia Gandhi, was in the same house with her two young children, Rahul and Priyanka, when her mother-in-law was shot in October 1984.
Those events led eventually to her becoming India's most powerful politician today, after her husband Rajiv was assassinated seven years later.
Reconciliation
Although the main opposition party, the BJP, have raised a few critical questions about "SAS-gate", it doesn't want to push the issue too hard.
It has its own issues with communal violence - particularly the massacre in Gujarat in 2002 - which the state's chief minister, and now prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi is widely accused of failing to stop.
Yet despite the lack of accountability for both the Golden Temple assault and the anti-Sikh riots, there's a general feeling that reconciliation efforts since have been relatively successful.
The Sikh heartland of Punjab - site of the Golden Temple - is now run by a Sikh party in coalition with the Hindu nationalist BJP.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi at the memorial of Rajiv Gandhi in New Delhi
Though he's widely dismissed as a leader, India's Sikh Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, still stands as a symbol of Sikhs and the majority Hindus accepting each other.
There's now little support for the idea of a separate Sikh homeland or Khalistan.
With the majority of Indians under 30 - Sikhs among them - there's also the simple fact that most people are too young to remember India's multiple crises in 1984.
"It's forgotten history for most," argues Dr JS Sekhon, head of social sciences at Guru Nanak Dev University, in Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple.
Some significant voices disagree though, and say the claims from Britain demand proper investigation.
"The Indian government committed so many human rights violations in the operation against the Golden Temple and afterwards," says Indian Supreme Court lawyer AS Phoolka, who represented many of the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. "If the British government was involved, it is also guilty."
He says he welcomes the announcement from UK Prime Minister David Cameron of an inquiry in the UK. "Now we need to have one in India."
Injury can cause vessels to bleed, compressing the brain
Injuries to the head can leave victims susceptible to early death even years later through impaired judgement, a major analysis of survivors shows.
Those with a history of psychiatric disorders before the injury are most at risk of dying prematurely.
The study, in JAMA Psychiatry, of 40 years of data on more than two million people, showed that overall a brain injury trebled the risk.
Suicide and fatal injuries were among the commonest causes of early death.
More than one million people in Europe are taken to hospital with a traumatic brain injury each year.
The study, by researchers at the University of Oxford and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, looked at Swedish medical records between 1969 and 2009.
Treatable illnesses
They followed patients who survived the initial six-month danger period after injury.
The data showed that without injury 0.2% of people were dying prematurely - before the age of 56.
However, the premature-death rate was three-fold higher in patients who had previously suffered traumatic brain injury.
In those who also had a psychiatric disorder the rate soared to 4%.
Dr Seena Fazel, one of the researchers in Oxford, said: "There are these subgroups with really high rates, and these are potentially treatable illnesses, so this is something we can do something about."
Judgement affected
Common causes of premature death among those who had suffered previous brain injury included suicide, being a victim of assault or suffering fatal injuries, for example in a car crash.
It is thought that the injury causes permanent damage to neural networks in the brain and can alter people's judgement and ability to deal with new situations.
Prof Huw Williams, the co-director of the centre for clinical neuropsychology research at the University of Exeter, said: "The mortality rates are like a reverse-iceberg - they're the most awful outcome, but the rates of depression and anxiety are huge in the brain injury population.
"People with head injury need monitoring all the time in case they become suicidal."
Dr Richard Greenwood, a consultant neurologist at Homerton Hospital in London, said post-mortem examinations showed 2% of people had evidence of brain injury, and his children were not allowed to play rugby because of the risk to the brain.
Southampton: Nicola Cortese replaced by owner as chairman
By Ben SmithBBC Sport
Southampton chairman Nicola Cortese has left his post at St Mary's, with club owner Katharina Liebherr installing herself as his replacement.
Cortese, 45, tendered his resignation in the autumn and has now departed.
Saints manager Mauricio Pochettino said last season he would leave the Premier League club if the Italian did.
Liebherr said: "With great regret we have accepted the resignation of Mr Cortese. He has done a wonderful job and we very much wanted him to stay."
Cortese has, at times, polarised opinion at Southampton but was a key figure in their rise from League One to the Premier League in less than four years.
Following his departure, Liebherr has become non-executive chairman, with a chief executive officer to be appointed in due course.
"In the meantime, it is business as usual and we will ensure that the manager, the team and all the staff at the club have all the help and support they need," added Liebherr, who became a trustee of the club after the death of her father Markus in August 2010.
Cortese bought the club on behalf of the late wealthy Swiss investor in 2009, lifting the south-coast club out of administration.
When German-born Markus Liebherr died, the club said "well-laid plans" he and Cortese had mapped out would "continue to be implemented uninterrupted".
But Cortese, who disagrees with Katharina Liebherr's wish to sell the club, submitted his resignation almost three months ago, when Southampton were third in the Premier League.
The former Switzerland banker had already considered his position in May 2013, as he attempted to clarify the future position of the club - eventually deciding to stay after receiving the necessary assurances.
Pochettino, who is scheduled to attend his weekly news conference on Thursday, said at the time that he too would leave if Cortese went.
"I would not understand staying in this role if Nicola was not here," the 41-year-old said. "The person who actually called me from the start, told me about the project and put the faith in me was Nicola."
Cortese replaced former boss Nigel Adkins with former Argentina defender Pochettino in January 2013, when the Saints were three points clear of the relegation zone.
Pochettino guided them to safety and they are currently ninth in the top flight with 21 games played.
Ed Miliband to call for banking competition inquiry
Ed Miliband says £1m bonus for bankers "should be quite enough"
A Labour government would tell regulators to investigate whether there is adequate competition between High Street banks, the BBC understands.
Ed Miliband is due to say on Friday that the authorities should look into whether breaking up banks would benefit customers.
It comes amid a growing row over whether the government should intervene over bonuses at Royal Bank of Scotland.
On Tuesday the prime minister defended the government's position on bank pay.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said that Mr Miliband will address competition in banking during at speech on business and economy on Friday.
"Part of what Ed Miliband will announce is that a Labour government would ask the newly-created Competition and Markets Authority to investigate whether there is inadequate competition between banks, and whether breaking them up would improve competition."
Mr Miliband is also expected to say that bank customers should have a permanent account number, which he believes would make it easier to switch banks.
However, the banking industry is wary about such "portable accounts", which could involve large investments to upgrade IT technology.
In the Commons on Tuesday, the Labour leader stepped up the pressure over pay, calling on the government to use is powers - as Royal Bank of Scotland's largest shareholder - to limit bonuses.
Veto
There have been reports that RBS, 80%-owned by the government, may seek to pay bonuses of up to double its bankers' annual salary.
Under EU rules, from 2015 RBS can only pay bonuses up to 200% of annual salary if shareholders approve the decision.
On Tuesday, Prime minister David Cameron defended the government's position, arguing that there was sufficient regulation of bankers and their pay.
He said he would veto any attempt by RBS to increase its overall pay and bonus bill at the investment bank.
However capping the overall bill is not the same as vetoing individual bonuses, and the prime minister did not say the government would reject individual pay awards.
As RBS is reducing its headcount across the group, it could still pay 200% bonuses to a dwindling group of investment bankers earning over £1m a year without increasing its overall pay and bonus bill.
Meanwhile Chancellor George Osborne said: "This government has done more than any to bring the banking system back under control".
'Consulting with shareholders'
If RBS did decide to award 200% bonuses next year, shareholder approval would have to be sought at this year's annual general meeting, probably in May.
As it is, fewer than 100 RBS investment banking staff would be affected by the bonus decision, as RBS has reduced the size of its investment banking arm by about three-quarters since 2007.
An RBS spokesman confirmed to the BBC that general discussions about bonuses had been taking place with shareholders, including UK Financial Investments, the body that manages the government's shareholding in the bank.
But he said: "No decisions have been taken yet. We're consulting with our shareholders in the normal way."
Shadow treasury chief secretary Chris Leslie debates bonuses
Legal challenge
The usual limit for bonuses set by the EU is equivalent to one year's pay, but the new EU rules allow this to be doubled with shareholder approval.
If a bank has its headquarters in the EU, the cap applies to all staff, even if they are stationed in non-EU countries, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said.
The Treasury had already launched a separate legal challenge arguing against the EU's right to set any limits on banking bonuses at all, saying that such intervention could lead to an increase in base pay and undermine financial stability.
And Bank of England governor Mark Carney told the House of Commons Treasury Committee he agreed with its opposition to bonus caps.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said the situation created an "awkward twist for the government".
He said: "Although pay levels for bankers have fallen... the sums shelled out still look enormous at a time when earnings for the vast majority of households continue to be squeezed.
Branch sales
George Osborne: "This government has done more than any to bring the banking system back under control"
The BBC's political editor, Nick Robinson, said the move by Labour was part of its attempt to say that the prime minister and his chancellor "stand up for the wrong people".
On Friday, Mr Miliband is expected to say that forcing the major High Street banks to sell off branches would promote the growth of new firms able to challenge the dominance of the "big five" - RBS, HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays, and Santander.
"We've got to give customers more choice," Chris Leslie told the BBC.
But banking analyst Ralph Silva said: "What makes anybody believe that there's a queue of people willing to buy these branches? New and smaller banks - they don't want more branches, they want more apps. There's no market for branches out there."
He argued competition would only increase if new players, such as supermarkets, and car companies, entered the market.
The BBC's Newsnight reported Mr Miliband may suggest a cap on the size of banks, possibly based on their UK market share.
However, business sources told the programme such an intervention was another example of an anti-business sentiment in the Labour Party.
Sergio Aguero scored within a minute of returning from injury as Manchester City thrashed Blackburn to book an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Watford.
The Argentine striker has been out with a calf problem but came off the bench in the second half to turn and fire in.
By that stage, City were already 3-0 up after Alvaro Negredo scored either side of the break and Edin Dzeko squeezed in at the near post.
After Aguero struck, Dzeko converted Jesus Navas's cross for his second.
It was another demolition by Manuel Pellegrini's side, who drew 1-1 with Blackburn at Ewood Park in the original tie and have now scored 99 goals in all competitions this season.
Worryingly for City's future visitors, who include Cardiff next Saturday, they completed their latest rout despite not really finding their best form until after the break. The result means they maintain their 100% home record in domestic competitions.
Before the game Pellegrini had said he was seeking to complete an unprecedented quadruple this season, and he will be encouraged by Aguero's goalscoring return which took his season's tally to 20.
Amazingly, he is not even City's top scorer. That honour belongs to Negredo, who continued his remarkable first season at the club by heading in before the break and then tucking in Aleksandar Kolarov's through-ball afterwards to reach 21 goals.
But before Negredo's first, a much-changed City side had looked lacklustre in attack and played at a tempo that allowed their Championship opponents to retreat into a robust defensive formation.
Dzeko was particularly guilty, firing a succession of efforts over the bar and, for all the hosts' possession, Blackburn appeared comfortable and wasted their best chance when Ben Marshall curled a free-kick straight into the arms of Costel Pantilimon.
The 2011 FA Cup winners, who now average four goals per home game in all competitions, finally took the lead in first-half stoppage time as several Rovers players were caught up the pitch.
The ball was worked out to the right and Negredo, nicknamed "the Beast", powered in a header from Fernandinho's cross.
The striker had scored at the same stage when the sides first played, before Scott Dann surprised City with an equaliser. On this occasion, the Spaniard scored his second within two minutes of the restart to make a Rovers revival even less likely.
But once substitute goalkeeper Simon Eastwood had picked the ball out of the net - his first involvement after replacing the injured Paul Robinson at the break - the visitors were forced to come out of their shell.
Gary Bowyer's side had lost only one of their previous eight games, and after he introduced Joshua King, they twice almost clawed a goal back, the striker first heading over from Marshall's cross then failing to beat Pantilimon from Tom Cairney's through-ball.
They paid for those misses as Dzeko grabbed his 14th of the season, firing in at the near post from a Jesus Navas cutback after 67 minutes.
Aguero came on five minutes later to replace Negredo and make his first appearance since 14 December. From his first touch he gathered the ball from Gael Clichy's centre to steer in.
Dzeko and Navas then combined once more to complete Blackburn's misery, although their fans took an ironic pleasure by marking the fifth goal with the 'Poznan' celebration favoured by the home fans.
Full Time Match ends, Manchester City 5, Blackburn Rovers 0.
90:00 +3:02 Full time
Full Time Second Half ends, Manchester City 5, Blackburn Rovers 0.
90:00 +0:54
Foul by Gaël Clichy (Manchester City).
90:00 +0:54
Connor Mahoney (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
90:00
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Joleon Lescott.
88:23 Substitution
Substitution Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Connor Mahoney replaces Lee Williamson.
87:51
Attempt missed. James Milner (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right from a direct free kick.
86:47
Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
86:47
Foul by Grant Hanley (Blackburn Rovers).
81:01
Attempt missed. Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner from a direct free kick.
80:03
Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
80:03
Foul by Lee Williamson (Blackburn Rovers).
78:51 Goal scored
Goal! Goal! Manchester City 5, Blackburn Rovers 0. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jesús Navas with a cross.
78:25
Foul by Gaël Clichy (Manchester City).
78:25
Ben Marshall (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
76:25 Substitution
Substitution Substitution, Manchester City. Emyr Huws replaces Micah Richards.
72:44 Goal scored
Goal! Goal! Manchester City 4, Blackburn Rovers 0. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Edin Dzeko.
71:55 Substitution
Substitution Substitution, Manchester City. Sergio Agüero replaces Álvaro Negredo.
71:19
Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
71:19
Foul by Lee Williamson (Blackburn Rovers).
68:51
Attempt blocked. Matthew Kilgallon (Blackburn Rovers) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ben Marshall with a cross.
68:14
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Matija Nastasic.
66:23 Goal scored
Goal! Goal! Manchester City 3, Blackburn Rovers 0. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Jesús Navas.
65:24
Attempt missed. Jason Lowe (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Tom Cairney.
64:35 Booking
Booking Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) is shown the yellow card.
63:50
Attempt saved. Joshua King (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Tom Cairney with a through ball.
62:59
Attempt missed. Joshua King (Blackburn Rovers) with an attempt from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Ben Marshall with a cross.
62:06 Booking
Booking James Milner (Manchester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
62:00
Foul by James Milner (Manchester City).
62:00
Tom Cairney (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
58:51 Substitution
Substitution Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Joshua King replaces DJ Campbell.
58:07
Attempt missed. Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Jesús Navas following a fast break.
56:11
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Matija Nastasic.
55:06
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Adam Henley.
51:22
Attempt missed. Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Gaël Clichy.
49:37
Foul by Gaël Clichy (Manchester City).
49:37
Tom Cairney (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
48:12
Attempt missed. Ben Marshall (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Tom Cairney.
46:57 Goal scored
Goal! Goal! Manchester City 2, Blackburn Rovers 0. Álvaro Negredo (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Aleksandar Kolarov with a through ball.
45:00
Second Half begins Manchester City 1, Blackburn Rovers 0.
45:00 Substitution
Substitution Substitution, Manchester City. Aleksandar Kolarov replaces Fernandinho.
45:00 Substitution
Substitution Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Simon Eastwood replaces Paul Robinson because of an injury.
45:00 +1:27 Half time
Half Time First Half ends, Manchester City 1, Blackburn Rovers 0.
45:00 +0:23 Goal scored
Goal! Goal! Manchester City 1, Blackburn Rovers 0. Álvaro Negredo (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Fernandinho with a cross.
44:19
Foul by Javi García (Manchester City).
44:19
Tom Cairney (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
42:48
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Jason Lowe.
41:13
Foul by James Milner (Manchester City).
41:13
Tom Cairney (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
39:26
Attempt missed. Chris Taylor (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by DJ Campbell.
35:23
Attempt missed. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Gaël Clichy with a cross.
34:00
Offside, Manchester City. Jesús Navas tries a through ball, but Gaël Clichy is caught offside.
32:31
James Milner (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
32:31
Foul by Adam Henley (Blackburn Rovers).
31:42
Attempt missed. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Javi García.
30:10
Foul by Matija Nastasic (Manchester City).
30:10
Lee Williamson (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
29:34
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Thomas Spurr.
27:37
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Micah Richards.
26:35
Attempt missed. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Jesús Navas with a cross following a set piece situation.
25:58 Booking
Booking DJ Campbell (Blackburn Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
25:47
Fernandinho (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
25:47
Foul by DJ Campbell (Blackburn Rovers).
25:34
Attempt saved. Javi García (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jesús Navas.
22:40
Attempt saved. Ben Marshall (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
21:46
Foul by Matija Nastasic (Manchester City).
21:46
Tom Cairney (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
17:55
Attempt blocked. Jesús Navas (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by James Milner.
16:33
Attempt missed. Ben Marshall (Blackburn Rovers) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
15:59
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Micah Richards.
15:52
Attempt blocked. Tom Cairney (Blackburn Rovers) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
9:06
Attempt missed. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Álvaro Negredo.
5:17
Foul by Javi García (Manchester City).
5:17
Chris Taylor (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
1:59
Attempt missed. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by James Milner with a cross.
The Air Force said the security of the US nuclear programme had not been threatened 
Maj Gen Michael Carey was dismissed for "unbecoming" conduct 
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