Alain Resnais, French New Wave director, dies at 91
2 March 2014 Last updated at 12:47 GMT
Acclaimed French director Alain Resnais, whose film career spanned more than 60 years, has died in Paris at the age of 91.
Resnais was often associated with French New Wave cinema but he also embraced modernism and surrealism. His most famous films include Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959).
His last film, The Life of Riley - based on an Alan Ayckbourn play - premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2014.
Inside Out examines the claim that a British soldier, Warwickshire Pte Henry Tandey, spared Hitler's life in World War One when he could have killed him.
Presenter Trish Adudu talks to Robin Taylor from the Leamington Blue Plaque Committee who believes the story is plausible, but not proven.
He says that Hitler claimed he was wounded on the Western Front and recalled that a British soldier pointed his gun at him and then deliberately did not fire.
Roger Chapman, former curator of the Green Howards Museum, also thinks there is some evidence the story could be true.
But, historian and author of a book on Pte Tandey's life, David Johnson, thinks the evidence suggests the story is an urban myth.
Inside Out looks at the evidence on both sides and asks if Pte Tandey was the man who spared Hitler's life when he was wounded.
Reports from northern Syria say a rebel jihadist group has been pulling back from positions after being given an ultimatum by a rival.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) is said to have been retreating towards the city of Raqqa.
The Nusra Front has given Isis until Saturday to accept mediation or face being expelled from Syria.
Infighting between rival rebel groups has seen more than 3,000 people killed in the past two months.
The main confrontation is between Isis and other Islamist militant groups.
'Residents celebrating'
Abu Mohammed al-Julani of the Nusra Front, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, warned Isis on Tuesday that it would be driven from Syria and "even from Iraq" if it did not accept arbitration within five days.
He demanded that Isis halt all military operations against other rebels, and allow an Islamic court to rule on its actions.
The latest reports suggest ISIS is taking the threat from the Nusra Front seriously, the BBC's Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says.
Isis's predominantly foreign fighters have been accused of widespread abuses in areas under their control
Isis appears to have pulled fighters out of positions in Aleppo province, where it may fear it is not strong enough to withstand attack.
Videos posted online appear to show residents celebrating in a town that ISIS fighters have left, our Arab affairs editor reports.
The group seems most concerned with protecting the area around its key stronghold, Raqqa, he adds. It has imposed its severe interpretation of Islamic law, including a tax on Christians, in the city.
Isis grew out of the former Islamic State of Iraq (Isi), a jihadist militant umbrella group that included al-Qaeda in Iraq. It is believed to have helped create the Nusra Front in mid-2011.
In April 2013, Isi leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the merger of his group and the Nusra Front - effectively a takeover - and the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
But the move was rejected by Julani and Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's overall leader, who recognised the Nusra Front as its sole Syrian offshoot.
Since then, Isis and the Nusra Front have operated as separate entities, with the latter focusing on toppling President Bashar al-Assad and maintaining better relations with other rebels.
Isis has seemed to be more concerned by territorial gains and implementing its extreme interpretation of Islamic law.
Isis strongholds in rebel-held and contested areas
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sees record profit
The investment firm run by the US billionaire Warren Buffett has reported a record profit for 2013.
Berkshire Hathaway made $19.5bn (£11.6bn) last year, up from $14.8bn (£8.8bn) in 2012.
"On the operating front, just about everything turned out well for us last year - in some cases very well," Mr Buffett wrote to shareholders.
However it underperformed the S&P 500 share index for the fifth year in a row.
The growth in the company's book value - that is the company's assets minus its liabilities and Mr Buffett's preferred measure of Berkshire's performance - was 18.2% in 2013, while the S&P 500 rose 32.4%.
But Mr Buffett said that was to be expected when the S&P performed well.
"We expect to fall short... in years when the market is strong - as we did in 2013.
"We have underperformed in 10 of our 49 years, with all but one of our shortfalls occurring when the S&P gain exceeded 15%."
He added that the fund had outperformed the stock market between 2007 and 2013 and that through a full six year cycle he expected to do that again.
"If we fail to do so, we will not have earned our pay," he wrote.
Berkshire Hathaway increased its holding in Coca-Cola
Mr Buffett, ranked fourth on the Forbes rich list, pointed to a strong performance in the firm's insurance, rail and energy businesses for the increase in profit.
Blunders
These include the auto insurer Geico, General Reinsurance, Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad and the electric utility MidAmerican Energy.
The company increased its stake in the US firms Coca-Cola, American Express, IBM and Wells Fargo but reduced its ownership in the UK retailer Tesco - to 3.7% from 5.2%.
Mr Buffett did acknowledge he had made mistakes in some of his investments in the manufacturing, service and retail industries, some of which saw "very poor returns".
"I was not misled: I simply was wrong in my evaluation of the economic dynamics of the company or the industry in which it operated,'' he said.
"Fortunately, my blunders usually involved relatively small acquisitions. Our large buys have generally worked out well and, in a few cases, more than well. I have not, however, made my last mistake in purchasing either businesses or stocks. Not everything works out as planned."
Thousands in Guatemala facing evacuation as Pacaya volcano erupts
The volcano, with a height of 2,500m (8,300 feet), is a popular tourist destination
A volcano has erupted in Guatemala, prompting the authorities to consider the evacuation of some 3,000 people living in the area.
The Pacaya volcano began spewing ash and lava after a powerful explosion on Saturday afternoon.
New explosions were seen on Sunday, with ash clouds reaching a height or at least 4km (3 miles).
Flights have been diverted from the area, some 50km (30 miles) south of the capital, Guatemala City.
The Pacaya is one of three active volcanoes in the Central American nation. The other two are the Fuego and the Santa Maria.
"We are assessing with the National Disaster Management Centre (Conred) whether we will need to evacuate the 3,000 people who live in the villages of El Rodeo and Patrocinio," said the Pacaya National Park director, Humberto Morales.
"Access to the areas around the volcano has been suspended," he told the Prensa Libre newspaper.
The Guatemalan authorities have issued an amber alert, the third highest. It means people must remain alert and be prepared to leave the area at short notice.
Prime Minister Erdogan accuses Mr Gulen, his former ally, of running a "parallel state"
Turkey's parliament has passed a bill to shut down private preparatory schools, many of which are run by influential preacher Fethullah Gulen.
Mr Gulen is embroiled in a bitter feud with PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has accused the US-based cleric of plotting against his government.
The schools are a major source of income for Mr Gulen's 50-year-old Hizmet ("Service") movement.
The law says the schools must close by 1 September 2015, local media reported.
Millions of students attend the schools to prepare themselves for entrance examinations to win limited spots at state secondary schools and universities.
Mr Erdogan has said that abolishing the preparatory schools is part of a reform of an "unhealthy" educational system that ranks Turkey below most other developed countries in literacy, maths and science.
Until recently, Hizmet has generally avoided overt involvement in politics and Mr Gulen still denies he meddles.
But tensions between the former allies were exacerbated in 2013, when thousands of alleged Hizmet sympathisers in the police and judiciary were demoted while prosecutors with alleged links to the movement aggressively pursued investigations against allies of the prime minister.
Rising star Lupita Nyong'o won an Independent Spirit award on Saturday for her debut movie role in 12 Years a Slave and told the audience: "Not a bad way to celebrate my birthday."
The Kenyan actress turned 31 a day before the Oscars where she is a front runner for best supporting actress.
12 Years a Slave dominated the Independent Spirit Awards, where it took five prizes.
They included best feature and best director for Britain's Steve McQueen.
Other acting trophies went to Cate Blanchett, for her role in Blue Jasmine, and to Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, for their roles as Aids patients in Dallas Buyers Club.
All three are favourites to win at the Oscars on Sunday night.
Stormy weather
The annual Independent Spirit Awards, which honour low budget film-making, take place in a giant tent on Santa Monica beach.
This year the ceremony was accompanied by strong winds and bursts of heavy rain beating down on the tent.
Angelina Jolie was on hand to congratulate Lupita Nyong'o on her win
12 Years a Slave also won awards for screenplay and cinematography.
Screenwriter John Ridley told the BBC after his win he didn't realise how affecting the story was until he experienced it on the big screen with an audience.
"I had no idea until I saw it in a room with 250 people and felt what they felt at that moment," he said.
Picking up the best director award, McQueen dedicated it to the film's subject Solomon Northup who "inspired me to look and find the truth".
Brad Pitt, who co-produced and starred in the film, said backstage: "I thank Mr McQueen for bringing us all together to tell Solomon's story."
He added: "It's interesting that it took a Brit to ask the questions why more films hadn't been made in America on our history."
Fruitvale Station was named best first feature while Nebraska won a best first screenplay award.
Its writer Bob Nelson, 57, joked that it was the "fulfilment of boyhood dream to be oldest recipient of a first time screenplay award".
He said Nebraska's veteran lead actor Bruce Dern "took a role based on my old dad and made him live again".
The documentary prize went to 20 Feet From Stardom, which shines a spotlight on the world of the backing singers.
Full list of winners
Best Feature: 12 Years a Slave
Best Director: Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Best Screenplay: John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
Best First Feature: Fruitvale Station
Best First Screenplay: Bob Nelson, Nebraska
John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000): This is Martin Bonner
Best Supporting Female: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Best Supporting Male: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Female Lead: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best Male Lead: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Altman Award: Mud
Best Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt, 12 Years a Slave
Best Editing: Nat Sanders, Short Term 1
Best International Film: Blue is the Warmest Colour
Pakistan says it will stop air strikes against the Taliban, after the militants announced a month-long ceasefire.
However, it said it "reserved the right to respond to any violent activity" carried out by the Taliban.
The Taliban announced the ceasefire - aimed at reviving stalled peace talks with government - on Saturday.
The talks broke down last month, after Taliban-linked militants said they had killed 23 soldiers they were holding.
This triggered air strikes by the Pakistani military against suspected militant hideouts in the north-west.
Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said on Saturday that the Taliban had decided on a ceasefire "because of a positive response from the government, an appeal from the religious scholars and for the better future of Pakistan".
He requested the Pakistani government to fulfil the group's demands, which include an end to US drone strikes and the introduction of sharia law.
Pakistan's government welcomed the ceasefire as a "positive development", and said it was prepared to resume talks.
Officials agreed to arrange a meeting between the two sides "within a day or two".
Increase in attacks
The government's decision to hold peace talks has been criticised by some Pakistani opposition parties because militant attacks have continued.
Correspondents say many in Pakistan are sceptical of the Taliban's announcement of a ceasefire, pointing out that the central Taliban leadership has little or no control over other jihadists and Islamist extremists.
The Taliban have recently stepped up attacks against targets in Pakistan and Afghanistan, ahead of an anticipated reduction in the number of US troops in the region in 2014.
Hundreds have died in Pakistan in a series of bomb and gun attacks in recent months.
The Pakistani Taliban, also knows as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are based mainly in the north-west, but have staged attacks across the country.
Copy of Mein Kampf signed by Hitler sells for $65,000
The books attracted 11 bids
An autographed two-volume set of Adolf Hitler's Nazi manifesto Mein Kampf has sold at auction in Los Angeles for $64,850 (£38,700).
The books date from 1925 and 1926 and were purchased by an anonymous US buyer, auctioneer Nate Sanders said.
Hitler inscribed the cloth-bound volumes, one a first edition and the other a second, to Josef Bauer, an early Nazi party member and SS officer.
The Nazi leader offered Bauer his best wishes in the Christmas season.
The online bidding started at $20,000 and concluded on Thursday night. The books received 11 bids.
Written by Hitler while he was jailed for his role in a 1923 failed putsch attempt, Mein Kampf (My Struggle) rails against Judaism and communism.
The two volumes were published in 1925 and 1926, before Hitler became chancellor of Germany.
"I think it's very heinous," Mr Sanders, who identified himself as Jewish, told a local television station. "But it is an auction item, it is a memento, it's a piece of memorabilia, and a piece of history."
Suspected militants have shot dead at least 39 people in an attack on a village in north-eastern Nigeria.
The attackers - believed to be from the Boko Haram group - destroyed the entire village of Mainok, about 50km (30 miles) west of the city of Maiduguri.
The incident took place late on Saturday, hours after two bomb blasts killed at least 50 people in Maiduguri.
Boko Haram has been conducting a four-year violent campaign to demand Islamic rule in northern Nigeria.
The morning after the latest attack, bodies were lying in front of the mosque waiting to be buried and buildings in Mainok were still on fire, the BBC's Will Ross reports from Lagos.
An eyewitness described how the attack unfolded: "They started shooting everywhere, they started burning all the houses in the village.
"I don't think that there is any house that is standing in the village and they have killed at least 39 people in the village.
"These people have guns - AK47, RPGs and so on and so forth, they can come and attack anybody and kill, including women and children, they kill everybody that can see them."
Earlier two bombs exploded in a densely populated area of Maiduguri - a city which Boko Haram has often targeted.
The first bomb was concealed inside a truck full of wood. As people tried to rescue victims the second explosion occurred.
At the time many people were crowded in a video hall in the area watching football.
There was also a wedding nearby and many of the dead were children.
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states last year in an attempt to curb the insurgency.
His critics say the move has been ineffective. Hardly a day goes by without reports of another deadly attack by militants, our correspondent says.
Wepre Park shooting: Girl, 16 shot with pellet gun
A 16-year-old girl has been shot with a pellet gun while walking her dog in a Flintshire park, police have said.
She was hit shortly after picking up the dog in Wepre Park near Connah's Quay by one of a group of men who were ahead of her on a path.
The teenager is recovering in hospital after the incident which happened between 14:00 and 14:30 GMT on Saturday.
North Wales Police are appealing for witnesses.
The incident happened as the girl and her dog took a path towards the castle, a spokesperson said.
'Rare' incident
She saw the group of four or five men and bent down to pick up the dog and, as she stood up, she saw one of them point a gun in her direction.
The girl felt a sharp pain and the men ran off.
The teenager returned home and was later taken to hospital for treatment where she is continuing to recover.
Det Insp Tim Green said: "We would like to reassure members of the community that incidents of this nature are rare and we would appeal to anyone with any information to come forward."
Witnesses or anyone with any information should contact police on 101, quoting reference RC14030933, or alternatively Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Darts player Bryan Whyte killed in A82 crash near Torlundy
Bryan Whyte was a top darts player who was to represent Scotland
A driver who died in a crash on the A82 in the Highlands was a top darts player who had been called up recently to represent Scotland.
Bryan Whyte, 34, a mechanic from Spean Bridge, died after his car was involved in a collision with a pick-up van near Torlundy at about 14:40 on Friday.
Tributes have been paid to him on darts websites.
Jim MacNeil, secretary of the Highland Darts Association, described him as a "true great in our game".
Mr Whyte had recently been named in the Scotland darts squad for 2014/2015.
On the Scottish Darts Association website, chairman Len Mutch said: "It is my sad duty to inform you Bryan Whyte, newly selected for Scotland, was tragically killed in a car crash. Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time.
In a statement posted online, Mr MacNeil said: "Highland Darts and Scotland at large have lost a true gentleman this week in tragic circumstances.
"Bryan Whyte was a true great in our game and a gentleman and great friend to all who met him.
"In all the teams that Bryan played for his humour, honesty and integrity shone through and he endeared himself to everyone he met. He has been taken from us far too early but will always remain in our hearts. We will never forget him."
The driver of the Ford transit pick-up involved in the crash was taken to hospital but was not thought to have been seriously injured. Police have appealed for witnesses.
Cancer doctors say drugs system is unfit for purpose
The doctors are concerned about the decision-making process on drug treatments
Senior doctors involved in the treatment of cancer patients have said many of them are not getting the drugs they need.
Members of the Beatson Oncology Centre Consultant Committee have written to the Scottish parliament's health committee about the issue.
They said the system is "inflexible, opaque and unfit for purpose".
The health secretary Alex Neil has said all patients should have access to drugs which would benefit them.
Doctors at the Beatson, based in Glasgow, provide specialist care for more than half of cancer patients in Scotland.
The rules on specialist drugs for patients with rare conditions are undergoing change in preparation for the introduction of an all-new system in April.
Local experience
The letter from the consultants said: "We appreciate that access to these valuable but costly drugs is a complex issue.
"We are concerned that despite the suggestions from Scottish government that the system of application requesting use of these medicines is now less restrictive and access to these drugs is more open, our local experience is that the system remains inflexible, opaque and unfit for purpose.
"It continues to give the impression that a process exists to allow patients with serious health issues access to these drugs, when in fact this is plainly not true."
The letter suggested that specialist drugs are more readily available elsewhere in Scotland.
It added: "The existence of postcode prescribing within Scotland adds to the injustice experienced by our patients."
MSP Duncan McNeil, the convener of Holyrood's health committee, said: "Announcements were made in December that we were moving to a new system.
"The issues that arise from the transition were dealt with in December when the cabinet secretary for health assured the parliament and committee that those people who were caught on the transition would be dealt with more sympathetically so they wouldn't lose out.
"The consultants are saying there has been no change. In the transition we have failed that test up to now but I'm sure that the committee and the Scottish government will be working hard to put that right."
He added: "Time is of the essence. We are dealing with people with very rare and indeed end-of-life conditions."
'Flexible approach'
Health secretary Alex Neil said: "The new system comes in entirely next month, in April.
"I don't see any reason whatsoever why we can't have a system in Glasgow, as we have in the rest of the country, where the very flexible approach is taken.
"If a patient would benefit from a particular cancer drug... if the clinical view is that the patient would benefit from that particular drug, then the patient should get that drug."
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has defended the procedures it has in place.
A statement said: "We are anticipating formal guidance from the Scottish government on the establishment of the new national Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) arrangements.
"During the interim transition period all boards were asked by the chief medical officer to put in place interim policies to exercise flexibility in relation to decision making within the existing Individual Patient Treatment Request (IPTR).
"Our interim policy - which was consulted on at local, regional and national level - is very much in line with the spirit of the revised arrangements which are due to be implemented later this year, and incorporates peer review, clinician involvement and clinical influence on decision making."
Tesco lorry bungalow crash 'sounded like explosion'
Eamonn O'Keeffe said the lorry had caused "one hell of a mess"
A man who was sleeping in a bungalow which was severely damaged when a lorry hit five vehicles, sending one crashing into the building, said it sounded like an explosion.
Eamonn O'Keeffe said the wall of his home at Old Newton Road, Heathfield, Devon, would have to be knocked down following the crash early on Saturday.
The lorry also ploughed through a garden and brought down power lines.
Mr O'Keeffe said the damage was "worse than he expected".
No-one was in the parked vehicles and the three people in the property were not injured
Eamonn O'Keeffe said the damage to his property was worse than he had expected
The Tesco lorry crashed into the vehicles at about 03:25 GMT and Mr O'Keeffe said he heard an "almighty bang".
"My wife looked out of the window and said 'oh my, somebody has gone into the vehicles'.
"We didn't realise the extent of the damage until we had come out of the bedroom.
"We went into the lounge and realised that one vehicle had actually gone into the side of the building and taken out the end wall of the lounge."
Mr O'Keeffe said the lorry had caused "one hell of a mess".
The lorry damaged five cars in Old Newton Road
"When we came out on to the driveway we saw that the truck had taken three vehicles right along the road and written them all off.
"The lorry has also taken out my next door neighbour's car and pushed another vehicle right the way down the road into a garden and destroyed a conifer hedge.
"It's somewhat worse than I first anticipated, but thankfully no-one was hurt", he said.
Rachel Ward, whose car was damaged by the lorry, said: "There was a big bang and we thought something had blown-up... it's crazy, the cars are trashed.
"We did not expect to see a lorry in the garden... it's unbelievable."
A Tesco spokesperson said: "We are relieved that no-one was hurt during the incident. We will be assisting the police with their inquiries."
The lorry driver was treated at the scene by paramedics
Alan Resnais, experimental French director, dies aged 91
Alain Resnais' final film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2014
Acclaimed French director Alain Resnais, whose film career spanned more than 60 years, has died at the age 91.
His producer, Jean-Louis Livi, confirmed the director died in Paris on Saturday.
Resnais was often associated with French New Wave cinema but he also embraced modernism and surrealism.
His last film, The Life of Riley - based on an Alan Ayckbourn play - premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2014.
It was his third film based on Ayckbourn's work, and reflected the direction his interests took in using theatre as a basis for his films.
French President Francois Hollande said France had lost "one of its greatest filmmakers''.
"He received all the recognition and prizes. But what counted for him was always his next work,'' Mr Hollande said in a statement.
Resnais first drew attention with his documentary Night and Fog (1955), which focused on Nazi concentration camps.
Sabine Azema starred in the majority of her husband's films from 1983
His first feature film would also draw on the horrors of conflict, this time the Hiroshima atomic bomb for Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959).
In devising the film with novelist Marguerite Duras, he deduced that the sheer devastation caused by the attack could not be dramatised, so he used the theme of the impossibility of speaking about the event.
The film was nominated for a best-screenwriting Oscar and won a number of critics' awards for best foreign film.
The film was brought under the umbrella of the emerging French New Wave, which also included directors Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, although Resnais said he did not consider himself completely a part of the movement.
Resnais won a number of awards at major film festivals.
He won a Gold Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1969 for L'Annee Dernier a Marienbad, and Berlin Festival Silver Bears for Smoking/No Smoking and On Connait la Chanson.
He was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009.
And this year, The Life of Riley was awarded the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize for a feature film that opens new perspectives. He did not attend the awards, instead sending his longtime producer Jean-Louis Livi to collect the trophy on his behalf.
Resnais married his second wife, Sabine Azema, in 1998 in Scarborough, the UK town where Alan Ayckbourn premieres his plays. Azema has starred in most of Resnais's films since the early 1980s.
A bizarre traffic calming idea in Dorset didn't quite end up as intended. What happened, asks Tom de Castella.
It began as a saga about wonky white lines. A typical English residential street with one unexpected quirk - the dotted line down the middle appeared to take leave of its senses. The road in Wimborne, Dorset, was straight as an arrow, but the centre line made a series of meanderings. Soon photos of the wonky road markings had gone from local to national press. It fitted into the modern journalistic genre of road marking porn - exhibit A the double yellow line in a tiny Swindon alleyway barely wide enough for a bicycle, exhibit B a code to those gnomic squiggles on the tarmac.
Wordplay was to the fore in the Wimborne coverage. "Long and winding road baffles drivers on the rat-run," offered the Times. The Daily Mail suggested that motorists "are being driven around the bend." Locals expressed confusion. One suggested it was the result of drunkenness by the traffic engineers. Far from being the result of a workman's liquid lunch, the arcing lines were deliberate, said Dorset County Council. It was all a cunning plan - or "traffic engineering scheme" - to slow vehicles down, said Adrian Norcombe, from the council's highways department. It appears to be a one-off. Traffic flow expert Prof Benjamin Heydecker at University College London says it's the first such wavy line he's seen. He's a fan. "It looks good. It guides the traffic away from the parking bay." By creating uncertainty in the mind of the driver, you give them a subtle nudge to slow down, added a spokeswoman at the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation.
And yet, there was still time for a twist. After the story broke, the council did a U-turn on the wonky lines. It decided to make them slightly less, erm, wonky. "After recent resurfacing work the lines were renewed, but the curve in the markings was more pronounced than it should have been," the council's latest statement reads. "We have now corrected this and apologise for any problems this may have caused." And thus a tale about wonky lines ends up as parable about the dangers of messing with traditional traffic iconography. Or as a Dorset County Council spokeswoman says: "Road markings and road signs are quite an emotive subject."
Mike Parker who helped popularise Helvetica died this week. You won't find a graphic designer who isn't familiar with the typeface (released in 1957 under its original name Neue Haas Grotesk). But Helvetica is one of the most well known typefaces among non-designers, too. Why is that asks graphic designer David Airey.
Many people attribute its popularity to Apple, and Steve Jobs' decision to incorporate Helvetica into the Apple operating system. But the typeface had already joined the halls of design classics long before computers were on the scene.
Swiss designers Emil Ruder (1914-1970) and Armin Hofmann (born 1920) were on the faculty at the Basel School of Design, and it was their teachings that gave rise to the Swiss Style of design during the 1950s and 60s. Ruder was the typography instructor, placing great importance on the use of sans-serif typefaces. He taught that type loses its purpose when it loses its communicative meaning; therefore, legibility and readability are main concerns. "Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing," he said. The even and almost homogenous form of Helvetica (Latin for Swiss) aligned well with the school's typographical philosophy.
Not long after Helvetica's release, students from the Basel School of Design spread the typeface's merits to the US when they returned to Yale and other American schools (Mike Parker graduated from Yale with a Masters in design).
It might now have a love/hate relationship among graphic designers, but that's generally more to do with its misuse, placed in the wrong surroundings, rather than any fault with the typographical design. For example, choosing Helvetica for a logo in order to distinguish a company within its marketplace isn't going to work given the ubiquity of the typeface. With a clean, professional, and what can today be called "safe" appearance, it's easy to understand why committees in large companies have previously reached consensus on Helvetica's use. International brands from BMW and American Airlines to Lufthansa and Panasonic have adopted the design in their logos.
German designer Dieter Rams - famous for his classic Braun product designs - believes that good design is unobtrusive and long lasting.
Ex-EDL chief Tommy Robinson has Twitter account suspended
By Sally ChidzoyBBC East home affairs correspondent
Tommy Robinson was jailed for 18 months for mortgage fraud
The Twitter account of former English Defence League co-founder and leader Tommy Robinson has been suspended.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is serving 18 months in prison for a £160,000 mortgage fraud.
A Twitter account in his name with more than 87,000 followers regularly discussed his time inside.
The Ministry of Justice said an inmate cannot publish material if it contravenes prison policy, and this included sending it via a third party.
Last Wednesday, the BBC contacted the Prison Service to ask for its views on the account, which contained details about Robinson's prison number and address.
In response, a spokesman said: "The justice secretary has made it clear that it is totally unacceptable for prisoners to access social networking sites or instruct others to do so on their behalf.
"No prisoner should be in any doubt that if they break the rules they will be stripped of their privileges and may be reported to the police for further action."
'Bloody nose'
Two days after the statement, the Prison Service contacted the BBC in response to follow-up questions to confirm that Robinson's Twitter account had been suspended. No further information was provided.
The spokesman would not confirm if Robinson's prison privileges had been withdrawn as he said it would not discuss individual cases on confidentiality grounds. It is not clear if the police are involved in the matter.
Robinson, 31, from Luton, who stood down from the EDL last year, was jailed at St Albans Crown Court after pleading guilty last November.
The court was told his life was in danger, and he would have to spend his prison time in solitary confinement.
He co-founded the EDL in 2009 after a parade by the Royal Anglian Regiment in Luton was disrupted by Islamist protesters, but left the group in October, citing concerns over the "dangers of far-right extremism".
Last month, Robinson's Twitter page described his "black eyes, bloody nose, sore neck" after he was allegedly attacked in HMP Woodhill. The Ministry of Justice said a prisoner had been treated for minor injuries following an incident on 5 February.
The star of a new BBC show charting the lead up to World War One says television needs "more informative drama".
Tim Pigott-Smith plays beleaguered Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith, in 37 Days.
He told the Andrew Marr Show: "One of the functions of drama is to teach... I think people will learn a lot from this and for me this really justifies the licence fee".
Badger culls were 'ineffective and failed humaneness test'
By Pallab GhoshScience correspondent, BBC News
The BBC's Pallab Ghosh reports on both sides of the cull row
An independent scientific assessment of last year's pilot badger culls in parts of Gloucestershire and Somerset has concluded that they were not effective.
Analysis commissioned by the government found the number of badgers killed fell well short of the target deemed necessary, the BBC understands.
And up to 18% of culled badgers took longer than five minutes to die, failing the test for humaneness.
The pilot culls were intended to limit the spread of TB in cattle.
They were carried out to demonstrate the ability to combat bovine TB though a controlled reduction in the population of local badgers.
Contracted marksmen, paid for by farming groups, were employed to shoot the animals at night.
The Independent Expert Panel was appointed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to help ministers evaluate the effectiveness, humaneness and safety of the Gloucestershire and Somerset pilots.
Prof Rosie Woodroffe, a scientist at the Zoological Society of London, said that the panel's "findings show unequivocally that the culls were not effective and that they failed to meet the humaneness criteria.
"I hope this will lead to the Secretary of State (Owen Paterson) to focus on other ways of eradicating TB in cattle," she told BBC News.
Robin Hargreaves, president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said it was the BVA that had taken a lead in calling for the controlled shooting to be tested and critically evaluated before it was rolled out.
"We are unable to comment in detail on the findings of the IEP until we have seen the report," he told the BBC. "But if these figures are true then they would certainly raise concerns about both the humaneness and efficacy of controlled shooting.
"We have always stated that if the pilots were to fail on humaneness then BVA could not support the wider roll out of the method of controlled shooting."
The pilots were authorised by Defra and licensed by Natural England.
6.4% - 18% badgers took longer than five minutes to die
1,771 number of badgers culled*
£7.29m estimated cost of badger cull, according to animal welfare charity*
PA
The target for marksmen was to kill at least 70% of badgers in the cull areas within a six-week period.
Extensive research carried out by Prof Woodroffe in earlier trials in the 1990s had shown that a failure to kill this percentage of badgers in a narrow window of time could actually worsen matters as disturbed and diseased animals took the TB into new areas.
When both trials duly failed to kill sufficient badgers within the specified period, they were extended on the advice of the Chief Vet, Nigel Gibbens. The panel in its report, though, concerns itself only with the initial six weeks.
First assessments had suggested that, in those six weeks, 58% of badgers had been killed in the Somerset cull and 30% in the Gloucestershire pilot.
However, BBC News understands the independent panel's analysis, which used more precise methodology, found that less than half of badgers were killed in both areas over the six-week period.
Defra had also agreed a criterion with the expert group for how the trials could be deemed humane.
The standard set was for no more than 5% of the shot badgers to take more than five minutes to die.
But the expert group found the time limit was exceeded by between 6.4% and 18% of shot animals, depending on the assumptions made.
Professor Rosie Woodroffe, from the Zoological Society of London, said the only benefit from the trial was "better evidence"
The expert group, however, held back from describing the trial as "inhumane" on the grounds that there may be some circumstances in which greater suffering of badgers might be justified. An example would be if the spread of TB was causing more problems than otherwise anticipated.
Prof Woodroffe was among 32 scientists who wrote to Mr Patterson in 2012 expressing fears that the culls risked increasing TB in cattle rather than reducing it.
"Our predictions have been borne out," she told the BBC. "It has cost a fortune and probably contributed nothing in terms of disease control, which is really unfortunate."
The assessment also found a wide variation in the effectiveness and humaneness of the contractors brought in by farming groups to kill the badgers.
Some badgers can carry TB and pass it on to cattle
The expert panel said that if culling was to be extended to other parts of the country, the marksmen recruited would need to be closely monitored.
On the issue of public safety, the panel found no problems.
Andy Robertson, director general of the National Farmers' Union, said he could not comment on the contents of the IEP report until it was officially published. However, he stressed the threat TB in cattle posed to his members.
"More than 30,000 cattle were killed in the first 11 months of 2013 because of the disease. It is vital that we do everything we can to tackle the disease. Badgers play a key role in spreading bovine TB and so it's essential that any TB eradication policy must include a targeted cull of badgers in those areas where TB is rife."
Defra said that it did not know when the report would be submitted by the IEP or when it would be published, stating only that "no deadline had been set". A spokesperson added: "We knew there'd be lessons to be learned from the first year of the pilot culls which is why we're looking forward to receiving the panel's recommendations for improving the way they are carried out, because we need to do all we can to tackle this devastating disease."
More than 1,700 badgers were culled in total in the two counties, according to Defra.
Recent storms brought crashing waves, gales and flooding to Britain's coastline and it is now believed they could also have had a significant impact on our seabird population.
In Wales, a record number of birds are believed to have died as a result of the bad weather, and there are concerns that some species may be at risk .
