The SNP’s Westminster leader has ruled himself out of the contest to be the party’s next deputy leader.
Ian Blackford, the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber said he will not be running to succeed Angus Robertson.
In a post on Twitter, he said he wanted to concentrate on his constituency and his role as Westminster leader.
So far only Glasgow MSP James Dornan has announced he will be standing for the post but it is thought a number of MPs will consider standing against him.
Aberdeen North MP Kirsty Blackman, Edinburgh MP Tommy Sheppard, Livingston MP Hannah Bardell, and Perth MP Pete Wishart are among those who may throw their hats into the ring.
It is thought that front benchers Dr Philippa Whiteford and Joanna Cherry may also join the contest.
Angus Robertson stood down as deputy leader earlier this month, eight months after losing his Westminster seat.
Mr Blackford announced that he would not be replacing Mr Robertson in an interview with The Press and Journal.
He said it was an “absolute privilege” to be a Highland MP.
And he added: “I take quite seriously the responsibilities I’ve got as leader in Westminster and supporting the government in Holyrood.
“If I was depute leader as well, something would have to give. I think it is maybe simply too much to ask.”
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionVladimir Bukovsky was vocal critic of the Soviet regime
A Russian dissident accused of making and possessing thousands of indecent images of children is too unwell to stand trial, a judge has ruled.
Vladimir Bukovsky, 75, denies 11 charges in relation to child image offences and his trial at Cambridge Crown Court was due to begin on Monday.
The judge said all matters will lie on file but if his health recovers the case “could be revived”.
Mr Bukovsky has “serious illnesses of the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys”.
He was accused of five counts of making indecent images of children, five of possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing a prohibited image of a child.
Judge Gareth Hawksworth said during that trial Mr Bukovsky, who lives in Cambridge, “kept falling asleep physically in front of the jury”.
A second trial attempt last year did not start as he was admitted to hospital shortly before its planned beginning.
Judge Hawksworth said: “I’m quite satisfied that due to the continued deterioration in his health, when it came to the moment whether Mr Bukovsky should or could give evidence we would be faced with a wholly impossible situation.
“It wouldn’t be fair to try the man in those circumstances.
“All matters will lie on file and cannot be revived without leave of this court or the Court of Appeal. If his health recovers sufficiently for him to stand trial the matter could be revived.”
Image copyrightKATRINA CARTLIDGEImage captionKatrina Cartlidge said she was “mortified” by the treatment of her father Chris Cartlidge
A man with Parkinson’s disease was told to leave a Halfords store for acting suspiciously by “walking funny”.
Chris Cartlidge, 51, was ejected from the shop in Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, after his symptoms caused his leg to stiffen and drag on the floor.
He said when he told a shop assistant he had Parkinson’s, she replied: “I don’t care what you’ve got, I want you to leave the store.”
Halfords said it had “sincerely apologised” to him and his family.
Mr Cartlidge, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 10 years ago, said he had approached the shop assistant for help in finding some car parts in January.
“I try to be as normal as possible but it’s really demeaning when people say things like that to me,” he said.
His daughter Katrina Cartlidge said she was “devastated and mortified” by the way her father was treated at the store on Springfields Retail Park.
“It’s hard to see him suffering like this,” she said, adding that he tried to “make the most of life” and remain as active as possible.
“I would never expect someone to treat my dad that way or anyone to be judged by that – by disability.”
A spokesperson for Halfords said its team “fell short of meeting our standards”.
“We are all very sorry for Mr Cartlidge’s experience and sincerely apologised to him and his family at the time for any embarrassment this misunderstanding caused.”
Benali Hamdache, campaign manager at Parkinson’s UK, said the charity is “calling for a little bit more awareness and a little bit more understanding”.
“We hope that Halfords can actually start by leading with an example and embrace our call to take on some training,” he added.
The Queen is backing efforts to reduce single-use plastics on royal estates.
Glass bottles will replace plastic equivalents in meetings and on-site cafes while non-biodegradable food packaging and plastic straws are also set to be phased out.
The new measures will affect Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
A palace spokesperson said the Royal Household was “committed to reducing its environmental impact”.
They added: “At all levels, there’s a strong desire to tackle this issue.”
Media captionPlastic pollution is killing animals in the Arctic
New measures also include greater recycling efforts, a regular “green newsletter” for staff and the reuse of packaging to move goods between royal sites.
A spokesperson for environmental charity Greenpeace said: “It’s great to see the Queen joining the movement of people, businesses and institutions who are consigning throwaway plastic to the dustbin of history.
“With one truckload of plastic waste entering our oceans every minute, we should all pull our weight and help tackle the problem.”
The Scottish Parliament announced earlier this month it was removing plastic drinking straws from its cafes, bar and canteen.
Pizza Express, Costa Coffee, Wagamama and JD Wetherspoon are among the restaurant and pub chains to have confirmed similar plans to phase out plastic straws.
Mr Griffiths said he planned to be the first minister responsibility for parental leave to take their full two weeks of paternity leave – but was unable to take up the policy he is championing.
“Unfortunately, as a minister, I’m not allowed,” he said. “Ministers are not allowed to take shared parental leave.”
He added: “The reality is I’ve discussed with my wife about whether she’d like to take shared parental leave, even if it was available to me – each family has to make the decision that suits them.”
Quizzed on the rules affecting ministers, he promised to “take it away and think about it”.
What is shared parental leave?
Shared parental leave (SPL) was introduced in April 2015
It allows parents to share 50 weeks of leave – with 37 paid – after they have a baby
Parents can take time off separately or can be at home together for up to six months
SPL is paid at £140.98 per week or 90% of your average earnings, whichever is lower
As “office holders” rather than employees, usual rules of parental leave do not apply to MPs, the House of Commons said, with arrangements made privately between members and their parties. It said specific arrangements affecting ministers would be the responsibility of the Cabinet Office.
Several ministers have taken maternity leave – Labour’s Yvette Cooper became the first to do so in 2001.
MPs recently voted in favour of allowing members who have a baby to vote by proxy, with Parliament’s procedure committee now considering how that could work in practice.
Barack and Michelle Obama have attended the unveiling of their official portraits at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.
Mr Obama said his portrait by Kehinde Wiley, who is known for his Old Master-style depiction of African-Americans, was “pretty sharp”.
“Wow!” said Mrs Obama of her portrait by Amy Sherald, another black artist, whose work addresses social justice.
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks were among guests at the unveiling.
“Nobody in my family tree as far as I can tell had their portrait done,” said Mr Obama as he joked that his yearbook picture was the closest he had come.
He also praised Ms Sherald’s painting for capturing the “hotness” of his wife.
Mr Obama said Mr Wiley had been “working at a disadvantage because his subject was less becoming. Not as fly”.
Image copyrightPA AND FACEBOOKImage captionRichard Cousins, Emma Bowden, Will Cousins, Gareth Morgan, Heather Bowden, Ed Cousins (clockwise from top left) all died
A family from the UK who were killed in a seaplane crash near Sydney died from a combination of multiple injuries and drowning, an inquest heard.
Richard Cousins, 58, sons, Edward, 23 and William, 25, as well as Emma Bowden and her daughter Heather, 11, died when the plane crashed into a river.
At Reading Coroner’s Court, senior coroner Peter Bedford said the crash on New Year’s Eve was a “tragic incident”.
A full inquest has been suspended pending an investigation in Australia.
Mr Cousins, chief executive of Compass Group – one of the world’s largest catering companies – was travelling back to Sydney with his family reportedly from an exclusive waterfront restaurant in Jerusalem Bay.
Media captionThe crash on New Year’s Eve killed six people
The crash, which also killed Sydney-based pilot Gareth Morgan, 44, happened in Hawkesbury River, near the suburb of Cowan.
Australian authorities recovered most of the wreckage of the plane in January.
The De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver – including its fuselage, floats and a wing – was retrieved from the river about 50km (30 miles) north of Sydney.
Image copyrightSPLImage captionIf true, the snake would have had to have eaten at least 36,000 bank notes
A Nigerian sales clerk has been suspended after she told auditors that a snake had eaten 36m naira.
That’s the equivalent of $100,000 or £72,250.
The clerk, Philomena Chieshe, was working at an office for the Nigerian examination board which collects exam fees.
The exam board, the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, told the OP’S NEWS that it dismissed her claim and has started disciplinary proceedings.
The incident has been ridiculed by Nigerians on social media.
One tweeter suggests it would be an unreasonable amount of bank notes for one snake to handle:
“If you have one animal, essentially, three months later, you will have 200 or 300,” Dr Wolfgang Stein, one of the researchers, told Canadian public broadcaster CBC.
Curiously, by studying the freshwater crayfish’s successful ability to self-clone, scientists may be able to better understand how cancer spreads.
The crustaceans can be bought in some pet shops in Canada and through online adverts. One online seller offered a one-inch self-cloning marbled crayfish for free and five larger ones for C$20 ($16; £11.50).
While there is not yet a wild population of marbled crayfish in Canada, the department of fisheries and oceans warned that it would be illegal to release any unwanted crayfish into the wild.
“Based on what is known about the reproductive behaviour of the marbled crayfish, we do not recommend Canadians keep these animals as pets,” Becky Cudmore, of the fisheries and oceans department, told CBC.
Mutant crayfish: What’s the background?
It all started in an aquarium in a German pet shop in the 1990s. A female slough crayfish, a species originally from Florida, was born with an additional set of chromosomes – a mutation that allowed her to reproduce without having to mate.
Her offspring and their spawn could produce hundreds of eggs at a time.
Media captionCrayfish take over Berlin park
The population of this genetically identical crayfish exploded within the pet trade, particularly among German aquarium hobbyists.
But with the species able to reproduce exponentially within a few months, people began releasing unwanted crayfish – also known as marmorkrebs – into ponds and lakes across Europe, creating the thriving wild populations seen today.
The freshwater creatures’ ability to self-clone rapidly has led to them being compared with the fictional Tribble alien species from Star Trek, who are also able to multiply.
Introduced as a cheap source of protein in Madagascar, the all-female species is now threatening native ones, creating an ecological nightmare for authorities.
The European Union and two US states have already banned the marbled crayfish from being owned or traded, but populations in the wild continue to multiply.
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