There has been "breathtaking ignorance" from "those who believe themselves to be unionists" who oppose the Northern Ireland backstop in the Brexit deal, Sir John Major has said. The former prime minister made the remark as Tuesday's vote in the Commons was called off. Theresa May said she would seek assurances from Brussels for the DUP and Brexiteers on the backstop. It is the insurance policy to avoid a return to a hard border after Brexit. Mrs May made a statement to MPs in Parliament on Monday afternoon, and said she had listened to "widespread and deep concerns" from MPs about the backstop. The DUP and Brexiteer MPs have vowed to reject the deal unless the backstop is ditched, because they say any differences for Northern Ireland could threaten the union and damage the economy. That is because if the backstop took effect, Northern Ireland alone would align with the EU single market in some areas, meaning new regulatory barriers between GB and NI - Labour has described this as a "de facto Irish Sea border". It has also said it will vote down the deal in Parliament, along with other opposition parties. 'Bogus ploy' Speaking at the inaugural Albert Reynolds Memorial lecture in County Longford, Sir John was critical of those he described as "believing themselves to be unionists". He warned of the dangers of violence returning in Northern Ireland, if physical checks or infrastructure were put in place at the border again after Brexit. "Some opinion has shown a breathtaking ignorance of the likely impact unsettling the Good Friday Agreement will have on Ireland, north and south," said the former prime minister. "To them, the Irish demand for a backstop is a bogus ploy, a bogus ploy to keep the UK in a customs union. "In truth, a backstop is of vital national interest for Ireland and for the United Kingdom." 'Reckless few' He added, however, that despite the turmoil at Westminster, he did not believe that a majority of MPs would permit a hard border to become a reality. "The reckless few, who are careless of its likely effect are a clear minority, and with good reason." What has the Irish government said? Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said it is not possible to renegotiate the Irish border backstop proposal without "opening up all aspects" of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

The pound's fall has accelerated after the prime minister confirmed she would defer the vote on her Brexit deal. It had already fallen 1% earlier on reports of the delay, but fell further as Theresa May addressed Parliament. Sterling remained weak on global exchanges after markets closed in London, down almost two cents against the dollar at $1.2562, close to its lowest level since April 2017. It was 1% lower against the euro at €1.1059, its lowest level since August. Meanwhile, the domestically focused FTSE 250 share index fell 2%, hitting its lowest since December 2016. The steep falls reflect mounting uncertainty about the terms of the UK's exit from the European Union, analysts said. "Until the market knows what will happen with respect to Brexit one way or the other then they [traders] will remain extremely anxious," said Jane Foley, head of foreign exchange strategy at Rabobank. Ms Foley said the threat of a hard Brexit, under which the UK leaves the EU without a deal, as well as the continuing political uncertainty was "an extraordinary and toxic mix" for the pound. "Once we know what is happening, things will be more settled," she added. Pound v dollar This week had always been expected to be a volatile one for the pound because of the vote on Tuesday, which has also heightened political uncertainty. Dozens of Conservative MPs had been planning to join forces with Labour, the SNP, the Lib Dems and the DUP to vote down Mrs May's deal. Neil Mellor, currency strategist at BNY Mellon, said the pound's movements were directly linked to the current political uncertainty. But he said there was also a question of valuation and how investors "price in Brexit". The pound's movements over the past decade suggested that the pound could be spared a "drastic fall" over a prolonged period, he said. Pound v euro Mrs May made a statement to MPs at 15:30 GMT, confirming that the vote would be delayed because it "would be rejected by a significant margin". She said MPs backed much of the deal she had struck with the EU, but there was concern over the Northern Irish backstop. She said she believed she could still get the deal through if she addressed MPs' concerns. And that, she added, was what she intended to do in the next few days. However, Speaker John Bercow - who chairs debates in the House of Commons - called on the government to give MPs a vote on whether Tuesday's vote should be cancelled, saying it was the "right and obvious" thing to do given how angry some MPs were about the cancellation. Eoin Murray, head of investment at Hermes Investment Management, said: "The vote could be delayed for as little as a week, or even put off until January. At this stage, it is unlikely to directly impact the timing of the Article 50 process, as Prime Minister May has repeatedly refused to countenance shifting that from the 29 March date." However, there is a theory in the market that the turbulence could work in the government's favour, encouraging MPs to back Theresa May's deal to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

"Nothing is off the table" when it comes to reassuring MPs over the Northern Ireland backstop, Downing Street sources say. This could include reopening the EU withdrawal agreement, even though that comes with risk, the sources say. Theresa May is understood to be pushing the EU for flexibility on the backstop. This is the clause in the prime minister's EU withdrawal agreement that is meant to prevent the return of border checks in Northern Ireland. It would see the UK aligned with EU customs rules until a future trade deal is agreed that does not include a physical border between the EU and the UK on the island of Ireland. The backstop is meant to be a temporary measure but the UK can't leave it without the EU's say-so, under the terms of the withdrawal agreement. Many MPs fear this will mean the UK will end up indefinitely tied to the EU with no say over its rules - and that is why they are planning to vote against the withdrawal agreement on Tuesday. Those campaigning for another EU referendum have, meanwhile, been given a boost by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which has ruled that the UK can cancel Brexit without the permission of the other 27 EU members. Former foreign secretary Dame Margaret Beckett, who is campaigning for another referendum, said: "This is confirmation that it is still up to us to decide whether we want to keep the existing deal we've got in the EU rather than accept a bad deal negotiated by the government." But Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the ruling does not alter the government's intention to leave the EU in March 2019. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We voted very clearly - 17.4 million people sent a clear message that we wanted to leave the European Union and that means also leaving the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. "So, this case is all very well but it doesn't alter either the referendum vote or the clear intention of the government to make sure that we leave on 29 March." He rejected newspaper reports that Tuesday's Commons vote will be cancelled to prevent the prime minister suffering a defeat of historic proportions that could end her premiership. Mrs May has previously insisted there can be no deal with the EU without the backstop - and it would be impossible to change the terms of the withdrawal agreement. She has repeatedly warned her own MPs that a rejection of her deal could lead to a general election - or possibly "no Brexit" at all. That has so far failed to convince dozens of Tory MPs who are planning to join Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the DUP and the SNP in voting against it.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister has ruled out extraditing to Turkey suspects in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Adel al-Jubeir said: "We do not extradite our citizens." Just over a week ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded the extradition and on Wednesday a Turkish court issued arrest warrants. Saudi Arabia has charged 11 people with the murder, which took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October. Arrest warrants were issued in Turkey for former Saudi intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and former royal adviser Saud al-Qahtani. Mr al-Jubeir criticised the way Turkey has shared information with the kingdom. "The Turkish authorities have not been as forthcoming as we believe they should have been," he said, quoted by AFP news agency. "We have asked our friends in Turkey to provide us with evidence that we can use in a court of law. We have not received it in the manner that it should have been received." Mr Erdogan says the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels of the Saudi government but insists he does not want to damage the Saudi royal family. What does Saudi Arabia say? It denies that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the killing. The Gulf kingdom's public prosecutor has said Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate as a result of a "rogue operation" on the orders of an intelligence officer. Khashoggi was given a lethal injection after a struggle. His body was then dismembered inside the consulate in Istanbul and the body parts were handed over to a local "collaborator" outside the grounds, the prosecutor said. Who was Jamal Khashoggi? As a prominent journalist, he covered major stories including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of Osama Bin Laden for various Saudi news organisations.

Google has found another bug in its Google+ social network that it says affects as many as 52.5 million users. It said the flaw allowed "name, email address, occupation, and age" to be exposed to third-party developers, even if accounts had been set to private. The bug, discovered "recently", was introduced to the network in November. In October, Google decided to close Google+ to the public after finding data on 500,000 of its users had been exposed. As a result of this latest find, it said, the closedown had been brought forward. "With the discovery of this new bug, we have decided to expedite the shutdown of all Google+ APIs [application programming interfaces]; this will occur within the next 90 days," wrote David Thacker, head of product management for G Suite, Google's range of apps offered to businesses. "In addition, we have also decided to accelerate the sun-setting of consumer Google+ from August 2019 to April 2019. "While we recognise there are implications for developers, we want to ensure the protection of our users." Mr Thacker added that the problem was discovered by Google staff via routine testing, and that there was no evidence it had been exploited by bad actors. Google+ has long been the butt of jokes for being a failed social network that few people used.

A British blood donor says she feels "privileged" to help a two-year-old girl receive crucial cancer treatment in the United States. Zainab Mughal, who lives in Florida, suffers from neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that mostly affects babies and young children. She also has one of the rarest blood types in the world. More than 1,000 people were tested in a global search to find a donor match. The donor, a mother-of-two from Nottingham, has chosen to be anonymous. Zainab's blood is missing an antigen known as "Indian B". Most people carry the antigen in their red blood cells, non-profit organisation OneBlood said. The only donors likely to be a match are people of exclusively Pakistani, Indian or Iranian descent with blood type O or A, and fewer than 4% of such people will be missing the Indian B antigen. The Nottingham donor, who is aged 50 and of British-Indian origin, said she felt "very humbled" to play "a small part" in helping Zainab's treatment. "I do hope the publicity encourages more people to donate, especially from the Asian community," she said. "Even a single donation can make a massive difference to someone who needs it." Two other donors have been found in the US, but doctors believe at least seven to 10 people will be needed to contribute throughout the course of Zainab's treatment. The British donor was traced after OneBlood and the American Rare Donor Programme contacted the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory (IBGRL), a specialist unit in Bristol run by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). A match was found on the UK's rare donor panel, which was tested by NHSBT and given to the US. NHSBT consultant haematologist Dr Rekha Anand, who manages the UK's rare donor panel, said: "The credit goes to all our British donors, whose altruism is the key."

The annual recap touting "the videos, music and trends that defined YouTube in 2018" has become the second-most disliked video in the website's history. YouTube Rewind 2018 has amassed more than 6.8 million dislikes at the time of writing, second only to Justin Bieber's 2010 single Baby which was disliked more than 9.7 million times. But while Bieber's dislikes came over the past eight years, YouTube was able to reach the milestone in just three days. So why has the video been so disliked? Rewind 2018 has come in for criticism for not including some of the site's top stars, including Logan Paul, Shane Dawson and PewDiePie - with the video's comments dominated by people asking where the website's most-subscribed to YouTuber is. PewDiePie's battle with Bollywood channel T-Series to keep the top spot has been one of the most-talked about topics on the website, yet it did not feature in the video. PewDiePie - whose real name is Felix Kjellberg - has released a reaction video in which he criticises the oversaturation of video game Fortnite and inclusion of people that aren't YouTube personalities, such as clips of US talk show hosts Trevor Noah and John Oliver doing Fortnite dances. He points out that the video does not mention key moments of 2018, such as the outpouring of support on YouTube for those who died this year, including LazyTown's "Robbie Rotten" actor Stefan Karl Stefansson. "I remember Rewind [used to be] something that seemed like an homage to the creators that year," he says in the video. "It was something cool to be a part of. "Now it's like I'm almost glad I'm not in it, because it's such a cringey video at this point. It's so disconnected with the community and its creators." Others on social media shared PewDiePie's views. One of the biggest criticisms of the video was the failure to feature Logan Paul and KSI, whose boxing bout was streamed by about 800,000 people on YouTube. Their much-hyped fight in Manchester Arena drew questions on how YouTube may influence modern sport, yet it did not make the cut. Other notable absences include Shane Dawson, whose eight-part series on Jake Paul was widely-discussed on social media in 2018. But the reaction was not all bad.

The methods Facebook uses to thwart ad-blocking technology have been criticised by web developers. The social network injects dozens of lines of code in every page to make it harder for ad blockers to detect and hide sponsored posts. But that makes the website less efficient and stops software such as screen readers used by visually impaired users from working properly. The BBC has contacted Facebook for comment. In order to block advertising, developers look for patterns in a website's code that can be consistently identified and hidden. It would be easy for a plug-in to spot the word "sponsored" or to find a container labelled "ad" inside the webpage code, so companies, including Facebook, use coding tricks to obfuscate their ads. The tricks Facebook uses to fool ad-blocking plug-ins include: breaking up the word "sponsored" into small chunks only one or two letters long inserting extra letters, as in "SpSonSsoSredS", hidden to the viewer adding the word to all regular posts on the news feed, even ones that are not ads, and then using another piece of code to hide it on the non-ads Facebook provides some controls for users to influence the ads they see. "Although you can't opt out of seeing ads entirely, you can influence the types of ads you see by giving us feedback or hiding ads and advertisers that you don't want to see," it says in its help centre. Developers working on the uBlock Origin browser plug-in have been documenting their counter-measures on coding site Github. In one case, they worked at blocking ad containers labelled "feed_subtitle" and "feed-subtitle". "That solves it quite neatly," one said. But two days later, Facebook had changed its code again. "These guys act quick. Now the div [container] is named 'feed_sub_title_ 128; 1402960186614717; 0; 2216051248638936; 1542673577: -7185000746684546330: 5:0:47233'," a coder said. One, posting as filbo, pointed out that the sponsored text was different depending on your language settings, so ad-blocking efforts should not focus on the word "sponsored". "If a workable UI-language-neutral expression can be written, that's better," they wrote. Another, posting as okiehsch, suggested development would never stop.

Elon Musk says he has "no respect" for the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) financial regulator. He made the comment in an interview with news channel CBS, in which he also talked about his controversial behaviour on Twitter. In September, the SEC decided to sue him for alleged securities fraud. This followed a tweet in which Mr Musk wrote that he had secured funding to take Tesla off the stock market and make it a private company. The SEC said the claim was "false and misleading". Mr Musk said he and Tesla had chosen to pay the $20m (£15m) settlement fine because while he did not respect the regulator, he did believe in the justice system. As part of the settlement, he also had to step down as Tesla's chairman and was told that his tweets should be monitored. Days later, he took to Twitter to mock the regulator, describing it as the "Shortseller Enrichment Commission" and praising its "incredible work". In a newly released interview with CBS, he told reporter Lesley Stahl that he "preferred" not having a title but added that his tweets were still unsupervised. "The only tweets that would have to be, say, reviewed would be if a tweet had a probability of causing a movement in the stock," he said. "Otherwise it's, 'Hello, First Amendment,' he added, referring to the US right to free speech. Elon Musk is well known for his fiery tweets. He described the social media platform as "a warzone". "I use my tweets to express myself. Some people use their hair, I use Twitter," he said.

Doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku does not protect against mental decline, according to a new study. The idea of "use it or lose it" when it comes to our brains in later life has previously been widely accepted. But a new Scottish study suggests it has no effect on mental decline. Instead, results indicate that regularly doing intellectual activities throughout life boosts mental ability and provides a "higher cognitive point" from which to decline. This study published in the BMJ was undertaken by Roger Staff at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and the University of Aberdeen. It looked at 498 people born in 1936 who had taken part in a group intelligence test at the age of 11. This current study started when they were about 64 years old and they were recalled for memory and mental-processing-speed testing up to five times over a 15-year period. It found engagement in problem solving did not protect an individual from decline. However, it did mean they had a higher starting point from which decline was observed and therefore delayed the point at which impairment became significant. Previously, some studies have found that cognitive training can improve some aspects of memory and thinking, particularly for people who are middle-aged or older. They found so-called brain training may help older people to manage their daily tasks better. No studies have shown that brain training prevents dementia. And last year a report from the Global Council on Brain Health recommended that people should take part in stimulating activities such as learning a musical instrument, designing a quilt or gardening rather than brain training to help their brain function in later life. It said the younger a person started these activities, the better their brain function would be as they aged. Dr David Reynolds, chief scientific officer at Alzheimer's Research UK, said the research added to the "ongoing 'use it or lose it' debate". But as the research did not consider people with dementia, "we can't say from these results whether specific brain training activities could impact a person's risk of the condition".

Anna Boniface seemed to have the world at her feet when finishing as the 2017 London Marathon's fastest amateur female runner. Her performance earned her an England team place in that autumn's Toronto Marathon. The then 25-year-old finished the London race in two hours, 37 minutes and travelled to Canada six months later. But 10 miles into her international debut, Anna's ankle fractured. "It was the breakthrough that broke me," she tells BBC 5 live Investigates. "It was horrible, I'd never not finished a race in my life. I thought I could just struggle to the end somehow, but I realised I would not be able to go on, I just had to sit on the kerb and wait." But worse was to come for the Reading runner. In addition to the stress fracture of her ankle, tests found poor bone density, including osteoporosis in her spine, which made fractures a real risk. These symptoms were all hallmarks of a condition called Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (Red-S). This occurs when sports people restrict their diet in the belief that constant weight loss will keep improving performance, to such an extent that some of the body's functions begin to shut down. The condition can cause a range of health problems in men and women including a drop in hormone levels, a deterioration in bone density, a drop in metabolic rate and mental health problems. Anna, who works as a physiotherapist, admits she was aware of the condition but was so desperate to keep improving that she ignored the warning signs, which included not having a period for eight years. "It was a lot to do with my training volume and not eating enough - not being wide enough in my food groups, being restrictive with carbohydrates," she says. "I was training twice a day, I was running 100-plus miles a week at times, and you burn up a lot of energy with that, and from a runner's perspective you get it into your mind that you need to be this race weight. "You get caught up in this cycle of running really fast, wanting to lose a little more weight, push that race weight a little bit more, running faster, and then just breaking, which is what happened." The state of Anna's health was discovered before any more serious damage could be done and, after a year's rest, she has been able to slowly return to running.

The NHS will be banned from buying fax machines from next month - and has been told by the government to phase out the machines entirely by 31 March 2020. In July, the Royal College of Surgeons revealed nearly 9,000 fax machines were in use across the NHS in England. The Department of Health said a change to more modern communication methods was needed to improve patient safety and cyber security. An RCS spokesman said they supported the government's decision. In place of fax machines, the Department of Health said secure email should be used. Richard Kerr, who is the chair of the RCS's commission on the future of surgery, said the continued use of the outdated technology by the NHS was "absurd". He added it was "crucial" that the health service invested in "better ways of communicating the vast amount of patient information that is going to be generated" in the future. The group's report from earlier this year found the use of fax machines was most common at the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Trust, which still relied on 603 machines. Three-quarters of the trusts in England replied to the survey - 95 in total. Ten trusts said that they did not own any fax machines, but four in ten reported more than 100 in use. 'Stuck in the dark ages' Rebecca McIntyre from Manchester, who works as a cognitive behavioural therapist, said fax machines are "a continued risk to the confidentiality and safeguarding of patients". "You would not believe the palaver we have in the work place trying to communicate important documents to services (referrals etc)," she said. "We constantly receive faxes meant for other places in error but this is never reported." Meanwhile, Taz, from Doncaster, works in a pharmacy and said discharge notes, emergency documents and out-of-hours services "all are stuck in the dark ages". "I hope this is just the start of many changes," he said. "The amount of time wasted and potential errors that exist from not using technology is shocking and often it's the patients that suffer. "My next hope is that hand written prescriptions are scrapped completely and we use tablets to send them electronically for patients like most GPs have been doing for years." However, Tim Owen. from Bolton, who works in blood services, asked: "So what happens when a computer virus attacks a hospital's IT infrastructure, as happened recently? "During the WannaCry attack of 2017 our 'out-dated, redundant' piece of equipment ensured that blood products, not routinely held in our on-site blood bank, could be ordered without delay and therefore not compromising patient safety." One GP in the Midlands said they currently rely on a fax machine for requesting x-rays at local hospitals because of an ongoing IT problem which has not been fixed.

The family of a man who died after receiving a liver transplant from a donor with undetected cancer has called for more thorough tests. Tom Tyreman, 63, from Stockton, initially recovered after the operation at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital a year ago, but died of cancer in February. There was later found to be a small cancerous tumour in the donor organ that was not picked up by screening. The hospital said the "tragic outcome" could not have been anticipated. NHS Blood and Transplant Service said it does everything it can to make sure all donated organs are suitable, but because of the sudden and speedy nature of organ donation it was not normally possible to screen a donor in advance. Pauline Hunt, 49, from Kilmarnock, has also developed cancer after receiving a kidney from the same donor; a woman who died from a blood clot. Mr Tyreman's sister, Jane Bird, said hospital staff needed to be "more upfront" about what could potentially go wrong. "We were told that he could develop cancer further down the line because his immune system was so suppressed, which we accepted", she said. "But we were never told that potentially he could get it from the donated organ. "I think there need to be more stringent tests. It's just unacceptable in this day and age that more vigorous tests cannot be done." Mr Tyreman's family spoke out after Mrs Hunt described herself as "basically under a death sentence". She said: "Nobody should be fighting somebody else's cancer." An NHS Blood and Transplant spokesman said the medical history of potential donors is "carefully checked" and if an abnormality is found a biopsy is carried out.

Nasa says it has detected the first signs of significant melting in a swathe of glaciers in East Antarctica. The region has long been considered stable and unaffected by some of the more dramatic changes occurring elsewhere on the continent. But satellites have now shown that ice streams running into the ocean along one-eighth of the eastern coastline have thinned and sped up. If this trend continues, it has consequences for future sea levels. There is enough ice in the drainage basins in this sector of Antarctica to raise the height of the global oceans by 28m - if it were all to melt out. "That's the water equivalent to four Greenlands of ice," said Catherine Walker from Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The glaciologist has been detailing her work here at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Dr Walker has been making the most of a new initiative at the agency to process huge numbers of satellite images to get a more resolved and more timely view of what is happening in East Antarctica. Previously, scientists had been aware that the region's Totten Glacier was experiencing melting, most probably as a result of its terminus being affronted by warm water coming up from the deep ocean. Pretty much everything else in that part of the continent was considered stagnant, however. The new satellite elevation and velocity maps change this view. They make it clear that nearby glaciers to Totten are also starting to respond in a similar way. Marked change is detected in the Vincennes Bay and Denman areas just to the west, and in Porpoise Bay and on the George VI coast to the east. Vincennes Bay - which includes the Underwood, Bond, Adams, and Vanderford glaciers - has the most pronounced loss in ice mass. Elevation is dropping at five times the rate it was in 2008 - with a total fall in height over the period of almost 3m. "They've also sped up about 3% from their 2008 velocity, which sounds small but is significant enough to change the flux coming out of those glaciers because they are very deep," said Dr Walker. Once again the melting culprit is likely to be warm water that is being pulled up from the deep by shifting sea-ice and wind patterns in the region. The changes that are occurring are still quite subtle, and they are only really discernible because of the new automated computer tools that will search through the millions of satellite images taken of Antarctica. Nasa is about to widen access to these tools through a project called Inter-mission Time Series of Land Ice Velocity and Elevation, or ITS_LIVE. "I think we can anticipate that over the next five to 10 years, we're going to have a lot of observationally driven discoveries, such as what Catherine is making, because of the new data that's coming online," said Alex Gardner, a glaciologist with Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Nasa says it has detected the first signs of significant melting in a swathe of glaciers in East Antarctica. The region has long been considered stable and unaffected by some of the more dramatic changes occurring elsewhere on the continent. But satellites have now shown that ice streams running into the ocean along one-eighth of the eastern coastline have thinned and sped up. If this trend continues, it has consequences for future sea levels. There is enough ice in the drainage basins in this sector of Antarctica to raise the height of the global oceans by 28m - if it were all to melt out. "That's the water equivalent to four Greenlands of ice," said Catherine Walker from Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The glaciologist has been detailing her work here at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Dr Walker has been making the most of a new initiative at the agency to process huge numbers of satellite images to get a more resolved and more timely view of what is happening in East Antarctica. Previously, scientists had been aware that the region's Totten Glacier was experiencing melting, most probably as a result of its terminus being affronted by warm water coming up from the deep ocean. Pretty much everything else in that part of the continent was considered stagnant, however. The new satellite elevation and velocity maps change this view. They make it clear that nearby glaciers to Totten are also starting to respond in a similar way. Marked change is detected in the Vincennes Bay and Denman areas just to the west, and in Porpoise Bay and on the George VI coast to the east. Vincennes Bay - which includes the Underwood, Bond, Adams, and Vanderford glaciers - has the most pronounced loss in ice mass. Elevation is dropping at five times the rate it was in 2008 - with a total fall in height over the period of almost 3m. "They've also sped up about 3% from their 2008 velocity, which sounds small but is significant enough to change the flux coming out of those glaciers because they are very deep," said Dr Walker. Once again the melting culprit is likely to be warm water that is being pulled up from the deep by shifting sea-ice and wind patterns in the region. The changes that are occurring are still quite subtle, and they are only really discernible because of the new automated computer tools that will search through the millions of satellite images taken of Antarctica.

The glaciers that flank the Himalayas and other high mountains in Asia are moving slower over time. Scientists have analysed nearly 20 years of satellite images to come to this conclusion. They show that the ice streams which have decelerated the most are the ones that have also thinned the most. The research has implications for the 800 million people in the region for whom the predictable meltwater from these glaciers is a key resource. The study is being presented at this week's American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in Washington DC - the world's largest annual gathering of Earth and space scientists. How was the research done? Led by the US space agency (Nasa), the assessment draws on one million pairs of pictures acquired by the Landsat-7 spacecraft between 2000 and 2017. Automated software was used to track surface features on glaciers in 11 areas of High Mountain Asia, from Pamir and Hindu Kush in the West, to Nyainqêntanglha and inner Tibet and China in the East. As the markers were observed to shift downslope, they revealed the changing speed of the ice streams. The research team, headed by Dr Amaury Dehecq from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says nine of the surveyed regions show a sustained slowdown during the study period. Nyainqêntanglha, for example, has seen a 37% reduction in speed per decade. For Spiti Lahaul, it is 34% - equivalent to about -5m/year per decade. These are glaciers that would normally move at tens of metres per year. Perhaps the major revelation is that the reduction in velocity is strongly correlated with thinning. Nyainqêntanglha's glaciers have been thinning on average by about 60cm a year; Spiti Lahaul's glaciers are losing thickness at a rate of roughly 40cm a year. "The reason a glacier flows is because of gravity," explained Dr Dehecq. "Under its weight, the glacier slides across its bed and deforms, but as it thins it finds it more difficult to slide and deform; it's kind of intuitive. "But until now there had been some debate as to whether other factors were influencing speed, such as the lubrication of the bed as a result of increased meltwater getting under the glacier. Well, we show thinning is actually the dominant factor," he told BBC News. Are some glaciers getting faster? The slowdown trend is strongest in the south and southeast of High Mountain Asia; it is less pronounced in the West. Regions like the Karakorum in Pakistan, and Kunlun just across the border in Tibet/China, have actually shown a slight thickening over time and a marginal speed-up as a consequence. "That's the influence of different climatic conditions," said co-author Dr Noel Gourmelen from Edinburgh University, UK. "Precipitation in the East is affected by the Asian monsoon and in the West and North-West, it is delivered by westerlies; although it's not exactly clear why the Karakorum has been gaining mass."

With UN climate talks under way in Poland, pressure is on for nations to cut carbon emissions fast. The UK says it’s a leader in climate change – but is it? Here's a list of the good and bad in terms of the UK's climate change record - depending on your point of view. Five good things (from a government perspective) The British government claims to be a leader in cutting carbon emissions - here are five achievements of present and past administrations. Climate change act Ten years ago, the UK passed the Climate Change Act, which binds ministers to cutting at least 80% of emissions by 2050. It has inspired other governments from around the world by proving we can have strong economic growth whilst cutting emissions. Scientists say that targets must now be tougher. Climate change committee Ministers created an independent Climate Change Committee to advise on the cheapest and most effective ways of cutting carbon emissions. The government has exceeded its short-term targets, but it’s slipping away from medium-term goals – and advisers say it’ll face a huge challenge if it raises ambition to tackle 100% of emissions by 2050. The science The UK consistently over-achieves on climate science. Despite spending cuts, Britain continues to supply a disproportionate number of lead scientists for influential UN reports warning of the urgency of climate change. The City The Bank of England governor Mark Carney took a global stand by warning firms that fossil fuel assets may lose value as we tackle climate change. Some financial institutions have started to take notice, but environmentalists complain that many are pursuing business as usual. Auctioning subsidies It sounds obscure – but the UK introduced a system in which wind power firms wanting financial support had to bid at auction. Alongside earlier support, and technology innovation, this auction process has radically forced down the price of offshore wind. Five bad things (from an environmentalist perspective) Environmentalists accept that the UK has taken a leadership role in the past, but they argue that their ambitions are too low. Many campaigners also say that ministers have made too many policy U-turns. Here are five of their complaints.

White House representatives arrive at climate talks in Poland on Monday to promote coal and other fossil fuels. It's expected that President Donald Trump's energy adviser, Wells Griffith, will take part in the COP24 event. The controversial meeting occurs as investors managing $32tn (£25tn) in assets call for an end to coal as a source of energy. Meanwhile, ministers from around 130 countries arrive here to try and steer the talks to a successful conclusion. Just as at last year's gathering in Bonn, the Trump White House is keen to show strong support for fossil fuels. According to a statement from the US State Department, the event will "showcase ways to use fossil fuels as cleanly and efficiently as possible, as well as the use of emission-free nuclear energy". Last year's event was disrupted by singing protesters keen to point out that the pro-coal and gas lobby were not welcome at the UN event. This year's meeting has environmentalists questioning its relevance. "The event is going to further undermine the credibility of the US as a party in these talks," said Lou Leonard with WWF. "It is going to have virtually no impact on the actual talks - it's a sideshow, it's a side event, its not something related to what the parties are negotiating right now."

Two smartphone-makers have unveiled handsets featuring a "hole-punch" selfie camera. The screens of the Samsung A8s and Huawei Honor View20 both feature a small circular space for the component. The design is intended to be less obtrusive than a "notch" - as popularised by Apple and later by many Android smartphone manufacturers. One expert said the innovation highlighted how competitive the market for mid-range devices had become. 'World first' Both Samsung and Huawei claimed to be first to launch the notchless camera design. The Chinese company may have slightly edged out its rival by unveiling its device at an event in Hong Kong a few hours before Samsung's launch. But the South Korean company had previously hinted at the screen-engineering feat by showing off a line drawing of the feature in November. Neither handset features the kind of facial identification sensors that spurred Apple to introduce a notch in the first place. One industry-watcher said the phones instead represented mid-range devices, which made them a good match for the new look. "Huawei is relentless at using the Honor brand to really grab as much share in the marketplace as possible," said Ben Wood, from the consultancy CCS Insight, "This is a very important part of the market, particularly for Samsung with the professional pressure it is facing from Huawei." Samsung was the world's most successful smartphone brand in the July-to-September quarter, when it shipped 72.2 million units, according to research company IDC. Huawei came second, according to the same report, with 52 million devices shipped over the same period. But both companies face challenges. Samsung has lost substantial market share in the mid- and lower-tiers to Chinese rivals over the past year, while Huawei faces claims it broke US sanctions on Iran and poses a wider security threat to the West. Huge camera

US chip-maker Qualcomm claims it has won an injunction against Apple that effectively bans the import of a number of iPhone models, ranging from the iPhone 6S to the iPhone X. The preliminary order, issued by a Chinese court, is the latest in step a continuing feud between the two tech giants over intellectual property. However, Apple says all of its iPhone models remain on sale in the country. The disputed patents relate to software rather than hardware. The injunction affects devices running older versions of Apple's iOS operating system and not those running the latest version, iOS 12. The court found Apple had violated two of Qualcomm's patents - one regarding photograph resizing and the other related to how apps are managed on a touch screen. "Apple continues to benefit from our intellectual property while refusing to compensate us," said Don Rosenberg, general counsel of Qualcomm. However, Apple responded that the attempted ban was "another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world". The company added it would "pursue all our legal options through the courts". In January 2017, Apple filed two lawsuits against Qualcomm, claiming it had abused its dominant market position as a chip-maker. In July the same year, Qualcomm claimed that iPhones using chips by rivals, such as Intel, infringed six of its patents.

A panel of censors set up to vet mobile video games in China has signalled it will be hard to please. State media reports that of the first 20 titles it assessed, nine were refused permission to go on sale. The Xinhua news agency added that developers of the other 11 had been told they had to make adjustments to remove "controversial content". There has been a clampdown on new video game releases in the country since March. The authorities have voiced concerns about the violent nature of some titles as well as worries about the activity being addictive. President Xi Jinping has also called for more to be done to tackle a rise in near-sightedness among the young - something that the country's ministry of education has linked to children playing video games at the cost of spending time on outdoor pastimes. It was announced in August that a new body - the State Administration of Press and Publications - had taken over responsibility for approving games and that it would limit the number of online titles available. And although it has not been specified, some experts are assuming that the new panel will operate under its auspices. Games backlog Until an announcement by China's Communist Party's central committee on Friday, the online video games review panel's existence had not been made public. Xinhua said it is comprised of gaming experts, government-employed researchers, and representatives from the media and video games industry. But it provided no other information about who they were or the titles they had already examined. Nor was there any hint of when the freeze on new releases might end. The Wall Street Journal suggested publishers might have to wait until at least March after the next annual meeting of parliament. Analysts appear split over how to interpret the latest development. A research note from the US-based Jefferies Financial Group described the move as being "progressive" and speculated that a timetable for approved video games releases would soon follow. But South Korea's Kiwoom Securities said the committee's existence indicated that the Chinese government intended to tighten regulation of the industry. One industry-watcher observed there was a big backlog to clear, meaning it could be a long while before matters settled down. "China is the biggest games market globally - there had always been some stiffness of regulation around certain games but the mobile space had been relatively unscathed from that and there seemed to be a lot more freedom for smartphone titles," said Piers Harding-Rolls, research company IHS Markit's games expert. "But you now have a new organisation and what sounds like more stringent criteria. "There will be a learning process involved in that for publishers and I think we could be waiting six to 12 months before things return to some sort of normality."

India's currency slumped one day after the abrupt resignation of the country's central bank governor. The Indian rupee fell 1.3% against the US dollar and stocks were also lower as investors reacted to his departure. On Monday, Urjit Patel resigned from his post midway through his three-year term, citing "personal reasons". His departure comes amid reports of a rift between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government. Stock markets were also in the red, having fallen on Monday after exit polls in state elections showed the ruling party struggling. Analysts expected Mr Patel's resignation would weigh on sentiment and the economy as India prepares for a general election next year. Its timing has also raised some concerns about central bank independence in India. "Patel's resignation seems like a protest to the government's interference," said Priyanka Kishore, head of India and Southeast Asia economics at Oxford Economics. "There are already other concerns weighing on the economy... uncertainty about RBI's leadership and policy at this point could weigh on growth further." The perception of government intervention in monetary policy can undermine investor confidence and hurt the local currency. India will vote in a general election in the first half of next year, with polls due by May.

Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya can be extradited from the UK to India where he faces fraud charges, a London court has ruled. The extradition ruling will be passed to the Home Secretary for approval. Mr Mallya, whose business empire once included Kingfisher beer, left India in March 2016 after defaulting on debts of more than $1bn (£785m). He denies "fleeing" from India, and says he made an "unconditional" offer to pay back the sum in full in July. Mr Mallya attended Westminster Magistrates Court for the hearing. Following the hearing, Mr Mallya declined to say if he would appeal against the ruling. "My legal team will be reviewing the judgment in detail and determining the next steps forward," he said. The businessman's fall from grace is being avidly tracked in India, where he was once listed as one of India's wealthiest people. Mr Mallya built his fortune from Kingfisher beer, before branching out into Indian cricket and Formula 1 racing. He set up the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines in 2005. He faces a raft of charges relating to financial irregularities at Kingfisher Airlines. His monetary affairs are being investigated by India's Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, which handles financial crimes. Nick Vamos, partner at Peters & Peters and former head of extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service, said the court decision was "a hugely significant judgment for the Indian government". "Although Mr Mallya failed to convince the court that his prosecution was politically motivated, the Indian authorities pulled out all of the stops to achieve this result and undoubtedly will try to make political capital from it back home. "However, they would be wise not to be too triumphalist as Mr Mallya has 14 days to appeal to the High Court, who might look askance at excessive gloating in the meantime," he added. Paul Blake, BBC Business Reporter, Westminster Magistrates Court Vijay Mallya entered the court surrounded by a scrum of reporters shouting questions in English and Hindi. As we stood in line for our turn at the x-ray machine, Mr Mallya told me that he believed "clearly this is extremely political, it's really obvious". While awaiting his hearing, Mr Mallya paced around the corridors, intermittently sitting among reporters in the public gallery. When his case was called, Mr Mallya heard a detailed judgement against him, which concluded with the judge saying he should be extradited to stand trial in India. From the scrum to the judgement, Mr Mallya appeared calm - relaxed even. The case is now in the hands of Home Secretary, Sajid Javid. In 2012, Mr Mallya sold a majority stake in his United Spirits group to UK drinks giant Diageo. The deal was supposed to help Mr Mallya reduce United Spirits' debts and free up funds for Kingfisher Airlines. But the airline, which was grounded in 2012, lost its flying permit the following year. It made annual losses for five years in a row and finally collapsed after lenders refused to give it fresh loans.

Indonesia unveils more detailed land map in bid to resolve development planning disputes Indonesia’s government on Tuesday launched a more detailed map of land use aimed at resolving overlapping claims in the vast archipelago, including in forest areas, three years later than was initially planned. Jakarta hopes the new map, on a scale of 1:50,000 compared with a previous map on a 1:250,000 scale, will reduce chances of dispute over the issue of permits for mining, plantation and forest conservation. The making of the map - initially due to have been completed by 2015 - had faced obstacles due to "too many fears and worries because of many interests", President Joko Widodo said at an event to mark the map's launch. “With this one-map policy, development planning can be more accurate. With this, we will know where the dam is, where the irrigation is, including all concessions from the east to the west to the south,” the president added. However, in the making of the new map, the government found overlapping land use in a combined area bigger than South Korea - some 10.4 million hectares in Kalimantan, the Indonesian side of the Borneo island, and 6.4 million hectares in the island of Sumatra, said Darmin Nasution, coordinating minister of economic affairs.

Steve Bray is already hard at work when dawn breaks over London, waving anti-Brexit banners behind television crews reporting live outside Westminster. The 49-year-old’s signs protesting against Britain’s departure from the European Union are a regular backdrop to news footage shot outside parliament, as are his loud cries of “Stop Brexit”, aimed at lawmakers inside. For the last 15 months, the Welshman has made it his mission to stand outside parliament each day its members are in session, making sure his message gets across even if that means intruding on live broadcasts. “To me this massive social injustice ... is already tearing our nation apart,” Bray, wearing a blue hat with a yellow band - the colours of the EU flag - as well as a large joint Union Jack and EU flag on his back. “I want people in their towns, villages to see that people are standing up to this mess that we are in.” Bray began his Stand of Defiance European Movement protest in September 2017, leaving his Port Talbot home for London. He says he stands outside parliament from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. While Brexit supporters are also regularly outside the building, Bray has become well-known for his tactics. He attaches banners reading “We want a people’s vote” or “Stop this Brexit Mess” to long poles to ensure they can be waved in sight of the recording cameras inside raised broadcast tents. Sometimes that means jumping over fences, drawing the attention of security guards. Political reporters and local workers recognise him and he says he has spoken with more than 70 members of parliament. Fellow anti-Brexit protesters introduce themselves - some have become friends - and passersby snap pictures of him. 2 “It was such a powerful feeling standing in front of parliament with a flag and people took pictures and I just thought: Why is there nobody here?” Bray said of how his protest began. “When I get here, first of all I set up flags, banners on the lamp posts facing parliament ... I’m all about getting the message out, once I take all of this off, nobody knows who I am.”