Free Republic

A centre spokesman confirmed to the BBC the squirrel was "safe and alive" but could not reveal any further information about what would happen to it now. 'Genetic defect' The RSPCA said under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it was generally illegal to release grey squirrels back to the wild once treated by a vet. Dr Helen McRobie, a lecturer in biomedical science at the Anglia Ruskin University, said she had never heard of a bald squirrel before but it would "need to be kept in the warm once the temperature drops". "This is very rare. I have been...

At least 37 people have been killed and 181 wounded in two suicide bomb attacks in a residential area of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, officials say. The bombers blew themselves up in a busy street in the southern suburb of Burj al-Barajneh, a stronghold of the Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement. The Sunni jihadist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility, but there has been no independent confirmation. It is the deadliest bombing in Beirut since the civil war ended 25 years ago. Prime Minister Tammam Salam condemned the attacks as "unjustifiable" and called on Lebanon's rival factions to unite against "plans...

And those victorious Republican candidates are selected in primaries where the financial support of deep-pocketed pro-gun lobbying groups like the National Rifle Association can prove decisive and the voters who turn out are the kind of conservatives who don't take kindly to a candidate in favour of greater restrictions on gun ownership. It's a political environment where Republican officeholders face grassroot challenges if they're deemed insufficiently conservative but never if they're not moderate enough. Congress isn't just against high-profile gun regulation - even measures supported by a large majority of the American people - it also prohibits federal efforts to...

China is set to showcase its military might in a parade commemorating the defeat of Japan in World War Two. Some 12,000 troops and 200 aircraft, as well as tanks and missiles, will go on display in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. More than 80% of the machinery will be shown in public for the first time, state media said. China's growing military capabilities will be keenly watched amid geo-political tensions in the region. President Xi Jinping, who is also commander of the armed forces, will be centre stage at the proceedings along with more than 30 foreign government officials and...

1. He's advancing a populist economic message Tax-cutting and deregulation have been key parts of Republican orthodoxy since the days of Ronald Reagan. Mr Trump isn't reading from that particular hymnal, however. Instead he preaches a populist salvation for the economically disaffected. Poll after poll shows economic security is the most important issue for Republican voters, and Mr Trump's entire message - his anti-illegal-immigration stance, his condemnation of Chinese and Mexican trade practices, his calls for taxation of Wall Street hedge fund managers and his constant touting of his resume as a successful businessman and "job-creator" - is built around...

More than a football field of land disappears every hour. As the land erodes, people in coastal communities move "up the bayou" - inland to bigger towns and cities. But as the smaller coastal communities are dispersed, traditional ways of life are under threat. "I am the last generation of fluent speakers of French here," say Cheramie, before launching into a demonstration of the Cajun dialect. "I think French culture is lost." It's not just the language that he sees disappearing. "Our culture of fishing and hunting and trapping, appreciating the marsh - nobody else has what we have here,...

Many of the party's main pledges were in its manifesto, but some were also made later in the election campaign. The party said it would: Introduce a law guaranteeing no rise in income tax rates, VAT or national insurance before 2020 Invest an extra £8bn a year for the NHS by 2020 Hold a referendum on membership of the EU by 2017 Open 500 more free schools Extend the right-to-buy scheme to housing association tenants in England Build 200,000 starter homes Ensure all people who work 30 hours per week on the minimum wage pay no income tax Double free...

The Conservatives have emerged as the dominant force in English politics after a string of surprising wins in key constituencies. Significant gains in the marginal "killing fields" helped the party to a comfortable majority. In a night of upheaval, seats previously considered Labour and Lib Dem strongholds turned blue as results trickled in. Several high-profile names including Ed Balls and Vince Cable lost their seats. Failure to win key marginals, combined with Labour losses in Scotland, prompted Ed Miliband to stand down. Meanwhile, Nick Clegg resigned as Liberal Democrat leader after his party suffered heavy losses and UKIP leader Nigel...

Chief executive Elon Musk announced the firm would build batteries that store solar energy and serve as a back-up system for consumers during blackouts. The device would allow consumers to get off a power grid or bring energy to remote areas that are not on a grid. Tesla plans to start shipping the units to installers in the US by this summer. In a highly anticipated event near Los Angeles, Mr Musk said the move could help change the "entire energy infrastructure of the world". "Tesla Energy is a critical step in this mission to enable zero emission power generation,"...

Mrs Yattara leads me to her boss, Mr Kante. He has an office all to himself, and offers me a seat... a seat from which I can hardly see him. Tax rule books and copies of Finance Ministry decrees are piled into turrets all around his desk. He asks me questions about my expenses as a freelance journalist. It's unnerving because he is writing things down but I can't see what. Mr Kante ''You have the choice between two income tax regimens, 30% or 3%, which shall it be?'' ''Oh well... err 3%?'' I venture. ''Three per cent it is,"...

According to a tweet from the meeting in St Petersburg, Mr Atambayev said that Mr Putin "just took me for a little drive - he was at the wheel - nearby here, and I can confirm that he's in excellent form". The Russian TV news channel Rossiya 24 also showed some brief footage of Mr Putin at the meeting, without sound. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov - quoted in a Russian journalist's tweet - said St Petersburg was chosen as a convenient venue for Mr Atambayev, whose daughter is studying there. Mr Peskov was also quoted as saying the "little drive"...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been seen in public for nearly two weeks and the internet has responded to his vanishing act in the only way it knows how: memes.

Crimea's [Head Of Republic] But Mr Aksyonov denied that Russia had done anything wrong. Sergei Aksyonov said the annexation of the peninsula by Russia one year ago had been a "democratic act". "I can tell you that no-one took anything," he told the BBC's John Simpson. "That was the choice of the Crimeans. Nothing could happen without the support of the local population which is why this was not an act of aggression, but a real democratic act. "This is the main mistake and misunderstanding of Western leaders. People are misinformed by the media which is failing to give an...

Two German men have been sentenced to three strokes of a cane and nine months in jail in Singapore for vandalism and trespassing. Andreas Von Knorre and Elton Hinz pleaded guilty to entering a train depot and spraying graffiti on a train. Singapore has strict laws on vandalism, and has caned and jailed foreigners in the past for the offence. These include a Swiss national in 2010 and US teenager Michael Fay whose 1994 caning sparked global controversy. Von Knorre, 22, and Hinz, 21, had flown into Singapore from Australia in November last year and vandalised a train during their...

A Russian public movement called "Novorossiya" (New Russia) provides help for the rebels in eastern Ukraine and is now on the EU sanctions list. Historically Novorossiya was a large swathe of southern and eastern Ukraine which became part of imperial Russia. Who supports Novorossiya? The movement has representatives in several large Russian cities and a network of collection points. Its supporters include conservative Orthodox Christians, nationalists and monarchists. Mr Strelkov is an outspoken critic of corruption in the rebel-held areas and says he personally monitors distribution of Novorossiya aid, to make sure it reaches the right people. Being subject to...

Famous televised police chase endings include a stolen timber lorry which ignited in flames and a school bus hijacking in Miami where the suspect was killed in a shootout. In Monday's chase, the suspect was caught when his vehicle got wedged between two cars. Fleeing on foot, we see him arrested live on air, as the TV commentator frantically urges his pilot to find a better angle. The morality of showing this on TV - and the danger of glorifying carjackers - has long been debated. But on Monday the local Fox, CBS and NBC stations all screened the chase....

For the full list of slogans, as translated by BBC Monitoring, read on: Let us all turn out in the general offensive to hasten final victory in the revolutionary spirit of Paektu! Let us greet the 70th anniversaries of national liberation and Party founding with high political enthusiasm and brilliant labour feats! Let us glorify the 70th anniversaries of national liberation and Party founding as revolutionary, auspicious events noteworthy in the history of Kim Il Sung's nation and Kim Jong Il's Korea! The great Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are the eternal leaders of our revolution, the...

Dogs can tell the difference between happy and angry human facial expressions, a study has revealed. Researchers from the University of Vienna devised an experiment where 11 dogs were trained to associate either a happy or an angry face with a food reward. In a subsequent test, the scientists showed the dogs images , either of human faces they had not seen in their training, or of just half a human face.

If real-time translation apps can get it right, they could upend a lucrative sector. According to a recent report by the Economist newspaper - which cited consulting firm Common Sense Advisory - the language interpretation industry generates about $37bn (£24bn) worth of sales every year. But the problems I experienced in Bilbao suggest that processor-powered translations still have far to go. Those issues are indicative of speech recognition tech's limitations in general, according to Joseba Abaitua, an academic at the modern foreign languages department at Bilbao's University of Deusto. Mr Abaitua, who specialises in online communication, suggests that interacting via...

A rare Ferrari sports car found rusting in a French farmhouse under a pile of old magazines has sold for 14.2m euros (£10.5m; $16.2m) at auction in Paris. The blue California Spider was hidden away for more than 50 years. One of only 37 ever made, it was once owned by the French actor Alain Delon and was discovered alongside dozens of other classic models.