Ups and downs for UK's nocturnal species

Barn owl
67% increase in their range since the late 1980s according to the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) recently published Bird Atlas 2007-11
Experts are still investigating why populations have been increasing but point to the provision of nest boxes and environmental schemes on farms as possible factors.
Paul Stancliffe from the BTO describes 2013 as a "lean year" for the birds due to a cold start but remains hopeful for next year's breeding season.
Nightjars
Populations have increased by 128% since 1981.
Restoration of heathland habitats has helped the birds to recover from dramatic declines in the late 20th Century.read more

Migrating birds lured into traps

UK sovereign base areas (SBAs) in Cyprus have become illegal bird-trapping "hot spots", according to research.
The RSPB and BirdLife Cyprus have been monitoring songbird-trapping operations on the island since 2002.
BirdLife Cyprus told BBC News that, in that time, the scale of bird-trapping had increased by 54%. read more

Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing

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Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon.

It addresses his 1952 conviction for homosexuality for which he was punished by being chemically castrated.
The conviction meant he lost his security clearance and had to stop the code-cracking work that had proved vital to the Allies in World War Two.
The pardon was granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy after a request by Justice Minister Chris Grayling.
'Appalling' treatment "Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," said Mr Grayling.
He said the research Turing carried out during the war at Bletchley Park undoubtedly shortened the conflict and saved thousands of lives.

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UK bases in Cyprus 'are bird-trapping hotspots'

UK sovereign base areas (SBAs) in Cyprus have become illegal bird-trapping "hotspots", according to research.

The RSPB and BirdLife Cyprus have been monitoring songbird-trapping operations on the island since 2002.
BirdLife Cyprus told BBC News that, in that time, the scale of bird-trapping had increased by 54%.
Although it is widespread, the charity said that some of the largest trapping operations were on UK soil.

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A dozen birds can fetch up to 80 euros”

BirdLife Cyprus

These take place on the two British SBAs in Cyprus, at Akrotiri and Dhekelia, sites covering about 100 sq miles that are British sovereign territory and within which the UK maintains a permanent military presence.

Martin Hellicar from BirdLife Cyprus explained that in Dhekelia - in the south-east of the island - organised criminal gangs created "labyrinths" of acacia trees, irrigating the plantations and cutting corridors through them in order to set up long mist nets.
These operations often also use loudspeakers with recordings of bird calls in order to lure migrating birds into the almost invisible nets.
The songbirds are killed and sold to restaurants for the illegal but widely available Cypriot delicacy ambelopoulia.
"A dozen birds can fetch up to 80 euros," a spokesperson from BirdLife Cyprus told BBC News. READ MORE

Neanderthals could speak like modern humans, study suggests

An analysis of a Neanderthal's fossilised hyoid bone - a horseshoe-shaped structure in the neck - suggests the species had the ability to speak.

This has been suspected since the 1989 discovery of a Neanderthal hyoid that looks just like a modern human's.
But now computer modelling of how it works has shown this bone was also used in a very similar way.
Writing in journal Plos One, scientists say its study is "highly suggestive" of complex speech in Neanderthals.

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If Neanderthals also had language then they were truly human, too”

Prof Stephen Wroe University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

The hyoid bone is crucial for speaking as it supports the root of the tongue. In non-human primates, it is not placed in the right position to vocalise like humans.

An international team of researchers analysed a fossil Neanderthal throat bone using 3D x-ray imaging and mechanical modelling.
This model allowed the group to see how the hyoid behaved in relation to the other surrounding bones.
Stephen Wroe, from the University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia, said: "We would argue that this is a very significant step forward. It shows that the Kebara 2 hyoid doesn't just look like those of modern humans - it was used in a very similar way."
He told BBC News that it not only changed our understanding of Neanderthals, but also of ourselves.
"Many would argue that our capacity for speech and language is among the most fundamental of characteristics that make us human. If Neanderthals also had language then they were truly human, too."read more

Former BBC sports broadcaster David Coleman has died aged 87 after a short illness.

He first appeared on air for the BBC in 1954, covering 11 Olympic Games from Rome in 1960 to Sydney 2000 and six football World Cups.
Coleman presented some of the BBC's leading sporting programmes, including Grandstand and Sportsnight, and was the host of Question of Sport for 18 years.
He was awarded an OBE in 1992 and retired from the BBC in 2000.
Later that year he became the first broadcaster to receive the Olympic Order award, in recognition of his contribution to the Olympic movementr.i.p please read more