Newcastle come from behind to beat French Top 14 side Bordeaux and move top of Pool 1 in the European Challenge Cup.Read more
- Updates on Friday 20 October 2017
BBC News Online
That's all from us this week, thank you for joining us.
We'll be back on Monday from 08:00 - Have a great weekend.
A woman and a five-year-old boy were hit by a car in a Cramlington car park.
It happened at Manor Walks Shopping Centre when a Nissan Leaf drove forward and struck the 38-year-old pedestrian and the child.
They both suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries in the incident at 17:15 on 2 October.
Police are trying to establish what happened.
A Middlesbrough man has been given a suspended sentence for selling loaded Kodi boxes.
But what are they?
- Some shops sell ready-to-use set-top boxes or television sticks preloaded with the Kodi software.
- They are also known as Android boxes, because many of the devices run Android as their primary operating system.
- The developers behind Kodi say their software does not contain any content of its own and is designed to play legally owned media or content "freely available" on the internet.
- However, the software can be modified with third-party add-ons that provide access to pirated copies of films and TV series, or provide free access to subscription television channels.
- Some traders sell Kodi boxes preloaded with such third-party add-ons that can access pirated content.
- It is the sale of these "fully-loaded" boxes which was the subject of the case against Mr Thompson.
A Middlesbrough shop owner has been given a suspended sentence after he admitted selling modified TV boxes that could illegally stream football and films.
Brian Thompson, 55, had originally denied any offences and set up the prospect of a landmark court case relating to the sale of Kodi boxes.
However, at Teesside Crown Court last month he admitted two charges related to their sale and advertising.
Kodi developers have said boxes should not be used to access blocked content.
Thompson, of Barnaby Avenue in Middlesbrough, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.
The court heard Thompson had sold an estimated 400 TV boxes, earning about £40,000.
BBC News Online
Massadio Haidara has been training, Rafa Benitez has confirmed.
He added: "Still, we have Paul Dummett out. Dwight Gayle has had a little problem with his calf and is not ready for this game.”
Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez on a potential takeover of the club: “My opinion is we have to play against Crystal Palace. I have to concentrate on that.
"We talk about football. I know the history and opinions. Let’s be sure we prepare set pieces, tactics, what we can do in the game.”
"My position is simple. I am the manager and I concentrate on football. I have to be sure my players think about three points.”
Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has been speaking ahead of the Palace game.
He said: “We have a good team with young players and they are improving. I am positive in terms of what we can achieve.
"The fans, the club, the potential, is massive. If we do well on the pitch, everything is easier.
“Crystal Palace have played some good football. They did really well (against Chelsea) so they will have confidence, but no game is easy.”
The sheer dominance by the top two social classes of Oxford and Cambridge University admissions has been revealed in newly released data.
The data, obtained by David Lammy MP, shows a "shocking" regional bias, with more offers made to Home Counties pupils than the whole of northern England.
The data on admissions by region provided by the universities themselves showed:
- The North West, the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber between them received 15% of Oxford offers and 17% of Cambridge offers.
The research also revealed that 27.9% of pupils in Middlesbrough qualify for free school meals, while only 5.5% qualify in Buckinghamshire.
BBC Look North
North East and Cumbria
Workers made redundant from North East construction firm Owen Pugh are being offered help finding new roles.
North Tyneside MP Mary Glindon and Gary Tait, from the Department for Work and Pensions' Rapid Response team, will be offering advice on vacancies and training and benefits this afternoon at the John Willie Sams Centre in Dudley.
A pharmacy has employed a team of bouncers to protect staff who are being "plagued" by a gang of youths.
Manager Richard Lyness is paying a private security firm £1,200 a month to guard the entrance to Pharmacy World in Stockton, Teesside.
He claims a "hardcore" group of youths are targeting the premises in the Roseworth area of the town and have even made threats to kill.
Cleveland Police said they make arrests where necessary.
Painting at the New Wear Crossing has been suspended after specks of paint were spotted on nearby vehicles.
Sunderland City Council says the company responsible for painting the pylon, KVB, is looking into what's happened and will be in touch with affected people this week.
The cars affected were mainly parked on the south side of the river.
Twice the height of Gateshead's Millennium Bridge and taller than Big Ben, the bridge crosses the water between Castletown and Pallion and is due to open next year.
Gary Barlow fans are queuing for tickets to see him at Sunderland Empire next year.
Tickets went on sale today.
The Chief Constable of Cleveland Police has announced he is to retire.
Iain Spittal, who took on the role on a temporary basis in January 2016 before being made permanent in July last year, will step down at the end of December.
He joined the force in 2013 as deputy chief constable having started his career in North Yorkshire in 1986.
Mr Spittal said he had led it through "challenging times" having taken over while it was rated as "requires improvement" by watchdogs.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure after an incident on the Tyne and Wear Metro.
It happened between Sunderland and Pelaw on Monday 11 September.
The 29-year-old was arrested after an appeal by British Transport Police.
A sci-fi events company says it'll have to find a new venue quickly for its upcoming comics convention after a Teesside hotel suddenly closed.
Receivers were called in yesterday to the Marton Country Club after months of poor trading.
Lee Norroway, from Teesside Unleashed, says it was a great venue for them and has appealed for help finding somewhere else to host February's event.
The next phase of a major project to revitalise Hartlepool's Church Street is getting under way.
It will see £3.4m spent on the area in this latest stage, which is due to be completed in May.
The focus will be on enhancing the existing conservation area architecture and creating a more open, pedestrian-friendly area.
A workers' memorial will be created at the front of the art gallery, featuring specially engraved stones.
Ian Lavery MP received £165,000 from the 10-member trade union NUM Northumberland Area.
The Wansbeck Labour MP, who was the general secretary of the union at the time, will now face questions on his record over a number of disputed payments by the union he ran.
The chairman of the Labour Party denies any wrongdoing.
It has emerged that Mr Lavery didn't pay off his personal mortgage: The union of which he was general secretary for 18 years paid it off and paid him much more besides.
Mr Lavery said in a statement:
"As the Certification Officer's report makes clear, no member of the union, past or present, has made a complaint about the financial affairs of the union. I am pleased that the Certification Officer has decided to not appoint an inspector or take further action.
"This report should draw a line under almost two years of allegations and innuendo directed at me and my former colleagues. Our legacy is helping miners and their families when others abandoned them, bringing millions of pounds of compensation into the Northumberland Coalfield. I remain immensely proud of our record."
BBC Look North
North East and Cumbria
A Teesside autism charity says children with the condition are missing out on support because of delays in getting an official diagnosis.
Recent research suggests in some parts of the region families are waiting up to four years until the assessment process for autism is complete.
Stockton-based charity Daisy Chain, which provides facilities for families affected by the issue, says the hold-ups can be damaging.
This charity shop in Horden was set on fire by vandals:
There are calls for urgent action after a hoard of used drug needles was found in a Redcar seafront shelter.
The town's Labour MP, Anna Turley, is calling for action to protect public spaces after council workers made the discovery.
Shoppers in Redcar told BBC Tees they'd seen needles left in public toilets and even on the beach.
It's a damp and misty start for many places in the North East with some patchy light rain or drizzle.
It should become brighter through the morning with some sunny intervals developing and it will feel pleasant.
Patchy light rain may return from the west later.
BBC Look North
North East and Cumbria
Scientists at Newcastle University believe they've made a major breakthrough in being able to treat serious eyesight issues - they've managed to create artificial corneas grown from human donor tissue.
It's a medical first and it could not only reduce waiting times for transplants, but improve their outcome.
By growing the cells on a curved dish - instead of flat - they discovered they formed in the same way as they do naturally.
There's currently a big shortage in donated corneas - partly because tissue cannot be taken from people who've had laser eye surgery.