A part of China's Great Wall has been severely damaged by construction workers in central Shanxi province, who used an excavator to dig through it.

Police say two people are suspected of trying to create a shortcut for their construction work.

The two have been detained and the case is under further investigation.

The 38-year-old man and 55-year-old woman were working near the affected area, the 32nd Great Wall.

They dug a "big gap" by widening an existing cavity of the Great Wall so that their excavator could pass through it. Police say they wanted to reduce the distance they had to travel.

It also stressed that the two have caused "irreversible damage to the integrity of the Ming Great Wall and to the safety of the cultural relics".

Located in Youyu county, the 32nd Great Wall is a section of the Ming Great Wall and is categorised as a historical and cultural site which is protected at the provincial level.

Officers were alerted to the damage on 24 August after receiving reports that there was a huge gap in the wall.

The Great Wall, a Unesco world heritage site since 1987, was built and rebuilt on a continual basis from around 220 BC until the Ming Dynasty in the 1600s, when it was the world's largest military structure.

Much of what visitors see today was constructed during the Ming Dynasty, which is referred to as the Ming Great Wall.

Some stretches of the wall have been damaged or demolished over the years, especially in remote rural areas. A 2016 report from newspaper Beijing Times suggested more than 30% of the Ming Great Wall has disappeared entirely, with only 8% of it considered well preserved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_jWHffIx5E

Discount chain B&M has agreed to buy dozens of shops from the collapsed retailer Wilko, as talks over a bigger rescue deal hang in the balance.

B&M said on Tuesday it will take on up to 51 of Wilko's 400 UK stores in a deal worth £13m.

Wilko fell into administration in August as it struggled with sharp losses and a cash shortage.

Reports suggest a deal tabled by HMV's owner to buy up to 300 shops has also stalled over issues with suppliers.

Wilko was founded in 1930 and by the 1990s became one of Britain's fastest-growing retailers.

The discount chain has faced strong competition from rivals such as Poundland, The Range and Home Bargains, as the high cost of living has pushed shoppers to seek out bargains.

The first redundancies at Wilko - 269 jobs at its support centre in Worksop and 14 others at a subsidiary firm - started on Monday.

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A further 1,300 jobs and 52 stores to go at collapsed retailer Wilko as efforts continue to secure rescue deal for rest of chain

Glazers

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A man who was found exhausted on his paddleboard after drifting four miles out to sea has described his ordeal.

Mr Oleksik said he had learned the "biggest lesson" about the danger of the wind and tides.

Speaking at England's training headquarters, St George's Park, Nketiah added: "Obviously I've been here a few times but it does feel different - it's extra special.

It's nice to see Gillian Taylforth taking her place at the matriach of the show. That was always going to be Kathy's role, after Pauline was gone.

A famous win against the odds on a September night on the road. We've seen it before, and now Michael O'Neill has called for it once again.

Northern Ireland's late win away in Hungary in 2014 kickstarted the unforgettable journey to Euro 2016.

Now in O'Neill's second tenure, Northern Ireland would still be a long way off qualification for Euro 2024 even with a victory over Slovenia on Thursday, but the manager is craving that spark to ignite a new adventure.

The campaign so far has been one of frustration as O'Neill's injury-hit side have lost against Finland, Denmark and Kazakhstan - all by one-goal margins.

The sole victory has come against minnows San Marino, where anything other than three points would have been totally unacceptable.

Going into Thursday's match in Ljubljana, O'Neill wants to inspire his players to another magic moment.

"I think this is a winnable game," said the 54-year-old.

"No international game away from home is easy to win, and this group of players have to get that mentality.

"It is a new group for me to work with in a lot of areas. We are capable of going back to 2016 and 2018 qualification campaigns where we were able to go away form home and win games.

"That's something that this group of players [can do]. You have to start it somewhere and we started away back in Budapest.

"It takes something like that to maybe ignite a little run of confidence and form and this is as good a place as any to start."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r454dad7tc

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GOAL - Slovenia 1-0 Northern Ireland

Andraž Šporar 3 mins

GOAL - Slovenia 1-1 Northern Ireland

Isaac Price 6 mins

GOAL - Slovenia 2-1 Northern Ireland

Petar Stojanović 17 mins

GOAL - France 1-0 Republic of Ireland

Tchouameni (19 min)

GOAL - Slovenia 3-1 Northern Ireland

Benjamin Sesko 39 mins

57

Northern Ireland's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 are all but over after a 4-2 defeat by Slovenia in Ljubljana.

In a chaotic opening 20 minutes Isaac Price cancelled out Andraz Sporar's early opener before Petar Stojanovic's deflected goal restored Slovenia's lead.

Benjamin Sesko added a third on 41 minutes to put two goals between the sides at the break.

Jonny Evans pulled one back after the restart but Sporar grabbed his second in the 56th minute to halt any potential comeback.

The defeat leaves Northern Ireland seven points off qualification at the halfway point of Group H, with just one win in five matches and placed second from bottom.

Slovenia opened the scoring in the third minute when Sesko fed striker partner Sporar, who beat the offside trap with a perfectly-timed run and the Panathinaikos forward kept his cool to slot into the bottom corner.

In a strong response, Northern Ireland were level four minutes later. The brilliant Conor McMenamin played in a teasing low cross and Matty Kennedy forced Oblak into a superb save, but Standard Liege midfielder Price kept his cool to tuck away the rebound for his first international goal.

However, Slovenia went into half-time with a two-goal lead when Stojanovic's cross deflected off Evans and into the goal. Sesko, who also had an effort ruled out, was then allowed the space to turn in the area and the Red Bull Leipzig forward fired into the bottom corner.

Sporar hit the crossbar early in the second half, but Evans showed super footwork in the area before curling a deflected effort past the outstretched Jan Oblak to make it 3-2.

However, Slovenia hit back again when Sporar got the better of Trai Hume and kept his composure to beat the sliding defender and keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell before rolling the ball into the empty goal.

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