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Police teams have excavated cellar rooms in Haut de la Garenne

A piece of bone that sparked a massive police search at a former Haut de la Garenne children's home now appears to be a shard of wood or coconut shell.

Police on the island of Jersey have confirmed that forensic experts in Britain believe the discovery on 23 February is not a skull fragment.

The find was the first piece of significant physical evidence in a two-year-old probe into child abuse.

Police in Jersey say the latest twist does not affect their investigation.

The initial finding led to an extensive, ongoing search and excavation of the Haut de la Garenne building and surrounding grounds.

To date, more than 160 people who spent time at the home have come forward with claims of sexual and physical abuse between the early 1960s and 1986 when the home closed.

'Distraction'

The wider search across the complex has led police to what they believe are bone fragments and children's milk teeth buried beneath the old foundations of the building, although forensic testing is still underway to confirm whether or not the 20 pieces of bone are human or animal.

The building most recently operated as a youth hostel.

In a lengthy statement released on Sunday, States of Jersey Police responded to allegations in a Sunday newspaper that the likely origin of that initial "bone" fragment was purposely kept from the media.

Police say the initial find - whether it turns out to be bone or not - had already been ruled out of their investigation after experts agreed that it dated from before 1940.

They say to highlight its origins would have distracted from their investigation.

The statement goes on to say that the officer in charge of the investigation, deputy chief officer Lenny Harper, "takes full responsibility for the decision to curtail the debate on the item which had already been ruled out of the enquiry and which would have indeed distracted attention from the victims of abuse".

General Than Shwe was pictured visiting victims near Rangoon

The leader of Burma's military junta has met victims of the country's devastating cyclone for the first time.

More than two weeks since the storm hit, General Than Shwe visited relief camps near Rangoon.

A senior UN envoy has arrived in Burma to urge the military regime to accept more international aid. UN chief Ban Ki-moon is expected to visit soon.

Burma says some 78,000 people have died since the cyclone, but aid agencies say many more may die without urgent help.

Than Shwe was shown by Burmese state television visiting relief camps in the Hlaing Thar Yar and Dagon suburbs of Rangoon.

The general inspected relief supplies and spoke to survivors of the cyclone, which flattened and flooded villages across the Irawaddy delta, as well as parts of the main city, Rangoon.

Aid 'starting to move'

The junta has been criticised around the world for obstructing international efforts to help the cyclone victims.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown this week said its response was "inhuman".

However, UK Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown said on Sunday that the aid operation was finally "starting to move".

He said there were signs that Burma might accept a compromise brokered by Asian intermediaries to allow more foreign help, including allowing Western ships to deliver aid.

"We're just going to have see what negotiations in the coming days by the Asian leaders, by the UN secretary-general, achieve. I think you're going to see quite dramatic steps by the Burmese to open up," he told the BBC.

His comments came just before UN humanitarian envoy John Holmes arrived in Burma for talks with members of the junta about widening the relief effort.

The cyclone has filled rice fields with sea water, destroying vital crops UK aid 'reaching cyclone victims' Burma: How you can help Waiting to deliver aid

Mr Holmes is carrying a letter from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to General Than Shwe, who has refused to answer Mr Ban's calls, or answer two previous letters, a UN spokesperson said.

Mr Ban will travel to Burma himself in the coming week, probably on Wednesday or Thursday.

Lord Malloch-Brown says only about 25% of the cyclone's most needy victims have received the help they need.

And Save the Children says 30,000 acutely malnourished children under five years of age are threatened by death from starvation.

The charity says if they do not receive energy-rich food now they could starve to death within weeks.

EXTENT OF THE DEVASTATION See map and satellite images Eyewitness: Barred from Burma Send us your comments

"When people reach this stage they can die in a matter of days... We need to reach more before it is too late," said Save the Children UK's chief executive, Jasmine Whitbread.

On Saturday, Burma took foreign diplomats on a helicopter tour of the Irrawaddy Delta.

But Shari Villarosa, the top US diplomat in Burma, dismissed the visit as a "show".

However, Bernard Delpuech, head of the European Commission Humanitarian Office in Rangoon, said the trip had at least shown "the magnitude of the devastation".

Transact is expecting the rate of problem debt to get worse

A national debt advice organisation says its offices in some of the most affluent parts of the UK are being overwhelmed by demands for help.

Transact told BBC Radio 5 Live the credit crunch was leaving many professionals and homeowners unable to cope with their debts.

It said demand for advice was rising across the country, but the increase was dramatic in middle-class areas.

The organisation represents more than 1,200 debt advice centres.

In Haywards Heath in Sussex and Congleton in Cheshire, for example, there had been a 100% rise in inquiries over the past year.

It said some advice centres were so busy they had been turning people away.

Benefits

Transact says government funding has been generous, with an extra £55 million over the past three years to fund an extra 500 debt advisers.

But it says this has been concentrated on inner-city areas where the rise in problem debt has been less severe.

These services now with the credit crunch are being overwhelmed by a whole new breed of debtor: middle-class people Jamie Elliott Transact co-ordinator

Transact co-ordinator Jamie Elliott told the BBC that debt advisers were seeing a new type of client.

"In the past it was almost uniquely people on benefits, people in social housing who went to debt advice agencies.

"Since the credit crunch started, they are seeing a big increase in professional people and homeowners coming to seek help, who have just been pushed over the edge and now can't cope with their outgoings.

"These services now with the credit crunch are being overwhelmed by a whole new breed of debtor: middle-class people.

"But what that means is there is much less debt advice to go round."

Tougher lending

Many of the people Transact sees have taken advantage of easy access to credit or extended mortgages to pay for home improvements or just general spending.

But in recent months lenders have become much tougher and less willing to be flexible over repayments.

I've had at least two clients sit in front of me and tell me they would have killed themselves if they hadn't found out we were here Emma Russell Senior debt adviser

And with fixed-rate mortgages coming to an end, higher fuel costs, food bills and council tax, it says many people with decent salaries are struggling.

Transact expects the problem to get worse and wants more funding for debt advice and financial education.

At the Mid-Sussex Debt Advice Centre which serves the Haywards Heath area, the average debt of clients - excluding mortgages - is £20,000, rising to £110,000 in the most extreme case.

Senior debt adviser Emma Russell said: "We've seen probably almost a 100% increase in clients. This time last year we were really quite quiet."

And she added: "I've had at least two clients sit in front of me and tell me they would have killed themselves if they hadn't found out we were here."

Debt advisers say financial institutions must take some responsibility for encouraging debt and the government should do more to educate people about financial responsibility.

But they also say a large part of the blame also rests with the individuals who have borrowed so much.

Aid agencies are warning supplies are not getting to the areas worst hit

Thousands of children in cyclone-hit Burma will starve to death within weeks unless food reaches them soon, UK charity Save the Children has warned.

The charity said 30,000 under-fives in the Irrawaddy Delta were malnourished before Cyclone Nargis hit on 2 May.

It says energy-rich food now needs to reach them "before it is too late".

UK Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown, in Burma to press the junta to do more, says that the aid operation "is now starting to move".

Speaking to the BBC from Rangoon, Lord Malloch-Brown said that there had been "bottlenecks in the relief operation, many of them man-made" but that now aid was starting to be delivered.

He said that though the relief effort had not been what many Western nations considered sufficient, thanks to support from the governments of the region and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) a compromise had been struck that the "Burmese can work with".

When people reach this stage they can die in a matter of days Jasmine Whitbread, Save the Children UK's chief executive

He said that aid workers are insisting that the needs of the cyclone victims are not being met, and the Burmese junta has a much more optimistic view of the situation on the ground.

Therefore, Lord Malloch-Brown says, the vital thing now is for a comprehensive assessment of exactly what is help is needed.

Burma says some 78,000 people have died and 56,000 are missing since Cyclone Nargis hit.

'Running out of time'

A UN humanitarian envoy is due in Burma to try to persuade the ruling junta to grant more access to UN relief workers.

John Holmes will carry a letter from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to Burma's leader, Than Shwe, who has refused to answer Mr Ban's calls.

His visit comes as Save the Children UK's chief executive, Jasmine Whitbread, expressed concern that children in the worst-affected areas were suffering from "acute malnourishment" - the most serious level of hunger.

The cyclone has filled rice fields with sea water, destroying vital crops UK aid 'reaching cyclone victims' Burma: How you can help Waiting to deliver aid

"When people reach this stage they can die in a matter of days," she said.

"Children may already be dying as a result of a lack of food. They urgently need nutrient and energy-rich food, and food containing all the elements of a balanced diet.

"We need to reach more before it is too late."

Medical charity worker Jonathan Pearce, who returned from the Irrawaddy delta area on Saturday, says the situation is "desperate".

"A lot of people are on the move, people are looking for shelter; people are looking for food," Mr Pearce, who works for the charity Merlin, said.

"We're seeing people that are injured, body injuries from when the storm hit, these injuries have now become infected and those people need urgent treatment."

'Show visit'

A team of 50 Indian medical personnel has been given permission to fly into Burma, equipped with medical supplies.

But Burma has been refusing most offers of international aid, sparking international outcry.

On Saturday, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned Burma's government for not allowing international aid to reach the cyclone victims.

EXTENT OF THE DEVASTATION See map and satellite images Eyewitness: Barred from Burma Send us your comments

Mr Brown told the BBC that a natural disaster had been turned into a "man-made catastrophe" because of the negligence of the ruling generals. He said their actions since the cyclone amounted to inhuman treatment.

France has said Burma is on the verge of committing a crime against humanity.

Burma has refused to allow in French and US aid ships which are waiting off the coast.

On Saturday, Burma took foreign diplomats on a helicopter tour of the Irrawaddy Delta.

But Shari Villarosa, the top US diplomat in Burma, dismissed the visit as a "show".

However, Bernard Delpuech, head of the European Commission Humanitarian Office in Rangoon, said the trip had at least shown "the magnitude of the devastation".

Bon Scott emigrated to Australia when he was six years old

An Angus town is celebrating its place in rock history, with events dedicated to one of its most famous sons.

The third annual Bon Scott Weekend is being held in Kirriemuir. A number of young bands will be playing along with an AC/DC tribute and rock covers band.

Scott was born in the town in 1946 but moved to Australia when he was six and later became the singer with AC/DC.

He died of alcohol poisoning in 1980, aged 33, after a night of heavy drinking in London.

'Important icon'

Two years ago, a plaque was unveiled in Kirriemuir dedicated to the frontman.

Victoria Melton, one of the organisers of the event, said: "Bon Scott is one of Kirriemuir's sons, and what better a man to pay tribute to.

"He's been a huge influence to a lot of people all over the world.

"We feel that he always remembered his roots and he had a strong character."

Her colleague Steven Gibbons added: "He's the singer that the band had that everyone talked about. He's obviously quite an important icon in rock music.

"Everyone who plays any rock influenced music, they can't really ignore the influence that AC/DC have had, especially the Bon Scott era music, which was really powerful, and it's still as powerful today as it was back then."

Atoc says passengers wanted a simpler system of tickets

Rail passengers pre-booking their trip will now be issued with an "advance ticket" as the first phase of a new ticketing system comes into operation.

The ticket replaces discounted offers such as Leisure Advance, Business Advance, Value Advance and Apex.

Train operators say this will make the system simpler for passengers and plan to bring in more changes in September.

But the change will see an increase in charges for some who want to rearrange a ticket they have booked in advance.

The number of UK rail journeys has risen more than 40% in the past decade.

Fee changes

The changes will mean an end to refunds on advance sales and, for some, a doubling of the fee for changes to journey times to £10 per journey leg.

The second phase will take place on 7 September. Tickets that can be bought right up to the date and time of travel will be split into two categories - Anytime and Off-peak.

Anytime tickets can be bought up until the time of travel and used on any train without peak hour or any other restrictions.

Off-peak tickets can also be bought up until the time of travel, but will carry restrictions on the time and day of travel - current ticket types which will be re-named Off-peak tickets include Saver and Cheap Day returns.

'Not about fares'

A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) said the move was "nothing to do with the cost of fares" but was meant to simplify the system for passengers.

"Passengers have told us that they want a simpler fares system. We are listening and responding," said David Mapp, commercial director of Atoc, when the plans were announced.

"These changes will enable people to buy train tickets more easily and with greater confidence."

But Campaign for Better Transport director Stephen Joseph said the new system could be even clearer.

"It will simplify things for passengers but not as much as I think they should be," he said.

"You'll still have a situation where you'll have confusion about when off peak is, when you can get, walk up and buy a cheap ticket.

"In some cases you've still got confusing restrictions which mean that it's actually quite difficult to get cheap tickets on the railway - particularly at times when people want to travel like on InterCity lines from say Manchester to London."