Thursday briefing: Is the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge a disaster waiting to happen?

In today's newsletter: From overcrowding to fire safety concerns, the government's floating facility in Dorset has been plagued with problems, and now faces a delay. What's behind the Home Office's latest debacle?

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Good morning.

So it seems this will not, after all, be the week the first - reluctant - residents are transported to the Bibby Stockholm barge at Portland docks in Dorset.

Niger | European countries continued with their evacuation of foreign nationals from Niger, as defence officials from west Africa's regional political and security bloc were poised to meet in Abuja to discuss last week's coup against the country's democratically elected president.

Media | The influential documentary producer Jess Search, who co-founded the non-profit Doc Society organisation, has died of brain cancer at the age of 54. She was involved in hundreds of projects including the overfishing documentary The End of the Line, the gorilla protection film Virunga, and the Oscar-nominated Citizenfour, about the whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Scotland | A rape suspect accused of faking his own death to avoid prosecution can be extradited from the UK to the US to face charges, a court has ruled. Nicholas Rossi, 35, is wanted by authorities in Utah for allegedly raping a woman in 2008. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.

Education | The head of the body that awards the Rhodes scholarship - the oldest and most prestigious international graduate award - has refused to back calls for the removal of controversial monuments to its original benefactor, Cecil Rhodes, despite insisting the organisation was in listening mode".

Pollution | British triathletes preparing for next month's world championships have been forced to abandon open water swim training because of sewage in the sea off the coast of Lancashire.