While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 26

Pope Francis vowed to end the sexual exploitation of children by clergy "at any cost" during a highly-charged visit to once deeply Catholic Ireland and, according to victims, said the corruption and cover up of abuse amounted to human excrement.

On the first papal visit to the country in almost four decades, Francis used a speech at a state event that was also attended by some abuse survivors to acknowledge that it was to the Church's shame it had not addressed these "repugnant crimes" and said he sought a greater commitment to eliminating this "scourge".

He later met privately for 90 minutes at the Vatican embassy with eight victims of clerical, religious and institutional abuse.

In a statement, the representatives from the Survivors of Mother and Baby Homes group said Francis condemned corruption and cover up within the Church as "caca", an Italian and Spanish word for human excrement.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted to reduce the influence of so-called superdelegates in choosing a presidential nominee, in a move intended to bring greater fairness and transparency while healing the wounds of a contentious 2016 primary season.

At the party's presidential nominating convention that year, superdelegates - elected officials and other party leaders and activists - were able to add their influential votes to those coming from individual states' primary contests.

Supporters of left-leaning senator Bernie Sanders complained bitterly that superdelegates, unbound by state-level results and so not necessarily reflecting the popular will, threw the nomination to the more establishment candidate, Hillary Clinton.

When US President Donald Trump said that there had not been "sufficient progress" towards ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons, he made it clear that he thought China was partly to blame.

Next month, President Xi Jinping of China is expected to make his first state visit to the North - one that could see him standing beside Kim Jong Un, the country's leader, on the reviewing stand of a military parade.

Such an image would seem to bolster Trump's suggestion that China, angered by US tariffs on its goods, was no longer a partner in the effort to disarm the North. But analysts in China say that is not necessarily the case - at least, not yet.

Mohamed Salah's 23rd-minute strike was enough to earn Liverpool a 1-0 win over a dogged Brighton and Hove Albion and give them an early top spot in the Premier League with three wins out of three.

It was hardly vintage Liverpool, with Brighton fresh from their victory over Manchester United last week, well-organised at the back and frequently frustrating Juergen Klopp's front three.

But it was the kind of hard-fought three points that Liverpool will need to pick up throughout this season if they are to mount a real challenge to Manchester City in the title race.

Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton made the most of the changeable conditions to seize pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel.

French driver Esteban Ocon qualified a remarkable third for Force India for the team's first race under new ownership, with Mexican team mate Sergio Perez fourth after a rain-hit final session.

The pole was Hamilton's fifth at Spa, a record, and 78th of his F1 career but it was touch and go on a drying track with the clock ticking.