'Fanatical' Gove attacked by union
By Anonymous on May 18, 2013 02:54 am 17 May 2013 Last updated at 22:30 ET By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter in Birmingham 
Michael Gove will attend a question and answer session at the conference
The education secretary is like a "fanatical personal trainer" who urges schools to jump higher and run faster, a head teachers' leader is to say.
Bernadette Hunter, president of the NAHT, will say Michael Gove pays no heed to "the damage he is causing to the body or the system".
Heads are being bullied into turning schools into academies, she will tell the union's conference in Birmingham.
Mr Gove is expected to tell delegates his reforms are raising standards.
Ms Hunter will tell delegates that becoming an academy - an independently run, but state-funded school - is right for some, but that "forced academisation" is a "disgrace".
"What we cannot tolerate is the completely unacceptable bullying of heads and governors to turn their schools into academies, to meet a political target set by the secretary of state," she is to say.
No confidence debate The National Association of Head Teachers' conference will hear claims that brokers employed by the Department for Education (DfE) have been pressurising schools, particularly those that face the biggest challenges, into becoming academies.
She will add: "Forced academisation is a disgrace. Even Ofsted is now saying that the pressures from DfE brokers are a distraction from teaching and learning in schools."
More than half of secondary schools in England are now academies, but the vast majority of primary schools retain their links with local authorities. Many academy schools are part of "chains", while others are run individually.
Delegates attending the conference are set to debate a resolution warning that they have no confidence in the government's education policies, which they claim are not in the best interests of children.
The resolution raises specific concerns about schools being forced to become academies and rapid changes to the curriculum and exams.
The NAHT, which represents 85% of primary heads in England and Wales, is also set to launch a new code of conduct that it wants employers, whether they are local authorities or academy chains, to sign.
The union sees the arrangement, called the Leadership Compact, as a way of holding employers to account in return for a pledge by heads to lead their schools well and improve standards.
General Secretary Russell Hobby said he hoped the agreement would encourage strong working relationships between head teachers and their employers.
'Last resort' "We will publicly endorse employers who join in this compact and, if necessary, we will warn about those who repeatedly violate it," he said.
Mr Hobby said that naming organisations which had not stuck to their end of the agreement would be "a last resort".
But he added: "I think people do need to know. The expectations on employers are very reasonable things. It is a last resort and it is much better if we can have a positive relationship, working together."
Mr Gove is due to attend a question and answer session at the conference on Saturday afternoon.
A DfE spokeswoman said: "We are clear that the best way forward for an underperforming school is to become an academy with the support of a strong sponsor. Academy sponsors have already turned around hundreds of struggling schools across the country, and academy results are improving far faster than the national average.
"Academy brokers help us to identify the best possible sponsor to turn around failing schools and ensure pupils are given every chance to fulfil their potential.
"We expect the highest levels of professional conduct from academy brokers and any allegations of misconduct are fully investigated."
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Hollande signs gay marriage bill
By Anonymous on May 18, 2013 01:29 am 17 May 2013 Last updated at 20:57 ET 
The first gay wedding can be held 10 days after Mr Hollande signs the bill
France's president is to sign into law a controversial bill that will make the country the eighth in Europe, and 14th globally, to legalise gay marriage.
On Friday, the Constitutional Council rejected a challenge by the right-wing opposition, clearing the way for Francois Hollande to sign the bill.
He said: "I have taken [the decision]; now it is time to respect the law of the Republic."
The first gay wedding can be held 10 days after Mr Hollande signs the bill.
He and his ruling Socialist Party have made the legislation their flagship social reform since being elected a year ago.
After a tortured debate, the same-sex marriage and adoption bill was adopted by France's Senate and National Assembly last month.
The bill was quickly challenged on constitutional grounds by the main right-wing opposition UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy.
But the Constitutional Council ruled on Friday that same-sex marriage "did not run contrary to any constitutional principles," and that it did not infringe on "basic rights or liberties or national sovereignty".
It said the interest of the child would be paramount in adoption cases, cautioning that legalising same-sex adoption would not automatically mean the "right to a child".
Comedian Frigide Barjot, who has become a leading mouthpiece for the anti-gay marriage movement, denounced the ruling as "a provocation" and called for the campaign to continue.
Scores of protesters took to the streets of Paris to voice their opposition to the ruling on Friday: previous, occasionally violent, demonstrations against the bill have drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets.
UMP President Jean-Francois Cope said he regretted the Constitutional Council's decision but would respect it. Another senior UMP figure, Herve Mariton, said the party would come up with alternative proposals in 2017 that were "more respectful of the rights of children".
The anti-gay marriage lobby, backed by the Catholic Church and conservative opposition, argues the bill will undermine an essential building block of society.
Opinion polls have suggested that around 55-60% of French people support gay marriage, but only about 50% approve of gay adoption.
Mr Hollande has been struggling with the lowest popularity ratings of any recent French president, with his promises of economic growth so far failing to bear fruit and unemployment now above 10%.
Read in browser » Dozens injured in US train crash
By Anonymous on May 18, 2013 02:28 am 17 May 2013 Last updated at 21:43 ET 
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Aerial footage shows the derailed train
About 60 people have been injured, five seriously, after a head-on, rush-hour collision between two commuter trains near New York City, officials say.
About 250 people were on the trains involved in Friday evening's crash. No fatalities have been reported.
Officials said a train that left New York City's Grand Central station en route to New Haven, Connecticut, derailed then was hit by another train.
Amtrak has suspended its service between New York and Boston.
Metro-North Railroad described it as a "major derailment", just outside Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Investigators are trying to find out what caused the crash, which came shortly after 18:00 local time (22:00 GMT).
"At this stage, we don't know if this is a mechanical failure, an accident or something deliberate," Fairfield police spokesman Lt James Perez told the Connecticut Post.
Bridgeport Police Chief Joseph Gaudett said most of those hurt were walking wounded.
"Everybody seemed pretty calm," he told the Associated Press. "Everybody was thankful they didn't get seriously hurt. They were anxious to get home to their families."
But one witness, Brian Alvarez, told CNN: "I saw this one car and it was completely destroyed and they were pulling people out of the car. They were all bloody."
Read in browser » Litvinenko widow calls for inquiry
By Anonymous on May 18, 2013 03:21 am 17 May 2013 Last updated at 23:05 ET 
Alexander Litvinenko fell ill after a meeting with former KGB contacts in London in 2006
The widow of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko has called for the upcoming inquest into his death to be abandoned and replaced with a public inquiry.
Marina Litvinenko said it was the only way to find the truth about the death of her husband, who was poisoned with radioactive polonium in London in 2006.
The coroner ruled the inquest could not take evidence on possible Russian state involvement, citing national security.
Mrs Litvinenko accused him of deciding to "abandon his search for the truth".
She said she was "utterly dismayed" by Friday's ruling, suggesting it was the result of a political deal between the governments in London and Moscow.
'Shocked and saddened' The British government had argued that certain material should be withheld from the inquest on the grounds that revealing it could damage national security.
Sir Robert Owen, a High Court judge sitting as a coroner, said he had partly agreed to Foreign Secretary William Hague's request for secrecy in relation to the alleged role of the Russian state and whether the UK could have done anything to prevent the death.
But he said addressing these issues at the inquest without the material could mean a verdict would be "potentially misleading and unfair".
Sir Robert said one option would be for government ministers to scrap the inquest and order a public inquiry, in which some of the key evidence could be heard in secret.
He said he was seeking views on this, including from Mr Litvinenko's widow and son.
In a statement through her solicitors, Mrs Litvinenko said she felt the coroner had made a "decision to abandon his search for the truth about Russian state responsibility for her husband's death".
"All those concerned with exposing the truth will be shocked and saddened that a political deal has been done between the two governments to prevent the truth from ever seeing the light of day," the statement added.
She said she had written to the coroner to request that he invited the justice secretary to establish a public inquiry within five working days, and "as a matter of urgency".
Major delays Mr Litvinenko, 43, died after he was poisoned with polonium-210 while drinking tea at a London meeting.
He was working for MI6 alongside Spanish spies in the days before his death.
Police have sought the arrest of two Russian nationals in relation to the death - Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitri Kovtun - but the Russian authorities have refused to hand them over. They deny any involvement.
The inquest has already faced major delays because both the UK and Russian governments have been slow to disclose documents.
Read in browser » British child dies at Egyptian hotel
By Anonymous on May 17, 2013 08:19 pm 17 May 2013 Last updated at 20:19 ET 
A British child has died in a pool at a hotel in Egypt, travel company First Choice has said.
First Choice said the child died in a waterpark at the Coral Sea Waterworld Hotel in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
A spokeswoman said the company would carry out a full investigation but its immediate priority was to provide support to the family. No more details about the child have been released.
The Foreign Office said it was providing consular assistance.
Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the most popular Red Sea holiday destinations.
The spokeswoman for First Choice said: "First Choice can sadly confirm that a child has died while staying at the Coral Sea Waterworld hotel in Egypt. The incident occurred in a pool in the hotel's waterpark.
"Our thoughts and condolences are with the family at this extremely difficult time. The British Consulate were immediately informed and they are now working with our dedicated resort team in Egypt, to offer every assistance possible to the family in resort.
"In partnership with the hotelier, our resort team are working to understand how the incident occurred, and we will be carrying out a full and thorough investigation.
"At this time our priority is to provide support to the family."
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Sharm el-Sheikh on 17 May. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."
Read in browser » Afghan MPs to debate women's rights
By Anonymous on May 17, 2013 11:18 pm 17 May 2013 Last updated at 23:18 ET 
Afghan MPs are to debate a law to prevent violence against women, amid a fierce argument between leading Afghan women over tactics.
A law banning violence against women, child marriages and forced marriages was passed by presidential decree in 2009, but did not gain MPs' approval.
Some want the law set in concrete through a parliamentary vote, fearing it could be repealed in the future.
But other rights activists fear the debate may weaken current legislation.
Last time the issue of violence against women was raised in the Afghan parliament, a fight broke out as fundamentalists tried to block the discussion of reforms.
Hard-won progress Hundreds of people have been jailed under the current law, introduced by President Hamid Karzai in 2009.
However, leading MP Fawzia Koofi - who survived a Taliban ambush two years ago - wants it enshrined with parliamentary approval, worrying that otherwise it could be weakened as Afghanistan looks to pacify the Islamist Taliban movement.
"There is a lack of assurance that any president of Afghanistan will have any commitment to women's issues and in particular towards this decree," Ms Koofi told the BBC.
But a number of prominent women's rights activists believe that putting the law to parliament risks losing what they have gained, says the BBC's David Loyn in Kabul, as conservative fundamentalists could amend it to weaken protection for women - or even throw it out altogether.
Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission member Soraya Sobjang said: "Don't play with this law because this is an achievement. This is human rights value, and this belongs to all people of Afghanistan."
Changing entrenched attitudes in Afghan villages over rights for women will take a long time, says our correspondent.
The issue raises strong passions in the country, he adds, and this debate could either endanger hard-won progress or - if the risk pays off - make that progress irreversible.
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