Attack victim was 'in armed forces'
By Anonymous on May 23, 2013 03:25 am 23 May 2013 Last updated at 00:31 ET David Cameron has flown back to London, cutting short a trip to France, to lead the government response to a suspected terror attack in south-east London.
Two men have been arrested after a man, thought to be a soldier, died in a machete attack near Woolwich Barracks.
The PM is to chair a Cobra emergency response committee meeting attended by politicians, the UK's most senior police officer and the new head of MI5.
Meanwhile, security has been increased at barracks across London.
Two suspects shot and wounded by police after the attack - which took place in John Wilson Street, the A205, at 14:20 BST - have spent the night under arrest in hospital.
One is in a serious condition while the other is also being treated for injuries.
This man was photographed brandishing a knife and speaking to a woman at the scene
Eyewitnesses say the victim was hacked to death by two men shouting Islamist slogans.
The men made no attempt to flee and encouraged people to take pictures of them and their victim.
One of the men was filmed wielding a bloodied meat cleaver and making political statements.
"I apologise that women have had to witness this today, but in our land our women have to see the same," he said.
"You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don't care about you."
The other was pictured holding a knife and speaking to a woman at the scene.
The Daily Telegraph says it has spoken to the woman.
Continue reading the main story Analysis
Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent
One of the priorities for those investigating the killing in Woolwich will be to establish whether it was a "lone wolf" attack, or the result of a wider conspiracy - possibly with links to al-Qaeda.
As counter-terrorism investigations go, this one is rich in clues. The two alleged murderers made no attempt to escape capture by police.
The investigators will want to know exactly who they are, who they know, and what their motive was for the attack.
If this was a one-off, self-motivated attack by just two individuals it would be alarming enough. But the fear for the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, and for the security service, MI5, is whether this could be part of a more orchestrated campaign.
Security has already been tightened as a precaution at several establishments.
According to the paper, cub scout leader Ingrid Loyau-Kennett asked him: "Would you like to give me what you have in your hands?"
She added: "I did not want to say weapons but I thought it was better having them aimed on one person like me rather than everybody there - children were starting to leave school as well."
The Muslim Council of Britain said the murder was "a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly".
Meanwhile, a man was arrested on suspicion of attempted arson and possession of an offensive weapon at a mosque in Braintree, Essex, on Wednesday night.
At a press conference with French President Francois Hollande in Paris, Mr Cameron said Britain would "never buckle" in the face of terror attacks.
"People across Britain, people in every community, I believe, will utterly condemn this attack," said Mr Cameron, who was previously planning to stay in Paris on Wednesday night.
Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe, MI5 director general Andrew Parker, Home Secretary Theresa May, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and Mayor of London Boris Johnson are among those expected to attend Thursday morning's Cobra meeting.
Meanwhile, armed forces personnel based in London and elsewhere have been told to be more vigilant.
That is on top of the extra precautions now being taken at London's 10 or so main barracks.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said that, since British forces intervened in Iraq and Afghanistan, they and their families have been well aware they might be targets at home.
At least two plots by Islamic extremists to kill soldiers in the UK have been foiled in recent years.
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Edward VIII was bugged, files show
By Anonymous on May 22, 2013 11:28 pm 22 May 2013 Last updated at 23:28 ET 
After his abdication, Edward was given the title Duke of Windsor
King Edward VIII was bugged by the government at the height of the 1936 abdication crisis, files released by the National Archives show.
The Home Office ordered "interception of telephone communications" between royal residences and "the continent of Europe".
The King's divorced mistress, Wallis Simpson, was in France at the time.
The files also show police had earlier investigated a reported bomb threat against Mrs Simpson in London.
The revelations are included in the papers from the Foreign Office and the Cabinet Office, which date from the World War II and early Cold War periods.
In November 1936 - a time when the Church of England would not remarry a divorcee while their former spouse was still alive - the yet-to-be-crowned new king told Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin he planned to wed Mrs Simpson.
Mr Baldwin took the view this would be impossible if Edward was to remain king.
After the story broke in the press, it was thought he might go ahead with the marriage, forcing Mr Baldwin to resign.
With the King holed up at Fort Belvedere, in Windsor Great Park, and Mrs Simpson staying with friends in the south of France, Home Secretary Sir John Simon instructed the General Post Office (GPO) to covertly monitor the king's phone calls.
A note from the Home Office to GPO head Sir Thomas Gardiner - dated 5 December 1936 and marked "most secret" - read: "The home secretary asks me to confirm the information conveyed to you orally, with his authority by, by Sir Horace Wilson that you will arrange for the interception of telephone communications between Fort Belvedere and Buckingham Palace on the one hand and the continent of Europe on the other."
No records of any intercepted calls are included in the file.
Five days later, Edward accepted his fate, signing the instruments of his abdication to end his 326-day reign.
The files show that, on 6 December, a Home Office official said he had been rung by a GPO clerk to report two telegrams sent by journalist Neil Forbes - London editor of the Cape Times - who claimed the king had already resigned.
Met Police officers were alerted to a report running in the US of a bomb threat to Mrs Simpson's central London home
Writing about a subsequent dressing down of the journalist, Home Secretary Sir John noted: "I asked him if he did not realise that his responsibilities as a journalist and an Englishman made the sending of such a message without definite authority as to its truth very improper and reckless."
Meanwhile, in a November 1936 letter to the home secretary, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Philip Game said officers had been alerted in the early hours of one morning to a report running in the US of a bomb threat to Mrs Simpson's central London home.
Read in browser » GPs 'will not shore up unsafe NHS'
By Anonymous on May 22, 2013 09:31 pm 22 May 2013 Last updated at 21:31 ET By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News 
Dr Laurence Buckman will be speaking at the British Medical Association GPs conference
Family doctors are not prepared to shore up an emergency healthcare system left unsafe by "political meddling", a GP leader is to warn.
British Medical Association GP chairman Dr Laurence Buckman is due to point out in a speech the problems that lead to overstretched hospital A&E departments.
He will accuse Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt of being more interested in bashing doctors and spouting "rubbish".
It comes as Mr Hunt prepares to unveil plans for a chief inspector of GPs.
The health secretary will set out the measure in a speech - trailed widely in advance - he is making at the King's Fund in London.
Mr Hunt is expected to paint a picture of dysfunction across the GP sector, saying they are struggling to cope with demand.
He will say: "We've turned GP practices into places where it's a daily challenge for receptionists to cope with huge call volumes and GPs to get through to all the people they need to see."
'Spout rubbish' The health secretary has this week also been critical of the GP out-of-hours arrangements, saying the public has lost confidence with the system - provided now largely by agencies.
The chief inspector post will be accompanied by a tougher regulation regime, which he hopes will drive up standards.
But Dr Buckman, in his own speech to the BMA's annual GPs conference, will say there is no evidence that the system - set up in 2004 - has been a major factor in the rising pressure being place on A&E units.
He will tell doctors at the event, also being held in London, that Mr Hunt has "continued to spout rubbish".
Dr Buckman will add: "He [Mr Hunt] does not want to bother with the facts when he can have a bash at those of us who on his own admission are overworked and strained beyond endurance.
"GPs are not prepared to shore up a system that has been rendered unsafe by unwise political meddling."
Dr Buckman will highlight changes that have seen the introduction of a non-emergency 111 phone line to replace NHS Direct.
There have been reports of people struggling to get through as well as poor advice being given that has led to patients being sent to A&E for trivial reasons.
Dr Buckman will say: "Now we have the dreadful spectacle of patients suffering due to a failure to implement NHS 111 properly."
Read in browser » Nissan recalls over 800,000 vehicles
By Anonymous on May 23, 2013 03:14 am 23 May 2013 Last updated at 02:24 ET 
Nissan recalled 500,000 vehicles earlier this year over faulty airbags
Nissan has said it plans to recall about 841,000 vehicles worldwide due to a faulty steering wheel.
In the UK the recall will affect 133,869 models of the Nissan Micra, built between 2002 and 2006.
Nissan said that bolt used in the steering wheel was not screwed on properly, but that there was no danger of sudden failure.
The carmaker said it will fix the glitch by tightening the bolts or replacing the steering wheel entirely.
Earlier this month, Nissan also recalled 500,000 vehicles globally over a defect in passenger airbags.
Read in browser » Refugees 'facing rising dangers'
By Anonymous on May 22, 2013 11:35 pm 22 May 2013 Last updated at 19:25 ET 
More than 70,000 people have died over the last two years in Syria, according to the UN
Amnesty International has accused governments of using state sovereignty as an "excuse" for failing to intervene in emergencies such as in Syria.
In its annual report, the human rights group also blames world leaders for prioritising immigration control over the rights of people.
The study documents torture in at least 112 countries.
It also criticises the UN for what it describes as its lack of action over human rights abuses.
Syria is one example where Amnesty says war crimes have been committed.
"For nearly two years, the Syrian military and security forces have launched indiscriminate attacks and detained, tortured and killed people they perceived to support the rebels," said the group's international secretary general, Salil Shetty.
"Armed opposition groups have also carried out summary killings and torture albeit on a much smaller scale."
The UN Security Council's failure to act was defended, particularly by Russia and China, as respecting the sovereignty of the state, he added.
"The idea that neither individual states nor the international community should act decisively to protect civilians when governments and their security forces target their own people - unless there is something in it for them - is unacceptable..
"Inaction in the name of respect for state sovereignty is inexcusable."
The survey of 159 countries and territories highlights what it terms positive findings, however, in the spread of internet access and communications.
"Increasingly, there is very little that governments and corporations can do in hiding behind 'sovereign' boundaries," Mr Shetty said.
Continue reading the main story Amnesty's findings on Syria
- Crimes under international law: Government accused of war crimes in areas including Homs, Idlib, Hama, Damascus and Aleppo
- Attacks on journalists: At least 11 were killed in apparently targeted attacks. Others died as a result of indiscriminate shelling or gunfire
- Targeting wounded and health workers: Government forces alleged to have aimed attacks at medical centres set up by the opposition to help victims
- Executions: Opposition fighters and civilians, sometimes in large numbers, have allegedly been summarily executed
- Deaths in custody: At least 550 people, including children, are reported to have died in custody
Amnesty points to the role social media played in attracting attention to the case of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban after campaigning for girls' education.
But it also expresses concern over the jailing of three bloggers in Vietnam for "conducting propaganda" against the state, and called for wider access to the internet for all.
Exploitation The report says 101 countries repressed their people's rights to freedom of expression in 2012, up from 91 out of 155 countries recorded in 2011.
It also accuses governments around the world of showing more interest in their national borders than the rights of their citizens and migrants.
"Too many governments are abusing human rights in the name of immigration control - going well beyond legitimate border control measures," said Mr Shetty.
He added that millions of migrants were suffering exploitation - such as forced labour and sexual exploitation - as a result.
In its summary of events in 2012, Amnesty says numerous nations have failed to address the abuse of women.
It refers to rapes by armed groups in countries such as Mali, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and says the health of many women and girls around the world is threatened by the lack of access to safe abortions.
However it welcomed prosecutions over alleged human rights violations during past military regimes in Argentina, Guatemala and Uruguay.
Read in browser » Warning on poor school swimming
By Anonymous on May 22, 2013 08:33 pm 22 May 2013 Last updated at 20:33 ET By Judith Burns BBC News education reporter 
The report calls for school sport spending to be focused on swimming
More children may drown without better school swimming provision, the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) has warned.
Half of seven- to 11-year-olds in England, some 1.1 million children, cannot swim the length of a standard pool, research suggests.
Only 2% of schools surveyed delivered the government's recommended 22 hours a year of swimming lessons.
The report says Ofsted should focus PE inspections on swimming as "it is the only sport that can save lives".
Some 407 people died from drowning in 2011, according to the most recent figures from the National Water Safety Forum. Of these, 47 were aged under 19.
"These numbers could increase in future if the current issues with school swimming programmes are not addressed," warns the report.
Swimming to safety A survey of 3,501 schools, for the ASA and its sponsors Kellogg's, found that 51% of seven- to 11-year-olds could not swim 25m (82ft), the length of a standard pool.
The national curriculum for schools in England says children should be able to swim at least 25m unaided by the end of primary school.
Some 40% of 1,000 parents of 10- and 11-year-olds surveyed for this year's report said their child could not swim 25m.
Some 52% doubted whether their child could swim to safety in open water, 39% said their children were not having swimming lessons and one in 10 said their child only swam on holiday.
The report suggests state school pupils spend an average of just eight-and-a-quarter hours a year in school swimming lessons - well under the 22 hours required by the national curriculum.
The high cost of swimming lessons, the price of transport and lack of time in school day all impacted negatively on school swimming provision, says the report.
The authors say swimming is in danger of being "sidelined" because of a lack of monitoring by Ofsted, increased pressure on schools to deliver good exam results and squeezed budgets.
The authors want the government to instruct Ofsted to include swimming provision in school inspection reports.
They also call for PE funding to be focused on swimming. They want the lion's share of the £150m the government will put into primary school sport from September to be spent on swimming.
'Doggy paddle'
David Sparkes, of the ASA, said: "Swimming is one of the easiest, safest forms of exercise for children of all abilities, and school swimming is the single most effective way of teaching children how to be safe in and around water.
"Yet swimming is one of the few areas of a child's statutory education that is all too often left unmeasured, unchecked or, for 1.1 million children, unfulfilled.
"The additional £150m of ring-fenced investment by government for PE and school sport this September can provide a real lifeline for school swimming.
"Schools have a rare opportunity to seize the moment in September 2013, and take action by investing in an activity that has a lifelong legacy and the ability to keep future generations safe."
David Walker, of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa), said: "Having the swimming and water-safety skills to save yourself or others doesn't come instinctively, it has to be taught.
"Rospa hears all too often how parents believed their children could swim, only to find out their abilities were little more than being able to float and doggy paddle."
A Department for Education spokeswoman said swimming would remain in the national curriculum.
She added: "We are giving £150m directly to primary schools to spend on improving PE. They can use this money for anything to improve sport, from buying in professional coaching to covering the cost of getting children to and from the swimming pool.
"We have also invested £750,000 to develop an initial teacher-training pilot to improve the standard of primary PE specialists, with the first 120 [specialists] ready to join schools from September."
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