Labour Bid For Parent Vote With Childcare Plan

Labour is proposing to give the parents of primary school children guaranteed access to childcare between 8am to 6pm under its plans to help working families.

Childcare will be a "top priority" for the 2015 general election, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said, as activists began to gather for the party conference in Brighton.

The initiative, which Labour is expected to say can he be paid for through existing central government funds, is one of several cost of living issues which are to be the focus of the conference.

Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary and minister for women and equalities

Other policy pledges reportedly include strengthening the minimum wage in specific sectors such as retail and catering, as well as fresh action to crack down on energy bills.

Ms Cooper, who is also shadow minister for women and equalities, told The Guardian: "Childcare is a top priority for the next election. It's about supporting families, the economy and equality. It's a really important issue for us and we want to go further than we have before.

"One question I hear time and again from working mums with school age children is why does it need to be this hard?

"But this government is making things worse - it's harder now for parents to find the childcare they need before and after school."

In a separate newspaper interview, shadow Treasury chief secretary Rachel Reeves, said people earning £60,000 a year might not feel "particularly rich" and should not be targeted by tax increases.

She insisted Labour had "no plans or desire" to increase taxes for people in that income bracket, but instead the focus would be on the "privileged few" at the very top of the income scale.

Ms Reeves with Labour leader Ed Miliband

Ms Reeves also indicated a Labour government would ensure that the national minimum wage would rise to keep pace with prices and average earnings.

"The focus should be on a privileged few right at the top, and that's not people earning £50,000 or £60,000 a year. If you're a single-earner family in the South East on (that income), you don't feel particularly rich, and you'd be aggrieved that people earning between £150,000 and £1m are getting a tax cut," she said.

"We don't have any plans or desire to increase tax on people in that band of income," she told The Daily Telegraph.

Ahead of the event, former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott urged Labour leader Ed Miliband to produce concrete policy proposals and has questioned the "character" of the new generation of Labour MPs.

He said Mr Miliband's attempts to appear strong by seeking a confrontation with the unions were "not enough" and he needed to put forward a "coherent" agenda.

In an interview with Total Politics magazine, Lord Prescott said Mr Miliband had to set out a "very clear idea" and a "vision" about what he wanted to achieve as Labour leader.

The conference comes as Mr Miliband has been forced to deny any involvement in attempts to smear opponents amid claims that "damaging" emails could have been sent by him to one of the key figures in a plot to attack senior Tories.

Mr McBride (far left) with Gordon Brown

The potential link between Mr Miliband and Derek Draper, who was behind a proposed Labour-supporting political gossip website, is among the latest allegations in a memoir from Gordon Brown's former spin doctor.

The drip-feed of claims from Damian McBride threatens to overshadow the Labour Party conference despite Mr Miliband's efforts to seize the initiative by announcing he would scrap the "bedroom tax" if he wins the 2015 general election.

In the latest extracts from Mr McBride's memoir Power Trip, being serialised in the Daily Mail, the former member of the Brown inner circle suggests Mr Miliband could "have problems" if any emails to Mr Draper became public.

Labour sources denied that Mr Miliband had any involvement in the proposed Red Rag website, which ultimately brought about the downfall of Mr McBride.

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Gunmen Open Fire In Kenyan Shopping Mall

At least 10 people have been killed in a shootout at a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, according to Sky sources.

Police chief Benson Kibue said the gunmen were attempting to rob a shop inside the Westgate centre when the shootout began.

Witnesses said around half a dozen grenades were also detonated.

A photographer for the Reuters news agency said five people appeared to have been killed, although there was no official confirmation.

Rob Vandijk, who works at the Dutch embassy, said he was eating at a restaurant inside the mall when the attackers threw hand grenades inside the building.

He said he heard gunfire and people screaming as they dropped to the ground.

Abdi Osman Adan, a journalist in Nairobi, told Sky News staff at a supermarket and a jewellery store had reportedly been taken hostage.

Witnesses reported seeing gunmen "firing at any police officers who tried to approach the building", he said.

Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government tweeted: "We're doing our job to ensure that everyone is evacuated to safety. This is a scene of crime."

In a separate message, Kenya Police wrote: "We urge the public to remain calm, stop any form of speculation, especially online, and let us resolve this quickly."

Westgate is situated in western Nairobi and is popular with both expatriates and rich Kenyans.

According to the centre's website, it is the city's "premier shopping mall" and offers a "serene and safe enviornment away from the city centre hubbub".

It has more than 80 stores and features a waterfall with tropical gardens.

More follows...

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Syria Completes Chemical Weapon List Handover

Syria has completed the handover of its chemical arsenal inventory, the world's chemical weapons watchdog says.

More follows...

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Crocodiles Infest Floods In Acapulco, Mexico

Devastating storms have left 80 people dead across Mexico, with residents in Acapulco facing looters and crocodile-infested floodwaters.

Hundreds of thousands of residents in the port city have begun returning to their homes, with many forced to wade through waist-high water.

Pictures showed residents battling with a crocodile, which was spotted thrashing its tail in floodwater in the city centre.

An official from Mexico's transport authority said it would take until Friday to clear the two key roads that connect the city with Mexico City.

Tropical Storm Manuel has now strengthened into a hurricane. Picture: NHC

Footage also showed widespread looting in the city.

Roads and bridges were destroyed outside Acapulco after tropical storm Manuel hit the Pacific coast of Mexico over the weekend, while Hurricane Ingrid battered the Gulf coast on Monday.

Manuel strengthened to a hurricane on Thursday as it moved northwards along the coastline, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.

It warned heavy rain from the storm will trigger further flash-flooding and mudslides in the states of Sinaloa, Nayarit and southern Baja in California.

Mexico's federal Civil Protection Co-ordinator Luis Felipe Puente said 35,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed.

Officials said there were at least 58 people missing after a landslide in mountains north of Acapulco late on Wednesday night.

Some 5,300 people were flown out of Acapulco on 49 flights on Wednesday, but an estimated 55,000 tourists remain stranded.

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Rip-Off Pensions: OFT Calls For Shake-Up

Changes to the pensions market are needed to make sure millions of workers are not sinking cash into schemes that are bad value for money, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said.

The trading watchdog disappointed consumer groups by not to referring the market to the Competition Commission or recommending a cap on charges, instead making a string of recommendations to shake up the sector.

The OFT, which has been examining the £275bn defined contribution (DC) pensions market, said it had agreed a package of reforms with companies and The Pensions Regulator as the auto-enrolment programme expands.

It will gradually see all workers aged between 22 and the state pension age, who are not members of a workplace pension, being signed up to one under the Government's plans to head off a looming retirement savings crisis.

The OFT said the Government should look into improving the transparency of pension schemes to make it easier for employers to choose the best scheme for their workers.

The pensions minister Steve Webb has pledged to act on the findings

It found that employers "often lacked the capability or the incentive to assess value for money".

The watchdog also called on ministers to look at banning schemes being used for automatic enrolment which ramp up management costs for people when they stop contributing to their pension, perhaps because they have changed jobs.

It identified a risk of savers losing out in two parts of the market - in what it said were "old and high charging contract and bundled trust schemes" and in smaller trust-based schemes because of "low levels of trustee engagement and capability".

The Pensions Regulator, the OFT said, had agreed to take "rapid action" to look at whether the smaller schemes were delivering good value and Government had agreed new enforcement powers to clamp down on them.

The Association of British Insurers was to begin an immediate audit of the old and high-charging schemes, which the OFT said contained around £30bn of savings.

Minister for Pensions Steve Webb said: "This report outlines further important ways to help consumers, and we will act on its recommendations.

"In particular, we need to ensure those already in pension schemes are getting good value for money, and will be actively involved in the audit of pension schemes sold prior to 2001.

"We will consult shortly on minimum scheme standards, including further action on charges."

But consumer groups suggested the report was a disappointment.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "Unfortunately the Office of Fair Trading's recommendations don't go far enough to prevent billions of pounds of consumers' money from languishing in poor value schemes.

"People need to see a difference today and be confident in the pension scheme that they're automatically enrolled into, so that they're encouraged to save for their retirement.

"The Government must go further and set high-quality minimum standards for all workplace pensions as soon as possible, including a cap on all charges."

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Assad To Destroy Chemical Weapons 'In A Year'

Syrian leader Bashar al Assad has said he is committed to destroying his stockpile of chemical arms - but warned it would take a year to do so.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr Assad said he was committed to getting rid of the arsenal but conceded it would cost at least £600m ($1bn).

And he also challenged America to foot the bill.

"It needs a lot of money, it needs about one billion (US dollars)," he told the US crew at the presidential palace in Damascus.

"If the American administration is ready to pay those money, and to take responsibility of bringing toxic materials to the United States, why don't they do it?"

Mr Assad denied responsibility for the gas attack. Picture: Fox News

Mr Assad also insisted that his decision to destroy the weapons was not forced upon him by the threat of US strikes.

He said destroying the weapons was "a very complicated operation, technically".

"So it depends, you have to ask the experts what they mean by quickly. It has a certain schedule," he said.

"It needs a year, or maybe a little bit more."

Assad forces have been shelling in Idlib, activists say

Mr Assad also said a UN report that found "clear and convincing evidence" of a sarin nerve gas attack in Syria last month is "unrealistic", and denied responsibility for it.

"Sarin gas is called kitchen gas," he said.

"You know why? Because anybody can make sarin in his house. Any rebel can make sarin.

"Second, we know that all the rebels are supported by governments. So any government that would have such chemical can hand it over."

Rebels take cover in the Idlib countryside in northwestern Syria

He also used the one-hour interview to criticise the American stance in the Syrian crisis.

He said that, unlike Russia, Washington had tried to get involved in Syria's leadership and governance.

And as diplomatic wrangling over Syria's chemical weapons continues, a roadside bomb in a central region of the country has killed 19 people.

A Homs province official said the explosion targeted a bus in the village of Jbourin.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war

It comes as US Senator John McCain penned an opinion piece for a Russian website in which he criticises Vladimir Putin's close ties with the Assad regime.

Mr McCain's column was in response to Mr Putin's piece in The New York Times last week which was highly critical of America's response to the Syrian crisis.

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Peru Drugs Accused May Be Jailed In UK

Why Peru Became The Cocaine Hotspot

Updated: 2:26am UK, Sunday 15 September 2013

By Pete Norman, Sky News Online

Peru has overtaken Colombia as the world's leading cocaine producer, according to experts.

Home to the ancient Inca civilisation, Peru is rugged, remote and the ultimate source of the mighty Amazon river.

It is also home to a long-running guerrilla campaign by the leftist Shining Path group.

While urban and coastal inhabitants have benefited greatly from market-focused economic development since the early 1980s, when military rule ended, the rural poor have gained little.

Its hilly, isolated and fertile regions are home to the guerrillas, who rely on cocaine production, hostage-taking and corruption for funds.

According to the CIA, Peru was the world's largest coca leaf producer until 1996, when neighbouring Colombia took the lead.

It says that in 2009 Peru had 100,000 acres under coca leaf production compared to Colombia's 286,000 acres - with the potential to produce 225 metric tons of pure cocaine.

US-supported efforts to reduce or eradicate coca leaf in Colombia have now tipped the scales of production towards Peru.

Aerial spraying of herbicide in Colombia has affected coca crops covering 250,000 acres while manual eradication has been done on another 150,000 acres.

The UN has said Colombia reduced its area under coca cultivation by 25% in 2012 - the biggest annual reduction since the international body began monitoring it in 2001.

Around 30 Britons are now in Peruvian prisons on drug-related convictions, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The UN Office of Drugs and Crime is expected to release its official 2012 Peru coca crop estimate in September.

Its World Drug Report 2011 said that although the area under coca leaf production was around 75% of the 1990 area, the current yield might be up to a third greater.

While Colombia still supplies virtually all of North America's cocaine, the CIA said much of the drug exported from Peru through land, air and sea routes is destined for Europe and other markets.

North America and Europe cocaine consumption has stabilised in recent years while growth has increased in Oceania and Asia Pacific regions.

It said: "Finished cocaine is shipped out from Pacific ports to the international drug market, (while) increasing amounts of base and finished cocaine, however, are being moved to Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia for … trans-shipment to Europe and Africa."

Smaller quantities are carried through air routes by so-called drug mules, while larger loads travel by sea to west Africa prior to distribution throughout Europe.

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Syria: Gas Attack Evidence 'Implicates Rebels'

Syria: How The Crisis Has Developed

Updated: 11:34am UK, Wednesday 18 September 2013

:: March 2011 - Protesters stage demonstrations in Damascus and security forces in Daraa shoot dead several campaigners, leading to unrest and violence.

:: May - The Syrian military deploys tanks in a bid to quash demonstrations.

:: July 19 - The UK freezes £100m of Syrian assets.

:: August 18 - US President Barack Obama calls on Bashar al Assad to step down. The US freezes all assets of the Syrian government.

:: November 16 - The Free Syrian Army attacks a military base near Damascus.

:: February 4, 2012 - A UN Security Council resolution on Syria is rejected for a second time by Russia and China.

:: March 1 - Government troops seize the Baba Amr district of Homs after an intense battle lasting for several weeks.

:: April 12 - A UN-brokered ceasefire comes into force after fierce fighting in the country.

:: May 23 - Dozens of people, many of them women and children, die in Houla, near Homs. Foreign Secretary William Hague says they were "massacred at the hands of Syrian forces". The UN later accuses the Syrian military of committing war crimes.

:: August - Barack Obama says the use of chemical weapons against civilians would represent the crossing of a "red line".

:: March 6, 2013 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says Britain will provide opposition forces with "non-lethal equipment for the protection of civilians".

:: April-May - Britain says there is credible evidence to suggest Syrian forces have used chemical weapons in Adra, Darayya and Saraqiq and calls for an investigation by the UN.

:: April 29 - Syrian prime minister Wael Nader al Halqi survives an assassination attempt as a car bomb explodes in Damascus.

:: May 14 - Footage of a Syrian rebel commander apparently cutting out a soldier's heart is condemned by the country's National Coalition.

:: June 6 - Syrian forces, backed by Hizbollah fighters, recapture the strategic border town of Qusair.

:: June 6 - Human Rights Watch releases footage which it claims shows Syrian troops shelling school buildings.

:: July 25 - The UN says the number of people killed in the civil war has reached 100,000.

:: August 21 - An alleged chemical attack in Damascus kills 1,300 people, according to the opposition. Doctors Without Borders says 335 people died from "neurotoxic" symptoms.

:: August 25 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says a chemical attack by the Syrian government is the only "plausible explanation" for the deaths.

:: August 26 - UN inspectors brave sniper fire to gather "valuable" evidence from one site of the alleged chemical attack, as the US Secretary of State John Kerry says the Assad regime would face action over the "moral obscenity".

:: August 27 - The UK recalls Parliament to hold a vote on August 29 on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. David Cameron and Barack Obama agree there is "no doubt" the Assad regime is responsible for the alleged attack.

:: August 28 - Britain tables a draft UN resolution condemning the alleged attack and "authorising all necessary measures".

:: August 29 - David Cameron is forced to rule out military action after narrowly losing a Commons vote on the principle of intervention.

:: August 31 - President Obama says the US "should take military action" in Syria but confirms he will seek authorisation from Congress before launching any strikes against the Assad regime. He says the US is "prepared to strike whenever we choose".

:: September 2 - a French intelligence reports claims the Assad regime was responsible for a "massive and coordinated" chemical attack in Damascus.

:: September 3 - Israel says it has carried out a joint missile test with the US in the Mediterranean.

:: September 4 - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approve a draft US resolution authorising the use of military force in Syria. Meanwhile, MPs in France debate whether to join any possible military intervention, although they do not vote on the subject.

:: September 5 - World leaders meet at the G20 summit in Russia, with the crisis in Syria high on the agenda.

:: September 6 - Britain pledges £52m in aid to Syria, as David Cameron hits back at a reported jibe from Russia that Britain is a "small island".

:: September 8 - The RAF sends up two Typhoon jets in Cyprus as warplanes, thought to have come from Syria, enter international airspace. Meanwhile John Kerry says more nations than his country can use are prepared to join military action against Syria.

:: September 9 - Russia urges Syrian President Bashar al Assad to hand over his chemical weapons to avert a US-led military strike on Damascus.

:: September 10 - President Barack Obama delays a Congress vote on air strikes as Russia gives the US its plan for putting Syria's chemical weapons under international contral.

:: September 11 - A UN report confirms at least eight massacres were carried by the Assad regime and one by rebels over the past 18 months.

:: September 12 - Syria formally applies to join the Chemical Weapons Convention. Russia and US hold two days of talks on the issue.

:: September 14 - The US and Russia agree on a giving Syria a deadline of one week to produce a list of chemical weapons they possess. 

:: September 16 - British, French and US foreign ministers meet in Paris and warn "there will be consequences" if Syria fails to abide by the plan to hand over its chemical weapons arsenal.

:: September 18 - Syria hands Russia "new materials" on the Damascus gas attack which it claims implicate rebels. Russia also calls the UN report into the incident "biased" and "politicised".

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Police Back Private 'Drunk Tanks' For Revellers

By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent

Police chiefs have backed privately-run drunk tanks where intoxicated revellers are kept overnight and made to pay for their stay.

Chief Constable Adrian Lee, the national policing lead on alcohol harm, said drunken individuals should be held in "welfare centres" run by a commercial company.

Mr Lee, head of Northamptonshire Police, told Sky News' Sunrise programme how the system might work.

He said: "The cost of policing for arresting and taking positive action for people who are drunk and disorderly and bringing them into custody cells is significant and not necessarily the best place for people who are drunk to be.

"We would arrest them, they would go to a welfare centre and when they were sober the police would return to deal with the criminality of their behaviour and there might well be a bill to pay.

"I think the impact of that would be a deterrent effect on people who choose to go out and get so drunk that they're incapable of looking after themselves."

He said the number of extra officers his own force used to police town centres on Friday and Saturday nights had increased from five to as many as 18 in the last 10 years because of binge drinking.

At the launch of a week-long campaign aimed at highlighting alcohol harm, Mr Lee also criticised the Government for failing to implement minimum pricing for a unit of alcohol in England and Wales.

Police officers have called for binge drinkers to be billed for their care

Sir Peter Fahy, vice president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), said binge-drinking was putting a massive strain on police and health services.

"Cheap drink and later opening hours only adds to the problem," he said.

The drunk tank idea came as it emerged that bouncers in pubs and clubs across the UK will be trained to protect people who are too drunk to look after themselves.

The Home Office has told the Security Industry Authority to teach all 100,000 licensed door-staff how to prevent "vulnerable" people from coming to harm.

Bouncers, who must be trained by the SIA to work in licensed premises, will be given a checklist of actions.

These include reuniting people with friends, helping them get a taxi home and, as a last resort, calling the police.

On the streets of Newcastle, where the new training for bouncers was developed, late-night drinkers admitted they "pre-loaded" with cheap booze before coming out.

Marie Thompson (R) criticised high drink prices for people with children

At 11pm, 34-year-old Donna Davison showed Sky News a half-litre bottle of vodka she had brought from home to top up her glass during the night.

She said: "I bought (a bigger bottle) at the corner shop, filled it up and brought it with us."

Her friend Marie Thompson, 40, who claimed to have drunk a litre of vodka before arriving in the city centre at 9pm, described drink prices in clubs as "extortionate".

She said: "People on poverty who've got kids, it's not fair really, because they charge £6 for one single drink.

"We like to go out and have a good night, that's why we bring our own, it's cheaper."

Acting Superintendent Bruce Storey, from Northumbria Police, said the new training for bouncers had helped reduce crime in Newcastle since being introduced earlier in the year.

He said: "If people have had too much to drink, quite clearly their inhibitions go, their ability to be aware of their surroundings tends to be diminished and the consequences of that are obvious."

Bouncer Chris Woodcock described the training as a form of customer service.

He said: "It's being aware of vulnerable people and making sure that everyone has a good night and they get to go home safely."

But his colleague Paul Faetz, 50, who has 32 years working on the doors in Newcastle, says binge drinkers have made the job unbearable and he is retiring.

He said: "It's been over the last five years (that) people have become more and more heavy drinkers.

"I don't really want to be around that. Now with drugs and drink, it's not a nice place to work."

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Costa Concordia Salvage Operation Completed

By Tom Kington, on Giglio

Twenty months after it capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio, killing 32 people, the Costa Concordia has risen from the Mediterranean after a successful £500m salvage operation

Dozens of giant pulleys hauled the cruise ship back to an upright position in a 19-hour operation, exposing a section of the white ship's exterior that was stained by rust and algae after months under water.

By 4am on Tuesday, the 950-foot-long, 114,000-ton vessel had been pulled through 65 degrees to stand on a bed of over 1,000 concrete sacks and six huge underwater platforms.

Italy's civil protection chief Franco Gabrielli speaking at a late night press conference on Giglio, where he was applauded and cheered by residents, said: "The rotation has finished its course, we are at zero degrees, the ship is resting on the platforms."

The image shows how the ship was righted overnight

Franco Porcellacchia, an engineer working on the salvage for ship owner Costa Cruises, said: "It could not have gone better than this. It was a perfect operation."

The Costa Concordia grounded near the port of Giglio in January 2012 after its captain, Francesco Schettino, smashed it into coastal rock during a so-called "sail past".

He is now standing trial on charges of manslaughter and abandoning his ship.

The ship eventually stood on 1,000 concrete sacks and underwater platforms

Some 4,200 passengers and crew scrambled into lifeboats or plunged into shallow water after the ship ran aground and came to rest impaled on its side on two underwater outcrops of granite.

As it rose out of the water in the early hours of Tuesday, two large indentations could be seen on the side of the ship where it had been pinioned on the rocks.

After the operation started on Monday morning, 6,000 tons of pressure were required to pull the ship free from the rock, which had penetrated 18ft into the hull.

The ship was tilted heavily on its side before the operation

The ship was then slowly turned through the afternoon until 11 massive metal boxes welded to the exposed side of the ship, some the height of 11-storey buildings, splashed into the water.

By midnight, salvage workers were able to switch off the pulleys and open valves in the boxes to allow water in at 1,000 cubic feet a minute, adding the necessary ballast to bring the ship down onto the platforms.

When the ship is deemed stable, metal boxes will also be added to the formerly submerged side of the ship. Then, water will be pumped out of the boxes, floating the vessel so it can be  towed next spring to a port, probably on the Italian mainland, for breaking up.

More than 30 people were killed when the ship hit rocks

Mr Porcellacchia said: "We have already looked at the side of the ship to see where the boxes will go and we will quantify the work to do. The starboard side looks pretty bad, as we expected."

Fears that a polluted slick of paint, residual fuel, small quantities of heavy metal and rotting food would emerge from the ship, proved unfounded, officials said on Tuesday.

Sergio Girotto, the project manager for Italian salvage firm Micoperi, which has managed the salvage with US firm Titan Salvage, said: "Now we will see what support and adjustments the ship needs."

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Washington Navy Yard Killer's Gun Crime History

US Deadliest Shootings

Updated: 10:32am UK, Tuesday 17 September 2013

The shooting at the Washington navy yard has been described by Barack Obama as "yet another mass shooting". It is part of a grim list in modern US history.

:: Sandy Hook, Connecticut, December 14, 2012:

Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother before opening fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 children and six adults. He then turned the gun on himself.

It is the worst school shooting in America's history and second only to the Virginia Tech massacre in terms of the country's deadliest ever attacks.

Both attacks make up a grim history of mass murders using firearms in the US.

:: Aurora, Colorado, July 20, 2012:

A masked gunman burst in on the Century 16 cinema during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises throwing tear gas before opening fire.

He killed 12 and injured 58. James Eagan Holmes, 24, is the sole suspect and was arrested at the scene. He will appear in court in January.

:: Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas, November 5, 2009:

A 42-year-old US Army Major, serving as a psychiatrist, opened fire inside the US military base killing 13 and wounding 29 in an attack deemed an act of terrorism. Hasan was shot and captured and is paralysed from the waist down.

Before the killing he had been in touch with the late al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al Awlaki to ask whether he would be considered a martyr if he died shooting US soldiers.

:: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16, 2007:

Seung-Hui Cho, 23, killed 32 and injured 17 in America's deadliest shooting. He launched two separate attacks at the campus two hours apart before killing himself.

Cho had a history of mental illness and was in therapy through his school years.

:: Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, October 2, 2006:

Charles Carl Roberts shot dead five and injured five in an attack at an Amish school. The 32-year-old dish washer at a local restaurant then killed himself.

He was driven by anger at God over the death of his premature daughter.

:: Red Lake Indian Reservation, March 21, 2005:

Sixteen-year-old Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather and grandfather's companion before opening fire at Red Lake High School. He killed nine and injured seven, then took his own life.

He blamed years of school bullying for the attack.

:: Forth Worth, Sept 25, 1999:

Unemployed white supremacist Larry Gene Ashbrook opened fire on the congregation of Wedgwood Baptist Church, killing seven and wounding seven. He then turned the gun on himself.

Ashbrook, 47, was a member of a group that advocated killing minorities.

:: Atlanta, July 29, 1999:

Mark Orrin Barton, a trader, opened fire in two investment offices killing nine and wounding 12. He killed himself after a six-hour police manhunt.

The 44-year-old had been upset by big financial losses.

:: Columbine High School, Colorado, April 20, 1999:

Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire on schoolmates after bombs they had planted in the cafeteria failed to go off. They killed 13 and injured 21 before killing themselves.

The students were motivated by their anger at society. Harris had a history of depression.

:: McDonald's, San Ysidro, California, July 18 1984:

Welder James Huberty walked into a McDonald's and opened fire killing 21 people and wounding 19 before being shot by a police sniper.

The 51-year-old thought society was about to collapse. When asked where he was going as he left the house for the killing, he told his wife: "hunting humans".

:: University of Texas, Austin, August 1, 1966:

Engineering student Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, opened fire on students from the 28th floor of the main campus building. He killed 13 and wounded 32 before being shot dead by a police marksman. He also killed his wife and mother.

In a note he said he was suffering irrational thoughts and wanted to relieve his wife and mother from suffering but offered no explanation for the university attack.

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Daniel Pelka Report: 'No One Suspected Abuse'

By Lisa Dowd, Midlands Correspondent

Chance after chance was missed to intervene in the case of a four-year-old boy who was beaten to death by his mother and stepfather.

A serious case review into the death of Daniel Pelka found repeated failures by agencies set up to safeguard children's welfare.

But it concluded that nobody could have predicted his death at the hands of an abusive mother and stepfather last year.

The report's author, Ron Lock, said: "No one professional, with what they knew of Daniel's circumstances, suspected or could have predicted that he would be killed.

"This was a complex and tragic case.

"Daniel's mother seemed plausible in her concerns about him, and no concerns were expressed by neighbours or the wider community.

Magdelena Luczak and Mariusz Krezolek were both jailed for life

"Strong concerns nevertheless emerged about Daniel's circumstances and his care, although at no point were practitioners who had contact with him prepared to think the unthinkable and consider that he might be suffering abuse.

"But if professionals had used more enquiring minds, and been more focused in their intentions to address concerns, it's likely that Daniel would have been better protected from the people who killed him."

Daniel was brought up in a chaotic family where violence and heavy drinking were the norm. He was known to police, social services, teachers and doctors.

But the report found that not one professional asked him what was going on at home.

Mr Lock said: "He didn't speak good English. His self-esteem was so low, he was a very isolated little boy so people found it hard to engage him.

"His mother often spoke on his behalf, as did his sibling, so rather than ask Daniel others were asked what he was thinking and to ask his mum and sibling was not going to give the correct answers."

Daniel was terrorised at his home in Coventry by his mother Magdelena Luczak and his stepfather Mariusz Krezolek.

He was starved, beaten and force-fed salt. At school he rooted through bins for food and once turned up with two black eyes. He later died from a serious head injury on March 3, 2012.

The four-year-old had 40 injuries on his body when he died

The review found the couple misled authorities by lying about his injuries and pretending he had an eating disorder, rendering Daniel "invisible" to health professionals.

But it also highlighted how stretched children's services were in the city.

It described overworked staff who were "naive", who were not "inquisitive" and assumed others were "intervening".

It noted missed opportunities to help Daniel, including 27 reports of domestic violence to police.

In January 2011 he went to hospital with a broken arm - a spiral fracture suggested twisting -  but professionals were too ready to accept it was accidental.

In September, when Daniel started school, teachers noticed a pattern of injuries which they failed to record or act on.

In February 2012 he saw a community paediatrician - his weight loss was not recognised and child abuse was not even considered.

A few weeks later the four-year-old was dead. He had 40 injuries and a doctor said he looked like a concentration camp victim.

Martin Reeves, chief executive of Coventry City Council, said: "Professionals didn't have the whole picture. Daniel's voice wasn't heard at all.

"Arguably they are basic errors, but we have to put this against a backdrop of social care workers, police, health colleagues working every day making what some would argue are impossible judgement calls on child protection, so I think our key now is how do we learn from those issues."

The review, by the Coventry Safeguarding Children Board, has published 15 recommendations aimed at preventing such a failure happening again.

Luczak and Krezolek, both originally from Poland, were convicted of Daniel's murder in a trial earlier this year and are now both serving minimum 30-year terms in prison.

:: Ray Jones, Professor of Social Work at Kingston University, told Sky News that up to 170 serious case review reports were prepared every year.

He said: "We're giving more time to the bureaucracy and procedures than giving time to actually spending the hours finding what is happening in a family. We've got the priorities wrong."

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) also questioned the effectiveness of serious case reviews.

Chief Executive Bridget Robb said that the findings are not properly shared with child protection social workers.

Research the BASW carried out showed that one quarter of its members never get the chance to read serious case review reports.

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Costa Concordia: Ship Heaved Off Rocky Seabed

Costa Concordia: Materials On Board

Updated: 9:33am UK, Monday 16 September 2013

By Tom Kington, in Giglio

As rescue crews attempt to lift the wrecked Costa Concordia liner, waters polluted with rotten foods and fuel will come out. Here is a list of the material left behind during the dramatic evacuation on January 13, 2012.

1,000 packets of Bacio chocolates

7,650kg of flour

2,200kg of melon

2,003kg of bananas

1,400kg of watermelon

4,536 litres of milk in solid form

1,300 litres of cream

3,244 low-fat fruit yoghurts

10,230 full-fat fruit yoghurts

8,800 portions of honey

1,046 half-litre bottles of extra virgin olive oil

4,260 litres of soya oil

2,346 frozen hot dog buns

3,746 hamburger buns

2,890kg of frozen croissant dough

3,400 empty casings to make Sicilian cannoli

11,200 biscuits for serving with ice cream

1,565kg of frozen duck

1,268kg of frozen chicken

16,700 Lipton tea bags

10,800 eggs

2,300kg of frozen egg

52,655 sachets of coffee sweetener

38,281 bottles of water

46,902 alcoholic beverage bottles and miniatures

22,735 bottles and cans of non-alcoholic drinks

24,030 fruit juices

22,050 cans of Coca-Cola

14,050 packets of cigarettes

10 bottles of communion wine

17,957 bottles of wine

8,200kg of beef

2,132 portions of marmalade

2,700kg of potatoes

900kg of onions

1,217kg of oranges

371kg of rabbit meat

395kg of quail

1,427kg of coffee

2,460kg of cheese

7,032kg of fruit

6,850 litres of ice cream

11,007kg of pasta

41 cubic metres of lubricating oil

10 oxygen tanks

Seven acetylene tanks

600kg of mechanical grease

293 litres of paint

50 litres of insecticide

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Syria Warned Of 'Consequences' If Deal Fails

Britain, France and the US have warned Syria "there will be consequences" if it fails to handover its chemical weapons arsenal.

The top diplomats from the countries stood side by side in Paris on Monday to pressure Syrian President Bashar Assad to uphold his end of any deal on securing and destroying Syria's chemical weapons.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the allies would "not tolerate anything less than full compliance" with the agreement that he hammered out with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during three days of talks in Geneva.

The United Nations Security Council is set in coming days to take up a resolution laying out plans for the agreement brokered by the United States and Russia.

"If Assad fails to comply with the terms of this framework, make no mistake, we are all agreed, and that includes Russia, that there will be consequences," said Mr Kerry.

More than 100,000 people have died in the Syria civil war

"Should diplomacy fail, the military option is still on the table," he warned, flanked by British Foreign Secretary William Hague and French Foreign Minister Lauren Fabius.

Mr Kerry said Mr Assad had "lost all legitimacy" to govern Syria and that the three nations remained committed to a diplomatic solution to end the "violence" and two-and-a-half year conflict.

"Removal of the chemical weapons, takes away from Assad one of the tools that he has been using against the opposition, against the people of his country," he said.

"We will do everything in our power to help the people of Syria get out from under this chaos and violence that is creating such a human catastrophe for all of us, not only to witness, but to have to deal with."

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said the draft deal struck by the US and Russia would now have to be put into a UN resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which can authorise both the use of force and non-military action.

He said: "The French have talked about 'serious consequences' in the resolution. Mr Kerry only said 'consequences'. Now 'serious consequences' in diplomatic language is code for war. 'Consequences' is code for sanctions. So there is still all that language to fight about."

As the diplomatic talks continue, so does the fighting in Syria

A report by UN chemical weapons inspectors sent to Syria to investigate an alleged gas attack is set to be revealed to a closed session of the Security Council.

The inspection team, led by Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom, was tasked with determining whether chemical weapons were used in the August 21 attack in the suburbs of Damascus.

The team will also establish which chemical agents were used, but will not make a judgement on who was responsible.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will brief the council on the findings, has already revealed he expects the report to provide "overwhelming" confirmation that chemical weapons were used.

Meanwhile, UN human rights investigators warned that militant opposition groups in Syria, including foreign fighters invoking jihad or holy war, had stepped up killings and other crimes in the north.

"Across northern Syria, there has been an upsurge in crimes and abuses committed by extremist anti-government armed groups along with an influx of rebel foreign fighters. Entire brigades are now made up from fighters who have crossed into Syria, with Al Muhajireen being one of the most active," Paulo Pinheiro, chair of the independent inquiry, told the UN Human Rights Council.

Reporting on suspected war crimes since July 15, he added that the Syrian government had continued its "relentless campaign of air bombardment and artillery shelling across the country".

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Prolific Paedophile Blackmailed Girls Online

A paedophile who used the internet to blackmail young girls all over the world has been jailed for 12 years.

The "sadistic exploitation" conducted by Robert Hunter, from Middlesbrough, was so extensive that an international operation through Interpol was sparked.

The 35-year-old had used sites such as Facebook, Skype and MSN to abuse girls as young as nine from across Europe, Asia, Canada and America.

He often posed as the singer Justin Bieber in an attempt to convince the girls to expose themselves and perform sex acts on a webcam.

More follows...

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Peru Drugs: Melissa Reid 'To Plead Guilty'

Why Peru Became The Cocaine Hotspot

Updated: 2:26am UK, Sunday 15 September 2013

By Pete Norman, Sky News Online

Peru has overtaken Colombia as the world's leading cocaine producer, according to experts.

Home to the ancient Inca civilisation, Peru is rugged, remote and the ultimate source of the mighty Amazon river.

It is also home to a long-running guerrilla campaign by the leftist Shining Path group.

While urban and coastal inhabitants have benefited greatly from market-focused economic development since the early 1980s, when military rule ended, the rural poor have gained little.

Its hilly, isolated and fertile regions are home to the guerrillas, who rely on cocaine production, hostage-taking and corruption for funds.

According to the CIA, Peru was the world's largest coca leaf producer until 1996, when neighbouring Colombia took the lead.

It says that in 2009 Peru had 100,000 acres under coca leaf production compared to Colombia's 286,000 acres - with the potential to produce 225 metric tons of pure cocaine.

US-supported efforts to reduce or eradicate coca leaf in Colombia have now tipped the scales of production towards Peru.

Aerial spraying of herbicide in Colombia has affected coca crops covering 250,000 acres while manual eradication has been done on another 150,000 acres.

The UN has said Colombia reduced its area under coca cultivation by 25% in 2012 - the biggest annual reduction since the international body began monitoring it in 2001.

Around 30 Britons are now in Peruvian prisons on drug-related convictions, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The UN Office of Drugs and Crime is expected to release its official 2012 Peru coca crop estimate in September.

Its World Drug Report 2011 said that although the area under coca leaf production was around 75% of the 1990 area, the current yield might be up to a third greater.

While Colombia still supplies virtually all of North America's cocaine, the CIA said much of the drug exported from Peru through land, air and sea routes is destined for Europe and other markets.

North America and Europe cocaine consumption has stabilised in recent years while growth has increased in Oceania and Asia Pacific regions.

It said: "Finished cocaine is shipped out from Pacific ports to the international drug market, (while) increasing amounts of base and finished cocaine, however, are being moved to Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia for … trans-shipment to Europe and Africa."

Smaller quantities are carried through air routes by so-called drug mules, while larger loads travel by sea to west Africa prior to distribution throughout Europe.

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School Uniform Costs 'Must Be Cut' - Minister

Schools are being urged to avoid branded uniforms and allow parents to "shop around" to cut costs for cash-strapped families.

Schools minister David Laws said the cost of clothing was often "unnecessarily high" at a time when family budgets were being squeezed.

An Office of Fair Trading investigation last year suggested that three quarters of schools placed restrictions on where uniforms could be bought.

That typically added £5 to the price tag for each item, leaving parents an estimated £52m a year worse off.

Mr Laws announced the new guidance for schools at the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow.

Exclusive single supplier contracts should not be used, unless regular tendering processes are run to ensure firms provide value for money.

They should also not enter into 'cashback' agreements with shops.

Compulsory items of uniform should be available relatively cheaply, and branding should be kept "to a minimum", under the guidelines.

Schools are urged to avoid changing specifications frequently.

Mr Laws told Sky News the revised guidance on uniforms would end the "over-reliance" by schools on single supplier agreements.

"It ought to be possible for parents to shop around, to get good quality school uniforms but from different suppliers," he said.

"Schools should avoid changing their school uniforms too often and requiring parents to buy different items.

"They ought to keep in mind what is specified in a school uniform and keep it as cheap as possible.

"And they ought to enable standard items like trousers and shirts and so forth to be bought from some of the big supermarkets and other shops where actually those items can be bought very cheaply.

"I think schools can actually do this and give parents a better deal but without actually compromising on quality."

Asked why the guidelines were not being pushed further, the minister said he did not think it was necessary for ministers to legislate and "set out hundreds of pages of bureaucracy in order to get schools to do what is the right thing".

He said he expected schools to follow the guidance, but if they failed to, the Government would respond to parental complaints.

According to an Ipsos Mori put out by Mumsnet, female support for the Lib Dems has fallen by 15% since 2010.

Asked if the move was a bid to win the female vote at the next general election, Mr Laws said households were facing "living cost" challenges across the country and that his party would be making a series of announcements this week on "actions that we are going to take to help hard-pressed families".

Sky's Anushka Asthana said: "The Lib Dems are putting this out today in an attempt to appeal to parents and to say they are on the side of struggling families."

"What the Government wants to see is policy where uniforms can be bought anywhere - at supermarkets or at the more expensive suppliers.

"It is part of what they are doing here at Glasgow, which is trying to say that in government, despite only having 57 MPs, they are having an impact and their policies are pushing through.

"But there is a lot of debate whether this policy will make much difference," she added.

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Woman's Body Found In House: Man Charged

A 32-year-old man has been charged with murder after a woman's body was found at a house in Walsall.

Bank employee Jasvir Ram Ginday, from Victory Lane, in the town, will appear at Walsall Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Nine other people - four men and five women - arrested at the house in Victory Lane have been released on police bail.

West Midlands Police said the body was found at the property at around 8pm on Friday following a missing persons inquiry.

The body has not yet been formally identified and further forensic tests are due to be carried out on Tuesday.

Detective Chief Inspector Sarbit Johal, leading the investigation, said: "We are undertaking numerous enquiries and are still really keen to speak to anyone who may have information that could help this investigation."

:: Anyone with information is urged to call 101, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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