Delhi Gang Rape: Four Men Guilty Of Attack

Four men have been convicted of the gang rape of a 23-year-old woman as she travelled on a bus in Delhi.

Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh lured the woman and her male friend onto the bus as they returned home from watching a movie last December.

The physiotherapy student was raped and assaulted with an iron bar before she was dumped on the roadside with her friend.

She suffered serious internal injuries and died in a Singapore hospital 13 days after the attack.

The brutality of the assault triggered waves of protests across India, with new laws introduced and existing ones amended to give women greater protection.

The rape led to nationwide protests which forced the government to act

Fast-track courts were also set up to try men accused of sexual crimes.

The conviction of the four men follows an eight-month trial, during which more than 100 people gave evidence.

The case had been expected to finish sooner, with defence lawyers accused of using delaying tactics.

The men, who were found guilty of all charges against them, including rape and murder, are expected to be sentenced on Wednesday, when they could be given the death penalty.

A woman lights a candle during a vigil for the 23-year-old victim

Defence lawyers for Thakur, Sharma and Singh, who occasionally drove the bus and cleaned it, said they will appeal the verdict.

A fifth defendant, Ram Singh, was found hanged in his cell in Delhi's Tihar prison in March. His family and defence lawyers believe he was murdered.

A sixth person, who was a juvenile at the time of the attack, has already been found guilty of murder, rape and kidnapping.

He was sentenced to three years in a correction facility - the maximum penalty he could be given.

The parents of the victim, who argue the punishment is too lenient, called for him to be tried as an adult and to be hanged.

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Syria 'Agrees To Hand Over Chemical Weapons'

Syria has accepted a Russian proposal to put chemical weapons under international control, it has been reported.

More follows...

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Ed Miliband Stands By His Union Reforms

No Conference Role For Justine

Updated: 11:43am UK, Tuesday 10 September 2013

Ed Miliband has ruled out the possibility of his wife introducing him at the Labour Party conference later this month.

The Labour leader said there were no plans for Justine Thornton to follow in the footsteps of Gordon Brown's wife Sarah and announce him on to the stage.

There had been reports that Ms Thornton would play a higher profile at this year's event in Brighton.

It was claimed she had been drafted in in an attempt to boost her husband's flagging popularity, as his personal ratings continue to suffer.

But Mr Miliband told ITV's Daybreak : "She is working really hard in her own job, she is a lawyer and she has got a full-time job.

"She is playing her role looking after our kids and she has also got a role supporting me but ... we are not bringing her on to introduce me at conference, I can assure you of that.

"It is great to have her support, it is great to have her there."

The couple, who have two young sons Daniel and Samuel, first met in 2002 and married in May 2011 after Mr Miliband became party leader.

Ms Thornton, a former child actress, is a top barrister specialising in the environment and was described as "exceptional" in an industry guide last year.

Sarah Brown famously introduced husband Gordon at the Labour conference in 2009, calling him "my hero".

She also addressed the conference a year earlier, speaking of her pride in her husband's achievements and praised his motivation to help people.

The wives of the three current main party leaders all tend to adopt a lower profile, and balance the role with pursuing their own careers. 

Samantha Cameron works part-time as a consultant at stationers Smythson, where she was creative director before her husband became Prime Minister.

Nick Clegg's wife, who is known professionally by her maiden name Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, is a partner at the major law firm Dechert.

The mother-of-three has previously said: "I'm the wife of a politician. I don't have a role. I'm just married to him."

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89% Of Nurses Say A&E Patients Put In Danger

Nine out of 10 nurses working in acute and emergency care believe current pressure on A&E services is putting patients in danger, a nursing union has warned.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said a survey of its members found that 89% of nursing staff thought the people they were meant to be caring for were being put at risk.

Some 85% said patient safety was being compromised by the strain on departments, while one in five said this was the case on every shift.

The poll of 416 RCN members found 89% said they had experienced increased pressure in their A&E department in the last six months.

A lack of beds and staff were both key reasons for department strain

More than three quarters cited increased attendance at A&E as the reason for increased pressure, while 74% blamed inappropriate attendance at A&E where patients could have been treated elsewhere.

The survey also found 57% cited a lack of beds for patients coming into A&E, while 54% said there were too few health care staff on duty to cope with demand.

Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said: "Our member survey demonstrates the same picture that NHS Confederation leaders are painting - that emergency services and the staff working within them are under increasing pressure which is putting patient safety at risk.

"Staff enter the health profession to save and improve lives through first class care.

"However they simply cannot deliver this if there are too few staff to properly treat and monitor the increasing numbers of patients, not enough beds to put them in and no clear signposting to community care that could prevent attendance at A&E."

The survey was conducted in July.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "We know A&E departments are under pressure. There are over one million more people visiting A&E compared to three years ago.

"However we know, on the whole the NHS is performing well, latest weekly figures show 96% of patients were seen in under four hours and there are more clinical staff, including 4,300 more doctors since 2010.

"We have given A&E departments an additional £500m to make sure the best care is available for every patient this winter and the next and have set aside an additional £3.8bn to help join up health and care services."

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RAF Scrambles Typhoons Amid Syria Tensions

Two RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled from their base in Cyprus to investigate unidentified aircraft in international airspace amid mounting tensions over Syria, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Reports suggest the rogue aircraft, which were spotted on radar by the British and Turkish air forces on Monday, came from Syria.

An MoD spokesman said: "Typhoon Air Defence Aircraft operated from RAF Akrotiri on Monday, 2nd September 2013, to investigate unidentified aircraft to the east of Cyprus; the aircraft were flying legally in international airspace and no intercept was required."

The Sunday Mirror quoted a military source as saying: "This is a clear sign of the tension boiling over because of Syria. Everyone is on edge.

"It is a pretty serious move to send up Typhoons - one of their roles is to intercept any possible enemy strike."

A week ago, six RAF Typhoon jets were sent to Cyprus in what the MoD called a "prudent and precautionary measure".

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the number of countries ready to take military action against Syria was now in the "double digits" after holding talks in Lithuania with EU foreign ministers.

Mr Kerry met French foreign minister Laurent Fabius on Saturday

Following the meeting on Saturday, the EU ministers issued a call for action against Syrian President Bashar al Assad's regime.

The EU did not explicitly back military action, but Mr Kerry said he was encouraged by the "very powerful statement" made by the bloc.

"There were a number of countries, in the double digits, who are prepared to take military action," he said.

"We have more countries prepared to take military action than we actually could use in the kind of military action being contemplated."

The US accuses the Assad regime of gassing to death 1,429 people, including 426 children, in an August 21 attack outside Damascus.

In his weekly address, US President Barack Obama warned of the dangers of "turning a blind eye" to chemical attacks.

"I call on members of Congress, from both parties, to come together and stand up for the kind of world we want to live in," he said on his return from a deadlocked G20 summit in St Petersburg.

My Kerry says support for airstrikes is mounting

Mr Obama has asked for Congress to authorise strikes on Syria. Congress reconvenes on Monday and the president is set to address the nation on Tuesday about the US response.

Mr Kerry said Mr Obama had made no decision about whether to wait for the release of a UN investigation into the alleged August attack before taking action.

Prime Minister David Cameron has ruled out bringing the issue of intervention back to the Commons and he has the support of the public, according to a new poll.

The ICM survey found voters opposed MPs voting again on British involvement - even if the UN inspectors concluded chemical weapons were used, by 46% to 36%.

But almost a quarter (24%) accepted that the decision to stay out would encourage other dictators to use chemical weapons, the poll for The Sunday Telegraph showed.

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Sky Poll: Drunk A&E Patients Should Be Charged

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Patients who visit A&E while drunk or under the influence of recreational drugs should pay for the treatment they receive, according to the large majority of people questioned for a Sky News poll.

More than seven in 10 of those questioned said anyone needing emergency medical care because they were intoxicated should be charged for using NHS services.

Experts say at least seven million people a year attend A&E while drunk, placing an enormous strain on health service resources.

Sky News is broadcasting from inside the Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham

The poll commissioned for State of Emergency, Sky News' weekend of live coverage from Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre, shows that two in three people believe A&E services are in crisis and patients are being put at risk.

The Sky News poll of 1,106 people carried out by Survation also shows that eight out of 10 believe the Government must take immediate action to avoid major issues in A&E.

And more than six in 10 blame government cuts for any staff shortages and poor levels of care.

However, three-quarters of those questioned agreed that doctors and nurses were trying their best, but were being worked too hard.

To address the A&E care crisis, almost two-thirds of those asked thought consultants should be forced to work weekends and nights, with four in 10 saying senior doctors who refuse should receive less pay.

More than nine out of 10 opposed the provision of breast enlargements and tattoo removals on the NHS.

Nearly two-thirds also believed NHS managers were paid too much.

:: A&E Live Updates: Sky News On Emergency Ward

The think tank 2020health estimates that on an average weekday up to three out of every 10 patients attending A&E are there because of alcohol, and at the weekend that goes up to seven in 10.

Chief executive Julia Manning said: "We should be sending a really strong message that this is a misuse of A&E. A&E is there for people who've had road trauma accidents (and) major health incidents.

"It's not there for people who have just been mucking around and drinking too much. So we need to think of a way of creating a disincentive for people to get drunk and go to A&E, and we think one of the ways is that people should be invoiced for that use of A&E."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Sky News that while he understood the public desire for the move, it would be a difficult measure to introduce.

"I understand why people would want that, but I think in practice it's very, very difficult to differentiate between the people who have a health problem because of a direct decision they've taken themselves, and people who are unlucky.

"I think it's also one of the fundamental things that we all love about the NHS - that in an emergency you can turn up at a hospital and get treated.

"I think the day we started differentiating and saying we're only going to treat some people, and other people are going to have to pay, I think would be a step in the wrong direction."

On Saturday, Mr Hunt warned that it would be "very, very tough" for the NHS to avoid a repeat of last winter's A&E care crisis.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, the Health Secretary admitted to being "concerned" about the high demand for emergency care and the pressure staff are under.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned of a repeat winter A&E crisis

In the first three months of this year 94 out of 148 hospital trusts failed to meet the target for treating 95% of patients within four hours of them arriving at A&E.

Although the pressure eased over the summer, waiting times have begun to climb once more. Some hospitals are already breaching the target, even before winter pressures kick in.

The Government has given the NHS an extra £500m to pay for short term measures over the next two years to help ease the pressure.

That could include employing more locum consultants in A&E departments and setting up GP surgeries inside hospitals.

"A lot of things are happening to give support to the front line," said Mr Hunt.

"But that's not to say we are not worried about it, because it is going to be very tough, and we understand that."

The national director for acute episodes of care for NHS England, Professor Keith Willett, told Sky News that demand for emergency care is likely to rise once again this winter.

He will shortly unveil plans to divert more A&E patients towards the care of GPs, paramedics and chemists.

But in the short term patients will have to accept they have to wait for care.

"Safety is the priority," he said.

"We will do everything we can to maximise the way patients receive their care as quickly and optimally as possible.

"But it is a pressured system and we have to work within the envelope we have and the skills and staff we have."

:: As part of the poll 1,106 adults were surveyed on September 2-3 by Survation on behalf of Sky News.

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Millions 'Should Not Be In A&E' - Exclusive

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Up to 6.5 million patients every year should avoid going to A&E and be treated by GPs, paramedics and even chemists instead, the doctor leading the review of NHS emergency services claims today.

Around one third of all people who visit A&E each year could be diverted away from hospital under plans to be unveiled shortly by NHS chiefs.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, the doctor in charge of re-shaping emergency services in England said family doctors, ambulance staff and pharmacists could treat them instead to relieve the pressure on A&E.

Indicating for the first time how he hopes to radically reform A&E, Professor Keith Willett, the national director for Acute Episodes of Care, said: "We know that 15% to 30% of people who turn up to be treated at A&E could have been treated in general practice.

"They did not know that because the system did not obviously make itself available to them."

He said patients with routine medical problems are going to A&E because they cannot get a quick enough appointment with their GP. Others are frustrated by out-of-hours services.

Prof Willett says a long-term solution is needed

"We can look at the way primary care is available to people," he said.

"By changing the way we deliver services we can start to address the demand. We can do the same thing in terms of the ambulance services and how much, how many patients they treat, at the scene, rather than transfer and that's about them having the right information.

"We would look to the public to understand the issues and when the situation does get difficult, to take the advice that I've suggested about phoning first, to get the right advice, to go to the right place, to think of using your general practitioner or indeed your pharmacist, (who) give a lot of advice for minor ailments."

Professor Willett and the medical director for NHS England, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, will publish their plan for reforming emergency services later this autumn. It is expected to be implemented two years from now.

The plan will acknowledge that demand for care will continue to rise with an ageing population. But it will set out a series of measures for reducing pressure on A&E departments.

They are expected to include:

:: A&E units will have to ensure a consultant is available seven days a week

:: Other senior doctors, such as elderly care specialists, will be expected to help assess and treat patients arriving at A&E

:: Paramedics will treat more patients at home or by the roadside so they don't need hospital care

:: Patients will be encouraged to 'ring first', using the NHS111 helpline to be directed towards appropriate care.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants GPs to be more proactive

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has also said GPs must take on a bigger role. Next week he will call on GPs to do more to prevent patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, from suffering emergency complications.

In an interview for State Of Emergency, Sky News' 24 hours of live coverage from Nottingham's Queen Medical Centre which begins today at 5pm, Mr Hunt said: "The role of GPs in caring for older people needs to be proactive - checking up on people, finding out how they are, heading off problems before they happen - rather than reactive.

"GPs are busy, so to make that happen we have to find ways of getting more capacity in the system and that is a big challenge.

"But we have to address that. In the end, if the NHS is to be sustainable, it has to be about prevention as much as cure."

But GPs say they are already doing what they can.

Professor Mike Pringle, president of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: "They are overwhelmed by the workload they are expected to deliver.

"We have got to start to build general practice, not blame it, not victimise it.

"We have to invest in it if we are going to solve these problems. And I am sure the Secretary of State recognises that."

England's A&E departments were under severe pressure last winter.

Waiting times reached their worst in nine years between January and March 2013, with more than 300,000 patients waiting more than four hours for treatment.

The Government has given the NHS an extra £500m over two years to find short-term solutions to the likely rise in demand for emergency care in the winter months.

Hospitals could bring GPs into A&E departments to see patients with more minor problems and more locum A&E doctors are likely to be employed to fill vacancies.

Only half the training posts for emergency medicine have been filled in the last two years, and more than a third of hospital trusts have vacancies for A&E consultants.

Professor Willett said a long-term solution is required.

"We do have to address the emergency medicine workforce," he said.

"But that will not produce new consultants for several years. So we have to manage the situation and take away from emergency medicine teams those patients who could be managed by other parts of the system.

"Defaulting to seeing an emergency medicine consultant is not necessary for many of those patients and it is frustrating to wait."

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Buckingham Palace Break-In: Two Arrested

Security Scares For Royal Family

Updated: 6:27am UK, Saturday 07 September 2013

The break-in at Buckingham Palace is the latest in a series of security scares involving the Royal Family.

:: In March 2011, a car carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall was mobbed by demonstrators who had split from a protest against higher university tuition fees.

Camilla was visibly distressed after being poked in the ribs with a stick through an open window in the distinctive Rolls-Royce Phantom VI as she and Charles travelled to the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium.

:: In 2003, comedian Aaron Barschak managed to get into Prince William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle.

The self-styled "comedy-terrorist" set off a series of alarms and was caught on CCTV before he joined 300 guests at the bash and was removed.

:: In 1994, student David Kang charged at Charles while firing a starting pistol during a ceremony in Sydney, Australia.

Kang was wrestled to the ground by New South Wales premier John Fahey and another man, while Charles was praised for his calm reaction.

:: In 1981, six blank shots were fired from the crowd while the Queen rode during the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

The Queen's horse was startled but she managed bring it back under control while police rushed to grab the shooter.

:: In 1974, Princess Anne was the target of an apparent kidnap attempt in The Mall near Buckingham Palace.

Four people, including her bodyguard, Jim Beaton, were injured after shots were fired when their car was forced to halt by another vehicle which blocked their route.

A police officer chased the driver, Ian Ball, and brought him to the ground before arresting him.

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Tony Abbott Wins Australian Election: ABC

Australia's state broadcaster has called a clear win for Tony Abbott over Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in the national polls.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said the British-born opposition leader's Liberal Party-led coalition had ended six years of centre-left Labor rule on Saturday.

With 54% of the vote counted, the Australian Electoral Commission had Mr Abbott's party leading in 76 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives and Labor in 55.

Abbott and Rudd on election posters in Sydney

A majority of 76 is needed to form government once all the votes have been tallied.

ABC election analyst Antony Green said: "The coalition is on a pretty secure 74 seats already. On that basis they're going to get a majority. I think we can say the government has been defeated."

Sky News Australia conducted an exit poll predicting the Liberal Party would secure 97 seats and Labour would drop to just 51.

Voters cast their ballot in Sydney

Defence Minister Stephen Smith told ABC: "The government will be defeated tonight.

"Pessimistically, I'm looking at a result which will be a 1996-type result, a heavy defeat for the government," he added, referring to the election which brought Liberal leader John Howard to power.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek also admitted Labor had lost.

Mr Abbott casting his vote with his family beside him

She said: "The clear take-out from this definitely is that disunity is death and we are not disciplined enough. I don't think the division or the pain was justified at any stage."

Labor has been marred by relentless infighting - which saw Mr Rudd oust Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard in June - leaving the public frustrated and disillusioned.

Former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke said personality politics had been allowed to overtake the party's message and policies.

He told Sky: "The personal manipulations and pursuits of interest have dominated more than they should and in the process the concentration on values has slipped.

"I really believe this was an election that was lost by the government rather than one that was won by the opposition."

Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard

Early poll numbers suggested big swings against the government in the key states of New South Wales and Queensland after more than 14.7 million electors took part in the mandatory ballot across the country.

During the five-week campaign, Mr Abbott gradually overtook once-popular Mr Rudd.

The growing number of asylum seekers has been a major theme in the election. Labor promised that every bona fide refugee who attempts to reach Australia by boat would be settled on Papua New Guinea or Nauru.

The Liberals promised new policies requiring the navy to turn asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia, where they launch, and the government to buy back ageing fishing boats from Indonesian villagers to prevent them falling into the hands of people smugglers.

Mr Abbott has also vowed to scrap a controversial carbon tax and instead introduce taxpayer-funded incentives for polluters to operate cleaner.

Mr Abbot was born in London and moved with his parents to Sydney at the age of two. Later, he returned to England to study at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Mr Abbott has been in Parliament for almost two decades, and for a time was health minister.

He trained briefly as a priest, is a fitness fanatic famous for wearing tight swimming trunks and also volunteers for Australia's Rural Fire Service.

Deeply religious, some of his more conservative views on issues such as abortion and gay marriage have not pleased some.

Questions have also been asked about his attitude towards women with Ms Gillard famously labelling him a misogynist in a heart-felt speech in Parliament.

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'Small Island' Britain: Cameron Rejects Slight

David Cameron has delivered a passionate response to a Russian official's alleged dismissal of Britain as a "small island" whose views can be ignored.

In response the Prime Minister said: "Let me be clear - Britain may be a small island, but I would challenge anyone to find a country with a prouder history, a bigger heart or greater resilience."

Downing Street has demanded "clarification" from the Kremlin over the remarks reportedly made by President Vladimir Putin's chief spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Putin's chief spokesman Dmitry Peskov

He apparently told reporters that the UK was "just a small island: no one pays any attention to them".

Mr Peskov denied that he was responsible for the comment and insisted it did not reflect the reality of Russia's views on its "positive" relations with the UK.

He said: "I don't know the source of that claim. I simply can't explain the source of that claim. Definitely it is nothing to do with reality. It is definitely not something I have said."

Asked if he thought the comment might have been made by someone representing Mr Putin, he said: "Definitely not."

Mr Cameron said he had also been told that the Russians "absolutely deny making the remark, and certainly no one's made it to me".

However, he still went on make his defence of Britain's role in the world.

"Britain is an island that has helped to clear the European continent of fascism and was resolute in doing that throughout the Second World War," he said.

"Britain is an island that helped to abolish slavery, that has invented most of the things worth inventing, including every sport currently played around the world, that still today is responsible for art, literature and music that delights the entire world.

"We are very proud of everything we do as a small island - a small island that has the sixth-largest economy, the fourth best-funded military, some of the most effective diplomats, the proudest history, one of the best records for art and literature and contribution to philosophy and world civilisation."

He added: "For the people who live in Northern Ireland, I should say we are not just an island we are a collection of islands. I don't want anyone in Shetland or Orkney to feel left out by this."

It came as Tory MP Henry Smith tweeted that Mr Putin is a "t****r".

In response to the comment, the Prime Minister's spokesman said: "Some of the comments, I don't think they need any comment. We need a robust but constructive approach and anything else, that's clearly not how the Government goes about its relations with Russia."

Asked about Mr Cameron listing British achievements, the spokesman said: "The PM was answering a question that was put to him. I presume the questioner was grateful for that. Britain has been setting the agenda for many of the things that have been discussed at the G20."

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