'Sharp rise' in sexual abuse calls

31 August 2013 Last updated at 04:44 ET

A children's charity has said it has seen a sharp rise in the number of reported cases of sexual abuse.

The NSPCC said calls to its 24-hour advice line in June and July were nearly twice as high as in 2012.

The organisation put it down to a heightened state of awareness of the problem of child abuse following the Jimmy Savile scandal.

People now seemed to be better equipped and more confident in reporting their concerns, it added.

The NSPCC said more people were using its helpline, 11 months since the allegations against Savile first emerged.

During June and July there were 594 referrals to the NSPCC's call centre compared with 323 at the same time the previous year - an 84% increase.

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John Cameron, NSPCC: "Trust your instincts. If you're slightly uncertain about anything, call us"

All of these cases were passed on to police and social services.

The charity put the increase down to a heightened awareness of child sex offences and said the Savile scandal had changed the way the public reacted to abuse.

John Cameron, head of the helpline, said: "The number of calls we took this summer was significantly higher than last year.

"There appears to be a clear shift and the public now seem better equipped and more confident to report their concerns.

"It's very encouraging to see that adults, including those who don't have direct responsibility for children, take action if they think a child is at risk.

"The Savile scandal has shocked the nation but has also increased public awareness of how difficult it is for children to speak out and how crucial it is for adults to report any suspicions or concerns they have straight away."

Mr Cameron also told Radio 4's Today programme in addition to people taking more responsibility, they also had a greater degree of confidence in children's services and the police.

He said 99.9% of calls to the NSPCC were from people with "genuine concerns" and it was "very rare indeed" for people to misuse the service.

Most calls come from neighbours who suspected sexual abuse in their area, he added.

Allegations which surfaced late last year against former BBC DJ Savile over 50 years prompted hundreds of people to come forward with accounts of abuse by him and others.

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Obama 'respects' PM's Syria approach

31 August 2013 Last updated at 06:53 ET

US President Barack Obama has said he fully respects David Cameron's approach after Parliament blocked UK involvement in possible military action in Syria.

The men spoke by phone for 15 minutes, and the tone of the conversation was said to be friendly.

The UK prime minister reiterated he still wanted a strong response to the suspected chemical weapons attack.

According to Downing Street, Mr Obama said he had not yet decided what action the US would take over Syria.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The prime minister made clear that he strongly believes in the need for a tough and robust response to the appalling war crime committed by the Assad regime in Ghouta.

"The PM explained that he wanted to build a consensual approach in Britain for our response and that the government had accepted the clear view of the House against British military action.

"President Obama said he fully respected the PM's approach and that he had not yet taken a decision on the US response."

Foreign Secretary William Hague said US Secretary of State John Kerry had thanked him for the UK's "steadfast friendship", and they were united on ending the Syria conflict and use of chemical weapons.

The White House believes President Bashar al-Assad's regime was responsible for the chemical attack on 21 August which it says killed 1,429 people in the Ghouta suburb of Damascus - a figure far higher than previously reported.

"We know rockets came only from regime-controlled areas and landed only in opposition-held areas," Mr Kerry said earlier.

"All of these things we know, the American intelligence community has high confidence."

Ministers ruled out British involvement in any military action on Thursday evening after MPs blocked a government motion which called for military action if it was backed up by evidence from the UN weapons inspectors.

Despite the result of the vote, the US said it would continue to seek a coalition for military intervention, while France said the vote did not change its resolve about the need to act.

The president and prime minister agreed the US and UK would work closely together on a wider response to the Syrian crisis and try to find a solution.

Russia - which has close ties with the the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - welcomed the UK's rejection of a military strike, while Germany has ruled out participation in any action.

'Whole region' threatened

Meanwhile, Number 10 said it was "not too worried" by the absence of the UK from a roll call of allies in Mr Kerry's speech earlier.

Mr Kerry made a point of describing France as America's "oldest ally" while not mentioning the UK.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The president stressed his appreciation of his strong friendship with the prime minister and of the strength, durability and depth of the special relationship between our two countries. They agreed that their co-operation on international issues would continue in the future."

Mr Cameron said in an interview on Friday it was a "regret" that he had been unable to build a consensus on the response to the suspected chemical weapons attack.

However, he insisted the UK remained "deeply engaged" on the world stage.

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Ian Pannell: The victims "arrived like the walking dead"

The inspectors have finished their investigation and are expected to deliver their preliminary findings to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon on Saturday.

Meanwhile in Syria, the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen said he had spoken to people inside President Assad's administration who were "cock-a-hoop" at the UK vote. "They believe it counts as a victory for them," he added.

"We will defend ourselves," Dr Bassam Abu Abdullah from the Syrian Information Ministry said, warning of danger "not only on the Syrian people but... the whole region" if the US decided to attack.

But Mr Cameron vowed to "continue to take a case to the United Nations", adding: "We will continue to work in all the organisations we are members of - whether the EU, or Nato, or the G8 or the G20 - to condemn what's happened in Syria.

"It's important we uphold the international taboo on the use of chemical weapons."

There had been suggestions from ministers, including Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond, that Britain's rejection of military action would harm its relationship with the US.

Mr Hammond warned against the vote allowing Britain to "turn into a country that prefers to turn its back".

"We must stay engaged with the world," he told the BBC.

In other developments:

• The BBC witnessed the aftermath of an incendiary bomb attack on a school playground in northern Syria which left scores of children with napalm-like burns
• The US said it would act in its "best interests" in dealing with the Syria crisis, following UK rejection of military intervention
• French President Francois Hollande said all options were being considered, and has not ruled out a strike within days
• UN weapons inspectors visited a hospital in a government-controlled area of Damascus
• The Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to Lebanon because of a "heightened risk of anti-Western sentiment" linked to the possibility of military action in Syria. The BBC understands that the families of British diplomats are being evacuated
• Former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans - architect of the so-called "responsibility to protect" doctrine - accused the UK of "making things up as it goes along". He blamed the government's "mishandling of the politics" for what he said was a "disappointing" vote against intervention
• The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there was "no doubt" President Assad's forces carried out the chemical attack

Labour leader Ed Miliband told the BBC: "I think ill thought-through military action would have made life worse, not better, for the Syrian people."

He accused the government of not learning the lessons of Iraq, adding MPs had "sent a message" that British forces would not be deployed "without going through the United Nations and without ensuring we have regard to the consequences in the region".

Earlier he said Mr Cameron was guilty of "reckless and impulsive leadership".

And the prime minister faced criticism from his own side, with former shadow home secretary David Davis accusing him of making a "shaky argument" for intervention.

"There was feeling of rushing to action," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme. "It's more important to get this right than to do it on a 10-day timetable".

Labour shadow frontbencher Diane Abbott said Mr Miliband best reflected the views of the British people on military action in Syria.

She told the BBC: "Unilateral American bombing and military action in the Middle East does not work, it only makes the killing and the slaughter worse.

"Any military intervention has to be genuinely international and the UN is the only means to do that."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, meanwhile, has been critical of the decision to not take part in military action, saying the UK was "hugely diminished".

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died since the conflict erupted in March 2011 and at least 1.7 million refugees displaced.

The violence began when anti-government protests during the Arab Spring uprisings were met with a brutal response by the Syrian security forces.

President Assad's regime has blamed foreign involvement and armed gangs for the conflict.

How could a potential strike be launched? Forces which could be used against Syria:

• Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles. The missiles can also be fired from submarines, but the US Navy does not reveal their locations

• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes

• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region

• French aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean

• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAE

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Delhi gang rape teenager convicted

31 August 2013 Last updated at 06:55 ET

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Shilpa Kannan outside the court says the sentence could include community service or employment

A teenager has been found guilty of taking part in the fatal gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus last year.

He was convicted on charges of rape and murder over the crime, committed when he was aged 17.

The teenager, who cannot be named, has been sentenced to three years in a reform facility, the maximum term possible for a juvenile.

He had denied the charges, as do four adult men also on trial for the same attack.

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

The narrow lane outside the juvenile court in Delhi was packed with journalists, policemen and onlookers - an illustration of just how closely followed this case has been.

The teenager was brought to the court in a police van and led in, his face covered in a towel. Nearly six hours later the verdict was pronounced, leading to chaotic scenes outside.

The parents of the victim came out, her mother in tears, and said they were deeply unhappy with the sentence.

A small protest also broke out calling for the teenager to be hanged.

The four others accused in the case could face the death penalty.

A fifth adult defendant was found dead in his cell in March and prison officials said they believed he hanged himself.

The gang rape of the 23-year-old woman last December caused uproar across India and triggered a national debate about the treatment of women.

The verdict in the case of the teenager - now aged 18 - had been deferred several times before.

He was six months short of becoming an adult at the time of the crime and many, including the family of the victim, had demanded that he should be treated as an adult and face the death penalty for the crime.

Continue reading the main story

Case Timeline

• 16 December 2012: Student gang raped on Delhi bus
• 17 December: Bus driver Ram Singh and three others arrested
• 21-22 December: Two more arrests, including a minor
• 29 December: Victim dies in Singapore hospital
• 21 January: Trial of five of the accused begins in special fast-track court - they later plead not guilty
• 28 February: Sixth accused charged in juvenile court
• 11 March: Ram Singh found dead in Tihar jail
• 31 August: juvenile accused found guilty and given three year term in reform facility

Meanwhile, a special fast-track court dealing with the trial of the four men accused in the case has been hearing closing arguments.

A judge who has been hearing the case since the trial began in February is expected to deliver his verdicts in mid-September.

In March, India passed a new bill containing harsher punishments, including the death penalty, for rapists.

Correspondents say the court hearings are being closely followed in India.

The victim, a physiotherapy student who also cannot be named for legal reasons, was with a male friend when she was attacked on a bus and thrown from the vehicle.

Police said the assailants beat both of them and then raped the woman. She died in a Singapore hospital on 29 December from massive internal injuries.

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Mandela release reports 'incorrect'

31 August 2013 Last updated at 07:19 ET

Reports that former South African President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital are incorrect, South Africa's presidency says.

The BBC and other news outlets earlier quoted sources close to Mr Mandela as saying he had returned home.

The presidency said in a statement that Mr Mandela was critical but stable, but at times his condition became unstable, prompting medical intervention.

The 95-year-old was admitted with a recurring lung infection on 8 June.

The country's first black president, Mr Mandela is revered by many as the father of the nation.

His prolonged hospital stay - by far the longest since he was released from prison in 1990 - has caused concern both in South Africa and abroad.

Possible move

The BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Johannesburg says the family has long hoped that he would improve sufficiently at least to enable him to make the journey home in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton and be treated there.

But one of the sources quoted by international media has now spoken of being misinformed about Mr Mandela's release.

The confusion could have arisen out of a possible move soon to get the former president home, which would clearly depend on his health at the time, our correspondent says.

The infection he is being treated for is said to date back to a period of nearly three decades he spent in prison for anti-apartheid activity.

People from South Africa and around the world have sent him their best wishes, and flowers and other tributes have collected outside Pretoria's MediClinic Heart Hospital.

Throughout Mr Mandela's stay in hospital, President Jacob Zuma has urged the country to pray for him and keep him in their thoughts.

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Putin challenges US on Syria claims

31 August 2013 Last updated at 07:47 ET

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The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner examines what we know about the Syria attack on 21 August

Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged the US to present to the UN evidence that Syria was responsible for chemical weapons attacks.

Mr Putin said it would be "utter nonsense" for Syria's government to provoke opponents with such attacks when it was in a position of strength.

US President Barack Obama has said he is considering military action against Syria based on intelligence reports.

Mr Putin's remarks came after UN weapons inspectors had left Syria.

They crossed into neighbouring Lebanon after four days of inspections, including investigations of what happened in the Damascus suburbs on 21 August.

Hundreds of people including children were killed in the suspected chemical weapons attacks, which the US says was carried out by the Syrian government.

Syria said the US claim was "full of lies", blaming rebels for the attacks.

Continue reading the main story 'Trump card'

The inspectors' departure from Syria removes both a practical and a political obstacle to the launch of US-led military action, says the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Lebanon.

Continue reading the main story

There are those in Syria who will cheer on the US action and those who will be quite worried by it, but I think everyone is making some preparation.

People are trying to buy what they can, stockpile things, get water, bread, food that lasts, because they don't know what's going to happen.

They don't know what President Obama means by a limited attack and what consequences that may have for their lives and the degree to which it would stay limited.

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Damascus says people are worried and are making preparations.

They do not known what Mr Obama means by a limited attack and what consequences it will have for them, he adds.

Speaking to journalists in the Russian far-eastern city of Vladivostok, Mr Putin urged Mr Obama - as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate - to think about future victims in Syria before using force.

He said it was ridiculous to suggest the Syrian government was to blame for the 21 August attack.

"Syrian government troops are on the offensive and have surrounded the opposition in several regions," he said.

"In these conditions, to give a trump card to those who are calling for a military intervention is utter nonsense."

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Barack Obama: "We're not considering any boots on the ground approach"

"So I'm convinced that is nothing more than a provocation by those who want to drag other countries into the Syrian conflict."

He said that the US failure to present evidence to the international community was "simply disrespectful".

"If there is evidence it should be shown. If it is not shown, then there isn't any," he said.

Russia - a key ally of Syria - has previously warned that "any unilateral military action bypassing the UN Security Council" would be a "direct violation of international law".

Moscow, along with China, has vetoed two previous draft resolutions on Syria.

Mr Putin also expressed surprise at a vote in the British parliament on Thursday ruling out participation in military action.

"I will be honest: this was completely unexpected for me," he said.

"This shows that in Great Britain, even if it is the USA's main geopolitical ally in the world... there are people who are guided by national interests and common sense, and value their sovereignty."

Meanwhile in France - seen as the main US ally since the UK vote - an opinion poll suggested that 64% opposed the use of force.

Neither France nor the US needs parliamentary approval for military action.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said his country will defend itself against any Western "aggression".

Forces which could be used against Syria:

• Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles. The missiles can also be fired from submarines, but the US Navy does not reveal their locations

• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes

• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region

• French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean

• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAE

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Briton's death sentence appeal fails

30 August 2013 Last updated at 03:33 ET

A British woman sentenced to death for drug trafficking in the island of Bali has had her appeal rejected.

An Indonesian Supreme Court spokesman said it would not overturn the sentence handed down by two lower courts on 57-year-old Lindsay Sandiford, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Sandiford was sentenced to death by firing squad in January for smuggling 4.8kg (10.6lb) of cocaine.

The UK Foreign Office said it would continue to support her and her family.

'Right decision'

The BBC's Karishma Vaswani, in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, said three judges on the Supreme Court panel rejected the appeal because it judged the district court and the high court had made the "right decision".

The court spokesman said Sandiford's lawyer had yet to be informed of the decision.

Our correspondent added Sandiford still had the option to file a judicial review - but only if she could present new evidence or show the judges in her case were negligent.

Following the verdict the Foreign Office reiterated its "strong opposition" to the death penalty.

"We will consider how to support any application for judicial review or clemency that Lindsay Sandiford chooses to make," it said in a statement.

"We will continue to provide consular assistance to Lindsay Sandiford and her family at this difficult time."

The FCO added that it would continue to make representations to the Indonesian government about the case.

'Drug smuggling ring'

The Indonesian authorities said Sandiford was at the centre of a drug smuggling ring that brought cocaine into the island of Bali from the Thai capital Bangkok in May 2012.

Following her conviction, the prosecution recommended 15 years imprisonment but a panel of judges later sentenced Sandiford to death.

Continue reading the main story

• May 2012: Arrest in Bali
• December 2012: Convicted by district court
• January 2013: Sentenced to death
• April 2013: High Court rejects first appeal
• August 2013: Supreme Court rejects second appeal

Sandiford, originally from Redcar in Teesside, had claimed she was coerced into carrying £1.6m ($2.5m) of cocaine found in the lining of her suitcase during a routine customs check at Bali's airport.

She has since raised more than £10,000 in public donations to fund her court costs.

Sandiford's case had been taken up by the British human rights charity Reprieve, which said she was targeted by drug traffickers who "exploited her vulnerability and made threats against her children".

Three other Britons and an Indian national connected to the case were jailed for terms ranging from one to six years.

One of the defendants - 39-year-old Rachel Dougall from Brighton - was released in May after serving a year in an Indonesian jail.

Her partner, 43-year-old Julian Ponder, and another Briton, Paul Beales, were sentenced to six and four years respectively.

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Poet Seamus Heaney dies aged 74

30 August 2013 Last updated at 07:25 ET

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Nick Higham looks back at the life of Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney, acclaimed by many as the best Irish poet since WB Yeats, has died aged 74.

Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995 "for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past".

Over his long career he was awarded numerous prizes and received many honours for his work.

He recently suffered from ill health.

His 2010 poetry collection The Human Chain was written after he suffered a stroke and the central poem, Miracle, was directly inspired by his illness.

Heaney's publisher, Faber, said: "We cannot adequately express our profound sorrow at the loss of one of the world's greatest writers. His impact on literary culture is immeasurable.

"As his publisher we could not have been prouder to publish his work over nearly 50 years. He was nothing short of an inspiration to the company, and his friendship over many years is a great loss."

Heaney was born in April 1939, the eldest of nine children, on a farm near Toomebridge in County Derry, Northern Ireland, but as a child moved to the village of Bellaghy.

He was educated at St Columb's College, Derry, a Catholic boarding school, and later at Queen's University Belfast, before before training as a teacher. He settled in Dublin, with periods of teaching in the US.

Heaney was an honorary fellow at Trinity College Dublin and, last year, was bestowed with the Seamus Heaney Professorship in Irish Writing at the university, which he described as a great honour.

Heaney's first book, Death of a Naturalist, published in 1966, reflected his rural upbringing, but as Ireland's troubles increased his work took a more political turn.

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In 2011, Heaney donated a collection of his literary papers to the National Library of Ireland.

It included manuscripts of his poetry, a comprehensive and vast collection of loose-leaf, typescript and manuscript worksheets and bound notebooks.

The collection spanned Heaney's literary career, from the publication of Death of a Naturalist (1966), to volumes such as Wintering Out (1972) and North (1975), right through to Station Island (1984), Seeing Things (1991) and his most recent publications, District and Circle (2006) and Human Chain (2010).

The latter won the prestigious £10,000 Forward Prize in 2010.

Continue reading the main story

This book is more naked, and I'm much more tentative talking about it than other books"

End Quote Seamus Heaney on his prize-winning collection, Human Chain

Heaney described the collection, his 12th, as his most personally revealing collection of poems.

He had been nominated for the Forward Prize three times before, but this was his first win. Judge and author Ruth Padel described Heaney's volume as "painful, honest, and delicately weighted".

Over the course of his career, Heaney also won the TS Eliot Prize, and was made Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Heaney was the professor of poetry at Oxford University between 1989 and 1994.

In an interview with the Today programme's James Naughtie in early 2013, Heaney remembered how he felt when he first discovered poetry.

"It was the voltage of the language, it was entrancing," he said.

"I think the first little jolt I got was reading Gerard Manley Hopkins - I liked other poems... but Hopkins was kind of electric for me - he changed the rules with speech and the whole intensity of the language was there and so on."

Heaney is survived by his wife, Marie, and children, Christopher, Michael and Catherine Ann.

Funeral arrangements are to be announced later.

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PM calls for robust action on Syria

30 August 2013 Last updated at 08:12 ET

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Prime Minister David Cameron: "We must listen to Parliament"

A "robust response" to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria is needed despite UK military involvement being ruled out, the prime minister has said.

David Cameron was defeated in the Commons as MPs rejected a motion on the principle that military action could be required to protect Syrian civilians.

Despite the result of the vote, the US said it would continue to seek a coalition for military intervention.

And France said the vote did not change its resolve about the need to act.

Russia - which has close ties with the the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - welcomed the UK's rejection of a military strike, while Germany has ruled out participation in any action.

'Deeply engaged'

Mr Cameron said it was a "regret" that he had been unable to build a consensus on the response to the suspected chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus on 21 August, in which hundreds of people are reported to have died.

However he insisted the UK remained "deeply engaged" on the world stage.

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Ian Pannell: The victims "arrived like the walking dead"

The UK government's defeated motion had called for military action if it was backed up by evidence from United Nations weapons inspectors, who are investigating the attack which is reported to have killed at least 355 people in the Ghouta area.

The inspectors are due to finish their work on Friday and give their preliminary findings to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon at the weekend.

Mr Cameron said it was important to listen to Parliament's decision.

And despite MPs voting against military action, he said: "I think it's important we have a robust response to the use of chemical weapons and there are a series of things we will continue to do."

Mr Cameron added: "We will continue to take a case to the United Nations, we will continue to work in all the organisations we are members of - whether the EU, or Nato, or the G8 or the G20 - to condemn what's happened in Syria.

"It's important we uphold the international taboo on the use of chemical weapons."

'Appalling crime'

There had been suggestions from ministers, including Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond, that Britain's rejection of military action would harm its relationship with the US.

Mr Cameron, though, said he would not have to apologise to President Barack Obama.

"I was faced with three things I wanted to do right and do in the right way," he said.

"First of all, to condemn absolutely and respond properly to an appalling war crime that took place in Syria. Secondly, to work with our strongest and most important ally who had made a request for British help. Thirdly, to act as a democrat, to act in a different way to previous prime ministers and properly consult Parliament.

"I wanted to do all those three things. Obviously politics is difficult - that involved going to Parliament, making an argument in a strong and principled way but then listening to Parliament.

"I think the American people and President Obama will understand that."

In other developments:

Labour leader Ed Miliband said earlier that by rejecting military intervention, the House of Commons had spoken "for the people of Britain".

"People are deeply concerned about the chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but they want us to learn the lessons of Iraq," he said.

"They don't want a rush to war. They want things done in the right way, working with the international community."

He said Britain "doesn't need reckless and impulsive leadership, it needs calm and measured leadership".

He said that Mr Cameron must "find other ways" to put pressure on Mr Assad, who has said Syria will defend itself against any aggression.

Chancellor George Osborne told Radio 4's Today programme there would now be "national soul searching about our role in the world".

He added: "I hope this doesn't become a moment when we turn our back on all of the world's problems."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has been the fiercest critic of the decision to not take part in military action, saying the UK was "hugely diminished".

Mr Cameron insisted, though, that Britain has "great strengths as a country".

"But on this specific issue, because of the huge concerns about this appalling Syrian conflict and people worrying about how we might get sucked into it, on that specific issue that trumped, as it were, the sense of outrage about the chemical weapons."

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France backs US on Syria action

30 August 2013 Last updated at 08:04 ET

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Jeremy Bowen reports from Damascus: ''You could sense the tension in the face of what feels here like an impending attack''

The French president has said a vote by UK MPs against involvement in military strikes on Syria has not changed France's resolve to take firm action.

Francois Hollande said all options were being considered, and that a strike within days was not ruled out.

His comments came after US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Washington would continue to seek a coalition for possible military action.

However, Germany said it would not participate in military action.

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

The weapons inspectors this morning seemed to be in two or three minds about what was going on.

Twice they left the garage of the hotel where they and foreign correspondents are staying, looking as if they were ready to head out, and twice they went back in. Perhaps they had a plan to visit some of the suburbs held by rebels that they had been going into to take samples, but there's been a lot of shelling going on in that direction today.

Now they are here at the regime's military hospital. There have been claims from the regime itself that they had soldiers wounded by chemical weapons, and perhaps those are the people they've come to see.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung newspaper that "such participation has not been sought nor is it being considered".

Russia welcomed the UK parliament's vote, saying it reflected a growing public understanding of the dangers of an attack.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said there should be no rush to force action against Syria until UN chemical weapons inspectors have reported on their findings.

Washington accuses Damascus of using chemical weapons - which it denies.

The inspectors visited a hospital in a government-controlled area of Damascus.

The experts are due to finish their work later on Friday and give their preliminary findings to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday.

'France is ready'

In an interview with Le Monde newspaper, Mr Hollande said the UK vote made no difference to his support for action against the Syrian government.

"Each country is sovereign to participate or not in an operation. That is valid for Britain as it is for France," he said.

He said that if the UN Security Council was unable to act because two of its permanent members, Russia and China, were in opposition, a coalition would form including the Arab League and European countries.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The Obama administration believes that it is necessary to punish and deter Assad - the only question is whether Europe, represented by France, will be with them"

End Quote

"But there are few countries which can have the capacity of enforcing any sanction through the appropriate measures," he added.

"France will be part of it. France is ready."

Mr Hollande added that while all options for intervention were on the table, no decision would be taken without the conditions to justify it.

He ruled out strikes while the UN inspectors were in Syria. However, he did not rule out the possibility that military action could be taken before next Wednesday, when the French parliament is due to debate the issue.

British members of parliament rejected the principle of military action against Damascus in a 285-272 vote on Thursday.

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Ian Pannell: The victims "arrived like the walking dead".

On Friday UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he would continue to press for a "robust response" to the use of chemical weapons.

But the defeat of the government motion comes as a potential blow to the authority of Mr Cameron, who had already watered down his proposal in response to the opposition's objections, correspondents say.

'Beyond doubt'

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Britain has tended to march in lockstep with the US and this rejection of President Barack Obama's argument will leave bruises"

End Quote

In a statement on Thursday, the White House said President Barack Obama's decision-making "will be guided by what is in the best interests of the United States".

It stressed that the president "believes that there are core interests at stake for the United States".

And in an intelligence briefing to senior members of Congress on the case for launching military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops, State Secretary John Kerry said Washington could not be held to the foreign policy of others.

Eliot Engel, the top Democratic member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters after the briefing that other Obama administration officials had said that it was "beyond a doubt that chemical weapons were used, and used intentionally by the Assad regime".

Continue reading the main story

Models for possible intervention

• Iraq 1991: US-led global military coalition; explicit mandate from UN Security Council to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait
• Balkans 1990s: US arms supplied to anti-Serb resistance in defiance of UN-mandated embargo; later US-led air campaign against Serb paramilitaries
• Somalia 1992-93: UN authorised international force for humanitarian reasons; US military involvement culminated in disaster and pullout
• Libya 2011: France and UK sought UN authorisation for humanitarian operation; air offensive continued until fall of Gaddafi

Mr Engel added that officials had cited evidence including "intercepted communications from high-level Syrian officials".

One of the Syrian officials overheard seemed to suggest the chemical weapons attack was more devastating than was intended, officials were quoted as saying by the New York Times.

At least 355 people are reported to have died in a suspected chemical attack in the Ghouta area - on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus - on 21 August.

In Thursday's statement, the White House also stressed that it would "continue to consult" with the UK over Syria, describing London as "one of our closest allies and friends".

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died since the conflict erupted in Syria in March 2011, and the conflict has produced at least 1.7 million refugees.

Forces which could be used against Syria:

• Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles. The missiles can also be fired from submarines, but the US Navy does not reveal their locations

• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes

• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region

• French aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean

• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAEia:

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Miranda files 'put agents at risk'

30 August 2013 Last updated at 08:08 ET

Files seized from a Guardian journalist's partner contain details that could risk intelligence officers' lives, a senior cabinet adviser says.

Deputy national security adviser Oliver Robbins said one file seized from David Miranda included 58,000 "highly classified UK intelligence documents".

Mr Miranda, who denies this, was held for nine hours at Heathrow Airport under anti-terror laws on 18 August.

The details appear in a statement prepared for a High Court hearing.

Mr Miranda's partner Glenn Greenwald has worked with US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on stories about US and UK surveillance programmes.

He plans to argue at a judicial review in October that his detention was a misuse of powers granted under anti-terrorism laws.

Earlier, High Court judges had been expected to consider an injunction but before it got under way Mr Miranda's lawyers said he and other parties had been in talks and reached an agreement that would allow police to carry on examining the material seized at the airport.

'Sweeping assessment'

In the court statement, Mr Robbins also alleged that the material carried by Mr Miranda was "highly likely to describe techniques crucial in life saving counter-terrorist operations".

He added that intelligence staff were identifiable in the information, posing a danger to them in the UK and overseas.

"In a variety of circumstances this danger includes a risk to life, both to intelligence officers and their families and recruitment attempts or threats to their safety by hostile intelligence services or terrorist groups," he added.

The statement also alleged that Mr Miranda was "couriering" this material to Glenn Greenwald in Brazil.

Outside the court, representatives for Mr Miranda said the government's assessment was "sweeping and vague", and the assertions were "unfounded".

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Ex-Wales fly-half Cliff Morgan dies

Wales rugby international and broadcaster Cliff Morgan has died after a long illness aged 83.

Morgan was one of the most talented fly-halves in the game, before becoming a respected commentator, writer and head of BBC outside broadcasts.

He won 29 caps for Wales, his first in 1951, captained the British and Irish Lions and also played for Cardiff.

Morgan will be forever associated with his commentary on the Barbarians v All Blacks match in 1973.

He is particularly remembered for his description of Gareth Edwards's famous try: "Brilliant by Quinnell. This is Gareth Edwards; a dramatic start. What a score!"

Cliff Morgan commentates on Gareth Edwards's try for the Barbarians

His easy-going charm and passionate love of sport was familiar to both rugby supporters and radio and television audiences.

He enjoyed a successful career as a mercurial fly-half for Cardiff, Wales, the Barbarians and the Lions before finding a new career in broadcasting.

Clifford Isaac Morgan was born on 7 April, 1930 in the village of Trebanog in the heart of the Rhondda.

The son of a coal miner who turned down an offer to play for Tottenham Hotspur, the young Cliff combined a love of singing and woodwork with a burgeoning ability on the rugby pitch.

His rugby master played the young Morgan at every position from prop to wing, before allowing him to excel at fly-half, a role which could have been created for him.

Short, slightly stocky and with an innate sense of balance, Morgan cut through opposition defences, often cheekily showing the other sides' players the ball before darting away and passing it.

Aged 19, he was picked to play for Cardiff and proved to be an inspirational presence, who, within a year, won the first of 29 caps for his country.

He was a pivotal member of the Grand Slam-winning team of 1952, more than holding his own alongside giants of the game like Bleddyn Williams and Ken Jones.

The following year, Morgan inspired first Cardiff, and then Wales, to victory against the mighty New Zealand All Blacks.

In 1955, he dazzled for the Lions on their tour of South Africa, scoring a crucial try against the Springboks in Johannesburg.

The Lions' 23-22 victory, in front of a crowd of 96,000 in the rarefied air of the Transvaal, was considered by Morgan to have been the greatest day of his sporting life.

Three years later, he retired from rugby at just 28, leaving behind many memories and admirers.

He moved effortlessly from player to broadcaster, first with the BBC in Wales before making the move to London.

If anything, his broadcasting career eclipsed his efforts on the rugby field. As editor of Grandstand and head of outside broadcasts, he helped define the way the corporation covered major sporting events.

To the surprise of many of his colleagues, he quit the BBC to edit This Week, the successful current affairs programme on ITV.

Cliff Morgan playing for Wales against England in the 1950s

A stroke in 1972 left Morgan speechless and paralysed down one side, but he completed a remarkable recovery when, having returned to the BBC, he commentated on the legendary 1973 match between the Barbarians and the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park.

As Gareth Edwards crashed over for 'that try', Morgan's commentary rose magnificently to the occasion: "If the greatest writer of the written word would have written that story, you'd never have believed it."

Ironically, it was rugby's other great voice, that of the late Bill McLaren, which should have told the story of the try, but the Scot was forced to withdraw with flu on the morning of the game.

In many ways it was fitting that Morgan should have been in the commentator's seat. A true Barbarian, he played in the famous black and white shirt before ever being picked for Wales and his view of how sport should be played reflected the amateur ethos.

He was uncomfortable with the flood of money going into sport and openly criticised those players who came to the game with a win-at-all-costs mentality.

A spell as resident captain on A Question of Sport was followed by what for many was his crowning achievement, the 11 years behind the microphone on Sport on 4.

For many Radio 4 listeners, the weekend had not properly begun until they had tuned in to Morgan's perceptive take on the sporting world, delivered in what fellow presenter Des Lynam described as "one of the best broadcasting voices of all time".

In 2007 he received a lifetime achievement award from BBC Wales and a tribute from fellow Barbarian, Tony O'Reilly.

"He's a man apart because of his gaiety, his grandeur, eloquence, because of his skills as a football player and his generosity to other players, which was enormous," said O'Reilly.

Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said Morgan was "an inspiration" to fellow broadcasters.

"Cliff Morgan was not only a superstar in rugby union, but also a pioneer in sports broadcasting and an inspiration to so many of the great voices of BBC Sport," said Slater.

"He was a scholar and a wordsmith, who had a wonderful understanding of the use of language in broadcasting.

"His commentary of the 1973 Barbarians match against the All Blacks, and in particular Gareth Edwards' famous try, was sublime in its simplicity and will be remembered for many years to come.

"Off-air, he played a huge role in the success of BBC Sport in the 70s and 80s, across a number of senior positions, delivering coverage of huge events including World Cups, Commonwealth and Olympic Games.

"He will be sorely missed by all in the sports broadcasting community."

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Labour could still vote no on Syria

29 August 2013 Last updated at 06:54 ET

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Ed Miliband: "I'm determined we learn the lessons of the past, including Iraq"

A Commons vote on the UK's response to a chemical attack near Damascus hangs in the balance, after Labour demanded "compelling evidence" of Syria's guilt.

MPs had been due to vote on whether the UK should launch an attack against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

But David Cameron was forced to back down after Labour said it wanted to wait for UN inspectors to report first.

Labour could still vote against a watered-down motion on the "principle" of launching military action.

Mr Cameron was not confident of gaining the backing of MPs for military action without Labour's support, as a number of Tory and Lib Dem MPs were expected to rebel.

'Compelling evidence'

Labour leader Ed Miliband has said he wants to see more evidence President Assad's regime carried out the chemical attack and does not want the UK to be pushed into action by an "artificial" timetable.

The UK government will shortly publish a summary of its position on the legality of intervention in Syria.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Obama is said to have wanted to act before leaving the US for a foreign trip next Tuesday - If he still wants to stick to that timetable, Britain will no longer be with him"

End Quote

Its Commons motion will be debated later by MPs, who have been recalled from their summer holidays to decide on whether the UK should join in with any allied military action against the Assad regime.

The government's motion states that a final vote on military action should now be held only after UN inspectors report on the use of chemical weapons - which Assad's regime blames on opposition fighters.

Labour is also planning to table its own amendment, saying that there must be "compelling evidence" that the Syrian regime was responsible for the use of chemical weapons.

Mr Milband has said he wants to "learn the lessons of Iraq" by giving UN weapons inspectors time to present the evidence.

He has yet to decide whether Labour will back the government's motion paving the way for military action if his party's motion is voted down, raising the prospect of a damaging defeat for Mr Cameron.

BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said it was "without modern precedent for a prime minister to lose control of his foreign policy, let alone decisions about peace and war".

'Prudent measure'

But Foreign Secretary William Hague said the government was keen to proceed "on a consensual basis" and the prime minister recognised "the deep concerns in this country over what happened over Iraq".

On Wednesday, the UK presented the UN with a draft resolution authorising "necessary measures" to protect Syrian civilians.

US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday his country was certain the Assad regime was responsible for the attack - though he also said he had not made a decision on a military strike.

UN weapons inspectors are expected to leave Damascus on Saturday before presenting their evidence to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon

This means a second parliamentary vote on British involvement in military action would probably not happen until at least early next week, meaning the UK may not be able to take part in expected US missile strikes.

In other developments:

The Cabinet Office has confirmed that the government will not publish the attorney general's advice on whether military intervention would be legal - something Green MP Caroline Lucas says is "deeply unacceptable".

Instead it will publish a summary of the government's position on its legality, along with a document written by the joint intelligence committee analysing "open source material" - including videos - of the attack near Damascus on 21 August.

MPs will debate the government's motion from 14:30 BST (13:30 GMT) with a vote not expected until 22:00 BST (21:00 GMT). The House of Lords will also debate the motion but will not vote.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government was seeking "to make the case for a simple, limited response" to the use of chemical weapons, arguing it would be a "fateful decision" if the West did not act.

"It is much more likely that Assad will use chemical weapons more frequently, in a more widespread way if nothing happens," he said.

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He denied the government was seeking a mandate for unlimited intervention in Syria's conflict.

The government motion states "this House deplores the use of chemical weapons" by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, and says a response "may, if necessary, require military action that is legal, proportionate and focused on saving lives by preventing and deterring further use of Syria's chemical weapons".

Continue reading the main story

Models for possible intervention

• Iraq 1991: US-led global military coalition, anchored in international law; explicit mandate from UN Security Council to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait
• Balkans 1990s: US arms supplied to anti-Serb resistance in Croatia and Bosnia in defiance of UN-mandated embargo; later US-led air campaign against Serb paramilitaries. In 1999, US jets provided bulk of 38,000 Nato sorties against Serbia to prevent massacres in Kosovo - legally controversial with UN Security Council resolutions linked to "enforcement measures"
• Somalia 1992-93: UN Security Council authorised creation of international force with aim of facilitating humanitarian supplies as Somali state failed. Gradual US military involvement without clear objective culminated in Black Hawk Down disaster in 1993. US troops pulled out
• Libya 2011: France and UK sought UN Security Council authorisation for humanitarian operation in Benghazi in 2011. Russia and China abstained but did not veto resolution. Air offensive continued until fall of Gaddafi

Labour's amendment states it would "only support military action involving UK forces" if various conditions were met - including "the production of compelling evidence that the Syrian regime was responsible for the use of these weapons".

Mr Cameron will open the Commons debate and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will close it.

A meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Wednesday discussed the UK's draft resolution and talks are expected to continue for several days.

The resolution condemns the use of chemical weapons and demands that the regime of President Assad cease to use such weapons.

The security council, which meets whenever peace is threatened, is made up of 15 members, including permanent members China, Russia, France, the US and the UK.

Previous efforts to secure action against President Assad have been vetoed by Russia and China.

Syria has accused the West of "inventing" excuses to launch a strike.

The Speaker of the Syrian Parliament has written to Commons Speaker John Bercow inviting a parliamentary delegation to Damascus to check the UN's conclusions.

The letter added that Syria will sue those responsible in British courts if the UK attacks - which it said would be an "aggressive and unprovoked act of war".

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Child abuse charges for Rolf Harris

29 August 2013 Last updated at 07:29 ET

TV presenter Rolf Harris has been charged with nine counts of indecent assault and four of making indecent images of children, police have said.

Mr Harris was first arrested in March by officers investigating historical allegations of child sexual abuse.

Six offences relate to the indecent assault of a girl aged 15-16 between 1980 and 1981 and three relate to a girl aged 14 in 1986.

The indecent images of children were alleged to have been made last year.

Mr Harris, 83, of Bray, Berkshire, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 23 September.

Operation Yewtree

Alison Saunders, chief Crown prosecutor for London, said: "Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Harris to be charged with nine counts of indecent assault and four of making indecent images of a child.

"The alleged indecent assaults date from 1980 to 1986 and relate to two complainants aged 14 and 15 at the time of the alleged offending."

Mr Harris was arrested as part of Operation Yewtree, which was set up in the wake of allegations against the former BBC Radio 1 DJ and TV presenter Jimmy Savile.

Operation Yewtree has three strands - one is looking specifically at the actions of Savile, while the second strand concerns allegations against "Savile and others".

Mr Harris was arrested as part of the third strand, which relates to alleged complaints against other people unconnected to the Savile investigation - who the police term "others".

Mr Harris has been a fixture on British TV screens for more than 40 years, having arrived in the UK from his native Australia in 1952.

He has been honoured in the UK three times, first as a Member of the British Empire in 1968 (MBE), then an OBE in 1977 and in 2006 he was advanced to a CBE.

In June 2012 he was awarded one of Australia's highest honours when he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen's birthday list.

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Net migration to UK 'shows increase'

29 August 2013 Last updated at 07:49 ET

Net migration to the UK increased in the year ending December 2012, the Office for National Statistics says.

Latest figures show net migration rose to 176,000 - up from 153,000 people in the year to September 2012.

The increase appears to buck the trend of a decline in net migration - the difference between the number of people coming to and leaving the country.

Prime Minister David Cameron wants to get UK net migration below 100,000 before the next election in 2015.

The increase was driven by a drop in the number of migrants leaving Britain, which fell from 351,000 to 321,000 in the year to December 2012, the ONS found.

Over the same period, the number of immigrants arriving in the country dropped from 566,000 to 497,000, figures showed.

Continue reading the main story

Today's figures show how tough the government's self-imposed net migration target could become.

The news is not all bad. The detail shows that immigration itself is down on where it was when the coalition came in - now sitting at under half a million people a year.

But the problem for ministers is that they can't control emigration - and fewer people, particularly British and EU citizens, are leaving.

If fewer people leave, then the net migration balance can rise, even if the number of immigrants declines.

So with two years to go, there are real questions over whether the net migration target could ever be hit.

And that's why many experts on all sides of the political and policy debate argue that the net migration target just isn't a sensible measure of how well the system is being managed.

BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said the reasons for the rise were complex and partly related to the fact that fewer people were emigrating from the UK than the government expected.

If fewer people leave the UK, then the net migration balance can rise, even if the number of immigrants arriving declines or remains static, he added.

'Out of options'

Immigration minister Mark Harper said net migration was down by a third since its peak in 2010.

He added that a new immigration bill coming into force in the autumn would make it more difficult for people to come into Britain if they had no right to do so and would make it easier to remove people who were not entitled to stay in the country.

"We are committed to bringing net migration down from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands," Mr Harper said.

"We are working across government to protect public services and ensure our welfare system is not open to abuse."

Shadow immigration minister Chris Bryant said the figures were "a blow" to the home secretary.

"Theresa May's focus on net migration, which has gone wrong in these figures, has also meant the government is failing badly on illegal immigration, which is a major concern to the public and is getting worse and worse with fewer people being stopped at the border, absconsions up and deportations down.

"Immigration needs to be controlled, but we must recognise there is immigration that works for Britain and immigration that doesn't."

Sarah Mulley, of the centre-left think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the statistics suggested the government was running out of options to meet its target.

"Recent declines have been driven in large part by falling numbers of international students, which has come at a high economic cost, but this trend now appears to be levelling off," she said.

Other figures released in the report include:

• 97,000 immigrants from New Commonwealth countries, which include Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan came to the UK in the year ending December 2012, compared to 151,000 in the previous year. This drop is understood to be the result of fewer people arriving to study in the UK from those countries
• 58,000 immigrants arrived from countries which joined the EU in 2004, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, down from 77,000 the previous year
• The number of immigrants arriving for study in the UK is now similar to the estimated number of people arriving in the UK for work. About 180,000 arrived in the UK for formal study in the year to December 2012, compared with 232,000 the previous year

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UN chief awaits Syria weapons report

29 August 2013 Last updated at 08:05 ET

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The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Damascus: "People are going about their daily business but there is a lot of anxiety"

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon says he will receive a report on Saturday from weapons inspectors investigating an apparent Syrian chemical attack.

Hundreds are reported to have died in the attack near Damascus last week.

US President Barack Obama has said he has not yet decided on a plan for retaliatory action against Syria.

Other nations are also considering the next move. The UK wants a UN Security Council resolution to take "all necessary measures" to help civilians.

A UK intelligence committee said in a statement that "if action in the UN Security Council is blocked, the UK would still be permitted, under the doctrine of humanitarian intervention, to take exceptional measures including targeted military intervention, in order to alleviate the overwhelming humanitarian suffering in Syria".

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his country would defend itself against any aggression.

The British parliament is voting later on Thursday on whether to back the principle of military intervention, but the leader of the opposition Labour Party has said MPs should not have to decide on what he called an "artificial timetable".

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

Damascus seems quieter than on trips I made here earlier this year, though there's still plenty of traffic in the centre. Its people are awaiting decisions that are being taken elsewhere.

Army roadblocks stop traffic every few miles down the highway in from the Lebanese border, as they have since the war started.

News agencies, quoting residents and some opponents of the Assad regime, have reported that some heavy weaponry has been moved out of bases and staff have partially vacated some headquarters.

It is logical for the Syrian army to have some sort of plan to protect itself from any attack, especially since the progress toward launching a military strike has been discussed so openly by Western powers.

The countries surrounding Syria are bracing themselves for a new crisis. In Beirut, the man who helped me with my bags said the West would do whatever it wanted.

"But please, don't bomb anywhere near Lebanon. We fear another big war."

The Speaker of the Syrian parliament has written to his counterpart in London inviting a British parliamentary delegation to visit Damascus as soon as possible.

French President Francois Hollande has also yet to decide about a military intervention. But on Thursday, after meeting Ahmed Jarba, the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Mr Hollande said a political solution would only be possible if "the international community can put a temporary stop to this escalation in violence".

Meanwhile, the Chinese state newspaper China Daily has warned there are no excuses for air strikes on Syria - with an editorial accusing Western powers of acting as judge, jury and executioner before the UN has completed its investigation.

Russia, President al-Assad's main international ally, also says it opposes any foreign military intervention in Syria.

Russia is sending an anti-submarine ship and a missile cruiser to the eastern Mediterranean.

The ships are being sent to strengthen the navy's presence in the area because of the "well-known situation" there, the Russian news agency Interfax has said.

But another news agency, RIA Novosti, quotes a senior naval command spokesman as saying that this is just a planned rotation, unconnected with Syria.

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Ban Ki-moon: "Inspectors will report to me as soon as they come out"

Britain says it is sending six Typhoon fighter jets to Cyprus, in what it says is a measure to protect British bases there.

'Inventing excuses'

The UN weapons inspectors are now in their third day of on-site investigations at the sites of an alleged chemical attack near Damascus.

The UN secretary general has appealed for the team to be "given time to do its job".

Syria denies using chemical weapons and blames opposition fighters for the attack on 21 August, which reportedly killed hundreds of people near Damascus.

It accused the West of "inventing" excuses to launch a strike.

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President Obama: ''I have no interest in any kind of open-ended conflict in Syria''

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Obama is said to have wanted to act before leaving the US for a foreign trip next Tuesday - If he still wants to stick to that timetable, Britain will no longer be with him"

End Quote

In a sign of growing fears about an impending attack among Syrians, the Associated Press quoted Lebanese officials as saying at least 6,000 Syrians crossed into Lebanon in a 24-hour period through the main Masnaa crossing - compared to a normal daily tally of between 500 and 1,000 refugees.

"Isn't it enough, all the violence and fighting that we already have in the country, now America wants to bomb us, too?" one 45-year-old woman, entering Lebanon with her five children, told AP.

In Damascus, senior military commanders are reportedly staying away from buildings thought likely to be targeted. You "could hear a pin drop" at one of them, a local resident said.

But state television is portraying citizens going about their normal lives, seemingly unperturbed by the prospect of possible military strikes.

'Consequences'

President Obama told the US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) that the US had "not yet made a decision" on whether to take retaliatory action against Syria, but "the international norm against the use of chemical weapons needs to be kept in place, and hardly anyone disputes that chemical weapons were used in a large scale in Syria against civilian populations".

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Military intervention is morally justified"

End Quote Anthony Luder Safed, Israel

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Intervening now in Syria would be a terrible mistake"

End Quote Demetrios Nicolaides Limassol, Cyprus

"We've looked at all the evidence, and we don't believe the opposition possessed chemical weapons of that sort," he said.

He added he had concluded that the Syrian government carried out the chemical weapons attack.

"There need to be international consequences, so we are consulting with our allies," he said.

Critics have questioned what purpose a limited strike on Syria could serve, but Mr Obama said it would send the government of Bashar al-Assad "a pretty strong signal that it better not [use chemical weapons] again".

The BBC's David Willis in Washington says this is the most unequivocal sign that Mr Obama has given that he believes the Syrian government is guilty of deploying chemical weapons.

Despite that, our correspondent says, Mr Obama looked cautious and spoke in a measured way, and he was clearly concerned about getting Congress on board as well as the American public.

Opinion polls until now have shown very little interest among the US public in getting involved in the Syrian conflict.

In an open letter to the president, US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner demanded he explain "the intended effect of military strikes", and how he would prevent the intervention escalating, if he wanted to win public and congressional backing for action.

US officials are expected to give senior members of Congress a classified briefing on the evidence that the Syrian government carried out the alleged chemical attack on Thursday.

The US has said it will not take action alone - but one of its primary allies, the UK, has agreed to wait until UN inspectors report back before taking a final parliamentary vote on potential action.

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The BBC's John Simpson explains the cases for and against intervention

Russia rejected a UK push to try to agree a resolution on Syria among permanent UN Security Council members on Wednesday, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying the UN could not consider any draft resolution or proposed action in Syria before the UN weapons inspectors reported back.

Continue reading the main story

Models for possible intervention

• Iraq 1991: US-led global military coalition, anchored in international law; explicit mandate from UN Security Council to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait
• Balkans 1990s: US arms supplied to anti-Serb resistance in Croatia and Bosnia in defiance of UN-mandated embargo; later US-led air campaign against Serb paramilitaries. In 1999, US jets provided bulk of 38,000 Nato sorties against Serbia to prevent massacres in Kosovo - legally controversial with UN Security Council resolutions linked to "enforcement measures"
• Somalia 1992-93: UN Security Council authorised creation of international force with aim of facilitating humanitarian supplies as Somali state failed. Gradual US military involvement without clear objective culminated in Black Hawk Down disaster in 1993. US troops pulled out
• Libya 2011: France and UK sought UN Security Council authorisation for humanitarian operation in Benghazi in 2011. Russia and China abstained but did not veto resolution. Air offensive continued until fall of Gaddafi

The use of force without a sanction of the UN Security Council would be a "crude violation" of international law and "lead to the long-term destabilisation of the situation in the country and the region", Mr Lavrov said.

The US state department criticised "Russian intransigence" and said it could not allow diplomatic paralysis to serve as a shield for the Syrian leadership.

UN 'moment'

The UK, US and France are continuing their discussions following the meeting of the five permanent members.

The UK will want to be seen to be exhausting every diplomatic avenue, says the BBC's Nick Bryant at the UN headquarters in New York.

For the UK, there needs to be a UN "moment" - despite the fact that UN action will likely again be blocked by Russia or China.

But even without UN backing, the US and its allies have been clear that they see the military option is still open to them, our correspondent says.

"This is the first use of chemical warfare in the 21st Century," said UK Foreign Secretary William Hague. "It has to be unacceptable... or we will confront even bigger war crimes in the future."

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died since the conflict erupted in Syria in March 2011, and the conflict has produced at least 1.7 million refugees.

Forces which could be used against Syria:

• Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles
• Cruise missiles could also be launched from submarines, including a British Trafalgar class boat. HMS Tireless was reportedly sighted in Gibraltar at the weekend
• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes
• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region
• The Royal Navy's response force task group- which includes helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious and frigates HMS Montrose and HMS Westminster - is in the region on a previously-scheduled deployment
• RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus could also be used
• French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean
• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAE.

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Former army colonel killed in Kenya

25 August 2013 Last updated at 17:59 ET

Police in Kenya are investigating the murder of a former British army colonel who was killed by an armed gang at his home near Nanyuki, Laikipia.

David Parkinson and his wife were attacked after the gang of suspected robbers, armed with machetes and a gun, smashed their way into the house in the early hours of Sunday, police said.

Mrs Parkinson escaped after hiding in a strong room.

Mr Parkinson, an ex-commander of a base in the area, managed a cattle ranch.

Senior investigating officer Marius Tum, of Laikipia East police, said about five gang members had gained entry to the house by smashing a glass door just before 01:00 local time on Sunday and found the couple sleeping.

During the ensuing confrontation, Mr Parkinson's hand was cut severely and he was fatally wounded, Mr Tum added.

He said the attackers had tied Mrs Parkinson up with rope.

"But she managed to hide in one of the strong rooms to which they could not gain access," Mr Tum said.

"David remained lying on the floor. When she was sure they had left, she came out of the strong room to discover that David had died."

Police said the gang had escaped with a small haul including Mrs Parkinson's telephone, a small amount of cash from her purse, a laptop computer and a silver statuette.

Detectives investigating the murder have arrested a suspect from a nearby village, according to Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper.

A former lieutenant colonel in the Parachute Regiment, Mr Parkinson was awarded an OBE in 1998.

He left the British army a decade ago to focus on conservation and community work in Kenya.

He was previously deputy director of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, which made headlines after Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton there in October 2010.

More recently, he managed the Lolldaiga Hills wildlife and livestock ranch which also hosts British troops on training exercises.

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Helicopter victims brought ashore

26 August 2013 Last updated at 04:34 ET

The bodies of three of the four oil workers who died when a helicopter ditched into the North Sea off Shetland have been brought back to the mainland.

A passenger ferry carrying the bodies arrived at Aberdeen at 07:00 and a hearse carrying the bodies left the harbour about 90 minutes later.

It is understood that the fourth body will arrive on Tuesday.

The Super Puma helicopter came down on Friday evening, killing three men and one woman.

The wreckage of the helicopter has been lifted onto the deck of the vessel Bibby Polaris which is due to arrive at a mainland port later on Monday.

Investigators are hoping to find out why the helicopter appeared to have such a sudden "catastrophic loss of power".

All companies operating Super Pumas in the North Sea have suspended services.

It is the fifth time in four years a Super Puma has come down in the North Sea - a safety record described by the Unite union as "unacceptable".

The salvage operation took place in thick mist in Quendale Bay, off the southern tip of Shetland, on Sunday.

It is hoped information on the helicopter's black box data recorder will help air accident investigators to establish the cause of the crash.

RNLI rescue co-ordinator Jim Nicolson had said it appeared the aircraft "suddenly dropped into the sea without any opportunity to make a controlled landing".

Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, and George Allison, 57, from Winchester, died in the incident.

Their bodies were recovered and three of them have now been returned to the mainland.

Two of the 14 people rescued remain in hospital.

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Footage from the RNLI shows the salvage operation, as Laura Bicker reports

The Super Puma AS332 L2 had been carrying 16 passengers and two crew from the Borgsten Dolphin oil rig when it crashed at about 18:20 BST on Friday.

The Shetland coastguard crew was alerted to the crash by the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at RAF Kinloss, in Moray, which said an inbound helibus had disappeared off the radar.

The Helicopter Safety Steering Group - which is made up of oil industry representatives - plans to meet again on Wednesday to review its position on the grounding of Super Pumas, and said it would reconvene before then if any significant information came to light.

CHC, which operated the helicopter that crashed on Friday, grounded its UK fleet and some models worldwide.

Rival operators Bond and Bristow also suspended UK Super Puma flights.

Super Puma manufacturer, Eurocopter, thanked those involved in the search and rescue operations for "prompt action" which had "saved many lives".

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• October 2012 - All 19 people on board a Super Puma EC225 were rescued safely after it put down in the sea off Shetland. The incident was caused by a cracked shaft in the main gearbox
• May 2012 - All 14 people on board a Super Puma EC225 were rescued when it came down about 30 miles off the coast of Aberdeen during a flight to an oil rig
• April 2009 - All 14 passengers and two crew on board a Super Puma AS332L2 lost their lives after it came down in the North Sea. Eight of the victims came from the north east of Scotland, seven from the rest of the UK, and one from Latvia. A fatal accident inquiry is planned for October
• February 2009 - A Super Puma EC225 ditched in fog a short distance from a BP oil platform in the ETAP field, 125 miles east of Aberdeen. All 18 people on board survived. Crew error and a faulty alert system were blamed

Last year, Super Puma helicopters crashed in two incidents, one off Aberdeen and another off Shetland, but these involved the EC225 variety of the aircraft.

All passengers and crew were rescued in both incidents which were found to have been caused by gearbox problems.

Super Puma EC225s were grounded following the crashes but were given the go-ahead to resume flying again earlier this month.

Pat Rafferty, Scottish secretary of the Unite union, said: "This is the fifth major incident in the last four years involving Super Puma helicopters in the UK offshore industry and the second resulting in fatalities. It's unacceptable and it can't go on."

About 26,000 people work for more than 100 nights a year offshore in the UK.

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Experts hopeful of panda cub birth

26 August 2013 Last updated at 04:48 ET

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If Tian Tian is carrying a cub, the birth is expected to be in the next two weeks

Edinburgh Zoo staff say Britain's only female panda continues to show positive signs that she is pregnant.

If Tian Tian is carrying a baby, the birth is expected to be in the next two weeks.

A team of keepers at the zoo have been given access to CCTV footage in their homes and the panda is being monitored around the clock for signs of labour.

Tian Tian and the zoo's male mate, Yang Guang, are the UK's only pair of giant pandas.

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• Giant panda foetuses do not start to develop until the final weeks of gestation
• At birth they weight about 150g (0.33 pounds)
• Panda cubs are born pink and covered in short, sparse white hair; their eyes are tightly shut and they cry loudly and often
• Their black patches start to appear at about one week old, followed by black hair on the patches a few weeks later
• They spend the first few weeks sleeping and suckling
• At about three to four weeks old, the cubs can regulate their body temperatures and do not need constant body contact from the mother to keep warm
• By 75 to 80 days panda cubs can stand and walk a few steps; they also begin to teethe at this point and eyesight and hearing improve
• At four months old panda cubs are active, run about and climb on their mother's back to play

Results from the panda's urine samples are being analysed by Memphis Zoo and the China Conservation and Research Centre (CCRCGP) with both parties remaining "encouraged".

Tian Tian's progesterone levels continue to stay high and she is currently very sleepy, which are both positive pregnancy signs.

If the panda goes into labour, she will appear restless, start to bleat and her waters will break.

A zoo spokeswoman said it remained a "very sensitive period" for the panda if she were to be pregnant.

Tian Tian's body could yet reabsorb any foetuses.

Despite a lack of certainty, staff are planning for a birth to happen.

Chinese panda keeper Haiping Hu, from CCRCGP, arrived in Edinburgh on Saturday to be on hand if a cub or cubs are born.

Miss Hu has experience in assisting with panda births, especially if twins are born and one cub needs to be removed.

New incubators have also arrived and keepers are preparing a 24-hour rota to care for any newborns.

Iain Valentine, director of giant pandas for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said: "What we are seeing in Tian Tian's hormones is encouraging, but we still cannot guarantee a pregnancy or successful birth.

"If indeed she is pregnant, this is an extremely risky time for panda pregnancies.

"Female giant pandas can actually reabsorb any foetuses or reject them if pregnant.

"If she is pregnant and carries to full term, we believe a cub or cubs could be born anytime over the next two weeks - although there are no certainties we must err on the side of caution and be on red alert from today."

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'No leniency' call as Bo trial ends

26 August 2013 Last updated at 05:43 ET

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John Sudworth: "Superior orders" reference removed

Prosecutors said no leniency should be shown as the trial of former top Chinese politician Bo Xilai ended.

Mr Bo's crimes were serious and he had not shown remorse, the prosecution said, so leniency was not called for.

Bo Xilai, meanwhile, continued to deny charges against him and said his police chief tried to defect because he was in love with his wife, Gu Kailai.

The five-day trial adjourned after closing statements, with the verdict expected "at a date to be decided".

The former Communist Party chief in the mega-city of Chongqing denies bribery, corruption and abuse of power.

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Analysis

Celia Hatton BBC News, Jinan, Shandong province

---

Few doubt that Bo Xilai faces a lengthy prison sentence. China's communist leaders have been in charge of the trial from start to finish.

However whether they intended to or not, the party took a serious risk when deciding to place the charismatic Mr Bo in the spotlight for five days. No other leader, even China's charming President Xi Jinping, has spent that much time in front of the Chinese people.

Mr Bo made jokes, admitted his personal failings and revealed intimate family details, giving China's population a much fuller portrait of Bo Xilai than any other Chinese political figure.

His closing argument on the final day of the trial, in which he expressed hope for the future of the Chinese judicial system and thanked the kind people of Shandong for hosting the trial, felt more like an election speech than a mea culpa.

Even though Mr Bo's comments were undoubtedly censored, it is clear he attempted to reach beyond the Jinan courtroom. He appealed to the court of public opinion. Mr Bo already has a sizeable power base in Chongqing, but it could be even larger now.

On Sunday, the former high-flier launched a scathing attack on Wang Lijun, his former police chief whose flight to the US consulate in February 2012 led to a fresh investigation into the death of British businessman Neil Heywood.

Mr Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, has since been convicted of the murder of Mr Heywood, and the abuse of power charge against Mr Bo relates to his role in attempting to conceal her crime, the court has heard.

Foreign media are not allowed into the trial, but the court in the eastern city of Jinan has been posting regular updates on China's micro-blogging site Weibo (in Mandarin). These cannot be independently verified.

This is China's most politically charged trial in decades. Mr Bo had been seen as a candidate for the highest levels of office until his fall from grace. He is widely expected to be found guilty.

'Made mistakes'

When court resumed at 08:30 (00:30GMT) on Monday, the prosecution made its closing statement.

"The defendant's crimes are extremely grave, and he also refuses to admit guilt," an official transcript read. "As such, the circumstances do not call for a lenient punishment but a severe one, in accordance with the law."

The prosecutors' statement was posted on the court's microblog and then taken down, before being reposted without a sentence that referred to Mr Bo acting on the orders of "superiors" in obtaining a fake medical certificate for Wang Lijun.

Continue reading the main story

Bo Xilai scandal: Timeline

• 2 February 2012 -Wang Lijun seeks refuge at the US consulate in Chengdu
• 15 March - Bo Xilai is removed from his post as party chief in Chongqing
• 26 March - UK confirms it has asked China to re-examine Neil Heywood's death
• 10 April - Bo Xilai is stripped of his Communist Party posts and his wife Gu Kailai is investigated over Neil Heywood's death
• 20 August - Gu Kailai is given a suspended death sentence for the murder of Neil Heywood
• 28 September - Bo Xilai is expelled from the Communist Party
• 25 July 2013 - Bo Xilai is charged with corruption, bribery and abuse of power

Mr Bo then gave a statement to the court in which, according to the official transcript, he blamed Wang's flight to the US consulate on the fact that he had been in love with Gu Kailai and feared Mr Bo's reaction.

He also defended his right to deny charges in court, saying he wrote previous confessions under pressure because he hoped by doing so he could stay in the Communist Party and keep his political career alive.

On Sunday the 64-year-old characterised Wang Lijun's testimony as "full of lies and fraud".

Wang, who has been convicted of crimes related to the Neil Heywood murder cover-up, told the court on Saturday that Mr Bo hit him when he told him his wife was a suspect in the killing.

"He suddenly struck me with his fist and hit my left ear. It was not merely a slap... I found the corner of my mouth was bleeding," court reporting of Wang's testimony said.

Mr Bo has also denied receiving bribes from two Dalian-based businessmen and embezzling funds at his trial.

"On the matter of abuse of office, I made mistakes, this reflected badly on the image of the party and the state. I feel sorry for that," Mr Bo told the court on Saturday.

"However I do think the charges against me exaggerated my role in these incidents," he added.

Two years ago Bo Xilai was seen as a candidate for promotion to the Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body.

But in February 2012, as the country prepared for its once-in-a-decade leadership handover, questions emerged over the death of Mr Heywood. Gu Kailai is said to have killed him over a business deal gone wrong.

Mr Bo's downfall was seen as the biggest political shake-up to hit China's ruling elite in decades.

CLICKABLE

Neil Heywood

Bo Xilai

Gu Kailai

Bo Guagua

Wang Lijun

Patrick Devillers

Jiang Feng Dolby

Dalian

Chongqing

French villa

Bo Xilai

Former Communist Party chief of Chongqing and Politburo member

Mr Bo, the son of a famous Communist Party hero, was once a political high-flyer and described as the nearest China had to a Western-style politician. He ran the coastal city of Dalian and was commerce minister before becoming Party chief of south-western metropolis of Chongqing. He was removed from office following Neil Heywood's death and was charged with bribery, corruption and abuse of power.

Gu Kailai

Lawyer and wife of Bo Xilai

Ms Gu, whose father was a prominent revolutionary general, is a well-known lawyer and second wife of Bo Xilai.

She studied at Peking University before opening the Kailai law firm in Beijing. Fluent in English, she and her husband were once one of China's most powerful couples. Last year, she was convicted of Mr Heywood's murder, reportedly over a deal gone wrong, and given a suspended death sentence.

Bo Guagua

Son of Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai

Educated at the exclusive British private school Harrow, followed by Oxford and Harvard Universities, Bo Guagua has been described as one of China's "princelings" - the descendants of revolutionary leaders often criticised for their lavish lifestyles. Since his parents' fall, Bo Guagua has remained in the US, where he is preparing to study law at Colombia University in New York. In a statement issued ahead of Mr Bo's trial, Bo Guagua said he hoped his father would be allowed to defend himself "without constraints".

Wang Lijun

Former Chongqing police chief

Mr Wang, once a popular police chief and Bo Xilai's deputy in Chongqing, began his career in law enforcement in the Inner Mongolia region before moving to Chongqing in 2008. He worked closely with Mr Bo but, after an apparent falling out, Mr Wang fled to the US consulate in Chengdu, near Chongqing, where he raised concerns about the circumstances of Neil Heywood's death. Mr Wang has since been jailed for 15 years, charged with defection, power abuse and bribe-taking.

Patrick Devillers

French architect

Mr Devillers is believed to have met Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai in the 1990s while living in Dalian and reportedly helped design street grids in the port city while Mr Bo was mayor. French documents quoted by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times said he also oversaw the running of a villa in the South of France - allegedly belonging to Mr Bo - between 2001 to 2007. He was detained in Cambodia, where he lives, before voluntarily flying to China in July 2012. Reports say Chinese authorities wanted to talk to him as a witness in the Neil Heywood case.

Jiang Feng Dolby

Television presenter and business woman

Mrs Dolby, born in China but now a British citizen through marriage, is well known in China as a state TV presenter. However, after moving to Britain she ran an educational consulting company, which it is claimed helped get the children of wealthy Chinese couples into leading British and American schools and universities. Mrs Dolby was named in official documents quoted by the Wall Street Journal as the manager of a villa in the south of France that is expected to be one of the key pieces of evidence at Mr Bo's trial.

Dalian

Major seaport in north-eastern China

It was here that Bo Xilai's political career was set on the fast track when he was appointed mayor. Mr Bo was credited with developing Dalian from an unremarkable port city to a showcase for China's economic boom. It was also in Dalian that Mr Bo and Gu Kailai reportedly first met Mr Heywood and Mr Devillers.

Chongqing

Major city in south-western China

Bo Xilai was appointed Communist Party chief of Chongqing in 2007. Wang Lijun, the city's former police chief, was his deputy. Mr Bo became well-known for a high-profile crackdown on crime and advancing the "Chongqing model" of development, which spent heavily on developing public housing and infrastructure. However, his ambition and flamboyant style earned him enemies and raised eyebrows among party leaders back in Beijing. It was in a hotel room in Chongqing that British businessman Neil Heywood was found dead in November 2011.

French villa

Cannes, France

A six-bedroom villa in the south of France is expected to play a role in the trial of Bo Xilai. The $3.5m (£2.2m) property in Cannes was allegedly given to Mr Bo as a bribe. It it claimed to have been bought by Xu Ming, a billionaire backer of Mr Bo in Dalian. French documents quoted by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times state people close to the Bo family have been involved with the villa since 2001. French architect Patrick Devillers, British businessman Neil Heywood and Feng Jiang Dolby, a former presenter on China's state TV, have all overseen the running of the property, the papers said.

Neil Heywood

British businessman

Having enjoyed a privileged education at Harrow school, Mr Heywood moved to China in the early 1990s where he learned Mandarin, married his Chinese wife Wang Lulu and started a business career. The father-of-two worked as a consultant to foreign businesses seeking investment in China. It was while living in the north-eastern port city of Dalian in the mid-1990s that Mr Heywood met Bo Xilai - then the city's mayor - and his wife Gu Kailai. More than a decade later, Mr Heywood was found dead in a hotel room in the south-western city Chongqing - where Mr Bo had since become Communist Party chief. In 2012, Gu Kailai and an aide were convicted of poisoning him because of "economic conflict".

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