Lawson and Saatchi granted divorce

31 July 2013 Last updated at 06:07 ET

TV chef Nigella Lawson and art collector Charles Saatchi have been granted a divorce at the High Court in London, ending their 10-year marriage.

In a hearing lasting less than a minute, District Judge Anne Aitken granted the couple a decree nisi.

Last month, pictures emerged of Mr Saatchi grabbing his wife by the throat.

He received a police caution for the incident, which took place at a London restaurant.

Mr Saatchi, 70, and Ms Lawson, 53, will now have to wait for a decree absolute - usually issued six weeks and one day following the granting of a decree nisi - to officially end the marriage.

Pictures of the couple at a restaurant in Mayfair, central London, showed Mr Saatchi grasping his wife's neck.

The images, which were first published in the Sunday People, provoked a public debate about domestic violence among the rich and famous.

Mr Saatchi dismissed the incident as "a playful tiff" but later accepted a police caution for assault, saying he had done so to stop the incident "hanging over" them.

Ms Lawson has made no comment since the incident.

Mr Saatchi, a former advertising executive, is a well known art collector and owner of the Saatchi Gallery.

He donated his Chelsea art gallery, including more than 200 works of art, to the British public in 2010.

He and Ms Lawson married in 2003.

She has two children, Cosima and Bruno, from her marriage to journalist John Diamond, who died in 2001.

Ms Lawson first began a restaurant column in The Spectator in 1985 and by the following year, had become deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times.

She then went on to write the book How to Eat, followed by the award-winning book, How to be a Domestic Goddess.

Her television cookery programmes - including Nigella Bites and Nigella's Christmas Kitchen - have brought her international fame.

Earlier this month, Channel 4 announced it was bringing a version of her hit US cookery show, The Taste, to the UK in 2014.

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Zimbabweans vote in crunch poll

31 July 2013 Last updated at 07:24 ET

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People have been forming long queues at one polling station in Harare, as Nomsa Maseko reports.

Long queues have formed at polling stations in Zimbabwe as people vote in fiercely contested elections which have already been hit by fraud allegations.

President Robert Mugabe, 89, has said he will step down after 33 years in power if he and his Zanu-PF party lose.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have accused Zanu-PF of doctoring the electoral roll, a charge it has denied.

Campaigning for the presidential and parliamentary poll was mostly peaceful.

Zanu-PF and the MDC have shared an uneasy coalition government since 2009 under a deal brokered to end the deadly violence that erupted after a disputed presidential poll the previous year.

'Determined to vote'

Mr Mugabe dismissed the MDC's allegations of vote-rigging as "politicking" as he voted in the capital Harare's Highfield township, AFP news agency reports.

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

Thabo Kunene Bulawyo

---

Hundreds braved the cold and the wind to stand in queues, which started forming as early as 04:30 (02:30 GMT). A security guard said he saw some people sleeping opposite one polling station. Women selling tea and coffee nearby made good business as those in the queues dashed to buy the hot drinks to ward off the cold.

At one polling station in Makhokhoba, voting was progressing in an impressively ordered manner. People from different parties were chatting to each other and laughing but they avoided discussing who would win.

However some voters were disappointed after they failed to find their names in the wards where they had registered, raising more fears of vote rigging. After voting, some complained that the photos of the candidates were blurred and they had difficulties recognising them on the ballot papers.

Far away from the voting booth, Mlungisi Sibanda told me he woke up at 04:00, bathed and prayed before joining his friends in the queue. "If we don't make history in this election, we will never do it again," he said.

"They want to find a way out," Mr Mugabe said.

"I am sure people will vote freely and fairly, there is no pressure being exerted on anyone."

Mr Tsvangirai described casting his ballot as an emotional moment "after all the conflict, the stalemate, the suspicion, the hostility".

"This is a very historic moment for us," he is quoted by AFP as saying.

Mr Tsvangirai won the most votes in the first round of the 2008 poll, but pulled out of the run-off with Mr Mugabe because of attacks on his supporters, which left about 200 dead.

The government has barred Western observers from monitoring Wednesday's elections, but the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), as well as local organisations, have been accredited.

Polls opened at 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) and are due to close at 17:00 GMT.

The turnout is expected to be high among the 6.4 million people registered to vote, with tens of thousands attending rallies in recent weeks. Results are due within five days.

Wednesday has been declared a national holiday to ensure people can vote. Despite this, voters queued for several hours outside polling stations before they opened, reports the BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Harare.

Zimbabwe Election Support Network, the main domestic monitoring agency, said the vote appeared to be taking place without too many problems, Reuters news agency reports.

"There are some concerns around long queues, but generally, it's smooth," said its spokesman Thabani Nyoni.

Continue reading the main story

"I got up at four but still couldn't get the first position in the line," Clifford Chasakara, a voter in the western province of Manicaland, told the Reuters.

"My fingers are numb, but I'm sure I can mark the ballot all the same. I'm determined to vote and have my vote counted."

At a news conference at State House on Tuesday, Mr Mugabe was asked if he and Zanu-PF would accept defeat.

"If you go into a process and join a competition where there are only two outcomes, win or lose, you can't be both. You either win or lose. If you lose, you must surrender," he said.

'Anomalies'

Continue reading the main story

Zimbabwe election: Key facts

• About 6.4 million registered voters
• Polls open at 05:00 GMT and close at 17:00 GMT
• Vote for president and parliament
• Zanu-PF's Robert Mugabe and MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai are the main presidential contenders
• Mr Mugabe, 89, is seeking to extend his 33-year rule
• Mr Tsvangirai, 61, hopes to become president after three failed attempts
• The poll ends the fractious coalition between Zanu-PF and MDC, which was brokered by regional mediators after disputed elections in 2008 that were marred by violence
• First election under new constitution

But Mr Tsvangirai dismissed the president's remarks.

"He does not believe in the right of the people to choose. He does not believe he can be voted out of office," he told the BBC.

The 61-year-old has vowed to push Mr Mugabe into retirement; it is his third attempt to unseat him.

An MDC spokesman said separately that the party was only prepared to accept the results of the elections if they were "free and fair".

On Tuesday, the MDC accused Zanu-PF of doctoring the roll of registered voters, which was released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) only on the eve of the polls after weeks of delay.

The MDC claimed the roll dated back to 1985 and was full of anomalies.

A BBC correspondent has seen the document and says it features the names of thousands of dead people. He says many names with the same address appear two or three times.

A Zanu-PF spokesman denied the allegations and pointed out that appointees from both parties were on Zec. He also accused Finance Minister Tendai Biti, from the MDC, of not funding the commission properly. Zec has not commented.

In addition to Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai, there are three other candidates standing for the presidency - Welshman Ncube, leader of the breakaway MDC-Mutambara; Dumiso Dabengwa of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu), and Kisinoti Munodei Mukwazhe, who represents the small Zimbabwe Development Party (ZDP).

To be declared a winner, a presidential candidate must win more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate reaches this mark, a run-off will be held on 11 September.

The elections will be the first to be held under the new constitution approved in a referendum in March this year.

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Right-to-die campaigners lose battle

31 July 2013 Last updated at 07:39 ET

The family of late locked-in syndrome sufferer Tony Nicklinson and paralysed road accident victim Paul Lamb have lost their right-to-die challenges.

The Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that Mr Nicklinson had not had the right to ask a doctor to end his life. His widow is planning a further appeal.

Mr Lamb who won a battle to join the Nicklinson case also plans to appeal.

But a third paralysed man won his case seeking clearer prosecution guidance for health workers who help others die.

The man, known only as Martin, wants it to be lawful for a doctor or nurse to help him travel abroad to die with the help of a suicide organisation in Switzerland. His wife and other family want no involvement in his suicide.

The director of public prosecutions, who would be required to clarify his guidance, is seeking to appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision in Martin's case.

Speaking by means of special computer software, Martin said he was "delighted" by the judgement.

"It takes me one step closer to being able to decide how and when I end my life. I am only unable to take my own life because of my physical disabilities.

"Almost every aspect of my daily life is outside of my control. I want, at least, to be able to control my death and this judgement goes some way to allow me to do this."

'Conscience of the nation'

In the Nicklinson and Lamb case, the decision centred on whether the High Court was right in originally ruling that Parliament, not judges should decide whether the law on assisted dying should change.

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Jane Nicklinson, Tony's widow: "It is such a grey area that needs to be clarified"

The three Court of Appeal judges unanimously dismissed Mrs Nicklinson and Paul Lamb's challenge.

In the judgement, the Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge said Parliament represented "the conscience of the nation" when it came to addressing life and death issues, such as abortions and the death penalty.

"Judges, however eminent, do not: our responsibility is to discover the relevant legal principles, and apply the law as we find it."

Mr Nicklinson was 58 when he died naturally at his home in Wiltshire last year. His widow Jane, who has continued his fight, told the BBC she was "very, very disappointed" by the ruling, but "not totally surprised".

She added: "We will carry on with the case for as long as we can so that others who find themselves in a position similar to Tony don't have to suffer as he did. Nobody deserves such cruelty.

"Although we lost, the legal team are quite pleased with the outcome - the appeal judges actually upheld a couple of points which the High Court rejected, which is a step forward."

'Too scared'

Paul Lamb wanted the law changed so any doctor who helped him die would have a defence against the charge of murder.

The 57-year-old from Leeds has been almost completely paralysed from the neck down since a car accident 23 years ago and says he is in constant pain.

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Dr Andrew Fergusson, Care Not Killing: "Most doctors don't want to go near this"

"I was hoping for a humane and dignified end - this judgement does not give me that," he said.

"I will carry on the legal fight - this is not just about me but about many, many other people who are being denied the right to die a humane and dignified death just because the law is too scared to grapple with these issues."

Saimo Chahal, the solicitor acting for Mrs Nicklinson and Mr Lamb, said there was "no prospect of Parliament adjudicating on the issue any time soon" so Paul's only option was to try to persuade the courts that his concerns were "real and legitimate".

But Dr Andrew Fergusson, of the Care Not Killing campaign group, welcomed the Nicklinson and Lamb ruling, saying: "All three judges were very clear on legal, and I think ethical, grounds as well, that the law, if it's to be changed, must be changed by parliament alone. The courts cannot do it."

The British Humanist Association, which has supported Mr Lamb's case, described the matter as the "most important bioethical issue of our time".

It said it should not fall to people who have "already suffered enough" to fight legal case after legal case. Instead, Parliament and government should be putting the work in on changing the law.

Sarah Wootton, of the Dignity in Dying campaign, urged for some parliamentary debate and for MPs to look at the private members' bill tabled by Lord Falconer for the legalisation of assisted suicide for the terminally ill in England and Wales.

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Cruddas wins £180,000 libel damages

31 July 2013 Last updated at 08:05 ET

Former Conservative co-treasurer Peter Cruddas has won £180,000 libel damages over Sunday Times allegations about charging to meet David Cameron.

The High Court in London also ordered the newspaper to pay £500,000 in costs.

The businessman, 59, complained that the articles in March last year suggested he had corruptly offered the chance to gain unfair advantage through secret meetings with the PM.

Mr Cruddas, who resigned after the reports, called them "malicious".

He said his actual legal costs had been about £1m, and the Sunday Times would have to "pay most of that".

'Reputation cleared'

Mr Cruddas, standing outside the High Court, also criticised the Tory leadership, saying: "The fact remains that, when the story broke, the behaviour of the Conservative Party made the whole thing a lot worse.

"The fact that Mr [David] Cameron said it was quite right I resigned [when] he didn't have my side of the story."

He added: "The Conservative Party, by not giving me support... and lining up to criticise me in public, made the situation a lot worse."

Mr Cruddas also said: "What matters to me and my family is that my reputation is cleared."

In its report, the Sunday Times alleged that Mr Cruddas had suggested that major financial donors could get access to Mr Cameron, including attending meetings in No 10.

Labour said the "dinners for donors" revelations suggested the Conservatives were in hoc to big business and the Conservatives launched an investigation into internal party funding procedures, which has yet to report.

Mr Cruddas said that his "good name had been restored".

"My world was turned upside down when that article was published," he said.

"I remember vividly having to walk into my offices the day after the article was published and face 500 of my staff, many of whom had a clip of the Sunday Times interview on their video screens. It was humiliating.

"The Conservative Party cut me off within two hours of the story breaking and did not want to hear my side of the story.

"I was constructively dismissed from my role as party treasurer and made to feel like an outcast as the prime minister and the party lined up to criticise me on television and radio.

"This hurt me immensely and further damaged my reputation."

In the court ruling, Mr Justice Tugendhat said Mr Cruddas had "endured public humiliation from the prime minister".

The BBC News Channel's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said Mr Cruddas's comments were a "very personal attack" on Mr Cameron.

A Conservative Party spokesman said it was pleased Mr Cruddas had won the case and had "put this matter to rest".

"He was right to take the steps he has in order to put beyond doubt any question of impropriety. We are very appreciative of everything Peter has done for the party."

Mr Cruddas, who before becoming treasurer was one of the party's leading donors, also succeeded in his claim for malicious falsehood against the newspaper but no separate damages award was made in respect of that today.

The Electoral Commission dismissed calls for an inquiry into the allegations last year, stating that there was no evidence that the law on donations had been breached.

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Lewisham hospital cuts plan quashed

31 July 2013 Last updated at 08:05 ET

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has had his decision to reduce services at a major hospital declared unlawful and quashed by the High Court.

Mr Justice Silber ruled Mr Hunt acted outside his powers when he announced casualty and maternity units at Lewisham Hospital would be downgraded.

He said the Secretary of State had breached provisions of the National Health Services Act 2006.

The judge gave him permission to appeal against the decision.

'Incredible day'

The challenge was brought by Save Lewisham Hospital and the London Borough of Lewisham.

Continue reading the main story

There were cheers and tears in Court 76 as Mr Justice Silber gave hospital campaigners the news they had hoped for.

He ruled that Jeremy Hunt and the administrator he appointed to South London Healthcare had acted outside their powers when they decided to reduce services at Lewisham hospital.

He ruled that local GPs had not supported the plans and therefore they should not be allowed to go ahead.

He also gave permission for the government to appeal.

Today's ruling comes six months to the day since Jeremy Hunt announced the downgrading of services like the A&E and maternity units at Lewisham.

Campaigners had argued it was being made to suffer because of the failings of the neighbouring South London Healthcare Trust which is £65m in deficit.

This was the first time the Trust Special Administrator regime had ever been used.

Dr Louise Irvine, a local GP who chairs the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign, said: "This is an incredible day.

"We are delighted for every single person who has supported the campaign and those who will now continue to benefit from this extraordinary hospital."

Rosa Curling, a lawyer with solicitors' firm Leigh Day acting for the campaigners, said it was a "tremendous victory".

She said: "This judgment should serve as a warning to the government that, if they try to do this, local communities will fight back to ensure their healthcare services remain in place."

In January Mr Hunt told MPs in the Commons that the cuts were necessary because neighbouring South London Healthcare NHS Trust has been losing more than £1m every week.

A spokesman said Mr Hunt's department was "disappointed by the decision" and would consider the judgment carefully.

He said: "This judgment applies to one aspect of a package of changes which we believe are in the best long-term interests of patients and the public across south-east London.

"We expect to continue other elements of that package of changes, including the dissolution of the South London Healthcare NHS Trust, planned for October 1 - although there are a number of steps to go before that can take place."

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Private detectives to need licence

31 July 2013 Last updated at 08:10 ET

Operating as an unlicensed private detective is to be made illegal, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced.

The Home Office said it would regulate the industry because of "rogue investigators" infringing privacy.

Ministers say they want to introduce the restrictions, including criminal record checks, by next year.

MPs earlier revealed that police know of law firms, insurance companies and celebrities who have used investigators to obtain information illegally.

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Doreen Lawrence to be Labour peer

31 July 2013 Last updated at 08:15 ET

The mother of the murdered London teenager Stephen Lawrence is to be made a Labour peer, the BBC understands.

Doreen Lawrence has led a long campaign to find out what happened to her son, who was killed in a racially-aggravated attack in 1993.

Two men were eventually convicted of his murder in 2011.

A Labour source said leader Ed Miliband felt Mrs Lawrence was a "hero of modern Britain" and "voices like hers" should be heard in Parliament.

Eighteen-year-old Stephen Lawrence was stabbed by a gang of white youths as he waited for a bus in south London.

An inquiry following the murder led the Metropolitan Police to be accused of institutional racism and found failings in how the force had investigated the crime.

Speaking earlier this month, in the wake of fresh allegations that officers had carried out a smear campaign against her family during the investigation, Mrs Lawrence said there were "still elements of racism within the police".

'Strength and courage'

Leading public figures, including Mr Miliband, Prime Minister David Cameron and Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe attended a memorial service earlier this year to honour the black teenager.

Mrs Lawrence, a special needs teacher, founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust to promote a positive community legacy in her son's name.

The Evening Standard said Mrs Lawrence's name would be included in a list of new peerages expected to be announced on Thursday, entitling her to sit in the House of Lords.

The BBC's Danny Shaw said he understood the nomination had been agreed by the Labour leader and put forward to No 10 in a list of recommendations.

A Labour source said: "The strength and courage she has shown in her fight for justice for her son Stephen has had a profound impact on attitudes to racism and policing.

"Her campaigning has changed, and will continue to change, our country for the better."

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Mass funeral for Italy bus victims

30 July 2013 Last updated at 07:05 ET

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There were emotional scenes at the huge sports hall, as Nik Gowing reports

A funeral has been held near the southern Italian town of Pozzuoli for the 38 victims of Sunday's bus crash.

Prime Minister Enrico Letta was among about 4,000 people at the service, which was held in a sports hall.

Bishop of Pozzuoli, Gennaro Pascarella, urged the authorities to clarify the causes of the accident, saying: "We must ensure this never happens again."

The coach lost control on a viaduct near Monteforte Irpino, hitting several other cars and plunging into a ravine.

In his homily, Bishop Pascarella appealed for support for the bereaved families.

"Political and religious institutions should not leave our brothers alone, especially those who have found themselves without any economic support," he said.

Continue reading the main story

Families and friends of those killed in the accident crowded around the flower-draped coffins, lined up in front of the altar.

"We feel terrible. We all know each other here. We are all a bit like brothers and sisters," said one man, Franco, who said he had lost a friend in the accident.

Before the ceremony, relatives of the dead wept and clutched the coffins, placing flowers, photographs and other memorabilia for their loved ones.

One coffin was adorned with a photo of the deceased's wedding day, and a scarf in the colours of the football team, Napoli.

Bodies identified

On Monday, hundreds of relatives had to identify the bodies of their loved ones at a school near the crash site which had been turned into a temporary morgue.

Continue reading the main story

They told me to look at all the bodies until I found my brother"

End Quote

"They told me to look at all the bodies until I found my brother," said one man who gave his name as Ciro.

"It was like a mountain had fallen on my head."

Ten of the coach's passengers were hurt in the accident on Sunday. Nine people were also injured in cars hit by the bus before it careered off the road.

Prosecutors have launched an investigation into possible manslaughter.

One survivor said from her hospital bed that she believed a tyre had burst. Police have ordered a post-mortem examination on the body of the driver, who is among the dead.

Investigators will examine the driver's role as well as the condition of the coach and the crash barriers on the road.

The vehicle was carrying a local tour group from the birthplace of Padre Pio, an Italian priest canonised in 2002.

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36 of 4,500 wards fail patient test

30 July 2013 Last updated at 07:58 ET By Caroline Parkinson and Helen Briggs BBC News

Patients on 36 of 4,500 hospital wards in England would not recommend them to relatives, a new survey suggests.

The latest results of the new "friends and family" test saw one English A&E department out of 144 get a "negative score" - Chase Farm Hospital in London.

Critics say the survey is too blunt an instrument for feedback as response rates at some hospitals are low.

NHS England said the findings contained "home truths" but it was "early data" and should be treated carefully.

The survey, which started in April, looked at patients who stayed in hospital overnight or attended A&E.

The questionnaire, backed by the prime minister, asked the question: "How likely are you to recommend our ward/A&E department to your friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?"

About 400,000 people overall responded to the friends and family test data survey. Each hospital was given a score based on patient satisfaction levels, ranging from -100 to + 100.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

There are home truths here and everyone will expect those trusts who have large numbers of their patients choosing not to recommend their services to respond as quickly as possible"

End Quote Tim Kelsey NHS England

Out of 4,500 wards in England, 36 received an overall negative figure in June, although response rates in some hospitals were very low.

In A&E, one hospital out of 144 received a negative score in the same month (Chase Farm in north London).

The test is seen as central to the government's response to the Mid Staffordshire inquiry.

Tim Kelsey, NHS England's director of patients and information, said direct patient and citizen feedback was vital to improving services the NHS provides.

"From this first publication, we can see a significant and real variation in the quality of customer services across the NHS," he said.

"There are home truths here and everyone will expect those trusts who have large numbers of their patients choosing not to recommend their services to respond as quickly as possible."

However, he said it was important that this "early data" was treated carefully.

He added: "Low response rates can have a dramatically disproportionate impact on scores. As more and more patients respond, the data will become more and more robust."

Method 'simplistic'

Peter Lynn, professor of survey methodology at the University of Essex, said he was concerned that differences in scores between trusts or between wards may, in some cases, be misleading.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Collecting feedback is really important, but I think the question patients are asked doesn't make sense"

End Quote Jocelyn Cornwell, Point of Care Foundation

"This can arise because the rather simplistic methodology used to collect the data makes no allowance for differences between trusts or wards in types of patients, types of treatments, or the proportions or types of patients who provide an answer," he said.

"Additionally, variation was allowed between trusts in the way the test was administered. Although the objective is only to shine a light on poorer-performing trusts, the concern is that the light may not be shining in the right places. The methodology of this test really should be improved."

Jocelyn Cornwell, director of the Point of Care Foundation, an independent charity working with health and social care organisations, said: "Collecting feedback is really important, but I think the question patients are asked doesn't make sense.

"Some hospitals were using much better methods of collecting feedback. But they've had to abandon what they were doing and replace it with this rather blunt instrument."

The friends and family test began nationally in April, after a year of pilots in the Midlands and east of England.

There are plans to further expand the test to maternity services in October, and to GP practices, community services and mental health services by the end of 2014, then to all parts of the NHS by the end of March 2015.

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Taliban jailbreak frees hundreds

30 July 2013 Last updated at 07:21 ET

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The militants used a loud hailer to call prisoners out by name, as Orla Guerin reports

Taliban militants have freed 248 prisoners in an assault on a prison in north-west Pakistan, officials say.

Militants armed with automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and bombs blasted down the walls of the jail in the town of Dera Ismail Khan and streamed inside, reports said.

A gun battle lasting several hours went on into the early hours of Tuesday. At least 13 died, including six police.

Correspondents say it is a huge embarrassment for authorities.

The attack was similar to an assault on a prison in nearby Bannu in April last year, in which almost 400 prisoners were freed.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

The Taliban assault comes on the day parliament is electing a new president. We will never know if the timing was deliberate, but it has hugely embarrassed the government, and once again highlighted the ability of the militants to strike at will.

Suggestions the authorities had advance warning of the attack, but did not act on it, only make matters worse.

No high-profile Taliban members were being held at the Dera prison, but at least 30 militants freed in the assault are described by the authorities as "hardened" Taliban fighters. The attack rekindles memories of a 2012 jailbreak in the nearby city of Bannu in which about 400 prisoners escaped, including Adnan Rashid, a radicalised former member of the military who recently wrote an open letter to child activist Malala Yousafzai explaining why she was attacked by the Taliban.

The Dera jail attack comes a month after the police said they had arrested a group of militants who were planning to launch a similar attack on Karachi Central Jail. This is indicative of an emerging Taliban strategy to break jails instead of negotiating the release of their prisoners by taking hostages, which they have done in the past.

Reports also suggest intelligence had warned of an impending attempt on the jail two weeks ago.

This latest assault demonstrates the weakness of the Pakistani state, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi.

The state appears not to have the capacity, and some would say the will, to rein in hardened militants, he says.

Police uniforms

The attack in the town of Dera Ismail Khan began with huge explosions at around midnight on Monday (15:00 GMT).

Up to 100 attackers, some wearing police uniforms, bombarded the prison with rockets and mortars before going inside.

The town's civil commissioner, Mushtaq Jadoon, said attackers used loudhailers to call the names of particular inmates.

An ensuing gun battle raged for three or four hours.

Katherine Houreld, a correspondent for Reuters news agency, told the BBC it had been a "very sophisticated attack - they blew the electricity line, they breached the walls and they set ambushes for reinforcements".

The town's prison is a century old and is said not to have been designed for high-security inmates, but houses hundreds of Taliban fighters and militants from other banned groups.

Mr Jadoon said 30 "hardened militants", who had been jailed for their involvement in major attacks or suicide bombings, were among those freed.

He was also quoted as saying that militants had taken away six women, five of them inmates and the other a police officer.

An unnamed official told AFP news agency that jail records and an office had also been torched.

The town is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, next to Pakistan's mountainous tribal region.

Continue reading the main story

Among the inmates freed were two local Taliban commanders, Abdul Hakim and Haji Ilyas.

Also released is a sectarian militant, Waleed Akbar, the principle suspect in last year's attacks on Shia mourners in Dera Ismail Khan during the Shia mourning month of Moharram.

Fourteen fugitives were later re-arrested by police, Mr Jadoon said.

A curfew has now been imposed on Dera Ismail Khan as police hunt for the remaining escaped prisoners, but correspondents say this will be a difficult task as they flee into tribal areas.

Mr Jadoon told a local TV station that militants had booby-trapped the building with explosive devices, which had now been defused.

Attack 'threats'

Continue reading the main story

Under attack

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has faced brazen attack since he took office on 5 June:

• 27 July: 57 killed as bombs hit market in Parachinar, near Afghan border
• 24 July: Attackers storm office of ISI intelligence agency in Sukkur,
• 10 July: Chief security officer of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and aides killed in Karachi bomb attack
• 30 June: At least 56 people killed in bomb attacks in Quetta and Peshawar
• 23 June: Gunmen kill 10, including at least nine foreign tourists, after storming hotel at Nanga Parbat mountain base camp
• 15 June: Fourteen students killed in blast on bus at women's university in city of Quetta; hours later gunmen attack Quetta hospital, killing 10

A local resident told the agency that the initial blast was so loud that "it rattled every house in the neighbourhood".

The attackers were chanting "God is great" and "Long live the Taliban", officials said.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said his group carried out the attack. He said about 300 prisoners had been freed.

The authorities are reported to have received intelligence about an impending attack two weeks ago, but prison officials said they did not expect it to come so soon.

A Taliban spokesman said one of their commanders freed in an assault on a prison in Bannu in northern Pakistan in April last year played a key role in the latest jailbreak.

Correspondents say the authorities will face questions about how militants were able to stage a virtually identical attack in Dera Ismail Khan.

Monday night's violence came hours before Pakistani politicians were to choose the country's new president.

The replacement for Asif Ali Zardari is being elected by the members of both houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies.

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Housing benefit challenge fails

30 July 2013 Last updated at 07:22 ET

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Spare room benefit claimant Charlotte Carmichael: "We will have to appeal"

Disabled families have lost a court challenge to social housing benefit cuts for residents with spare bedrooms in England, Wales and Scotland.

Ten families brought a judicial review over the lower payments for people in homes deemed too large.

But the High Court has ruled that the change, which was introduced in April, did not breach their human rights.

One family member described the ruling as an "absolute travesty of justice", and said they would appeal against it.

Charlotte Carmichael, who has spina bifida and sleeps in a hospital bed which, she argues, her husband and full-time carer cannot share, told the BBC that she felt obliged to pursue the case.

'Incomprehensible'

Jason, her husband, added: "This is our way of life we're defending. We'll keep appealing and take it all the way we can."

Richard Stein, of law firm Leigh Day which is representing two of the families, said his clients were "bitterly disappointed with today's decision, but they are not defeated".

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There are 10 claimants represented by three law firms. They are from various places including London, Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester and Birmingham. Here are the arguments of four of them:

Case one

Lawyers for one London family say they live in a damp, one-bedroom flat infested with mice. One son has autism, the other has Down's Syndrome.

The child with autism sleeps in the bedroom while his mother, father and brother sleep on the floor in the living room.

Due to the changes, they say they cannot afford to move to the larger property authorities say they need.

Case two

Charlotte Carmichael has spina bifida and sleeps in a hospital bed which, she argues, her husband and full-time carer cannot share.

He sleeps in their spare room as there is not enough space in hers for a second bed.

Case three

In 2011, six-year-old Isaac was assaulted by the then partner of his mother, leaving him traumatised. He and his mother were made homeless and assessed as needing three bedrooms because, solicitors say, of Isaac's behavioural and mental issues.

His mother lost £15.52 a week on 1 April when the council judged they were under-occupying.

Case four

A wheelchair user living in a three-bedroom bungalow shared with his stepdaughter who has a rare form of muscular dystrophy says he needs a third bedroom to store equipment including a hoist for lifting him.

He contends there are no suitable two bedroom homes in the social sector.

He added: "We, along with the other lawyers acting on behalf of adults with disabilities, will appeal this judgment and we remain confident that the discrimination which was recognised by the court and which has been perpetrated against our clients by this legislation is not justified and is unlawful."

Rebekah Carrier, a solicitor with law firm Hopkin Murray Beskine, said the government's position was "incomprehensible".

But BBC chief political correspondent Norman Smith said the verdict was a "huge relief" for the government.

A statement from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said: "We are pleased to learn that the court has found in our favour and agreed that we have fulfilled our equality duties to disabled people.

"Reform of housing benefit in the social sector is essential, so the taxpayer does not pay for people's extra bedrooms."

The government said it had already provided £150m to councils to make discretionary payments to those affected by its changes to welfare payments, but also announced that it would bolster the fund for those affected by housing benefit changes by £35m.

Our correspondent said sources had told him that the extra funding was not prompted by the court action.

This was a "benchmark policy" for ministers, both in terms of cutting spending and changing "attitudes towards housing benefit", he added.

About 660,000 working-age social housing households judged to have too many bedrooms have lost an average of £14 per week since their benefit was cut at the beginning of April.

The DWP estimated that 420,000 disabled people would be among those affected.

The families, which include either disabled adults or children, had challenged the changes during a three-day hearing in May.

Their lawyers argued the benefit cut hit disabled people disproportionately hard and was therefore discriminatory.

'Devastating'

They also argued that the £25m set aside in the local authority discretionary fund for disabled people affected by the benefit cuts was insufficient.

Mr Stein explained: "The government's attempts to pass the buck to local authorities to deal with the unfairness and discrimination of the bedroom tax using discretionary housing payments is not acceptable.

"The amount of money provided by the government for these payments is nowhere near adequate to prevent large numbers of disabled people losing their homes."

Housing charity Shelter's chief executive Campbell Robb said: "This ruling is devastating news for disabled adults and families with disabled or vulnerable children, who'll be put at real risk of homelessness for having a bedroom they just can't do without.

"Shelter gave extensive evidence to the court based on our experience of how families like these are being affected, which showed that the government's current provision to support people in exceptional cases is inadequate.

"As a result of today's ruling, we're really concerned that these families will now face a real struggle to meet their rent and may end up losing their home."

A DWP spokesman has previously said that the move would bring back fairness to the housing benefit system and pointed out there were "two million households on the social housing waiting list and over a quarter of a million tenants... living in overcrowded homes".

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Ousted Egypt president well - Ashton

30 July 2013 Last updated at 07:34 ET

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Catherine Ashton: "I don't know where [Morsi] is"

EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton says Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi is "well", but that she does not know where he is being held.

Baroness Ashton had two hours of "in-depth" discussions with Mr Morsi on Monday, but declined to give details of what he had told her, insisting: "I'm not going to put words in his mouth."

She said Mr Morsi had access to TV and newspapers and followed developments.

Mr Morsi has been detained since he was overthrown by the military on 3 July.

Baroness Ashton's second visit to Egypt in 12 days comes after more than 70 Morsi supporters were killed in clashes with security forces on Saturday.

The ousted leader's allies have said they are planning a major protest in Cairo on Tuesday, and the interim government has warned that any violation of the law will be dealt with "firmly".

Security officials have also threatened to dismantle the main protest sit-in at a square near the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in the capital's north-east, where Saturday's deadly clashes erupted.

Helicopter

Lady Ashton told the BBC that after a night journey involving a helicopter ride and other forms of transport, she met Mr Morsi at a military facility.

She said the deposed president was in "good health" and "good humour".

"He had been told about half an hour before I arrived that I was coming. He was, I think, pleased to see me," she said.

"He is there with two advisers. They are there together. It is a military place. The people around him do care for him. I looked at the facilities."

She said there was a strong desire among leaders from all sides to find a way out of the crisis.

EU officials will keep up discussions to pursue elements that came up during Lady Ashton's visit, and she said she was ready to come back at any time if that would help.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Cairo says Mr Morsi's allies insist he must be restored to the presidency, and say they will continue their vigorous and very big street protests until that happens.

The interim presidency has said there will be no deviation from the transition plan, which does not involve Mr Morsi's reinstatement.

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UK 'slightly happier than last year'

30 July 2013 Last updated at 07:39 ET

A UK-wide well-being survey has found "small improvements" in people's happiness over the year.

The proportion of people rating their life satisfaction as seven or more out of 10 rose from 75.9% to 77.0%, the Office for National Statistics said.

It said the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee may have "influenced people's assessment of their... well-being".

The survey is taken to help the government develop policies to improve people's well-being.

The ONS also compared its data with European Union figures for 2007-2011 and found that the British were happier than the French.

The UK ranked tenth for life satisfaction out of 27 EU countries, according to the European Quality of Life Survey, with an average rating of 7.3 out of 10 in 2011.

The ONS said the UK's rating was unchanged between 2007 and 2011, showing a "picture of stability" in contrast to a decline in happiness in many EU countries.

Most content

It also showed a small reduction in anxiety levels, with the proportion of people rating their anxiety at a higher level of six or more out of 10 falling from 21.8% to 20.9%.

Women rated their anxiety levels higher than men. The average anxiety rating for women is 3.1 compared with 2.9 for men.

Yet on balance, women were found to have higher life satisfaction, consider their activities to be more worthwhile and rate their happiness slightly higher than men.

People aged 45 to 54 were the most dissatisfied, while younger people rated their happiness above average and retired people were the most content age group.

Married couples or those in civil partnerships rated their life satisfaction highest, with the average score at 7.8 out of 10. The ONS pointed out that this was higher than for cohabiting couples who reported an average of 7.6 out of 10.

Widowed and single people rated their life satisfaction lower than those in couples, at an average of 7.3 out of 10 and 7.2 out of 10 respectively.

However divorcees or separated people rated their life satisfaction lowest, at an average of 6.8 out of 10.

Bank holiday

The ONS said the reason for the small uptick in the nation's well-being between 2011/12 and 2012/13 was "not fully understood at this stage".

Continue reading the main story

Happiness by relationship status

Average life satisfaction, 2012-13
Status	Score*
*Life satisfaction rated 0-10. Source: ONS
Married/Civil partnerships	7.8
Cohabiting	7.6
Widowed	7.3
Single	7.2
Divorced/separated	6.8

Though measuring happiness was "complex", the ONS said the factors most associated with personal well-being were health, employment situation and relationship status.

The survey found no significant changes in average ratings for life satisfaction for any of the self-reported health groups or among unemployed people - despite improvements in the labour market.

It did however identify an improvement in average ratings for life satisfaction among people in all relationship statuses.

The ONS said that over the past year, the UK had celebrated several special events, such as the Queen's Diamond Jubilee which included a special bank holiday and the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games.

Glenn Everett, programme director for measuring national well-being at the ONS, said the events may have boosted well-being because they were perceived as "one-off", "once-in-a-lifetime" events.

"The other part is that Britain did well in the Olympics and the Paralympics," he said.

The first well-being survey was released by the ONS in 2012. Prime Minister David Cameron described it then as crucial to finding out what the government can do to "really improve lives" - but Labour ridiculed the survey as a "statement of the bleeding obvious".

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Barclays shares hurt by cash call

30 July 2013 Last updated at 08:08 ET

Barclays will issue £5.8bn in new shares as part of a move to plug a £12.8bn capital shortfall created by new regulatory demands.

The bank will also issue £2bn of bonds that are turned into shares or wiped out if the bank gets into trouble.

The size of the share sale is much larger than analysts had expected. Barclays' stock fell 7%.

Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins said the plan would not reduce lending to small businesses and households.

Last month, Mr Jenkins had argued against the fresh capital requirements, warning that if Barclays had to meet this tough measure it could be forced to scale back its lending to small businesses and households.

The BBC's business editor Robert Peston said: "Barclays' chief executive, Antony Jenkins, insisted to me that the flow of credit to the real economy in the UK would not shrink."

However, he added: "It means Barclays will provide fewer financial transactions to big companies, life insurers and pension funds, inter alia, to help those giant institutions reduce their risks. And to be clear that will represent a tightening of credit for those customers, so there may be a negative economic impact."

A bold plan

"I am certain the decisive and prompt action we are taking will leave Barclays stronger," Mr Jenkins said.

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Barclays was widely regarded as one of the UK's strongest banks. It is remarkable that its regulator, the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority, has ruled that it needs to fill a hole in its capital resources. "

End Quote

The share sale will be done as a rights issue, giving existing investors the opportunity to buy new shares so their stakes will not be diluted.

The bank will also reduce the level of risky assets on its balance sheet by between £60 to £80bn.

"I think they've done the right thing. Anything else would have been a fudge, they needed to get on and raise equity," said Mike Trippitt, analyst at Numis Securities.

Tough new rules

Barclays' move comes after the banking regulator - the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) - issued tough new capital requirements aimed at ensuring banks are protected from the risk of investment losses, even in the event of a fresh financial crisis.

The PRA requires all banks to have a minimum leverage ratio - a measure of financial health indicating the amount of capital held by the bank relative to its gross lending - of 3%.

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Under the new requirements, Barclays was found to have a capital shortfall of £12.8bn.

The Bank of England said the PRA welcomed Barclays' capital plan: "We conclude that it is a credible plan to meet a leverage ratio of 3 per cent, after adjustments, by June 2014 without cutting back on lending to the real economy."

Dividend boost

Barclays said it would boost its dividend payout in an attempt to reward shareholders for the upheaval. The bank will bring forward its target to distribute 40-50% of earnings in dividends by a year to 2014.

"The Board and I are aware of the implications of a rights issue for shareholders. We hope to balance this with reduced uncertainty in the outlook for Barclays and with enhancement of our dividend payout from 2014," said Mr Jenkins.

Performance

Meanwhile, Barclays said adjusted second quarter pre-tax profit fell 17% in the second quarter to £3.6bn.

Mr Jenkins said performance indicated "good momentum". The £3.6bn adjusted pre-tax profit figure excludes a higher-than-expected additional £1.35bn charge for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) mis-selling costs and £650m for interest rate hedging compensation. In total, these two issues have cost Barclays £5.5bn.

PPI was designed to cover loan repayments for policyholders who became ill, had an accident or lost their jobs.

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"The eye-watering PPI compensation bill continues to escalate, showing how much banks have been in denial about the scale of their mis-selling," said Which? executive director Richard Lloyd.

"We need to see a big change in the culture of our banks to stop mis-selling scandals at source," Mr Lloyd added.

Mr Jenkins said that the bank's plans would help it in its bid to transform itself into what it calls a "Go-To" bank.

Mr Jenkins is trying to revamp the image of Britain's third-largest bank, after the aggressive culture of former Barclays boss, Bob Diamond, culminated in a £290m fine for rigging Libor rates.

Shares in Barclays fell 6% in early trading.

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Pope: Who am I to judge gay people?

29 July 2013 Last updated at 08:14 ET

Pope Francis has said gay people should not be judged or marginalised.

Speaking to reporters on a flight back from Brazil, he said: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?"

The Pope's remarks are being seen as much more conciliatory than his predecessor's position on the issue.

Turning to the issue of women priests, he said the Church had spoken and had said "no", but the role of women should not be restricted.

"We cannot limit the role of women in the Church to altar girls or the president of a charity, there must be more," he said in a wide-ranging 80-minute long interview with Vatican journalists.

Five months after he took over from Pope Benedict, he said gay people should be fully accepted in society, even though the Catholic teaching was that homosexual acts were sinful.

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well," Pope Francis said.

"It says they should not be marginalised because of this but that they must be integrated into society."

But he condemned what he described as lobbying by gay people.

"The problem is not having this orientation," he said. "We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem."

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Energy watchdog 'failing consumers'

29 July 2013 Last updated at 04:16 ET

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John Robertson, MP: "When we ask for figures they don't give it"

Energy regulator Ofgem is not doing enough to ensure that energy company profits are transparent, MPs say.

The Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) report said the watchdog was "failing consumers by not taking all possible steps to improve openness".

The committee said that "working out exactly how their profits are made requires forensic accountants".

Ofgem said it had made energy companies produce yearly financial statements and they had been reviewed by accountants.

Sir Robert Smith, on behalf of the committee, said: "At a time when many people are struggling with the rising costs of energy, consumers need reassurance that the profits being made by the 'big six' are not excessive."

The big six are E.On, SSE, British Gas, Npower, EDF and Scottish Power.

They have different divisions to deal with the different functions of their businesses: generation, trading and supply.

The committee said that the divisions sometimes bought and sold services and energy from each other, making it difficult to work out how much money was being made overall.

"Greater transparency is urgently needed to reassure consumers that high energy prices are not fuelling excessive profits," the committee said.

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Angela Knight, Energy UK: "The profit an energy company makes is not big but households are concerned"

Poor communication

The MPs criticised Ofgem for having a "relatively light touch approach and for not fully implementing the recommendations of the accountants it commissioned to improve how energy companies report their profits".

"Ofgem needs to use its teeth a bit more and force the energy companies to do everything they can to prove that they are squeaky clean when it comes to making and reporting their profits," said committee member John Robertson.

Ofgem agreed that the energy suppliers had been "poor at communicating with their customers".

"Ofgem has made energy companies produce yearly financial statements, which have been reviewed twice by independent accountants and found to be fit for purpose," said Ofgem's senior partner for markets, Rachel Fletcher.

Continue reading the main story

The committee believes that Ofgem should force energy companies to:

• Standardise their bills to make it easier for consumers to compare the value for money of different energy providers
• Break down the total cost of the bill into its components, ie wholesale energy prices, supply costs, the cost of implementing government energy policies, operating costs, and profit
• Give consumers details of price changes in pounds and pence, and not just in percentages

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said that the public would not feel that they were paying a fair price for energy until prices were simplified and the costs that went into generating them were as transparent as possible.

"We want the government to introduce simple energy pricing and a clear ring-fence between generation and supply businesses, so consumers can see exactly what they're paying for and be more confident that there is effective competition in the energy market," he said.

Angela Knight, the chief executive of Energy UK, the body that represents the energy companies, said the industry had come a long way on transparency.

"There are fewer tariffs and the new deals are clearer so it is easier to compare, bills have been simplified so they are easier for customers to follow and it is simple to switch from one supplier to another," she said.

Ms Knight told the BBC that "profit was a good thing and a very important thing", because of the investment the energy companies need to make in generation and infrastructure.

She added that the energy companies provided Ofgem with all the necessary information.

"Energy companies all publish annual accounts and, in addition, both the generation and supply parts of the business provide Ofgem with all the information about revenues, costs and profits for which the regulator asks," she said.

Fuel poverty

The Energy and Climate Change Committee also reprimanded the government for not doing enough to help low-income families struggling with fuel poverty.

The committee argued that the use of levies on fuel bills to raise funds for social and environmental programmes could end up hitting those on low incomes.

Instead, they recommended such funding be raised through direct taxation.

Sir Robert said: "Tax-funded public spending is a less regressive mechanism than levies on energy bills, which can hit some of the poorest hardest. Shifting the emphasis from levies to taxation would help protect vulnerable households."

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'Lads' mags' given cover-up deadline

29 July 2013 Last updated at 05:55 ET

The Co-operative has given so-called lads' mags six weeks to cover up their front pages with sealed "modesty bags" or be taken off sale in its stores.

The 4,000-outlet retailer said it was responding to concerns by its members, customers and colleagues about images of scantily-clad women on covers.

Titles such as Front, Loaded, Nuts and Zoo have been given a deadline of 9 September by the Co-op.

An industry body said the titles showed the "diverse interests of young men".

The Co-op, which is owned and run by its more than seven million members, introduced opaque screens for lads' magazines on some shelves earlier this month.

Steve Murrells, retail chief executive for the Co-operative Group, said: "As a community-based retailer, we have listened to the concerns of our customers and members, many of whom say they object to their children being able to see overt sexual images in our stores.

Continue reading the main story

The so-called 'modesty bags' they are demanding are designed to allow the Co-operative to continue profiting from sexist, harmful lads' mags - but just a bit more discreetly"

End Quote Sophie Bennett Lose the Lads' Mags

"Whilst we have tried to mitigate the likelihood of young children seeing the images with a number of measures in store, the most effective way of doing this is for these magazines to be put in individual, sealed modesty bags."

Cathryn Higgs, a policy manager at the Co-op, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the group was currently "in dialogue" with the magazine publishers.

"I've got every hope they will take what we believe is the responsible approach and put them in a bag," she said.

She added that the Co-op believed it was the first retailer in the UK to take this step but other supermarkets were probably having "similar conversations with their customers".

The Daily Sport newspaper has already agreed to comply with the Co-operative's new policy.

'Like wallpaper'

Women and Equalities Minister Jo Swinson said the Co-op's move was "very welcome".

"Many parents aren't comfortable with the way sexualised imagery has become like wallpaper - everywhere from the bus stop to the corner shop," she said.

"Adults should be left to make their own decisions about what legal sexual images they look at, but the place for these is not next to the sweets at children's eye-level. I hope other retailers will follow the Co-operative's lead."

But campaign group Lose the Lads' Mags said the Co-op was not going far enough.

Spokeswoman Sophie Bennett said: "The so-called 'modesty bags' they are demanding from publishers are designed to allow the Co-operative to continue profiting from sexist, harmful lads' mags - but just a bit more discreetly."

Fellow campaigner Kat Banyard added: "Lads' mags are deeply harmful.

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Glamour model Natalie Rochford, and Kat Banyard, who represents the Lose the Lads' Mags Campaign

"By portraying women as dehumanised sex objects, they send out the message that it's normal and acceptable to treat women this way, and we know from extensive evidence that lads' mags like Nuts and Zoo fuel sexist attitudes; attitudes that underpin violence against women."

The campaign group said it had also been targeting Tesco, with one female shareholder raising the subject during the retailer's recent annual general meeting.

The Professional Publishers Association, which represents some magazine publishers, said: "Men's lifestyle magazines are mainstream titles enjoyed by a readership of millions and feature content to reflect the diverse interests of the nation's young men.

"Publishers support the guidelines on the appropriate display of men's lifestyle magazines, which have been drawn up with the National Federation of Retail Newsagents and endorsed by the Home Office."

A former editor of Front magazine, Piers Hernu, said the Co-op's decision was "very dangerous" and amounted to "censorship".

The firm had "caved in" to a "vociferous campaign from some fanatical feminists", showing itself to be "weak-willed and spineless", he argued on BBC Radio 5 live.

Gender equality groups UK Feminista and Object joined forces with lawyers to launch the Lose the Lads' Mags campaign earlier this year.

They warned that retailers could face legal action if they continued to display the magazines or require staff to handle them.

This, they said, could amount to sexual harassment or discrimination in breach of the Equality Act 2010.

The British Retail Consortium has said its members do not sell anything illegal and have long followed industry rules.

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Italy coach plunge leaves 38 dead

29 July 2013 Last updated at 07:22 ET

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The BBC's Alan Johnston says the coach "ripped through the guard-rail" when it plunged off the flyover

A coach has plunged off a flyover in southern Italy leaving at least 38 people dead in the country's worst road accident for decades.

The coach hit several vehicles before smashing through a barrier and toppling down a steep slope near the town of Avellino, in the Campania region.

At least 10 people were injured, some of them seriously.

The coach was taking about 50 people, including children, back to Naples following a pilgrimage.

The cause of the accident is not yet known. Some reports say the vehicle was travelling at speed.

The head of the local fire brigade division, Alessio Barbarulo, said barriers on bridges would normally prevent such accidents but "evidently it seems the impact was so strong that even the barrier gave way".

A survivor said the driver, who was among the dead, appeared to have lost control of the bus, possibly after a tyre punctured.

Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said the vehicle had passed its annual inspection in March, and there was no indication of technical problems.

Tests are being carried out on the driver's body as part of the investigation into what caused the accident.

TV footage showed smashed vehicles on the flyover and shrouded bodies lined up by the side of a road.

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Photojournalist Sandro di Domenico: "The scene was horrific"

The Naples-Bari motorway was closed to traffic because of the accident.

The bus dropped 30m (98ft), coming to rest in heavy undergrowth after smashing through the guard-rail.

The final number of victims remains unclear, with local officials saying 38 died while the transport ministry in Rome spoke of 39.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Avellino, Salerno and Nola, Ansa news agency said.

They include the occupants the six cars caught up in the collision. Six of those hurt are children.

Those on board had been visiting visiting the town of Telese Terme, known for its hot springs, and the nearby birthplace of Padre Pio, one of Italy's most popular saints.

On a visit to Greece, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said the accident was "a huge tragedy".

Exactly 10 years ago, another accident on the same stretch of motorway claimed six lives and injured 11 other people.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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NHS Direct wants to end 111 contract

29 July 2013 Last updated at 07:37 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

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The BBC's Sophie Hutchinson: "It encountered massive problems at Easter"

A major provider of the NHS non-emergency telephone service in England is seeking to pull out of its contracts due to severe problems.

NHS Direct initially won 11 of the 46 regional contracts for the service, covering 34% of the population.

It has already pulled out of two services, but now says the remaining nine are "financially unsustainable".

The whole 111 service has been plagued with problems. NHS bosses have said there is no room for complacency.

The service is run by different organisations in each area, including private companies, ambulance trusts and NHS Direct - which ran the old telephone advice line.

Discussions are already taking place with other providers, particularly the ambulance trusts, to see who could take over from NHS Direct.

'Unsustainable'

NHS Direct announced in June that it was pulling out of two areas - Cornwall and North Essex - even before the services were launched.

And earlier this month, it warned that the volume of calls in its remaining nine areas was 30-40% lower than expected, leading to lower income and leaving its whole 111 service "financially unsustainable".

NHS Direct used to be paid more than £20 per call when it ran the old 0845 number. The payment is between £7 and £9 per call for the new 111 service.

Continue reading the main story

NHS Direct's 111 services

• Buckinghamshire
• East London and the City
• South East London
• Sutton and Merton
• West Midlands
• Lancashire and Cumbria
• Greater Manchester
• Merseyside and Cheshire
• Somerset

NHS Direct has already pulled out of contracts for 111 services in Cornwall and North Essex

Projections reported earlier this month showed NHS Direct had lost £2.8m since April and was "heading for a deficit of £26m if we continue to run the same volume of 111 services until the end of this financial year".

The organisation is now seeking a "managed transfer" of its 111 contracts, which have between two and five years left to run, to another provider.

Nick Chapman, the chief executive of NHS Direct, said: "We will continue to provide a safe and reliable NHS 111 service to our patients until alternative arrangements can be made by commissioners.

"Whatever the outcome of the discussions on the future, patients will remain the central focus of our efforts, together with protecting our staff who work on NHS 111 to ensure that the service will continue to benefit from their skills and experience."

Bumpy start

Continue reading the main story

What happens next?

It has been an embarrassing start for the 111 phone line.

MPs labelled the April launch "premature", some services will start around a year late and doctors describe 111 as an "abject disaster".

There have been reports of long waits and question marks around the decisions made by telephone operators.

The Prime Minister and NHS England admit there have been problems introducing the service.

However, NHS 111 is here to stay.

The immediate challenge will be to find someone to take over the nine regional contracts run by NHS Direct.

Ambulance trusts look the most likely to run those services.

NHS bosses say callers should not notice any difference in care while the transition is made.

The whole 111 service was meant to be up and running in April.

However, many areas were not ready and only half of services were operational by May. Some parts of England will not have an operational 111 service until 2014.

There have also been problems with reports of callers not being able to get through and calls being inappropriately referred, leading to an extra strain on ambulances and hospitals.

Dame Barbara Hakin, the deputy chief executive of NHS England, told the BBC: "We've been in discussions with other providers, particularly the ambulance trusts who, with their experience, will be able to, in a properly managed fashion, take over this service from NHS Direct.

"I'm not going to pretend for one minute that we haven't had very significant problems with 111, which we need to deal with, but it's a really great service with potential."

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said the majority of calls were now being answered within a minute and that the government was not shying away from problems introducing 111.

'Failure'

Meanwhile, a Channel 4 undercover investigation at another 111 provider, Harmoni, has reported staff shortages, long waits for callers and some cases of ambulances being called out unnecessarily.

The Dispatches programme, which will air on Monday night, reports one call centre manager saying the service was "unsafe" at weekends because there were too few staff to deal with the calls coming in.

Shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, said it was a "mess of the government's making" which had led to nurses being replaced by computers.

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Dame Barbara Hakin, deputy chief executive, NHS England: "We've been in discussion with other providers to take over this service"

"The government urgently has to step in both in the short term, to ensure the continuity of the service, but secondly, to get more clinicians back in the front line handling calls -because this computer approach just I'm afraid isn't working, and won't relieve pressure on ambulance services and A&Es."

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, from the British Medical Association, said 111 had been an "abject failure".

"The decision by NHS Direct to seek a withdrawal from its contracts to provide NHS 111 reveals worrying flaws not just with the tendering process for NHS 111 contracts, but for how contracts are awarded and monitored throughout the NHS."

He said if the service was to recover it needed to be properly funded and closely integrated with local NHS services.

Dr Nagpaul added: "The government must review its competitive tendering approach and instead look towards an integrated model based on cooperation between local services."

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Wave of deadly car bombs hits Iraq

29 July 2013 Last updated at 08:05 ET

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Footage from across Iraq shows vehicles blown apart, as the BBC's Rami Ruhayem reports

A wave of car bombs has killed at least 51 people in mostly Shia areas of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and in other cities around the country.

More than 200 people were wounded in the attacks, officials said.

More than 2,500 Iraqis have died in attacks since April, the UN says - with violence at its highest since 2008.

The spike comes amid heightened Shia-Sunni tensions. Sunnis say they are being marginalised by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Shia-led government.

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The government is still reeling from a sophisticated jailbreak just over a week ago, when hundreds of prisoners - many of them sentenced to death for involvement in such violence - managed to escape.

The failure of the authorities to prevent the jailbreak and Monday's attacks is opening fissures within the governing coalition and between ministers themselves.

After the jailbreak, there were arguments over whether the blame should fall on the justice ministry or the interior ministry, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had to sack a number of security officials. Monday's attacks are likely to increase popular anger at the government's failures.

The Baghdad bombs, hidden in parked cars, hit markets and car parks in several areas of the city, police say.

The deadliest was said to have hit the eastern Shia district of Sadr City, report say.

A man says he saw vehicles arriving to park shortly before a blast happened in the district of Habibiya, in southern Baghdad.

"We were standing here when a a pick-up truck drove in here and parked there. There were two others cars parking there. Minutes later the car went off," he told the Associated Press news agency.

One bomb also exploded in Mahmudiya to the south of the capital, killing at least two people.

In the city of Kut, south-east of the capital, at least seven people were killed when two car bombs blew up.

There are also reports of a car bomb going off in Basra, the second city.

This could be the bloodiest month in Iraq for years, says BBC Arabic's Haddad Salih in Baghdad, with the number of attacks escalating since the beginning of the month of Ramadan earlier this month.

Although the violence is less deadly than that seen during the heights of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, it is the most widespread since the US military withdrawal in 2011. More than 700 people have been killed in July alone.

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Syria troops 'retake' key Homs area

29 July 2013 Last updated at 08:14 ET

Syrian government forces have fully captured a district that was a key rebel stronghold in the central city of Homs, state media report.

The Sana news agency said the military had "restored security and stability to the neighbourhood of Khalidiya".

Activists reported clashes in Khalidiya on Monday morning, but said that most of the area was under army control.

The announcement comes a month after troops launched an offensive to oust rebels from Syria's third largest city.

Homs has been one of the focuses of a two-year nationwide uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, in which the UN says more than 100,000 people have died.

Correspondents say the capture of Khalidiya would add further impetus to the counter-offensive by government troops and their allies, which saw the nearby town of Qusair fall in June.

'Almost over'

On Monday, an unnamed army officer told Syrian state television: "Today, we can report having complete control of the area of Khalidiya."

"That was a victory of all our fighters and the whole Syrian Army and especially our dear leader, Bashar al-Assad. And God willing, we will get rid of the terrorists in the entire country and the future will be free of killings and under the control of the army."

However, UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cast doubt on the claim.

While the group acknowledged that government forces were in control of most of Khalidiya, it said fighting was continuing on Monday.

"Clashes took place between rebels and regime forces, supported by Hezbollah and National Defence Forces, in the southern parts of the Khalidiya neighbourhood," it said.

"Regime forces are bombarding parts, and military reinforcements are arriving as advancing regime forces try to establish full control."

Opposition activists told the AFP news agency that about 90% of Khalidiya was now controlled by the army. One told the Associated Press that the battle for the district was "almost over".

On Sunday, the Arabic TV station al-Mayadeen, which is seen as close to the Syrian government, broadcast what it said was footage of Khalidiya, showing heavily damaged buildings and piles of rubble.

It also showed pictures of the interior of the historic Khaled bin Walid mosque, a focal point for anti-government protesters. Troops reportedly seized it on Saturday, days after activists accused them of firing shells at the tomb of Khaled bin Walid, a revered figure in Islam.

Only the Old City of Homs and a few other districts are still held by the opposition. On Monday, government jets bombed the Bab Hud district of the Old City, just south of Khalidiya, according to the Syrian Observatory.

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Spain train driver to be questioned

27 July 2013 Last updated at 23:10 ET

The driver of a train that crashed near the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday killing 78 people is due to appear before a judge.

Francisco Jose Garzon Amo has been detained on suspicion of reckless homicide and the judge will decide whether to press formal charges.

Mr Garzon is suspected of driving too fast on a bend.

Reports say the train was travelling at more than double the speed limit at the time of the crash.

Mr Garzon, 52, was pictured being escorted away from the wreckage by police, blood pouring from a head injury. He left hospital on Saturday and was immediately taken to the central police station in Santiago.

He has so far refused to make a statement or answer questions.

Sunday's court hearing will be closed but the judge will decide whether to remand the driver as an official suspect, release him on bail, or free him without charge.

If the judge finds enough evidence for a criminal trial, Mr Garzon will be charged and a date set.

At least 130 people were taken to hospital after the accident and 30 remained in a critical condition on Saturday.

All eight carriages of the train - packed with more than 200 passengers - careered off the tracks into a concrete wall as they sped around the curve on the express route between Madrid and the port city of Ferrol on the Galician coast.

Leaking diesel burst into flames in some of the carriages.

The train's data recording "black box" is with the judge in charge of the investigation. Officials have so far not said how fast the train was going when it derailed.

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• August 2006: Inter-city train derails in Villada, in the province of Palencia, killing six people and injuring dozens more
• July 2006: At least 43 people killed in a metro train crash in the Valencia area
• 1972: Andalusia crash leaves between 76 and 86 people dead.
• 1944: Hundreds believed dead after a crash in Torre del Bierzo, in Leon province - official account gave the figure as 78 killed.

Gonzalo Ferre, president of Spanish rail network administrator Adif, said the driver should have started slowing the train 4km (2.5 miles) before the spot where the accident happened.

The president of Spanish train operator Renfe, Julio Gomez Pomar, has said that the train had no technical problems.

He said the driver had 30 years' experience with the company and had been operating trains on the line for more than a year.

People from several nationalities were among the injured, including five US citizens and one Briton. One American was among the dead.

Some victims have had to be identified using DNA matches due to the extent of their injuries.

PM Mariano Rajoy, who hails from the city of the crash, declared three days of official mourning on Thursday.

The crash was one of the worst rail disasters in Spanish history.

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Brazil beach packed for Pope Francis

28 July 2013 Last updated at 03:02 ET

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The BBC's Julia Carneiro says it was an "historic night" on Copacabana

Up to three million people have packed Brazil's Copacabana Beach to hear Pope Francis address their all-night vigil.

The pilgrims are remaining in place for a Mass to be celebrated there by Francis later on Sunday.

In his address, he urged the pilgrims not to be part-time Christians but to lead full, meaningful lives.

The Pope, who has been attending the biggest ever Catholic World Youth Day, leaves Brazil on Sunday after five days - his first overseas trip as pontiff.

'Overcome apathy'

Speaking on a huge stage at the beach where a mock church structure was built, Pope Francis referred to the street protests which have been taking place in Brazil for more than a month.

"The young people in the street are the ones who want to be actors of change. Please don't let others be actors of change," he told the crowd at the vigil.

"Keep overcoming apathy and offering a Christian response to the social and political concerns taking place in different parts of the world."

By the time the Pope's car had reached the stage, the back seat was filled with football shirts, flags and flowers thrown to him by adoring pilgrims lining the route.

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The BBC's Wyre Davies in Rio says almost every inch of the two-and-a-half mile long beach was occupied as most of the young people stayed on, pitching tents or sleeping in the open.

As the crowd grew, female activists held a demonstration nearby in support of abortion and women's rights.

But our correspondent says the Pope and the Church hierarchy will be delighted at the huge turnout and the way Francis has been received by pilgrims from across the globe.

The Mass will be celebrated at the beach in the early afternoon.

Earlier on Saturday, the Pope addressed civil leaders and government officials at Rio's Municipal Theatre.

"Between selfish indifference and violent protest, there is always another possible option: that of dialogue," he said, in a reference to demonstrations that have been rocking the country since June.

"A country grows when constructive dialogue occurs between its many rich cultural components: popular culture, university culture, youth culture, artistic and technological culture, economic culture, family culture and media culture."

In the past three decades, the Catholic church has lost millions of followers to smaller Christian denominations.

'Go to the favelas'

Also on Saturday, the Pope repeated his challenge to fellow Roman Catholic clerics to take to the streets.

In a speech to 1,000 bishops and clerics in Rio's cathedral, he said they should go to the favelas - Brazil's shanty towns.

"We cannot keep ourselves shut up in parishes, in our communities, when so many people are waiting for the Gospel," he told the audience.

Protests, sometimes violent, broke out in cities across Brazil last month against corruption, poor public services and the high cost of events like the 2014 World Cup.

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Theresa May diagnosed with diabetes

28 July 2013 Last updated at 05:52 ET

Home Secretary Theresa May has revealed she has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes but insists it will not affect her political career.

The condition means her body does not produce insulin and she must now inject herself with the hormone at least twice a day for the rest of her life.

She told the Mail on Sunday that the diagnosis "was a real shock" and had taken a while to come to terms with.

But it was a case of "head down and getting on with it", Mrs May added.

'Blood test'

She said: "The diabetes doesn't affect how I do the job or what I do. It's just part of life.

"'It started last November. I'd had a bad cold and cough for quite a few weeks. I went to my GP and she did a blood test which showed I'd got a very high sugar level - that's what revealed the diabetes.

"The symptoms are tiredness, drinking a lot of water, losing weight, but it's difficult to isolate things. I was drinking a lot of water. But I do anyway.

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• People with Type 1 diabetes cannot produce insulin. No-one knows exactly what causes it, but it is not to do with being overweight and it is not currently preventable. It usually affects children or young adults, starting suddenly and getting worse quickly. Type 1 diabetes is treated by daily insulin doses, a healthy diet and regular physical activity.
• People with Type 2 diabetes do not produce enough insulin or the insulin they produce does not work properly (known as insulin resistance). They might get diabetes because of their family history, age and ethnic background. They are also more likely to get Type 2 diabetes if they are overweight. Type 2 diabetes is treated with a healthy diet and increased physical activity.

"There was weight loss but then I was already making an effort to be careful about diet and to get my gym sessions in.

"Tiredness - speak to any politician and they will tell you the hours they work. Tiredness can be part of the job. It is full on."

Initially doctors thought Mrs May had Type 2 diabetes but two months ago it was revealed to be Type 1 diabetes.

There had been media speculation that Mrs May losing two stones in weight over 18 months was linked to a potential Conservative Party leadership bid, but she said this had been partly down to the illness.

Asked if her diagnosis would prevent her from one day replacing David Cameron, she told the newspaper: "There is no leadership bid. We have a first-class prime minister and long may he continue."

She added: "It doesn't and will not affect my ability to do my work. I'm a little more careful about what I eat and there's obviously the injections, but this is something millions of people have. I'm OK with needles, fortunately.

"There's a great quote from Steve Redgrave who was diagnosed with diabetes before he won his last Olympic gold medal. He said diabetes must learn to live with me rather than me live with diabetes. That's the attitude."

Meanwhile, the Labour MP Keith Vaz, who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2007, has said it is a "shock to be told" you have the condition.

Writing on Twitter, he said "Mine came 6 years ago. Theresa May right to reveal. 500k have it and don't know. Take the test."

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Egypt protesters defy removal threat

28 July 2013 Last updated at 07:19 ET

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Jim Muir: "It's hard to see how this area can be cleared without further bloodshed"

Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi have defied threats of removal from their sit-in protest in Cairo, despite the deaths of dozens in clashes with security forces.

Speakers from the pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood addressed protesters overnight, saying they would not back down from their demands.

They want Mr Morsi - removed from power by the army on 3 July - reinstated.

But the interior minister has warned them they will "soon" be dispersed.

Meanwhile, the US has expressed deep concern at the bloodshed - the worst since Mr Morsi's ousting.

US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the violence and called on the Egyptian authorities to "respect the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression".

Passionate speeches

Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad el-Haddad told the BBC that "hundreds and thousands of men, women and children" were engaged in the peaceful protest around the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque.

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People waking up at Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque this morning remain determined. The mood has been calm since the early hours as many here are approaching their fifth week at the sit-in. Since the beginning they have been saying they will not leave until the ousted President Mohammed Morsi returns.

After Saturday's violence there is an even stronger sense that people here are willing to die for their cause. One man told us he would continue to face the police, ready to be shot. Another man who has been sleeping outside the mosque since 3 July said that, for him, death would be better than living with "police oppression".

The protesters have not been discouraged by the many deaths of Saturday morning - rather they are more convinced of their cause. We met one family of seven sisters and their children leaving the camp to take showers at home in their village north of Cairo. They will come back, ready to carry on their fight.

He said: "Regardless of what happens to the president, we will continue our protest. Our numbers are increasing every day. Citizens are recognising the tyranny and the long-term danger of the military coup".

The BBC's Yasmine Abu Khadra, at the scene in Cairo, says it is now quiet there, although the camp has set up its own tight security, with barricades built.

Overnight Muslim Brotherhood leaders delivered passionate speeches to raise the morale of the crowd, our correspondent adds.

Their message was that security forces had carried out the killing on Saturday because they felt threatened by the sit-in. The speakers said the crowd should not be afraid as the protest was for a just cause.

The health ministry puts the death toll from the clashes on Saturday at 78, although doctors estimated that more than 100 people were killed.

Mr Haddad said three types of groups were to blame - "badly dressed thugs, police in three types of uniform and plain-clothed police".

He said the protesters would continue to demand Mr Morsi's reinstatement, adding: "It may take weeks, months, more than a year - we will still hold our ground."

Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim told the supporters to "come to their senses" and go home.

He said lawsuits filed by residents near a mosque provided legal cover for the clearance.

The government has denied that security forces fired live rounds on Saturday, saying only tear gas was used.

But the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Cairo says this appears to be untrue given the severity and number of injuries.

Two leading figures who backed the army's removal of Mr Morsi have condemned the killings.

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar mosque - the highest Sunni Muslim authority in Egypt - has called for an investigation, while the vice-president of the interim government, Mohamed ElBaradei, said that excessive force had been used.

Saturday's clashes appear to have begun after some of the Morsi supporters tried to extend the barricades around their protest site, and the security forces responded.

Medics at a nearby field hospital told the BBC they believed about 70% of the casualties were caused by live fire - with many of the victims hit in the chest or head by snipers firing from rooftops.

As confrontations were unfolding in Cairo, security forces killed 10 militants in the Sinai peninsula in 48 hours, state-run Mena news agency said.

Militants have stepped up deadly attacks in the Sinai in recent weeks.

'Premeditated murder'

The army removed Mr Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, after mass protests against his rule. Last week it called on supporters to take to the streets to give its action a mandate.

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Dr Hesham Ibrahim says Saturday's scenes at the field hospital were like "hell"

Tens of thousands responded by flooding to Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday night.

Mr Morsi has been formally remanded in custody at an undisclosed location for an initial 15-day period, according to a judicial order.

He has been accused of the "premeditated murder of some prisoners, officers and soldiers" when he and several Muslim Brotherhood leaders were freed during a breakout at a Cairo prison in January 2011.

He is alleged to have plotted attacks on jails in the uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Morsi is also accused of conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and has strong links with the Muslim Brotherhood.

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