London 2012 Olympics: Team GB aims to top Beijing golds

Team GB are hoping to secure the two gold medals which will allow them to surpass the tally of 19 won in Beijing.

Sir Chris Hoy is going for a GB record sixth Olympic gold - other GB cyclists after gold on the last day at the velodrome include Victoria Pendleton.
Hopes are also high in the dressage equestrian event and men's triathlon.
Meanwhile, PM David Cameron has attended an event to mark the 40th anniversary of the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes killed at the Munich Games.
He said the world must "never forget" the 11 Israelis and one German police officer killed by the Black September Palestinian group in 1972.
"As the world comes together in London to celebrate the Games and the values it represents, it is right that we should stop and remember the 11 Israeli athletes who so tragically lost their lives when those values came under attack in Munich 40 years ago," he said.
Mr Cameron said the 7 July London bombings, which killed 52 on London's public transport system in 2005, meant the two countries shared "the same determination to fight terrorism and to ensure that these evil deeds will never win".

 

Israeli judo Olympic silver medallist Yael Arad lit one of 11 candles representing the victims of the attack

Ankie Spitzer and Ilana Romano - the widows of two of the killed team-mates - were at the commemoration at London's Guildhall, which was also addressed by Labour leader Ed Miliband, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge.
The women criticised Mr Rogge for ruling out holding a moment of silence at the opening ceremony.
Before the Games, he said the IOC was determined "to continue commemorating" the Israeli athletes - but believed the opening ceremony was not the right place to do it.
On Tuesday Team GB's sportsmen and women will hope to add to medals won on Monday which included:

• Team GB showjumpers - Nick Skelton, Ben Maher, Scott Brash and Peter Charles - won Great Britain's first showjumping gold since the 1952 Helsinki Games after a jump-off with the Netherlands
• Cyclist Jason Kenny won gold by outclassing world champion Gregory Bauge in the final of the men's sprint
• The most decorated GB gymnast in history, Beth Tweddle, 27, won bronze in the uneven bars final - her first Olympic medal in her final Games
• Great Britain's Perri Shakes-Drayton lost her place in the 400m hurdles final after a disqualified Czech athlete was reinstated on appeal
• Holly Bleasdale - disappointed to finish sixth in Monday's pole vault final - accepted a proposal of marriage from boyfriend Paul Bradshaw later in the day
• Alex Morgan sealed a place in the Olympic women's football final for holders USA in the last minute of extra-time as they beat Canada 4-3 at Old Trafford
• The Dominican Republic's Felix Sanchez was a surprise winner in the 400m hurdles - repeating his gold medal win in Athens 2004 with the same time of 47.63 seconds - while Britain's Dai Greene finished fourth

Also on Monday, two spectators dressed in full wrestling attire with Swedish flags painted on their faces, jumped from the stands on to the floor of the ExCeL Centre.

The pair, who breached security after their countryman Johan Euren claimed bronze in the Greco-Roman super-heavyweight category, were escorted away by stewards.

Team GB, hoping to pass the 19 golds achieved in Beijing in 2008, stand third in the London 2012 medal table - behind China and the US - with 18 gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze.
At the Velodrome on Tuesday, Sir Chris and Pendleton will go for their second gold medals of the Games, in the keirin and the sprint respectively.
Fellow cyclist Laura Trott is going for gold in the omnium event while brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee are strong contenders in the triathlon at Hyde Park.
And Britain's dressage team of Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte Dujardin hold a narrow lead over Germany going into Tuesday's final round of the team event.
Other Team GB medal hopefuls include Robbie Grabarz, in the men's high jump final, and in windsurfing Nick Dempsey and Bryony Shaw are hoping for silver and bronze respectively.
Meanwhile, two Met Police officers are facing possible disciplinary action after a sticker used for marketing purposes - reading "I've met the Met" - was allegedly stuck onto a police van from a visiting force from Wales.

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Argentina war cemetery vandalised in Falklands

 

The figure of the Virgin Mary was removed until the shrine was repaired

The Argentine war cemetery in the Falklands, where the bodies of more than 200 soldiers are buried, has been vandalised.

The glass that protects a figure of the Virgin Mary at the cemetery has been smashed and shattered.
The Falkland Islands government has condemned the action and has said the police are investigating.
Families of the Argentine war dead have described the attack as an "act of sacrilege".
The Virgin figure has been removed until the shrine is repaired.
Falklands legislator Dick Sawle appealed for anyone on the islands with any information to contact the police.
"Clearly we condemn any action of this sort and very much regret that this might have happened," he said in a statement.

The commission representing the relatives of Argentina's fallen in the 1982 conflict sent a note to the British ambassador in Buenos Aires, John Freeman, and Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman.
"We believe this act reflects escalating hostility by certain British sectors who are influential locally," the note said.
The cemetery, which lies on a hilltop near Darwin, was the renewed focus of attention earlier this year when ceremonies were held to mark the 30th anniversary of the war.
Two hundred and fifty-five UK servicemen and three Falklands civilians died in the war.
An estimated 650 Argentines were also killed.
Argentina claims sovereignty of the islands which it calls the Malvinas, accusing Britain of colonialism.
Britain says Argentina should respect the wishes of the local population.
"As long as they wish to remain a British territory, that is the way it will stay," Prime Minister David Cameron said earlier this year.

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Olympic female badminton players face charges

The Badminton World Federation has charged eight female Olympic doubles players with "not using one's best efforts to win a match".

Four pairs of players - two from South Korea, one from China and one from Indonesia - could be disciplined.
Meanwhile, Team GB's gold medal hopes on day five of the Games lie mainly with rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, and cyclist Bradley Wiggins.
And America's Michael Phelps has won a record 19th Olympic medal.
Spectators booed the two badminton matches played at Wembley Arena on Tuesday, in which the four accused pairs of players were appearing.
China's Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli and South Koreans Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na are among those facing charges.
The longest rally in their game lasted four shots, with match referee Thorsten Berg coming on to court at one point to warn the players. The players also appeared to deliberately serve into the net and hit the shuttlecock out of the court.
Both pairs were already through to the quarter-finals. Reports have suggested they both wanted to lose to secure an easier draw.

The unseeded South Koreans eventually won their match, meaning they would next play China's Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei.

The South Korean pair did not comment, but Yu said she and Wang were saving energy for the knockout stages.
And a later match between South Korean third seeds Ha Jung-Eun and Kim Min-Jung and Indonesian pair Meiliana Juahari and Greysia Polii is also under scrutiny by the Badminton World Federation.
Both pairs of those teams had also already qualified for the knockout stages, with the winner of Group C to play Yu and Wang and the Korean pairs to face each other if Ha and Kim lost.
At one point the referee, Berg, again intervened and brandished a black card to disqualify the players. However, he then rescinded his decision following protests from the two teams.
Both teams appeared keen to lose and therefore not play the Chinese in the next round, but the Koreans eventually won by two sets to one.
A statement from the BWF confirmed that all four pairs would face charges of "not using one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport".

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Leveson Inquiry: Media vilified me, Christopher Jefferies says

The landlord wrongly arrested over Joanna Yeates's murder has told the inquiry into media ethics that the media had "shamelessly vilified" him.

Christopher Jefferies' statement to the Leveson Inquiry told of a "frenzied campaign to blacken his character".
He said the tabloid press had decided he was guilty of the murder, which happened in Bristol in December 2010.
Some headlines over which Mr Jefferies successfully sued included "The Strange Mr Jefferies: Creepy".
In other evidence on Monday, ex-Army intelligence officer Ian Hurst told the inquiry his emails had been illegally accessed by a private investigator working for the News of the World (NoW).
Earlier, Robert Jay QC read a statement by Mr Jefferies to the inquiry, which is being held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
"The national media shamelessly vilified me. The UK press set about what can only be described as a witch hunt," it said.
"It was clear that the tabloid press had decided that I was guilty of Miss Yeates's murder and seemed determined to persuade the public of my guilt.
"They embarked on a frenzied campaign to blacken my character by publishing a series of very serious allegations about me which were completely untrue.
"Allegations which were a mixture of smear, innuendo and complete fiction."
Former teacher Mr Jefferies described how his reputation was left in tatters after police wrongly arrested him over the murder of landscape architect Miss Yeates.

Dutch engineer Vincent Tabak was convicted of her murder last month.

Miss Yeates, 25, was strangled in her Clifton flat by Tabak, her 33-year-old neighbour, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Her body was found at the roadside on Christmas Day, eight days after she had been reported missing.
Mr Jefferies said he had been "besieged" by the press after his release and had stayed with friends as he had been "very strongly advised" not to go out.
"If it had been apparent where I was staying, those friends would have been besieged by reporters and photographers," he said.
He said he had been "effectively under house arrest" for a period as if he was a "recusant priest at the time of the Reformation going from safe house to safe house".
He also said it had been suggested there was some sort of sexual motive for the murder of Miss Yeates and that he was gay.
'House arrest' "That created a bit of a problem as far as that line goes," he explained.
"There was another suggestion that I was a bisexual. The press were trying to have it every possible way."
The inquiry heard about a Daily Mirror article headlined "Jo Suspect Is Peeping Tom" and another asking "Was Jo's body hidden next to her flat?".

Ian Hurst secretly filmed the private investigator he claims illegally accessed emails on his computer

Mr Jefferies said the coverage had been "as sensational, as exploitative, as titillating to appeal in every possible way to people's voyeuristic instincts".
Later, former Army intelligence officer Ian Hurst discussed a BBC Panorama programme in which he was shown emails he alleges were hacked from his computer on behalf of the News of the World.
He was told that the paper had employed a private detective, who in turn employed a "specialist hacker" who had worked with Mr Hurst in the intelligence services for three years.
Mr Hurst said his computer had been hacked by a "Trojan horse" - a programme in which harmful code is contained inside apparently harmless data and allows a third party access to email exchanges.
Documents seized in 2007 by the police show the security on his computer had been compromised, but the Metropolitan Police did not tell M Hurst until October 2011.
Mr Hurst said Mr X, who was secretly film by the former intelligence officer, told him he had been targeted because of his work in Northern Ireland.
Blogger summoned Meanwhile, Lord Justice Leveson has summoned political blogger Paul Staines to appear before the inquiry.
Mr Staines, who runs the Order-Order political website under the name Guido Fawkes, supposedly published confidential evidence online.
It included a link to papers submitted to lawyers by former Downing Street communications chief Alastair Campbell. Mr Staines claims to have obtained the papers legally.
Mr Staines is due to give evidence to the inquiry later this week over the documents he published relating to Mr Campbell.
Singer Charlotte Church has started to give evidence and is likely to describe how a NoW story about her father having an affair almost led to her mother's suicide.
The inquiry has already heard that Ms Church has experienced journalists installing secret cameras in bushes and photographers trying to take pictures up her skirt.
Prime Minister David Cameron set up the Leveson Inquiry in July after it emerged that the NoW had hacked murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone after she had disappeared. The paper was shut down within weeks.

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Ken Russell, Women In Love director, dies at 84

Film director Ken Russell, who was Oscar-nominated for his 1969 film Women In Love, has died at the age of 84.

His son, Alex Verney-Elliott, said he died in hospital on Sunday following a series of strokes.
During his career, he became known for his controversial films including Women In Love, which featured Oliver Reed and Alan Bates wrestling nude.
He also directed the infamous religious drama The Devils and The Who's rock opera, Tommy, in 1975.
"My father died peacefully, he died with a smile on his face," Mr Verney-Elliott said.

Russell's widow, Elize, said she was "devastated" by her husband's death, which had been "completely unexpected".

She said the director had recently agreed to direct a musical feature film of Alice In Wonderland and had been working on the script and casting.
"He also had just completed an article for The Times on a review of the re-release of his film The Devils, so he was keeping himself very busy," she added.
Glenda Jackson, who gave an Oscar-winning performance in Women In Love and starred in a number of Russell's other films including Music Lovers, told the BBC it was "just wonderful to work with him and to work with him as often as I did".
"He created the kind of climate in which actors could do their job and I loved him dearly."
Jackson added that she believed the director had been overlooked by the British film industry, saying it was "a great shame".
"It was almost as if he never existed - I find it utterly scandalous for someone who was so innovative and a film director of international stature," she said.
'Creative force' Joely Richardson, who starred opposite Sean Bean in Russell's 1993 BBC TV series Lady Chatterley, said: "I will forever feel privileged and honoured to have worked with the great Ken Russell.
"More than that, I was extremely fond of the man himself."
Film-maker Michael Winner hailed Russell's "duplicity of mind", adding he had made an "enormous contribution" to British cinema.
"He pushed the barriers completely and got away with it sometimes and didn't others, but he made some startling movies," said.
"He had an eye for the composition of each image on the screen - a great eye for imagery and then, of course, he had a great idea for the grotesque."

Film-maker Michael Winner pays tribute to the director Ken Russell

Lord Melvyn Bragg, who first worked as Russell's assistant in 1963 on BBC programme Monitor, said he was "an exceptional man".
"He was a glorious director at his best, his best films will be remembered. He was a tremendous ornament to the rather supine British film industry and he was the glory of the television arts industry," he said.
Friend and cultural commentator Norman Lebrecht said: "Among many achievements that spring to mind, he made British cinema less insular and self-referential.
"He was also a leading creative force in the history of British television. He will be widely mourned."
Russell later returned to more small budget, but no less flamboyant fare, including Crimes of Passion, Gothic, Salome's Last Dance and the cult horror-comedy The Lair of the White Worm, starring Hugh Grant.
The director also made an adaptation of DH Lawrence's The Rainbow followed by the gritty film, Whore, and even tried his hand at music videos, making Nikita for Sir Elton John.
Many of Russell's later films were dismissed as too eclectic and by the 1990s he found it almost impossible to get funding for his work.
He returned to the public eye in 2007, when he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother.
He lasted just four days before quitting the show after a disagreement with fellow contestant, the late Jade Goody.

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Occupy Wall Street: New York police clearing protest

Police in New York have launched a pre-dawn operation to clear the Occupy Wall Street camp in Zuccotti Park.

The city mayor's office said on Twitter that the protesters should "temporarily leave and remove tents and tarps" but could return once the park was clear.
Occupy Wall Street was set up in September to protests against economic inequality and had been followed by dozens of protests around the world.
A camp in Oakland, California was cleared overnight on Monday.
The New York Times said that as the operation in Zuccotti Park began at about 01:00 (06:00 GMT), police gave an announcement, saying: "The city has determined that the continued occupation of Zuccotti Park poses an increasing health and fire safety hazard."
Leaflets were also handed out saying protesters would be allowed to return once the clearance had taken place, but not to bring camping equipment.
Occupants were told to "immediately remove all private property" and that they would be arrested if they interfered with the operation, said the notice. Any belongings left behind would be put into storage.
The BBC's Laura Trevelyan on the edge of the park says riot police are blocking entrances but that while protesters are frustrated the scene is calm outside the camp.
However, the overnight action clearly took the camp by surprise, our correspondent says.
Protesters were discussing regrouping in nearby Foley Park in lower Manhattan and believe the manner of the clearance will only amplify their message, our correspondent adds.
The protesters' live web stream from the park showed crowds chanting "all day, all week, Occupy Wall Street" and "the whole world is watching" as police moved into the camp, close to New York's financial district.
"The police are forming a human shield, and are pushing everyone away," protester Rabbi Chaim Gruber told AP.
They released a statement saying: "Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park), home of Occupy Wall Street for the past two months and birthplace of the 99% movement that has spread across the country and around the world, is presently being evicted by a large police force."
Police spokesman Paul Browne said most people had begun leaving the park once the order to vacate was given but that a small group of people were refusing the leave.
He said the park was not heavily populated at the time, the Associated Press reports. At least one person was arrested for disorderly conduct.
The city authorities and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have come under pressure from local businesses to shut down the camp, which has numbered about 200 occupants as it nears its two-month anniversary.
The ban on camping equipment will effectively put an end to people sleeping in the park, says our correspondent.
Camp deaths The Occupy movement, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings and economic protest camps in Spain, is calling for a more equal distribution of wealth.

 

Officials said the Oakland camp was cleared amid fears of violence

Organisers in the US say most of the country's money is held by the richest 1% of the population and that they represent the other 99%.
They have received widespread support, including from many authority figures, but there have been concerns about safety and hygiene, while critics of the movement say it has failed to suggest a viable alternative economic system.
The New York action comes after police arrested 33 people in Oakland, California as they raided the protest camp in Frank Ogawa Plaza early on Monday morning.
The camp had been marred by recent outbreaks of violence in and around it, including a fatal shooting last week. However, camp residents had said the killing was unconnected to their protest.
Police had declared the plaza a "crime scene" shortly they entered.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said she had to act after "repeated violence and this week a murder".
"We had to bring the camp to an end before someone else got hurt."
Oakland police had said they sympathised with the protesters' cause, but urged them to "leave peacefully, with your heads held high, so we can get police officers back to work fighting crime in Oakland neighbourhoods".
A similar raid ended with police in riot gear arresting 50 people in Portland, Oregon on Sunday evening.
Police in a Vermont city have also evicted protesters after a man fatally shot himself last week inside a tent.
A number of other US cities have seen protests camps spring up in the past two months, and the Occupy movement has also spread to Europe, South America and Asia.

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Euro crisis 'opportunity for UK' to reclaim powers - PM

 

The current turmoil in Europe is an opportunity for the UK to "refashion" its relationship with Brussels, David Cameron has said.

In a speech in London, the prime minister argued powers should "ebb back" from Brussels to Westminster as part of "fundamental" future reform.
Although the EU is "out of touch" on many issues, he said it is not in the UK's national interest to exit.
The PM is under pressure from many of his MPs to renegotiate UK membership.
Some Conservatives want to go further and leave the EU altogether.
The prime minister's authority was directly challenged last month when 81 Tory MPs defied the leadership and voted for a referendum on the UK's continued place in the EU.
'Outward looking' Mr Cameron used a major foreign policy speech in the City of London to argue that the eurozone financial crisis has challenged longstanding assumptions about how the EU should evolve and its 27 members must now ask what kind of union they want in the future.

Claiming that the EU is too often seen as an "abstract end in itself" and detached from economic reality, he outlined his vision for a more "outward looking", "flexible" and "diverse" union which puts advancing its citizens living standards above all else.

"We have a right to ask what the European Union should and should not do and change it accordingly," he said.
"As I said, change brings opportunities. An opportunity to begin to refashion the EU so it better serves this nation's interests and the interests of its other 26 nations.
"An opportunity, in Britain's case, for powers to ebb back instead of flow away and for the European Union to focus on what really matters to underpin prosperity, stability and growth.
"That is the kind of fundamental reform I yearn for."
Staying inside Mr Cameron has been urged to spell out what powers he wants to claw back from Brussels and when negotiations on this might begin but he has appeared to rule out such a possibility in the short term and his Lib Dem coalition partners are wary of such a step.
But Tory MPs have said negotiations on amending EU treaties to allow for closer fiscal integration among eurozone members could start as early as next month and the UK must be prepared for this.
In his speech, the prime minister warned that Europe is "slipping behind" other economic powers and that unless it becomes more competitive, it will remain a "continent in trouble".
But he insisted that the UK's future remains within the EU, not outside it.
"Leaving the EU is not in our national interest," he will argue. "Outside, we would end up like Norway, subject to every rule for the single market made in Brussels but unable to shape those rules.
"Believe me, if we weren't in there helping write the rules they would be written without us - the biggest supporter of open markets and free trade - and we would not like the outcome."
'We sceptics' The BBC's political correspondent Robin Brant said this was a strong message about what the PM saw as the limits of ever-closer union with Mr Cameron referring at one point to "we sceptics".
Labour indicated earlier on Monday it was prepared to consider the case for "rebalancing" the division of powers between the UK and Europe but said this should not be a priority amid continuing efforts to stabilize the euro and the need to secure the future of the single market.

Shadow Treasury minister Chris Leslie said despite Mr Cameron's rhetoric, the government had actually been "sitting on the sidelines" in crucial debates about Europe's future.
In a wide-ranging address, the prime minister also defended the UK's intervention in Libya and said the new Libyan authorities had found evidence of chemical weapons hidden by the Gaddafi regime.
He also revealed that the UK plans to host an international conference on Somalia next year, saying it is a "failed state that directly threatens British interests".
The event will look at ways of dealing with piracy off the coast of Somalia, protecting ships in the Gulf of Aden, challenging extremist groups in Somalia and the risk of UK citizens being radicalised there.

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Armed forces cuts prompt defence committee concerns

Cuts to the UK's armed forces may leave them unable to fulfil required tasks after 2015, a report by MPs has warned.

The Commons defence committee rejected the prime minister's assurance of a "full spectrum" defence capability.
The committee warned that without firm commitments to improved funding in the very near future, politicians risked "failing" the country's military.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the idea that the military was not being funded for its role was "not true".
'Wish list' Last year's strategic defence and security review (SDSR) outlined the future shape and size of the UK's armed forces.
It said Army numbers were to be reduced by 7,000, and the Royal Navy and RAF by 5,000 each.
And it saw the cancellation of equipment including Nimrod MRA4 reconnaissance planes and the early withdrawal of HMS Ark Royal and Harrier jump-jets.
The committee said the National Security Strategy, also unveiled last autumn, was in danger of becoming no more than a "wish list" unless the necessary money was committed to deliver the future armed forces envisaged for 2020 and beyond.
Last month it was announced that spending on equipment would increase by 1% above inflation each year after 2015, to pave the way for the so-called Future Force 2020.
However, the committee said it was "not convinced that, given the current financial climate and the drawdown of capabilities arising from the SDSR, UK armed forces will be able do what is asked of them after 2015".

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Defence Secretary Liam Fox says the government plans to ''reshape and rebalance'' the armed forces

It noted "mounting concern" that the military was falling below the minimum capacity needed to fulfil current commitments, let alone tasks it may face between 2015 and 2020, when ministers acknowledge there will be "capability gaps".
And it said plans to increase funding after 2015 were merely "government aspiration, not government policy".
The committee urged the government to outline its plans to manage the gap left by the loss of certain capabilities, and lay out detailed plans for their regeneration.
Committee chairman James Arbuthnot said: "If the ambition of a real-term funding increase is not realised, we will have failed our armed forces."
He warned that failure to maintain spending on the armed forces put the UK's influence in the world at risk.
"The government appears to believe that the UK can maintain its influence while reducing spending in defence and at the Foreign Office," said Mr Arbuthnot.

He said MPs on the committee "do not agree" with this.

'Real budgets' But Mr Fox rejected the accusation that the UK risked failing its military.
The defence secretary said: "We have set out real plans with real budgets, quite different from the previous government, and that will enable us to continue to invest in the defence capabilities we require in the years ahead.
"When we have asked the military to do more, for example in Libya, excess funding is available and we are able to take that from the Treasury Reserve.
"That does not come from the core MoD budget. And so the idea that we are asking the military to do things without funding simply isn't true."
However, shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said the report was "damning".
"The rushed defence review has been much criticised, but now those who were disappointed will be dismayed and the anxious will be angry," he said.
"The capability gaps and budgetary black hole left by the rushed defence review have limited Britain's reach in the world."
'Rightly assessed' The UK's most senior military officer, Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir David Richards, said "some tough decisions" had to be taken and the UK "will remain a formidable fighting force on the world stage".

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General Sir Nick Houghton said it was ''necessary to cut one's cloth...so that we do not overstretch ourselves''

"We are continually working with our international allies to share operational requirements," he said, which are "measures we rightly assessed in the SDSR could be relied upon to mitigate capability gaps".
General Sir Nick Houghton, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, said the report was "quite well balanced and quite constructive," adding that he did not feel there had been "scathing criticisms".
He said there had simply been "quite a lot of serious constructive counsel" in the report.
And, when asked about concerns that the UK's stature would diminish as a result of the cuts, he said: "We will remain the fourth biggest defence spending country."
In May, senior military figures voiced fears of the impact the SDSR would have on the UK's standing.
The heads of the Army, Royal Navy and RAF told the Commons defence committee that the UK could no longer aspire to the "full spectrum" of military capabilities in its wake.

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Organ donated 'nudge' for drivers in new DVLA process

Drivers will have to state whether they want to be an organ donor when they apply for a new or replacement licence.

The move has been put forward by the government's "nudge unit", which has been set up to encourage changes in behaviour through gentle persuasion.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency already asks if applicants want to be donors - but from Monday an online form will require that the answer is stated.
Ministers hope it will help improve organ donation rates.
Less than a third of people are signed up to be organ donors - despite research suggesting that nine in 10 would he happy to be one.
Debate The situation has prompted much debate in recent years about how best to improve rates.
Some have called for presumed consent, where it is assumed an individual wishes to be a donor unless he or she has opted out by registering their objection.

The government has so far rejected presumed consent and instead the Cabinet Office's behavioural insight team has suggested the driving licence idea as part of its "nudge" drive.

The DVLA's existing scheme is already responsible for about half of the 1m new donor registrations each year.
As well as becoming compulsory to answer the question, the section will be moved from the end to the start of the DVLA process, so when applicants from England, Wales and Scotland apply for new or replacement licences they will have to say whether they want to become an organ donor or not.
When a similar scheme was introduced in the US state of Illinois, donor registration jumped from 38% to 60%.
Public health minister Anne Milton said the move was aimed at encouraging people to discuss the issue more and make it easier for them to sign up.
"Being an organ donor is a truly selfless act and a life-saving gift to someone in need," she added.

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NHS funds moved to richer areas, Labour says

Labour is accusing the government of moving NHS spending in England away from poorer areas towards richer parts of the country.

It says this is because of changes to the funding for primary care trusts.
For years, areas which have higher incidences of poor health have been given a higher per-capita funding but this weighting is set to be reduced.
But the government said Labour would have devoted fewer overall resources to the NHS if it had been elected.
Labour says the changes mean less well-off areas such as Manchester and Tower Hamlets in east London will lose out in the allocation of health funding, while more prosperous parts of the country - such as Surrey and Hampshire - will benefit.
This was based on an assessment of funding changes made by public health bodies in Manchester.
The government said the changes were based on independent advice and Labour's figures were misleading.
It said NHS spending was going up in real terms in the coming year across England as a whole, a pledge which Labour would not match.
The Department of Health said the primary care budgets in Surrey and Tower Hamlets would, in fact, increase this year by a similar amount.
It added that a greater emphasis on the prevention of illness in future would assist those living in poorer parts of England.

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Gamer Chris Staniforth's death blamed on DVT

A man whose son died after playing video games for long periods is campaigning for greater awareness of the risk posed by their excessive use.

Chris Staniforth, 20, who would play his console for up to 12 hours, died in May from deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
His father David believes the condition may have been triggered by long gaming sessions.
DVT can form during long periods of immobility and can kill if the clots travel to the lungs.
Computer records showed his son would sometimes play online on his Xbox for periods up to 12 hours.
The coroner said a clot formed in Chris' left calf before moving to his lungs.
Once there, it caused a fatal blockage, known as a pulmonary embolism.
Mr Staniforth said: "After my research I saw there was no difference to Chris sitting at a desk on his Xbox and someone on a long-haul flight.
"Sitting still is literally the danger zone. Chris loved to play and would stay up all night.
"Millions of people worldwide are playing these games for hours, and there is a risk."
While Mr Staniforth has no problem with games consoles, he wants to highlight the heightened risk of DVT associated with being immobile, and is in the process of setting up a website.
In a statement, Microsoft, who manufacture the Xbox console, said: 'We have always encouraged responsible game play through our education campaigns such as Play Smart, Play Safe.
"We recommend that gamers take periodic breaks to exercise as well as make time for other pursuits."

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David Staniforth calls for greater awareness of DVT after the death of his son, Chris

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Libya taunts UK over rebel leader death

Libya's regime has taunted the UK over the death of rebel military commander Gen Abdel Fattah Younes.

He was killed this week in mysterious circumstances.
A spokesman suggested the incident showed the UK government had made a mistake by recognising the rebel council as the sole authority in Libya.
There have been claims that Gen Younes, a former minister in Col Gaddafi's government, was shot by fellow rebels or by al-Qaeda.
On Wednesday, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK would recognise the Libyan National Transitional Council as the "sole governmental authority", as it expelled Gaddafi-regime diplomats.
Rebel leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said Gen Younes and two aides had been killed by gunmen after being recalled from the front.
He said the ringleader of the attack had been held but he gave no details about his identity or a motive.
Hundreds of mourners carried a coffin containing the general's body into Benghazi's main square on Friday.
Col Gaddafi's government in Tripoli said the killing was proof that the rebels were not capable of ruling Libya.
'Nice slap to face' Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said: "It is a nice slap to the face of the British that the council that they recognised could not protect its own commander of the army."
Mr Ibrahim also said Gen Younes was killed by al-Qaeda, repeating a claim that the group is the strongest force within the rebel movement, which is based in the east of the country.
"By this act, al-Qaeda wanted to mark out its presence and its influence in this region," he said.
"The other members of the (rebel) National Transitional Council knew about it but could not react because they are terrified of al-Qaeda," he added.
The general - a former interior minister who had served at the heart of Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime since the 1969 coup - joined the rebels at the beginning of the Libyan uprising in February.
On Wednesday, the Libyan charge d'affaires in the UK was called to the Foreign Office to be told he and other diplomats must leave.
Instead the UK will ask the National Transitional Council to appoint a new diplomatic envoy.
It follows similar moves by the US and France. The UK previously said it recognised "countries not governments".

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National Museum of Scotland to reopen after £47m refit

BBC Scotland has a look around the refurbished National Museum of Scotland before its opening to the public

Crowds are expected to flock to the newly-refurbished Victorian part of the National Museum of Scotland as it reopens following a £47.4m refit.

Sixteen new galleries take visitors on a journey through the wonders of nature, the cultures of the world and through to science and discovery.
More than 8,000 objects will be on display in the new area, 80% for the first time in generations.
The newly refurbished museum opens its doors in Edinburgh on Friday.
The three-year programme has seen the original interior restored and storage areas turned into public space, making it one of the UK's largest museums.
It means the whole museum, situated in Chambers Street in the Old Town, will have 20,000 objects across 36 galleries.
Exhibits range from a life-sized skeleton cast of a Tyrannosaurus rex to specimens collected by Charles Darwin and 3,000-year-old mummies.

Staff at the National Museum of Scotland rebuild Tyrannosaurus rex following a three year refurbishment

The project has been jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Scottish government and private donations.
Sir Angus Grossart, chairman of the National Museums Scotland's board of trustees, said: "The reopening of the National Museum of Scotland, on time and within budget is a tremendous achievement as importantly it allows us to liberate the strengths of our great collections and mobilise their great potential for dynamic development.
"Our collections tell great stories about the world, how Scots saw that world, and the disproportionate impact they had upon it.
"The intellectual and collecting impact of the Scottish diaspora has been profound.
"It is an inspiring story which has captured the imagination of our many supporters who have helped us achieve our aspirations and to whom we are profoundly grateful."

 

Thousands of objects on display have not been seen by the public for generations

Working with Scottish architect Gareth Hoskins and exhibition designer Ralph Appelbaum, National Museums Scotland has also restored Victorian architecture, created new galleries, a major gallery to host international exhibitions, a three-storey learning centre and a new street-level stone-vaulted entrance hall.
Glass elevators carry visitors from the entrance hall to the Grand Gallery, housing the UK's single largest museum installation, the Window on the World: a four-storey, 18-metre (59ft) high display of more than 800 objects.
Dr Gordon Rintoul, National Museums Scotland director, said: "This is a proud moment in the history of a great museum, the climax of a once-in-a-lifetime transformation through which we have rediscovered our exceptional collections, and breathed new life into a beautiful building.
"The result is a new National Museum of Scotland, a place where the cultures of Scotland and the world meet, and the arts and sciences connect."

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MPs set to debate public's petition demands

Campaigners who gather more than 100,000 petition signatures could have their ideas debated in Parliament, via a newly launched government website.

The e-petitions site, which will ask the public for proposals, is aimed at "building confidence" in MPs' work.
House of Commons leader Sir George Young said politicians could not afford to be complacent and had to give a "megaphone" to people's concerns.
But Labour has said the petitions could lead to debates on "crazy ideas".
The system, launched on Friday, replaces the existing e-petitions pages on the Downing Street website, set up under Tony Blair.
It allows popular petitions to be discussed by the backbench business committee of MPs, which has the power to propose debates on non-government matters.
'Transparent' But some proposals, including those judged to be "libellous or offensive" or "related to honours and appointments" will be barred from the website.
Posting more than one petition on a single subject is also banned.
Sir George, a Conservative, said: "Today's launch represents another step towards a more accessible and transparent Parliament."
He added: "In recent weeks, Parliament has been at the centre of public interest, by leading the debate on phone-hacking allegations.
"But this shouldn't mean that Parliament becomes complacent. There's much more that we can do to build confidence in the work of the House of Commons and we should continue to find new ways of encouraging people to engage.
"The public already have many opportunities to make their voices heard in Parliament, and this new system of e-petitions could give them a megaphone."
However, Sir George said: "Of course, parliamentary time is not unlimited and we want the best e-petitions to be given airtime - so we will monitor the site closely over the coming months to assess whether the 100,000 figure is an appropriate target."
'Greater engagement' Deputy Leader of the House, Lib Dem MP David Heath, said: "The e-petitions website is the latest example of how the coalition is continuing to take forward its programme for government.
"It underscores our commitment to reform of the parliamentary process, and will help to reinforce the aim of greater engagement by people in the politics of this country."
Petitions will be moderated by government departments, with oversight from the Office of the Leader of the Commons.
The plans were first set out in the Conservatives' 2010 election manifesto.
Petitions were introduced to the Downing Street website by Tony Blair.
The most popular, with more than 1.8 million people in support, opposed road pricing.
More than 70,000 backed the one-word suggestion that Gordon Brown should "resign".
And almost 50,000 signed up to the idea that TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson should become prime minister.

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House prices are stabilising, says Nationwide

House prices are stabilising, according to the latest monthly report from the Nationwide building society.

Prices across the UK rose by 0.2% in July, to £168,731, leaving them just 0.4% lower than a year ago.
The society said demand for homes was still sluggish, with completed sales still running at roughly half the level recorded before the banking crisis.
On Thursday, the Land Registry for England and Wales said average prices were unchanged, at £161,479.
The Nationwide's chief economist Robert Gardner said this stability reflected the "uncertain" state of the economy.
"House prices remain relatively high compared to incomes and, together with more demanding deposit requirements, this is dissuading, or at least delaying, some first-time buyers from entering the market," he said.
Down and up Although prices are almost the same as they were a year ago, since July 2010 they have fallen and then recovered, according to the Nationwide's measurement.
Since December 2010, the average house price, not seasonally adjusted, has now gone up by 4%.
Economists often argue that the best guide to short-term trends is to compare the average price over the last three months with that of the previous three.

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MoD to cut further 7,000 civilian jobs

Thousands of civil servants are to lose their jobs at the Ministry of Defence, in addition to some 25,000 posts that were already set to be cut.

The Guardian has seen a letter, being sent out by the department's top civil servant, which says a further 7,000 civilian jobs are to be cut in a bid to bring its budget under control.
The letter says the MoD needs to "bear down further on non-front line costs".
Union leaders and defence officials have expressed concern at the decision.
The cuts were not mentioned in Defence Secretary Liam Fox's last statement to Parliament, which revealed significant extra cuts to Army numbers.
The MOD is already trying to cut some 25,000 civilian posts over the next few years, as announced last October in the defence review.
Questions remain That review outlined the future shape and size of Britain's armed forces, with defence spending set to fall by eight per cent over four years.
The decision taken to close more jobs will bring numbers at the MoD down by around a third over a period of nine years - to about 53,000 civilian posts by 2020.
The letter outlining the further job losses is signed by the permanent secretary, Ursula Brennan, and is being sent to all civilian staff.
It argues that the cuts are necessary and concedes that the move will raise questions which cannot "be answered immediately".
It expresses a hope that many of the job losses will be achieved by "natural wastage", with "compulsory redundancy" only being used as a last resort.

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Phone hacking: Murdoch may be recalled by MPs

 Tom Watson MP questions James Murdoch about whether he was aware of the "for Neville" email

A committee of MPs will be asked to recall News International chairman James Murdoch to give more evidence on phone hacking.

Labour MP Tom Watson said he would also call for ex-News of the World editor Colin Myler and the paper's ex-legal manager Tom Crone to answer questions.
Mr Murdoch told MPs he had not been "aware" of an email suggesting hacking went wider than a "rogue" NoW reporter.
Mr Myler and Mr Crone have both disputed this.
The News International chairman told the Commons culture, media and sport committee earlier this month that he was not aware of a key document - known as the "for Neville" email - when he approved an out-of-court settlement with Gordon Taylor, the Professional Footballers' Association chief executive.
But the two former NoW executives later released a statement saying they did inform him of the email.
Mr Murdoch later said he "stands by his testimony" to the committee.
Mr Watson told BBC Two's Newsnight programme he would make the recall requests to the committee on Friday "so that we can get to the bottom of this, find the facts and Parliament can then move on and let the police do their inquiry".
The committee is due to hold an internal meeting, which will be closed to the public, on Friday morning.
Regarding the emails, in April 2008, Mr Murdoch authorised the payment of an out-of-court settlement of more than £600,000 to Mr Taylor over the hacking of his phone.
Mr Murdoch has said that, at the time, he did not know the full extent of hacking that may have been going on at the NoW.
That paper's royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were both jailed for hacking into phones of the royal household in 2007.

 

Ms Payne started campaigning after her daughter Sarah was killed in 2000

 

But the email in question was marked "for Neville" and is said to have implied the NoW's chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck was also implicated in malpractices.
The latest development comes after the mother of murder victim Sarah Payne learned she may have been a phone hacking victim.
Police told Sara Payne her details were in notes compiled by Mulcaire, who was used by the NoW, which championed her Sarah's Law child protection campaign.
According to a report in the Guardian, the evidence uncovered by police in Mulcaire's notes is believed to relate to a phone given to Ms Payne by the NoW's then-editor Rebekah Brooks "as a gift to help her stay in touch with her supporters".
The BBC has not been able to confirm whether the evidence relates to this particular mobile.
But Mrs Brooks, who left her role as NI chief executive because of the hacking scandal but denies having had any knowledge of the practice while at the paper, says the phone "was not a personal gift".
She said the allegations were "abhorrent and particularly upsetting as Sara Payne is a dear friend".
'Absolutely devastated' A source close to Mrs Brooks says she believes the voicemail system on the phone provided by the NoW was not activated until 18 months ago.
In such circumstances, it would be difficult for prosecutors to prove that any voicemail interception took place.
In a statement, Ms Payne's charity, Phoenix Chief Advocates charity, said she was "absolutely devastated" by the claims.
News International said it would co-operate fully with any potential criminal inquiries or civil proceedings which may arise.
The Metropolitan Police's Operation Weeting is investigating claims of phone hacking at the paper, which was shut down earlier this month after it emerged that the phone of murder victim Milly Dowler had been hacked

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Man arrested over computer hacking claims

An 18-year-old man has been arrested in the Shetland Islands as part of an investigation into hacking groups, Anonymous and LulzSec.

The man is suspected of using the online nickname Topiary and presenting himself as a spokesman for the groups.
Both high-profile hacker groups are known for stealing and releasing private information from websites.
Police are also searching a house in Lincolnshire and interviewing a 17-year-old boy under caution.
Officers from the police's Central e-Crime Unit arrested the teenager in what they describe as a "pre-planned intelligence-led operation".
Earlier arrests A statement from the Metropolitan Police says they believe he is linked to an ongoing international investigation into a number of cyber-attacks on international businesses and intelligence agencies.
The man was arrested on Wednesday and is being taken to London while his home is searched.
LulzSec has previously claimed responsibility for attempted hacks made on the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), the US Senate, the CIA and the Sun newspaper.
On Monday, Anonymous released secret documents stolen from an Italian cybercrime unit.
Last month, LulzSec announced it was disbanding.
Ryan Cleary, 19, of Wickford, Essex, was charged last month with five offences under the Criminal Law and Computer Misuse Acts, including an alleged hacking attack against Soca's website.
A 16-year-old boy from south London was arrested and bailed last week, while the international investigation has already led to sixteen arrests in the United States and four in the Netherlands.

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Restraint technique could be fatal, research suggests"By Dominic Casciani

Forcing a detainee to bend over while seated can lead to death, a study into restraint techniques suggests.

Researchers found that the hold massively cut lung capacity.
The technique is not used in prisons but researchers say it might be used in some mental health or care homes, or by private security contractors.
The Ministry of Justice and the UK Border Agency are reviewing restraint techniques approved for use on aircraft.
Police are currently investigating why an Angolan man, Jimmy Mubenga, died shortly after being restrained on his deportation flight last year.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Mubenga, 46, remain unclear. He collapsed on a plane at Heathrow in October 2010 and post-mortem examinations proved inconclusive.
Three security guards, then employed by G4S, were arrested and have been bailed until later this year. A different company, Reliance, now holds the contract to escort deportees out of the UK.
Most studies of restraint techniques have focused on what happens to a detainee where they are forced to the ground, such as when a police officer uses brute force to hold someone still.
In this research, published in Medicine, Science and the Law, a Royal Society of Medicine journal, the Coventry University team placed 40 volunteers in chairs and then leant them forward, bringing their face close to the lap.
At the same time, researchers used arm holds and applied a small amount of force to prevent the volunteer from attempting to return to a normal sitting position.
The study found that all the volunteers said they felt they could not breathe and many felt alarmed.
One female volunteer was so distressed the team had to immediately stop the experiment. Overall, the research found volunteers with a larger waist - although not necessarily overweight - found it hardest to breathe. In the worst cases, the lungs' capacity was almost halved.
'Vicious circle' Dr John Parkes, the lead author, said that the research found that the position, rather than the restraint by itself, caused the restrictions in the lungs.

 

Jimmy Mubenga: Collapsed on a plane at Heathrow Airport

"When we were doing it, we were not applying pressure to people's backs," said Dr Parkes. "If someone was being restrained with considerable force in the back, that might be a different matter."
The team had initially considered applying up to 25kg of force to the back of volunteers, to simulate a strong security guard forcing someone down. They abandoned the plan when their early experiments on each other, using a sandbag, showed it was dangerous.
Dr Parkes said the danger lay in security staff misinterpreting the response from a detainee who is struggling to get air into the lungs.
"Imagine that from the perspective of the staff. They feel you struggle and they will feel that you are getting angry. They will apply more force to manage your resistance. It becomes a vicious circle.
"The people who would die are those who resist for a prolonged period of time. It is entirely possible that people will die where someone is using a level of force that a lay person may not consider to be excessive."

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Events mark one year to 2012 Olympic Games in London

Events are being held in London to mark the start of the 2012 Olympic Games in one year's time.

The Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park in Stratford will be unveiled with Olympic hopeful Tom Daley making the first dive into the pool.
And in Trafalgar Square, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge will unveil the design of the medals for the Games.
London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said the organiser's plans were on schedule.
He said the day was a "big moment" for the London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog).
Lord Coe added that 23m applications had been made from two million people for tickets which showed the Games had "higher levels of support one year out than any previous city".
'Distant dream' The opening ceremony of the Games will take place in the Olympic Stadium on the evening of 27 July 2012.
The event in Trafalgar Square will see London mayor Boris Johnson invite the world to come to London to celebrate the Games next summer.
The British Mission at the United Nations in New York will hold a one-year-to-go event featuring nine-time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis and the UN's Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has organised a range of events at nearly 100 its posts across the world to encourage visitors, businesses, students and sports people to get involved.

And the Royal Mail has announced that it will issue special gold medal stamps to celebrate all Team GB Olympic gold medal wins.
The stamps will feature both individual and team gold medal wins.
'Incredible honour' With a year to go, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said all six of the main permanent Olympic Park venues have finished construction.
Costing £269m, the Aquatic Centre was designed by Zaha Hadid with the aim of being the "Gateway to the Games".
Tom Daley, the double Commonwealth gold medallist, said it was an "incredible honour" to be the first person to dive into the pool.
"Only a few years ago, this was a distant dream. The fact that I qualified at the weekend and am taking the first dive is a complete privilege. I can't wait for next year and the honour of representing Team GB," he said.
John Armitt, the chairman of the ODA, said the project had created jobs and training at a critical time for the UK economy with about 40,000 people working on the project to date, and 98% (£6bn) of the building contracts going direct to UK businesses.
He said he reflected "proudly" on what had been achieved.
"The Olympic Park and the surrounding area is today unrecognisable as the site that was handed to us in 2007," he said.
'Lack of capacity' As the final countdown to the Olympics gets under way, the Metropolitan Police is facing challenges as it gears up for the biggest peacetime security operation in its history.

 

Olympic hopeful Tom Daley will be the first person to dive into the new Aquatic Centre

Two senior police officers, including Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, resigned this month over the phone-hacking scandal but Lord Coe says the security plans for London are "robust".
"The Met Police are across them in a very detailed way," he said. "They are of course an important part of that. But we also work together with the Home Office and some 19 agencies sorting this out."
The force itself says it is "business as usual" and the Met branch of the Police Federation has said although there is low morale it had more to do with major reform and cuts in police budgets than losing their leader.
On Tuesday, a BBC London survey found that although about 57% of Londoners feel ticket sales for the 2012 Olympics was "not fair", this has not dented their support for the Games.
Of the 1,000 people polled, 73% backed London hosting the Games, with 38% saying they felt "more positive" about the event now than in 2010.
But the survey also found that 52% people felt London's transport system would not be able to cope.
BBC London's transport correspondent Tom Edwards said the main problem on London's network was the lack of capacity.
He said Transport for London (TfL) had admitted that it could take an hour to get on a train at St Pancras station, from where the high-speed Javelin train to Stratford will depart.

TfL needs a 30% drop in commuters to reduce waiting times and it is rolling out a publicity campaign and a series of workshops for businesses. It also wants to encourage commuters to work from home or use different routes.

The Olympic Road Network, exclusive lanes which will only be used by officials, athletes, IOC members and accredited media, has also raised concerns with taxi drivers saying they should be allowed to use them and are threatening to block them.
Another potential difficulty for TfL is the relationship with the transport unions. Currently, a five-year pay deal with a 4.75% rise in the first year has been turned down by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT).

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