55,000 free nursery places needed

6 May 2013 Last updated at 20:16 ET By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter

A flagship government scheme to offer free nursery places to disadvantaged two-year-olds could be hit by shortages and delays, it is feared.

Nursery providers and local councils say some areas may not be ready for the national roll-out to 130,000 toddlers across England in September this year.

Some 75,000 places have been found. The government is working with councils and providers to find the remaining 55,000.

South-east England, Birmingham and Manchester are struggling the most.

The scheme to provide 20% of disadvantaged two-year-olds with free part-time early education places was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in the autumn of 2010 as part of a package of measures to boost the educational achievement of children from poorer homes.

It was an extension of a Labour scheme, and is due to be expanded again to 260,000 children in September next year.

But only 75,000 places have been secured just four months before the September roll-out, of which 70,000 are on existing pilot schemes.

'Geographical mismatch'

James Hempsall, who is overseeing the delivery of the Achieving Two-Year-Olds programme, shrugged off concerns, saying local authorities, who now have a duty to ensure sufficient places, were reporting a "high level of confidence for delivery in September 2013".

He said work was focusing on vacant places and creating more flexibility, such as asking nurseries to provide a third session on top of the traditional morning and afternoon sessions.

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TWO-YEAR-OLDS WHO QUALIFY

• Toddlers from first term after second birthday
• Parents on certain means-tested benefits
• Those in local authority care

But Dr Jill Rutter, research manager at the Family and Childcare Trust, said it was a real struggle in poorer areas where the places are needed but where there tends to be less nursery provision.

"Local authorities are doing their best but there will be gaps in September 2013 and very possibly in 2014."

She added: "There is a geographical mismatch and so new places have to be created from scratch."

This was backed up by the chairman of the Local Government Association, David Simmonds, who acknowledged a mixed picture nationally.

He said areas of south-east England, Birmingham, Manchester and Bradford were struggling, despite their best efforts to make enough places available in the right areas.

'Bureaucratic shuffle'

Mr Simmonds said: "We are determined to get there but at the moment there is some uncertainty, and some providers are saying we are not sure we can recruit the staff, we are not sure we can get the buildings we need built in time. Uncertainty is not what mums and dads want. They need to know where their children will be going."

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"Start Quote

I don't know how they are going to deliver the remaining balance in such a short period. Nurseries will have to train staff and they will have to increase the size of their buildings"

End Quote Neil Leitch Pre-School Learning Alliance

He said the process was being complicated because money for the scheme was being fed through a grant made specifically for schools, which was causing a "bureaucratic shuffle".

The Department for Education is expecting to pass to councils early this month a list of names and addresses of which children have been earmarked for the places.

But Mr Simmonds said: "It doesn't leave much time if there is going to be a big discrepancy between need and availability."

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance, which represents 14,000 nurseries, said: "I don't know how they are going to deliver the remaining balance in such a short period. Nurseries will have to train staff and they will have to increase the size of their buildings."

Cross-subsidy fears

Dr Rutter highlighted the problems faced by London, which she had recently researched. She said space was limited, with many nurseries already operating at full capacity, but that an extra 24,100 places were needed by September next year.

She added: "Traditionally with the three and four-year-old places, private providers have been able to finance it by relying on working parents buying extra hours for their children at a higher cost than the subsidised rate.

"But this group of children is the 20% of the poorest and this isn't going to happen because their parents are not working. So the cross-subsidy system won't work.

"As a result, a lot of the private and voluntary providers are refusing to offer places for two-year-olds."

Nurseries are being offered at £5.08 an hour per child by the Department for Education (DfE) through the direct schools grant.

'Plenty of time'

Mr Hempsall said the vast majority of children would make use of places made from capacity released within the sector, but he acknowledged that it was a "challenge" to deliver the programme and that there was "a lot more work to be done".

Once local authorities had the details of which children were to benefit from the free places, he said, they would be able to map their supply to where the disadvantaged children lived.

But he stressed that there was "plenty of time" for nurseries to carry out any of the simple building adaptations likely to be required.

And he said that transport arrangements might have to be put in place for children who could have to travel across local authority boundaries to take up their place.

A DfE spokesman said: "Through the Achieving Two-Year-Olds programme we are giving councils and providers support to make sure they have enough capacity for early learning for two-year-olds, encouraging parental demand, and improving the quality of provision.

"Already some 70,000 children are benefiting from this investment in early learning for two-year-olds."

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'Kill cord' key to boat deaths probe

7 May 2013 Last updated at 04:06 ET

Police investigating the deaths of a father and his daughter in a speedboat accident in Cornwall have said a "kill cord" device is a key focus.

A kill cord attaches to the boat's throttle and driver so if the driver goes overboard the engine cuts out.

BSkyB sales boss Nick Milligan, 51, and his eight-year-old daughter Emily were thrown from the boat in the Camel Estuary, off Padstow, on Sunday.

Four other family members struck by the boat were taken to hospital.

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Video shot by a witness showed the moment the speedboat was brought under control

Police said Mr Milligan's 39-year-old wife Victoria and their four-year-old son Kit remain in hospital with "serious, potentially life-changing injuries", while their two other daughters Amber, 12, and Olivia, 10, suffered minor injuries in the accident.

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Without doubt, without his [Mr Toogood's] intervention, we could have been dealing with a far more serious situation"

End Quote Matt Pavitt North Cornwall coastguards

The injured family members were hit by the 8m (26ft)-long Cobra rigid inflatable boat (rib) - which can reach speeds of about 50mph (80km/h) - while it was going round in circles.

The boat, which belongs to the family, who are from Wandsworth in south-west London, was stopped after a local waterskiing instructor Charlie Toogood jumped on board.

Mr Milligan had been managing director of Sky's advertising sales division, Sky Media, since 2004.

Fitting the kill cord has been standard practice by manufacturers for many years, said Richard Falk, training manager and chief examiner at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA).

"It is possible for the operator, the driver of the boat, to connect the kill cord to the throttle so the engine will work but they don't connect it to themselves.

"If they then move away from that throttle or steering position the engine won't cut out," he said.

'Heroic efforts'

He said he could not comment on the Padstow incident, but where a kill cord was not operating properly and a driver went overboard the prospect of a power boat turning in circles as it did in the Padstow tragedy was a rare "worst case scenario".

Police and coastguards praised "brave and heroic" efforts made by Mr Toogood and other local people to rescue the family.

Mr Toogood, from Camel Ski School, leapt on to the runaway speedboat and brought it under control after going alongside in another vessel.

He has declined to talk about the incident.

Matt Pavitt, coastguard sector manager for North Cornwall, said: "Without doubt, without [Mr Toogood's] intervention, we could have been dealing with a far more serious situation."

Supt Jim Colwell, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said a mechanical examination of the boat had taken place, carried out by forensic experts and Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) inspectors to identify the cause of the "sad and tragic" incident.

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Bangladesh collapse toll passes 700

7 May 2013 Last updated at 04:14 ET

The death toll from the collapse of an eight-storey factory building near the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, has passed 700, officials say.

The announcement came after workers pulled dozens more bodies from the rubble. Many people are still missing.

Several people, including the building's owner, have been arrested.

The collapse of the Rana Plaza on 24 April stands as Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster. It sparked outrage among workers in the country.

The previous most deadly structural failure in modern times - excluding the 9/11 terror attacks in New York - was the Sampoong department store in Seoul, South Korea, in 1995, in which 502 people died.

The death toll from Bangladesh now stands at 705. Officials say about 2,500 people were injured in the collapse and that 2,437 people have been rescued.

Rescue officials also say they do not know exactly how many people are still missing as factory owners have not given them precise figures.

Working conditions

It came as hundreds of garment workers who survived the collapse protested by blocking a highway close to the accident site demanding unpaid wages and benefits.

Reports say many of them were working in some of the factories housed in the illegally constructed building.

Local government administrator Yousuf Harun told the Associated Press news agency that they are working with a garment industry body to ensure the workers are paid.

The disaster put the spotlight on conditions in the country's garment sector.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, and some of the clothes produced in the building were made for Western retailers.

The EU has said it is considering "appropriate action" to encourage an improvement in working conditions in Bangladesh factories.

This includes the use of its trade preference system, which gives Bangladesh duty- and quota-free access to markets in member states.

On Monday the government announced a panel that would inspect garment factories for building flaws.

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Queen to miss Commonwealth meeting

7 May 2013 Last updated at 05:21 ET

The Queen will not be attending the Commonwealth heads of government meeting for the first time since 1973, Buckingham Palace has said.

She will be represented by Prince Charles at the summit in Sri Lanka in November.

The BBC's royal correspondent Peter Hunt says the reason is the Queen's age and the need to limit overseas travel.

The Queen, 87, is the head of the Commonwealth and every two years leaders meet to discuss global issues.

The Queen was first present at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM) in Ottawa, Canada, in 1973 - missing the first one in 1971 - and has been at every summit since. The last one, in 2011, was held in Perth, Australia.

'Transition'

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "I can confirm the Queen will be represented by the Prince of Wales.

"The reason is that we are reviewing the amount of long-haul travel that is taken by the Queen."

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This is a significant decision for the Queen and for her eldest son and heir.

The 87-year-old monarch won't have arrived at it lightly - she hasn't missed a heads of government meeting since 1973 and she regards the Commonwealth as an important dimension of her reign.

It is an acknowledgement of her advancing age and not, her officials insist, in order to avoid the political question about whether or not Sri Lanka should be the host in the first place.

The focus of campaigners, who are critical of Colombo's human rights record, will now be the Prince of Wales.

Behind the scenes, the ground has been prepared for him to become the organisation's next head - a position he's not automatically entitled to.

His attendance, in November, in place of his mother, will be another very visible sign of his preparation for kingship.

Our correspondent said the Queen would not have taken the decision lightly and it was both surprising and significant.

He said it was a significant moment for the Prince of Wales and it was also a symbolic move.

"It is about transition, about preparing this country for an elderly head of state who will be able to do less and less," he said.

"There is no intention of abdication. It will just not happen during her reign. It is the palace addressing the practicalities of her advancing age - you will see less of her and more of him."

By stepping in for the Queen, Prince Charles will be performing one of his most significant duties to date as a future King.

He has never before attended in place of the monarch at the two-yearly gathering of Commonwealth leaders. In 2007, both the Prince and the Queen attended CHOGM in Uganda.

The Queen was forced to cancel her appearance in March at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, the first time the monarch had missed the occasion in 20 years.

It was one of a number of engagements she cancelled after being admitted to hospital for gastroenteritis, which can cause vomiting, fever and stomach ache.

Politically tricky

The Queen sees the Commonwealth as a "family" and takes pride in its work.

Although she is its symbolic head, she has no formal powers over the 54 countries and two billion citizens which make up the voluntary association.

Concerns have been raised about the choice of Sri Lanka as the host nation for the 2013 summit.

Campaigners including Amnesty International are calling for the CHOGM meeting not to take place there before an investigation is carried out into human rights abuses in the final six months of the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war.

Britain is facing pressure to lead a boycott of the meeting, with Canada's government indicating it will not attend unless specific criteria are met.

But Buckingham Palace said the Queen's decision was not related to the political situation.

"The key point here is that the Queen will be represented, although she is not there in person, by the Prince of Wales," a spokesman said.

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Missing US women found after decade

7 May 2013 Last updated at 05:32 ET

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A neighbour, Charles Ramsey, tells reporters: "We had to kick open the bottom of the door"

Three young women who vanished in separate incidents about a decade ago in the US state of Ohio have been found alive in a house in Cleveland.

Amanda Berry disappeared aged 16 in 2003, Gina DeJesus went missing aged 14 a year later, and Michele Knight disappeared in 2002 aged around 19.

Their discovery followed a dramatic bid for freedom by Amanda Berry on Monday, helped by a neighbour.

Three brothers have been arrested in connection with the case.

Cleveland police said the suspects are Hispanic, aged 50, 52 and 54, and one of them had lived at the house on Seymour Avenue.

One was named as Ariel Castro, who has worked as a school bus driver.

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Police have said a six-year-old was also found at the home. They have not revealed any further details, although a relative of Amanda Berry said she told him she had a daughter.

The girls' family reacted with shock and delight at news of their discovery, and many people gathered outside the home where they had allegedly been imprisoned.

"In all this time, 10 years, nobody never figured nothing about where she was at and this has come to an end and it's right here on Seymour," said Gina DeJesus' uncle.

A doctor said the three women were in a fair condition and were being kept in hospital for observation.

"This isn't the ending we usually hear to these stories," said Dr Gerald Maloney in a brief news conference outside Metro Health hospital in Cleveland. "We're very happy."

Speaking amid cheers from spectators, he added the women were able to speak to hospital staff but he declined to give further details.

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Gina DeJesus' aunt Sandra Ruiz: "She knew we were looking for her"

The disappearances of Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus had been big news in Cleveland, and many had assumed them to be dead.

Little was made of the disappearance of Michelle Knight, who was older than the other two girls.

Her grandmother, Deborah Knight, was quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Monday as saying that the authorities had concluded she had left of her own accord because of a custody battle over her son.

'Here a long time'

The dramatic events unfolded after Amanda Berry attempted to flee the house when her alleged captor went out.

Neighbour Charles Ramsey said he heard screaming.

"I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside," he told reporters.

He said he suggested the woman open the door and exit, but she told him it was locked.

"We had to kick open the bottom," he said. "Lucky on that door it was aluminium. It was cheap. She climbed out with her daughter."

Both Mr Ramsey and Ms Berry called 911.

In her frantic call, released to the news media, Ms Berry told the operator: "I'm Amanda Berry. I've been kidnapped. I've been missing for 10 years. I'm free. I'm here now."

She identified her kidnapper as Ariel Castro and said other women were in the house.

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Mr Ramsey said he was stunned by the developments. He said he had shared barbeques with Mr Castro and never suspected a thing. "There was nothing exciting about him... well, until today," he said.

An uncle, Julio Castro, who has a shop nearby, confirmed his nephew had been arrested, and said Ariel Castro had worked as a school bus driver. The Cleveland school district confirmed he worked for them, but did not give specifics.

"I am thankful that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight have been found alive," Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said.

"We have many unanswered questions regarding this case and the investigation will be ongoing."

High-profile cases

Ms Berry was last heard from when she called her sister on 21 April 2003 to say she would get a lift home from work at a Burger King restaurant.

In 2004, Ms DeJesus was said to be on her way home from school when she went missing.

Their cases were re-opened last year when a prison inmate tipped off authorities that Ms Berry may have been buried in Cleveland. He received a four-and-a-half-year sentence in prison for the false information.

Amanda Berry's mother, Louwana, died in March 2006, three years after her daughter's disappearance.

Although much is still not yet known about this case, it recalled a series of recent high-profile child abduction cases.

Jaycee Lee Dugard was 11 years old when she was dragged into a car as she walked to a bus stop near her home in South Lake Tahoe, California in 1991.

She was discovered in August 2009, having spent 18 years held captive in the backyard of Phillip and Nancy Garrido in Antioch, some 170 miles from South Lake Tahoe. She had two children.

In Austria, Natascha Kampusch was abducted on her way to school at the age of 10. She was held for eight years by Wolfgang Priklopil in the windowless basement of a house in a quiet suburb of Vienna.

She managed to escape in 2006 while Priklopil was making a phone call. He committed suicide hours after she had fled.

Elizabeth Smart was 14 when she was taken from the bedroom of her Utah home in June 2002 and repeatedly raped during nine months of captivity.

She was rescued in March 2003 less than 20 miles from her home. Her abductor, Brian David Mitchell, was jailed for life in 2011.

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Lord Lawson calls for UK to exit EU

7 May 2013 Last updated at 05:33 ET

The former chancellor of the exchequer, Lord Lawson, has called for the UK to leave the European Union.

Writing in the Times, he said British economic gains from an exit "would substantially outweigh the costs".

He predicted any changes achieved by David Cameron's attempts to renegotiate the terms of the UK's relations with the EU would be "inconsequential".

But Downing Street said the prime minister remained "confident" that his strategy "will deliver results".

Mr Cameron is facing calls to bring forward a promised referendum on the UK's EU membership.

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"Start Quote

As it happens, those who run our biggest companies would tend to be horrified at the idea of withdrawal from the EU."

End Quote

He says he will hold a vote early in the next parliament - should the Conservatives win the next general election - but only after renegotiating the terms of the UK's relationship with the EU.

However, Lord Lawson said any such renegotiations would be "inconsequential" as "any powers ceded by the member states to the EU are ceded irrevocably".

The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said Lord Lawson's intervention was a "big moment" in the EU debate.

The peer - who was Margaret Thatcher's chancellor for six years - voted to stay in the European Common Market, as the EU was known in 1975, but said: "I shall be voting 'out' in 2017."

Regulatory 'frenzy'

He said he "strongly" suspected there would be a "positive economic advantage to the UK in leaving the single market".

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"Start Quote

You do not need to be within the single market to be able to export to the European Union, as we see from the wide range of goods on our shelves every day"

End Quote Lord Lawson

Far from hitting business hard, it would instead be a wake-up call for those who had been too content in "the warm embrace of the European single market" when the great export opportunities lay in the developing world, particularly Asia.

"Over the past decade, UK exports to the EU have risen in cash terms by some 40%. Over the same period, exports to the EU from those outside it have risen by 75%," he added.

Withdrawing from the EU would also save the City of London from a "frenzy of regulatory activism", such as the financial transactions tax that Brussels is seeking to impose.

Lord Lawson said his argument had "nothing to do with being anti-European".

"The heart of the matter is that the very nature of the European Union, and of this country's relationship with it, has fundamentally changed after the coming into being of the European monetary union and the creation of the eurozone, of which - quite rightly - we are not a part.

"Not only do our interests increasingly differ from those of the eurozone members but, while never 'at the heart of Europe' (as our political leaders have from time to time foolishly claimed), we are now becoming increasingly marginalised as we are doomed to being consistently outvoted by the eurozone bloc."

'Clear timetable'

At the local elections last week, the UK Independence Party - which campaigns for the UK to leave the EU - made substantial gains, while the Conservatives lost control of 10 councils.

The UKIP surge prompted a call from senior Tory MP David Davis to bring forward the planned referendum - while other Conservatives, including former chairman Lord Tebbit, urged Mr Cameron to take steps to give the public more confidence that a referendum would indeed take place if he wins the next general election.

Reacting to Lord Lawson's comments, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The PM has always been clear: we need a Europe that is more open, more competitive, and more flexible; a Europe that wakes up to the modern world of competition. In short, Europe has to reform.

"But our continued membership must have the consent of the British people, which is why the PM has set out a clear timetable on this issue."

The BBC News Channel's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said No 10 was pointing to the UK's success in obtaining a cut in the EU's budget earlier this year as evidence that a new relationship could be secured.

However, he said Lord Lawson's comments would give major impetus to those believing the UK's future best lay outside the EU and were also significant for his critique of Mr Cameron's negotiating strategy.

'Serious divisions'

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that leaving the European Union would "make us less safe because we cooperate in the European Union to go after criminal gangs that cross borders".

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He said it could put 3m jobs at risk and made it difficult to deal with cross border threats like climate change and would also see Britain "taken less seriously in Washington, Beijing, Tokyo".

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said Lord Lawson's intervention "legitimised" his party's longstanding argument that the UK could prosper outside the EU while exposing "serious divisions" in the Conservatives.

Former Labour Europe minister Peter Hain said he totally disagreed with EU withdrawal but believed Lord Lawson was right in suggesting David Cameron's approach could not succeed as "EU members will not agree Treaty changes".

Political commentator and Times' comment editor Tim Montgomerie told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the article would add fuel to the debate on Europe within the Conservative Party that Mr Cameron had hoped could wait until further down the line.

"Lord Lawson will give much more confidence to those people who do want to leave the EU to go public with those views," he added.

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Jimmy Tarbuck held in abuse inquiry

7 May 2013 Last updated at 05:39 ET

Comedian Jimmy Tarbuck has been arrested over an allegation of child sex abuse dating back to the 1970s.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed that a 73-year-old man was arrested in Kingston upon Thames on 26 April.

The entertainer and quiz show host - who has an OBE for services to showbusiness and charity - was released on bail pending further enquiries.

A police statement said he was questioned about an alleged assault on a young boy in the late 1970s.

Mr Tarbuck's arrest came after information was passed on by Metropolitan Police officers working on Operation Yewtree, North Yorkshire Police said.

50-year career

The force stressed that this arrest "is not part of Yewtree, but a separate investigation" by North Yorkshire Police.

Operation Yewtree was set up following the death of Jimmy Savile in 2011, when hundreds of sex abuse allegations came to light about the former DJ.

A spokesman for the police force said: "North Yorkshire Police can confirm that a 73-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a historic child sex abuse investigation in Harrogate.

"The man was arrested in Kingston upon Thames on Friday 26 April 2013.

"Following questioning, he was released on police bail pending further inquiries.

"The complaint relates to an incident that occurred in the late 1970s when the victim was a young boy."

Mr Tarbuck has spent more than 50 years in the entertainment industry, beginning his television career in 1964 with the show It's Tarbuck 65!

He went on to be a regular feature of prime time television in the 1970s and 1980s, hosting a number of quiz shows, including Winner Takes All and Full Swing.

Last November he performed in The Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London to celebrate the show's 100th anniversary.

His daughter is the actress and television and radio presenter Liza Tarbuck.

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World’s first 3D-printer gun fired

6 May 2013 Last updated at 02:38 ET By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC World Service, Texas

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The BBC's Rebecca Morelle saw the 3D-printed gun's first test in Austin, Texas

The world's first gun made with 3D printer technology has been successfully fired in the US.

The controversial group which created the firearm, Defense Distributed, plans to make the blueprints available online.

The group has spent a year trying to create the firearm, which was successfully tested on Saturday at a firing range south of Austin, Texas.

Anti-gun campaigners have criticised the project.

Europe's law enforcement agency said it was monitoring developments.

Victoria Baines, from Europol's cybercrime centre, said that at present criminals were more likely to pursue traditional routes to obtain firearms.

She added, however: "But as time goes on and as this technology becomes more user friendly and more cost effective, it is possible that some of these risks will emerge."

Defense Distributed is headed by Cody Wilson, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas.

Mr Wilson said: "I think a lot of people weren't expecting that this could be done."

3D printing has been hailed as the future of manufacturing.

The technology works by building up layer upon layer of material - typically plastic - to build complex solid objects.

The idea is that as the printers become cheaper, instead of buying goods from shops, consumers will instead be able to download designs and print out the items at home.

But as with all new technologies, there are risks as well as benefits.

Personal liberties

The gun was made on a 3D printer that cost $8,000 (£5,140) from the online auction site eBay.

It was assembled from separate printed components made from ABS plastic - only the firing pin was made from metal.

Mr Wilson, who describes himself as a crypto-anarchist, said his plans to make the design available were "about liberty".

He told the BBC: "There is a demand of guns - there just is. There are states all over the world that say you can't own firearms - and that's not true anymore.

"I'm seeing a world where technology says you can pretty much be able to have whatever you want. It's not up to the political players any more."

Asked if he felt any sense of responsibility about whose hands the gun might fall into, he told the BBC: "I recognise the tool might be used to harm other people - that's what the tool is - it's a gun.

"But I don't think that's a reason to not do it - or a reason not to put it out there."

Gun control

To make the gun, Mr Wilson received a manufacturing and seller's licence from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Donna Sellers, from the ATF, told BBC News that the 3D-printed gun, as long as it was not a National Firearms Act weapon (an automatic gun, for example), was legal in the US.

She said: "[In the US] a person can manufacture a firearm for their own use. However, if they engage in the business of manufacture to sell a gun, they need a licence."

Amid America's ongoing gun debate in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, US congressman Steve Israel recently called for a ban on 3D guns under the Undetectable Firearms Act.

Groups looking to tighten US gun laws have also expressed concern.

Leah Gunn Barrett, from New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, has said: "These guns could fall into the hands of people who should not have guns - criminals, people who are seriously mentally ill, people who are convicted of domestic violence, even children."

3D printing technology has already been used by some criminal organisations to create card readers - "skimmers" - that are inserted into bank machines.

Many law enforcement agencies around the world now have people dedicated to monitoring cybercrime and emerging technologies such as 3D printers.

Ms Baines from Europol said: "What we know is that technology proceeds much more quickly than we expect it to. So by getting one step ahead of the technological developments, we hope and believe we will be able to get one step ahead of the criminals as well."

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Police investigate speedboat crash

6 May 2013 Last updated at 04:07 ET

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The empty speedboat was filmed spinning out of control after the incident

Police have begun an inquiry into a speedboat crash off the north Cornish coast which killed a man and his daughter and injured four others.

The pair - a 51-year-old man and an eight-year-old girl - were among six people thrown from the boat in the Camel Estuary, off Padstow.

Four other family members are in hospital with serious injuries.

The vessel was stopped after a local waterskiing instructor jumped on board and brought it under control.

The injured family members are thought to have been hit by the boat while it was going round in circles.

Life-threatening injuries

The four injured are a 39-year-old woman, a four-year-old boy and two girls aged 10 and 12. They suffered leg injuries of varying degrees of severity, John Oliver from South Western Ambulance Service said.

The boat is owned by the family, who are from London, police said.

Supt Jim Colwell of Devon and Cornwall Police said some of their injuries were "life threatening" as well as "life changing".

Continue reading the main story

The screams coming from the people in the water were pretty bad"

End Quote Simon Lewins Eyewitness

"The key lines of enquiry are primarily witness enquiries, those eye witnesses that were at the scene at the time and have already started to provide us with information as to what the circumstances were and what the boat was doing at the time of the incident," he said.

Supt Colwell added that a mechanical examination of the boat, with the involvement of the Marine Action Investigation Branch, would take place "just to make sure there were no factors to do with the vessel itself which may have caused this incident".

The sunny bank holiday weather had drawn a lot of visitors to the harbourside, and the surrounding waters of the Camel Estuary were said to have been calm on Sunday afternoon when the accident happened.

'Heroic' rescuer

At about 15:50 BST, Falmouth Coastguard received a number of reports from members of the public that six people had been thrown from a speedboat.

They reported seeing the boat "out of control for a short time" and striking some other boats, Jo Rawlings, from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, told the BBC.

Dog walker Simon Lewins, from Wadebridge, said he watched as a big, powerful boat going "a bit too fast" suddenly turned right, "depositing" people into the water.

"It kept going off in ever decreasing circles. The screams coming from the people in the water were pretty bad."

The man who leapt on to the out-of-control speedboat, from another vessel he went alongside with, was named locally as Charlie Toogood, from Camel Ski School.

He jumped on the boat, managed to stop it and take it away.

"I tell you what, this guy is a hero," Mr Lewins told the BBC.

Coastguards then helped some of the injured as a helicopter landed on the beach, he added.

Kill cord

The injured were being treated at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.

Matt Pavitt, the Coastguard sector manager for North Cornwall, said the injured four were "badly shaken up".

He added: "There appears to have been some interaction between the boat and the group of people in the water, which has resulted in a number of serious injuries".

Alex Greig, of Falmouth Coastguard, said safety features in such vessels usually included a so-called "kill cord".

He said: "If somebody is thrown away from the console, it should disable the engine.

"But if it's not working, or not being worn correctly, there is the chance that if you are thrown away from the boat, it will continue to move under its own power.

"The way an outboard engine works, because it hangs loose on the back of the boat, it will actually put the boat into a very tight circle and continue round at the speed it was left going at originally."

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Neo-Nazi trial opens in Germany

6 May 2013 Last updated at 04:26 ET

An alleged member of a German neo-Nazi cell has gone on trial in Munich in connection with a series of racially motivated murders.

Beate Zschaepe, 38, is accused of being part of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which killed 10 people, mostly of Turkish background.

She faces life in prison if convicted. She denies the murder charges.

The case sparked controversy as police wrongly blamed the murders on the Turkish mafia for several years.

The head of Germany's domestic intelligence service was eventually forced to resign over the scandal.

Four male defendants are also on trial with Ms Zschaepe, facing lesser charges of having helped the NSU.

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This police video shows alleged Neo-Nazi Beate Zschaepe in an identity parade.

Critics have accused authorities of turning a blind eye to the crimes of right-wing extremists, the BBC'S Steve Evans reports from Munich.

Officials deny this, saying mistakes occurred because the murders were spread across different regions, each with different police and security agencies.

Ethnic Turkish community groups demonstrated outside the courthouse on Monday demanding justice.

Execution-style

A crowd of journalists also waited outside, along with dozens of people queuing in the hope of getting seats in the court. About 500 police officers were deployed and nearby streets were cordoned off.

Ms Zschaepe is charged with complicity in the murders of eight ethnic Turks, a Greek immigrant and a German policewoman between 2000 and 2007, as a founding member of the NSU.

She is also accused of involvement in 15 armed robberies, arson and attempted murder in two bomb attacks.

Prosecutors say the aim of the execution-style killings was to spread fear among immigrants and prompt them to leave Germany.

Her lawyers say she is refusing to speak in court. Only the trial opening was broadcast, in line with German legal restrictions.

The cell remained undetected until Ms Zschaepe gave herself up in November 2011, after police discovered the bodies of two of her alleged accomplices.

Uwe Mundlos, 38, and Uwe Boenhardt, 34, appeared to have shot themselves after a botched bank robbery.

After their deaths, the gun used in the murders of the 10 people was discovered.

The arson charge against Ms Zschaepe relates to a fire which she is alleged to have started before giving herself up. She told police she was the one they were looking for.

She shared a flat in Jena, in the old East Germany, with the two men who were found shot dead.

In addition, a video emerged showing pictures of the corpses of the victims and identifying the "organisation" behind the murders as the NSU.

Only then did the authorities conclude that the killings were the work of neo-Nazis.

They had previously treated families of victims as suspects.

As a result, the trial has taken on a meaning beyond the charges in court, as it is also puts the spotlight on attitudes towards the murder of members of ethnic minority groups, our correspondent says.

An earlier start date had been set for the trial, but it was delayed for weeks amid a dispute about the seat allocations, as Turkish media were not guaranteed places.

Turkish media have now been given four seats, but several leading German newspapers missed out in the lottery, AFP news agency reports.

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UK block on overseas spouse pensions

6 May 2013 Last updated at 04:53 ET

People living abroad will no longer be entitled to a British state pension based solely on their spouse's work history, under government plans.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb said some of those claiming a married person's allowance had never been to the UK.

Some 220,000 overseas residents receive this payment at a cost of £410m a year.

The measure will be part of an overhaul of the state pension, to be included in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday. Existing pensioners will be unaffected.

The Pensions Bill will introduce a new flat rate pension based on individual contributions during a person's working life.

'Unfair and unsustainable'

Current rules allow spouses who haven't paid their own National Insurance contributions to claim a "married person's allowance" of up to £66 per week based on their husband or wife's history of NI contributions.

The total number of spouses receiving such payments has risen to 220,000 from 190,000 a decade ago.

While increasingly rare in Britain, the practice has become a popular option for people who live overseas and who are married to British citizens.

Mr Webb said sometimes these allowances are claimed by people who never set foot in this country, and that this was unfair and unsustainable.

Continue reading the main story

• Begins April 2016
• Worth £144 a week at current prices
• Flat rate
• 35 years of National Insurance contributions needed for full amount
• Not means tested

He told the Daily Telegraph: "Most people would think, you pay National Insurance, you get a pension. But folk who have never been here but happen to be married to someone who has are getting pensions.

"Say you are an American man and you marry a British woman, you can claim, if she has a full record of contributions, a pension of £3,500 a year for your entire retirement having never paid a penny in National Insurance.

"Most people would think that is not what National Insurance is for."

Once the pensions bill becomes law, any new claims from 2016 would be prevented.

But British pensioners and their families who currently live overseas and make such claims would not be affected.

'Unfair treatment'

Norman Cudmore, who served in the RAF for 22 years and worked overseas for another 16 years, lives in the Philippines with his Filipina wife.

"I have contributed to the UK pension scheme for all those years and will qualify for a state pension. I did this so my wife would have some security when I finally pass away," he told the BBC.

"However, now I am being told this will not be the case. It feels the government are not treating their people fairly. It seems to be one rule for those living in the UK and one for those who have left."

The government's overhaul of the state pension system will see a single-tier pension - of £144 a week at today's prices - being paid to every qualifying new pensioner from April 2016 at the earliest.

While many people will gain as a result of any changes, some who currently pay into a second state pension - which is being abolished - will lose out.

Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that, as the current pension system is being replaced anyway, Mr Webb's planned block on payments to overseas spouses would have a limited impact.

"From 2016 onwards the state pension will be based entirely on your individual record and there will be no inheritance of state pension rights," he said.

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Mitchell: Evans 'should not resign'

6 May 2013 Last updated at 05:03 ET

Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nigel Evans should not resign after being arrested over rape and sexual assault allegations, says fellow Tory MP Andrew Mitchell.

Mr Evans has denied allegations he raped a man and sexually assaulted another.

He has asked to be excused from chairing debates on next week's Queen's Speech.

Mr Mitchell told the BBC his colleague should "definitely continue" in post.

The Tory MP, who himself resigned as chief whip in October over allegations he called police officers "plebs", told Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Evans had been his friend and colleague for 20 years.

"I've known him in good times and bad times and I simply do not believe these allegations that have been made about him.

"We have three deputy speakers in the House of Commons so if necessary there could be a degree of burden sharing.

"He has not been charged, he has not been found guilty and we do still live in a country where you're supposed to be innocent until you're proven guilty."

He said if Mr Evans was to be charged, that would be "a different set of circumstances" but the question was hypothetical.

'Completely false'

Mr Evans's solicitor has already said the MP does not intend to quit as deputy speaker or as an MP.

The 55-year-old was questioned on Saturday about the alleged attacks on two men between July 2009 and March 2013 in Pendleton, Lancashire, and bailed until June.

Speaking outside his home on Sunday, Mr Evans said the complaints were "completely false" and he could not understand why they have been made.

He has asked to be excused from chairing any of next week's debates on the Queen's Speech, which are expected to last for several days.

The Speaker's Office said he would be available for other duties but advised that the number of duties in parliament's first week back after recess was in any case limited.

Mr Evans, MP for Ribble Valley since 1992 - who came out as gay in 2010 - was elected as one of three Commons deputy speakers three years ago.

The deputy speaker of the house is elected by all members of the House of Commons.

As deputy he has the same power as the current speaker John Bercow when sitting; he or she controls debates and maintains discipline and also has the deciding vote in the case of a tie in the house.

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Evidence Syria rebels 'used sarin'

6 May 2013 Last updated at 05:03 ET

Testimony from victims of the Syrian conflict suggests rebels have used the nerve agent sarin, according to a leading United Nations investigator.

Carla del Ponte told Swiss TV there were "strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof".

However, she said her panel had not yet seen evidence of government forces using chemical weapons.

Syria has recently come under growing Western pressure over the alleged use of such weapons.

Ms del Ponte, who serves on the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said in an interview with Swiss-Italian TV: "Our investigators have been in neighbouring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals.

"According to their report of last week, which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated."

Ms del Ponte, a former Swiss attorney-general and prosecutor with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, did not rule out the possibility that government troops might also have used chemical weapons, but said further investigation was needed.

She gave no details of when or where sarin may have been used.

Her commission was established in August 2011 to examine alleged violations of human rights in the Syrian conflict since March 2011.

It is due to issue its latest report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June.

Mutual accusations

A separate United Nations team was established to look specifically into the issue of chemical weapons.

It is ready to go to Syria but wants unconditional access with the right to inquire into all credible allegations.

Both the Syrian government and the rebels have in the past accused each other using chemical weapons.

Continue reading the main story

• One of a group of nerve gas agents invented by German scientists as part of Hitler's preparations for World War II
• Huge secret stockpiles built up by superpowers during Cold War
• 20 times more deadly than cyanide: A drop the size of a pin-head can kill a person
• Called "the poor man's atomic bomb" due to large number of people that can be killed by a small amount
• Kills by crippling the nervous system through blocking the action of an enzyme that removes acetylcholine - a chemical that transmits signals down the nervous system
• Can only be manufactured in a laboratory, but does not require very sophisticated equipment
• Very dangerous to manufacture. Contains four main ingredients, including phosphorus trichloride

The United States and the UK have said there is emerging evidence of Syrian government forces having used sarin, with the US saying it had "varying degrees of confidence" that chemical weapons had been deployed.

US President Barack Obama called in April for a "vigorous investigation", saying the use of such weapons would be a "game changer" if verified.

President Bashar al-Assad's government says the claims do not have any credibility, denouncing them as "lies".

Sarin, a colourless, odourless gas which can cause respiratory arrest and death, is classed as a weapon of mass destruction and is banned under international law.

Israeli raids

Ms del Ponte's allegations concerning the use of sarin by rebels came after Israel carried out a series of air attacks on Syrian military targets early on Sunday.

Israeli officials said its military struck consignments of advanced Iranian missiles for delivery to the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.

Hours later, the Syrian government said the Jamraya research centre north-west of Damascus was hit.

A more recent official statement has given more details, saying military positions in the Jamraya area were struck along with other facilities at Maysaloun near the Lebanese border and a military airport at Dimass.

The statement said there was massive damage at those locations and nearby civilian areas with many people killed or injured. It also denied that the targets included missiles on their way to Hezbollah.

The New York Times quotes an unnamed senior Syrian official as saying dozens of elite troops stationed near the presidential palace were killed, while AFP news agency quoted the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying 15 soldiers died.

Images on state TV showed large areas of rubble with many buildings destroyed or badly damaged.

The Arab League has condemned the raids and the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, has expressed concern.

He said all sides should "exercise maximum calm and restraint" and "act with a sense of responsibility to prevent an escalation of what is already a devastating and highly dangerous conflict".

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Bangladesh protest clashes 'kill 15'

6 May 2013 Last updated at 05:41 ET

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Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators

At least 15 people are reported to have been killed and more than 60 hurt after police and Islamist protesters clashed in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse a Sunday protest organised by the group Hefazat-e Islam.

But there were later running battles throughout Sunday and into Monday in areas across the city.

Tens of thousands of Islamists had gathered in the city to call for stronger Islamic policies.

Rioters went on to set fire to shops and vehicles.

'Hang atheists'

Central Dhaka was reported to be calm following a day and night of violence.

Police said a ban had been imposed on all rallies and protests in the city until midnight on Monday to prevent a repeat of the clashes.

Continue reading the main story

• A tightly-knit coalition of a dozen or so Islamist groups, pushing to change Bangladesh's secular culture via imposition of what it sees as proper Islamic ways
• Rose to prominence in Feb 2013, rallying against a campaign that demanded the death penalty for an Islamist leader convicted of war crimes
• Support drawn from religious schools across Bangladesh
• Has 13-point charter of demands including exemplary punishment to those who "insult Islam".

Thousands of Islamist activists were seen fleeing the Motijheel area of Dhaka on Sunday as police moved in to take control of the area.

Having secured the business district, the police said officers were searching for protesters hiding in nearby buildings.

The area around the city centre's largest mosque had turned into a battleground as police reacted to stone-throwing rioters with tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and truncheons.

"We were forced to act after they unlawfully continued their gathering at Motijheel," police spokesman Masudur Rahman told the AFP news agency. "They attacked us with bricks, stones, rods and bamboo sticks."

Clashes also broke out in Kanchpur on the south-eastern outskirts of Dhaka.

There were varying reports of the number of dead and injured, but police have confirmed that two officers and a member of the security forces were among the dead in Kanchpur.

On Sunday, crowds of protesters blocked main roads, isolating Dhaka from other parts of the country.

Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper reported that the group hired at least 3,000 vehicles, including buses, lorries and minibuses to bring demonstrators into the capital, while others travelled there by train.

Chanting "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is greatest!") and "One point! One demand! Atheists must be hanged", the activists marched down at least six main roads as they headed for Motijheel, AFP news agency reported.

Continue reading the main story

Hefazat-e Islam wants greater segregation of men and women, as well as the imposition of stricter Islamic education.

The movement draws its strength from the country's madrassas, or religious schools.

Its opposition to a national development policy for women has angered women's groups.

The government, which describes Bangladesh as a secular democracy, has rejected Hefazat-e Islam's demand for a new law on blasphemy.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said current legislation was adequate.

Muslims make up nearly 90% of the country's population, with the rest mostly Hindus.

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Damascus hit 'by Israeli strikes'

5 May 2013 Last updated at 05:39 ET

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Syrian journalist Alaa Ebrahim describes the attack as like 'a mild earthquake'

Israeli rockets have hit a research centre near Damascus, Syria says.

Witnesses heard huge explosions near the Jamraya facility, which Western officials have suggested is involved in chemical weapons research.

Residents told the BBC that nearby military positions were also hit.

Israel has not confirmed the strike, but sources say it targeted weapons bound for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. It is the second suspected Israeli strike in two days.

On Friday Israeli aircraft hit a shipment of missiles in Syria, according to unnamed US and Israeli officials.

Israel has repeatedly said it would act if it felt advanced weapons were being transferred to militant groups in the region, especially Hezbollah.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says Israel's intervention is a very dangerous development.

He says Israel will not want to be seen as being involved in the conflict, but Syria's state media is hammering the message that the rebels are working hand in glove with Israel.

A state TV bulletin said: "The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups, which have been reeling from strikes by our noble army."

Israeli radio quoted a senior security official confirming an attack against targets in Syria, but the official gave no further detail.

'Mild earthquake'

Damascus was shaken by repeated explosions coming from the north-eastern suburbs.

Amateur video footage and eye witness testimony suggested rocket attacks had hit weapons dumps, triggering dramatic orange-flamed blasts.

The area houses numerous military facilities, including the Jamraya research centre, designated by Syria as a scientific research centre "in charge of raising our level of resistance and self-defence".

Damascus-based journalist Alaa Ebrahim told the BBC it was "the biggest explosion" the city had seen since the conflict began two years ago.

He said residents living near Jamraya reported feeling a "mild earthquake" just before the blast, indicating that the rockets may have hit an underground facility.

He added that the Syrian army was likely to have suffered major casualties in the attack.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted eyewitnesses in the area as saying they saw jets in the sky at the time of the explosions.

The Jamraya facility was also apparently hit in an Israeli air strike in January.

Israeli officials confirmed the strike, but insisted it had targeted trucks carrying missiles to Hezbollah.

After the latest attack, unnamed Western intelligence sources have again said the target was a weapons cache heading for Lebanon.

'Horrific reports'

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The BBC's Wyre Davies reports on claims of massacres on Syria's coast

Analysts say the air strikes are unlikely to have a major effect on the civil war in Syria.

The latest reports from coastal regions around the town of Baniyas suggest dozens of Sunnis have been massacred in a campaign of sectarian cleansing.

The government said it had pushed back "terrorist groups" and restored security to the area.

The US said it was "appalled by the horrific reports" but that it did not foresee sending US troops to Syria.

However, the US is no longer ruling out supplying weapons to the rebels.

More than 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed since the conflict erupted in March 2011.

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Historian sorry for 'gay' remark

4 May 2013 Last updated at 18:02 ET

Harvard history professor Niall Ferguson has apologised for saying the economist John Maynard Keynes did not care about society's future because he was gay and had no children.

Prof Ferguson, born in Scotland, made the comments at a conference in California on Thursday.

Mr Keynes was an influential British economist who died in 1946.

Prof Ferguson has now apologised "unreservedly" for what he called "stupid" and "insensitive" remarks.

He was asked to comment on Mr Keynes's famous observation of "in the long run we are all dead".

In unscripted remarks during a question and answer session, the high-profile historian and writer said Mr Keynes was indifferent to the long run because he had no children, and that he had no children because he was gay.

'Detest prejudice'

But in a statement posted on his website, he said it was obvious that people who do not have children also care about future generations. The historian also insisted he was not homophobic.

"My disagreements with Keynes's economic philosophy have never had anything to do with his sexual orientation," he wrote.

"It is simply false to suggest, as I did, that his approach to economic policy was inspired by any aspect of his personal life. As those who know me and my work are well aware, I detest all prejudice, sexual or otherwise."

In 1926, Mr Keynes married Lydia Lopokova, a Russian ballerina, and Prof Ferguson also said he had forgotten that she had miscarried.

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Some liver transplants 'avoidable'

4 May 2013 Last updated at 19:08 ET

Some patients with severely damaged livers may not need a transplant as their own organ is actually regrowing, say doctors at a hospital in London.

They made the discovery by looking at a rare group of patients given a transplant while their own damaged liver is left in the body.

Sometimes the original liver recovers.

A study, in the American Journal of Transplantation, suggests doctors can predict which patients do not need a transplant as their liver is healing.

King's College Hospital has a leading liver transplant centre and is one of few places to perform "auxiliary transplants".

They are performed in sudden cases of liver failure caused by overdoses or viral infections, rather than the long-term damage caused by alcohol abuse.

Normally in organ transplants one organ comes out and a new one goes in. However, in this complex operation the transplant is put in beside the old liver.

After any transplant a patient needs to take a lifetime of drugs to suppress the immune system in order to avoid rejection. The drugs leave the body vulnerable to infection.

However, if the patient's liver does eventually recover then they can come off the immunosuppressant drugs and their body will get rid of the transplant.

Continue reading the main story

What we may be able to do is come up with a better set of tests to allow us to identify those patients who are already regrowing and may not need transplantation"

End Quote Dr Varuna Aluvihare King's College Hospital

The transplant is used to get the patient past the critical stage of the illness.

But the recovery happens only in some patients. In the study, the transplant was no longer needed in seven out of 11 patients.

So doctors analysed the detailed chemistry inside the liver cells of patients and looked for differences between those who recovered and those who did not.

Dr Varuna Aluvihare told the BBC: "There was a big difference right from the point of transplantation in the expression of some very small molecules between the group that would, three years down the line, regrow their liver versus the group that never did."

Those molecules regulated the way cells in the liver grow.

"Some of them were already starting to regrow. So what we may be able to do is come up with a better set of tests to allow us to identify those patients who are already regrowing and may not need transplantation.

"So we may be able to remove a group from the transplant list."

The liver does have a phenomenal ability to regenerate. In healthy people it will recover in the space of months even if a large amount is taken away.

People who need a transplant because of acute liver failure are seriously ill. Even if doctors could tell which patients' livers were already on the path to recovery, they would still need to keep those patients alive long enough for the liver to return to form.

Dr Aluvihare argued this would be possible as a small amount of restored liver function would be enough for patients to leave hospital.

He said there are cases at King's of patients recovering while they were on the waiting list.

"I would say five to 10 patients a year we seriously consider for emergency transplantation and then they start recovering.

"That tells us there probably is a pool there and there is probably quite a lot of mileage in identifying people would would recover."

Whether this would work is still uncertain. The team have received funding to look for those chemical differences in the blood of patients.

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Malaysia votes in close contest

5 May 2013 Last updated at 03:14 ET

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Watch Jonathan Head report from a polling station queue in Kuala Lumpur, where he says there was an ''unprecedented turnout''

Voting has been brisk in Malaysia in what is widely expected to be the most closely contested general election in the country's history.

PM Najib Razak's Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition is up against Pakatan Rakyat, a three-party alliance headed by Anwar Ibrahim.

Voters are faced with returning the ruling party, in power for 56 years, or choosing an untested opposition.

Ahead of the polls, allegations of various forms of fraud emerged.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, at a polling station in Kuala Lumpur, said queues had formed there well before voting began.

Analysts say that for the first time since Malaysia's independence in 1957, there is a real possibility that the opposition may be able to unseat the ruling party. Opinion polls suggest support for the two sides is evenly matched.

The possibility of an end to more than half a century of one-party rule has made this the hardest-fought election anyone can remember, our correspondent says.

The hunger for change, especially among younger Malaysians, has given the opposition real momentum during the campaign, he adds.

But the ruling party has significant advantages, he says, in the cash it has spent on crowd-pleasing hand-outs, and in the way Malaysia's parliamentary system over-represents rural areas, where the government's support is strongest.

'People do change'

Nearly eight million people cast ballots in the first four hours of voting, comprising almost 60% of the 13.3 million registered voters, the election commission said.

Barisan Nasional, while credited with bringing economic development and political stability, has also been tainted by allegations of corruption.

Continue reading the main story

Malaysia 2013 polls

• Election is expected to be Malaysia's most keenly contested poll since independence
• PM Najib Razak leads the long-dominant coalition Barisan Nasional (National Front)
• Anwar Ibrahim leads the three-party opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat
• Key issues include corruption, race-based policies that favour Malays and the economy

But it remains to be seen whether Mr Anwar's coalition, comprising parties of different ethnicities and religions, can persuade voters to choose an alternative government.

Mr Najib, 59, said he was confident that Malaysians would retain his coalition and even return the two-thirds parliamentary majority Barisan Nasional lost in the 2008 polls.

During the last four years, he said during a campaign rally on Thursday, the coalition had proved it could "protect and benefit all Malaysians".

"The task of transformation is not over yet," he told supporters in his home state of Pahang on Saturday.

Mohamed Rafiq Idris, a car business owner waiting to vote in the central state of Selangor, told the Associated Press news agency the ruling coalition had made "some mistakes" but he believed it would do its best to take care of the people's welfare.

But first-time voter Bernie Lim, a banker, said: "I grew up recognising that my parents voted for the present coalition at almost every general election. This time, they voted for the opposition. People do change."

Mr Anwar, 65, has said people's clamour for change means that Pakatan Rakyat will emerge victorious.

"People have enough of this semi-authoritarian rule, of complete [government] control of the media, of strong arrogance, of power and endemic corruption," he told AP in an interview.

He advised supporters "to remain calm, not to be provoked, not to take the law into their own hands, support the process".

"Unless there's a major massive fraud tomorrow - that is our nightmare - we will win," he told AFP news agency.

Online drive

Allegations of election fraud surfaced before the election. Some of those who voted in advance complained that indelible ink - supposed to last for days - easily washed off.

The opposition has also accused the government of funding flights for supporters to key states, which the government denies.

Independent pollster Merdeka Center has received unconfirmed reports of foreign nationals being given IDs and allowed to vote.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Our Facebook account this morning was attacked, we had to remove content, we had to fix it"

End Quote Praba Ganesan Opposition social media activist

The international organisation Human Rights Watch said there had been well-planned attacks against the country's independent media ahead of the polls.

Both sides are actively engaging the electorate online, especially the country's 2.6 million new voters, the BBC's Jennifer Pak reports from Kuala Lumpur.

Visiting the social media unit for PKR, one of the opposition parties, she found activists posting messages to encourage people to vote despite heavy rain in some regions.

Most traditional media in Malaysia are linked to the governing parties so opposition parties rely almost exclusively on the internet to get their message out, she says.

"This is our only way to get our message out but, even then, we do struggle," said activist Praba Ganesan. "Our Facebook account this morning was attacked, we had to remove content, we had to fix it. There are fears that things are being compromised."

Officially, just 18 foreign electoral observers are in Malaysia. They are joined by 1,200 local observers from 17 non-governmental organisations.

The electoral commission said on Saturday that the foreign observers comprised six each from Indonesia and Thailand, and two each from Burma, Cambodia and the Asean secretariat.

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'No change of course' says Hague

5 May 2013 Last updated at 04:05 ET

Foreign Secretary William Hague says the Conservative Party does not need a "drastic change of course" despite its poor showing in local election results last week.

He was responding to a surge in support for the UK Independence Party, which won over 140 seats.

He wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that Tories shared voter concerns about immigration, welfare and living costs.

The elections saw the Tories lose control of 10 councils but retain 18.

UKIP averaged 25% of the vote in the wards where it was standing in Thursday's elections. Labour gained two councils and boosted its councillors by nearly 300.

Contests took place in 27 English county councils and seven unitary authorities, as well as in Anglesey. About 2,300 council seats were up for grabs in England, in a major mid-term test for the coalition government.

Mr Hague said that while the election results "are better for the government than is usual in the middle of a parliament... they do show that there is a good deal of dissatisfaction and unhappiness in the country, in particular among some traditional Conservative supporters".

"These people are sending a clear message to the government I serve in," he added.

Mr Hague said that the results required a "threefold response" from the Conservative Party.

No 'shortcuts'

Firstly, he said, it must "underline to all those feeling aggrieved that we don't simply 'understand' how they feel - on immigration, on welfare, on bringing down the cost of living - we feel it too."

And the party needs to "relay much more forcefully how we're acting in all these areas", he says.

"The deficit has been cut by a third and 1.25 million new private sector jobs have been created. We have brought in a cap on benefits.

"We have pledged a referendum on Europe. These are the things we came into government to do for the country - and we must shout about them even louder."

'Badly off-track'

Mr Hague also said that the "important" third response must be "a resolve not to fall into the trap of lowest common denominator politics".

"People are tired of bad news. Many want to hear that there's a Plan B or C or D that is a shortcut to success. But to offer shortcuts that will not work would be to cheat the British people, offering them a dead end - and frankly it is patronising them too.

"The truth is there are no easy ways out for our country."

Meanwhile, former Conservative chairman Lord Tebbit has called on the Conservatives to set a date for an EU referendum as part of efforts to win back voters from UKIP.

Lord Tebbit also said Tory policy was "badly off track" and needed a rethink.

He urged Mr Cameron to look at UKIP's policies and consider which were "really Conservative policies that would be attractive to the party and its traditional voters".

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UKIP 'here to stay', says Farage

5 May 2013 Last updated at 05:08 ET

The UK Independence Party is "fundamentally changing British politics" with its goal of "getting our country back", Nigel Farage has said.

The UKIP leader said the party was "here to stay" and offered a change from existing parties which were almost "merged" in terms of their policies.

There have been Tory calls to change course to win back voters who switched to UKIP in England's local elections.

But Mr Farage said UKIP took votes from Labour and Lib Dems, not just Tories.

"We are the party with the broadest appeal across the country: north, south, east and west, old Labour voters, rural Tory voters, we are a genuinely national political party," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show.

"Now, to succeed in Westminster in 2015 we've got to grow and build a lot from here - but please don't think that it's impossible and I promise you this, UKIP is here to stay."

The UK Independence Party, whose main policy is for the UK to leave the European Union, gained about 25% of votes in the council seats it contested in England's local elections on Thursday.

Mr Farage said that the party's rise to having 147 local councillors gave the party a "bridgehead" for the party to show what it can do.

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Tory MP Evans denies rape claim

5 May 2013 Last updated at 05:40 ET

Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nigel Evans has denied allegations against him as "completely false", after being arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault.

The Conservative MP, 55, has been questioned about alleged attacks on two men in their 20s, the BBC understands.

But in a statement to journalists on Sunday, Mr Evans expressed his "sense of incredulity at these events".

His solicitor said he did not intend to quit as deputy speaker or as an MP.

Lancashire Police said on Saturday that a 55-year-old man had been arrested and questioned all day by officers.

The alleged offences took place between July 2009 and March 2013 in Pendleton, Lancashire, they said.

Mr Evans has been bailed until 19 June.

'Obviously shocked'

Addressing reporters outside his home, he said: "Yesterday I was interviewed by police concerning two complaints - one of which dates back four years.

He added: "The complaints are completely false and I cannot understand why they have been made."

He went on to thank police for their sensitive handling of the matter, as well as colleagues, friends and members of the public who had "expressed their support and, like me, a sense of incredulity at these events".

Prime Minister David Cameron has been made aware of the arrest, it is understood.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told the BBC he had been "shocked" by the allegations about Mr Evans.

"I know Nigel well, I have known him for years. I'm obviously as shocked as everybody else is," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show.

Mr Hammond added it could be "very difficult" for the MP to continue as deputy speaker while the matter was being investigated.

"I think that is essentially a question the speaker will have to consider," he said.

'Shell-shocked'

Mr Evans, MP for Ribble Valley since 1992, was elected one of three Commons deputy speakers three years ago.

In more than two decades in Parliament, the Swansea-born MP - who came out as gay to a Sunday newspaper in 2010 - has held some senior posts in the party.

From 1999 to 2001, he was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party. Then, when Iain Duncan Smith became party leader in 2001, he was promoted to shadow Welsh secretary - a post he held for two years.

Michael Ranson, chairman of the Ribble Valley Conservative Association, said people in the constituency were "completely shell-shocked".

"He is a very popular MP and a very good constituency MP. He's given assistance to a lot of his constituents over many years," he told Sky News.

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Press regulation charter delayed

3 May 2013 Last updated at 17:59 ET

Cross-party proposals for a royal charter to underpin press regulation following the Leveson report are to be delayed, Downing Street has said.

The Privy Council was due to consider the plans on 15 May but it will now first consider separate plans proposed by some newspapers for self-regulation with a lesser role for the state.

Government sources said the council's rules meant it could not consider two proposals at the same time.

The industry welcomed the announcement.

'Period of openness'

Its proposals are open for comment on the Privy Council website until 23 May.

The Privy Council will then consider these proposals, which are backed by most but not all newspapers, and consider the plans agreed by the political parties later.

Government sources told BBC deputy political editor James Landale that the Privy Council would hold "a period of openness" for three weeks to allow the public to comment before deciding whether to hold a full eight-week consultation over the newspapers' plans.

They said it meant the cross-party plans were more likely to be considered by the council in either June or July.

The sources said the move effectively gave all sides more time to consider the various plans - in particular, giving newspapers more time to see if they could all agree on a position, and the chance to try to persuade Labour and the Liberal Democrats to support their plan.

They said the decision did not mean the government was giving up on a cross-party royal charter.

'Public support'

There are a number of key differences between the industry's plan for press regulation for England and Wales and that agreed by politicians and campaigners. The newspapers' proposal would:

• Remove Parliament's power to block or approve future changes to regulation. Instead the regulator, trade bodies and a newly created "recognition panel" would have to agree to changes

• Would see the chairman/woman and members of the panel selected by an appointments committee chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge, and include one representative of the industry's interests, one member representing the public interest, and one public appointments assessor nominated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for England and Wales

• Remove a ban on former editors sitting on the panel

• Give newspaper and magazine readers a say on the industry's proposals for regulation

• Make it more difficult to bring group complaints

• Amend the power of the regulator to "direct" the nature, extent and placement of corrections and apologies, saying it should "require" rather than "direct"

Newspaper bosses have said their proposals would introduce a rigorous system of regulation but keep the press free from state interference.

In a statement in response to the latest announcement, they said: "We have always said the independent royal charter would be open to consultation and are confident it will receive the widespread public support shown in opinion polls.

"It already has the backing of the vast majority of the newspaper and magazine industry."

These proposals are supported by most of the country's national, regional and local newspapers and magazines.

The Guardian and the Independent are the only two national newspaper titles out of 11 that have not signed up.

It has been supported by some politicians, including London Mayor Boris Johnson and Commons culture committee chairman John Whittingdale.

Campaign group Hacked Off has accused the industry of "unilaterally rejecting" the findings of the Leveson Inquiry.

It said it believed the government had agreed to the delay to avoid the potential of facing a judicial review brought by the newspapers.

The group's associate director, Evan Harris, said "another delay for a further month... can be borne".

But he added: "All three party leaders promised the victims of press abuse that they would deliver a system which would meet the standards laid down by the Leveson Report.

"Victims expect all of the parties to stand by their leaders' promises."

The Leveson inquiry was set up to investigate press ethics and standards in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World.

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Care homes face financial checks

3 May 2013 Last updated at 19:00 ET

Large providers of care homes in England are to have their financial records regularly scrutinised in future to spot potential business problems.

Under the government's plans, the Care Quality Commission and local authorities will also ensure care continues if a company does go bust.

It comes after provider Southern Cross collapsed, causing distress and anxiety to its residents and their families.

Care minister Norman Lamb said the move would give reassurance to people.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will start to make checks on between 50 and 60 of the largest care companies in England, including those that provide care in a person's home.

CQC chief executive David Behan said the measures - to be set out in new legislation - would provide early warning of potential company failures in the care industry.

The CQC will have the power to:

• Require regular financial and relevant performance information
• Make the provider submits a "sustainability plan" to manage any risk to the organisation's operation
• Commission an independent business review to help the provider to return to financial stability
• Get information from the provider to help manage a company collapse

The Department of Health said the powers would bring care in to line with other services such as hospitals and holiday operators, which have procedures to check on the "financial health" of organisations.

Continue reading the main story

The fear and upset that the Southern Cross collapse caused to care home residents and families was unacceptable"

End Quote Norman Lamb Care and Support Minister

In the case of the collapse of a national provider the effects would be felt in many parts of the country, so it would be unfair for local councils to have to deal with the problem, the department said.

Mr Lamb said: "Everyone who receives care and support wants to know they will be protected if the company in charge of their care goes bust.

"The fear and upset that the Southern Cross collapse caused to care home residents and families was unacceptable.

"This early warning system will bring reassurance to people in care and will allow action to be taken to ensure care continues if a provider fails."

Southern Cross, the country's biggest care provider, had thousands of elderly residents at more than 750 care homes across the UK when it collapsed in 2011.

The firm was brought down by having to pay a £250m rent bill as local authorities made cuts.

After its collapse, other operators had to step in to take over the care of more than 30,000 people.

BBC social affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan said in that case nobody had to leave their care home because other companies took them over, but the government has been keen to ensure such a collapse is not repeated.

A report earlier this week said the number of care homes going bust had almost doubled in the past two years, with the level of fees that local authorities were willing to pay being blamed.

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Family courts speed up decisions

3 May 2013 Last updated at 19:36 ET By Angela Harrison Social affairs correspondent, BBC News

The time it takes for the family courts to make decisions about whether children should be taken in to care or adopted has been cut.

The average length of such cases in England and Wales fell from 55 weeks in 2011 to 49 weeks last year.

A review of the family justice system in 2011 complained of "shocking delays" which were harming children.

It called for a six-month time limit for care hearings, which ministers are bringing in.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Justice show a year-on-year drop in the time cases take, but also a steady fall throughout 2012.

Data for the last three months of the year put the average time taken per case at 45 weeks.

The number of children being taken into care has risen since the death of Peter Connelly, known as Baby P, in 2007.

Adoption pledge

The final report from the Family Justice Review said delays might deny children a permanent home, harm their development, cause them further upset or expose them to more risk.

It said the delays were also slowing down the adoption process for many children.

The government has pledged to speed up the adoption system and is pressing councils to act more quickly, but councils have said cases are often held up by the courts.

The family courts rule on cases where local authorities want to remove children from their natural families for reasons including risk of abuse or neglect.

They hear evidence from parents and relatives, plus councils and experts, before making the decisions.

The head of the review panel, former senior civil servant David Norgrove, is now the chairman of the new Family Justice Board, which was created last summer.

"I'm very pleased about what has been done," he said.

"The judiciary has really grasped this, as has the government. Local authorities and Cafcass [which represents the interests of children involved with the family courts] were also firmly behind it.

"It is a real team effort."

Fewer experts called

Mr Norgrove said delays in the system had been reduced in several ways.

"It has not really been about changing the nature of what people do, but about cutting the time taken to do it," he said.

"It has been a case of presenting better evidence from local authorities, then everybody, as the case progresses, making sure that things happen quicker and on time."

Fewer experts are being called to give evidence in cases, he added.

The law was changed in January so that experts are called when it is said to be "necessary", rather than just "reasonable".

The Norgrove report, published in November 2011, also said courts should focus on where a child goes, rather than spending time looking at detailed care arrangements for children.

Some judges have raised concerns about the changes, believing the existing system offers the best protection to vulnerable children.

The government is now bringing in a six-month deadline (26 weeks) for decisions on the care of children.

That change is going through Parliament and is due to become law next April.

In a speech earlier this week, Sir James Munby, President of the High Court's Family Division, said the family justice system was "undergoing the most radical reforms in a lifetime".

Family Justice Minister Lord McNally said: "Excessive delays can have a damaging effect on already vulnerable children.

"Changes we are planning on public law will mean we have a care proceedings system in which delay is no longer acceptable and where there is a much clearer focus on the child and their needs."

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Towns rewarded for High Street ideas

4 May 2013 Last updated at 03:38 ET

Seven communities in England are to share £1m of government cash for injecting life into their high streets.

It is the latest in a series of initiatives in the wake of retail guru Mary Portas's review into how to rejuvenate struggling town centres.

Rotherham won the top award, £268,058, for bringing in independent shops.

Other awards given by a panel of business groups went to Ipswich, Market Rasen, Gloucester, Altrincham, Herne Hill in south London, and Southampton.

Local Growth Minister Mark Prisk said the seven areas were a "shining example" to communities across the country.

"It is in everyone's interests to see our town centres thrive, and I want people across the country to take inspiration from these towns and look at what can be done when communities work together," he said.

The High Street Renewal Awards aimed to recognise areas "already delivering the most effective and innovative plans to bring their town centres back to life".

But Clare Rayner, from the Support for Independent Retail Campaign, told BBC Radio 5 live the divided money would not go far enough.

"The increase in business rates alone has cost the High Street in the UK £175m in increased taxes, so they're taking that away and giving another million back," she said.

Increase in customers

The judging panel, which allocated the award, visited the towns and cities applying for the fund to evaluate their work.

It gave:

• £93,057 to Herne Hill market in South London which set up its site and pedestrian zone from scratch in less than a year
• £88,657 to Old Northam Road in Southampton, where a public-private partnership is turning a Victorian shopping street into a regional antiques centre
• £148,057 to the Altrincham Forward group in Greater Manchester where landlords and retailers are working together to bring empty shops back into use
• £168,057 to Ipswich which is linking its historic shopping area to a new waterfront development and turning an empty department store into a leisure complex
• £101,057 to Market Rasen in Lincolnshire which is setting up community shops selling regional products
• £133,057 to Gloucester, for using tourism to attract more business and boost trade.

Rotherham Town Centre is basing its strategy on the idea that independent shops "help differentiate the town centre offer from that of its nearest competitors". It is said to have seen a 12% increase in customers last year.

Last year, another government initiative following Ms Portas's review saw some 27 areas including Margate, Croydon and Morecambe receive funding and advice from retail experts.

However, Freedom of Information requests seen by the BBC in March revealed that just 12% of money from the first tranche of £1.2m had been spent, while pilot towns had spent only 13% of another £1.5m tranche in July.

Ms Rayner told the BBC: "A lot of people would say that's fine - they're taking their time, they're being cautious. But actually, there were statements made in the Portas review in December 2011 which said there was a real need for urgent action.

"Grant Shapps, former higher street minister… said that these pilots would be the 'vanguard of a high street revolution'. There's not much of a revolution taking place if none of the projects that they proposed are happening."

It also emerged in March that the government's £10m High Street Innovation Fund - set up in 2012 in response to the Portas review - had barely been touched, with just 7% of the money spent so far.

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