Syria neighbours to plead for help

30 September 2013 Last updated at 03:13 ET

Syria's neighbours are expected to ask donors for support in dealing with the ongoing refugee crisis at a meeting in Geneva.

Foreign ministers from Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq will present reports at the meeting, hosted by the UN.

More than two million Syrians have fled their country, and many more have been displaced internally.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he would comply with a plan to rid his country of chemical weapons.

"Of course we have to comply. This is our history, we have to comply with every treaty we sign,'' he told Italy's RAI News 24.

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Assad: "Of course we have to comply. This is our history to comply with every treaty we sign"

On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a binding resolution to eliminate Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons by mid-2014.

Inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is tasked with implementing the plan, are expected to leave for Syria shortly.

A separate team of inspectors, from the UN, has been investigating allegations of chemical weapons attacks and was hoping to finish its work in Syria on Monday.

Struggling to cope

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has been warning that the number of Syrian refugees is threatening the political and social cohesion of the whole region.

Lebanon does not have the money, housing, schools or hospitals to cope, while Jordan and Turkey, with some 500,000 refugees each, are believed to have spent at least $2bn (£1.25bn) caring for them, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes reports from Geneva.

In an attempt to prevent Syria's neighbours closing their borders, traditional donors will be asked on Monday for financial support and offers to host some of the most vulnerable refugees, she says.

UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler said the agency would appeal "for more support for the host countries including direct budget support but also of course aid in areas like provision of health care, education, infrastructure and other projects".

Continue reading the main story

• 716,000 in Lebanon
• 515,000 in Jordan
• 460,000 in Turkey
• 169,000 in Iraq
• 111,000 in Egypt
• 4.25 million others displaced inside Syria

( Source UNHCR)

"For many of these countries such as for small Lebanon and Jordan, the influx of Syrian refugees represents a huge proportion of those countries' current population," he told the BBC.

Unrest in Syria began in March 2011, developing into a conflict in which more than 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed.

The UN inspectors have been investigating an attack on 21 August in Damascus that left hundreds dead and triggered a threat of international military action against Mr Assad's forces.

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Firm cancels Thames tours after fire

30 September 2013 Last updated at 04:07 ET

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Eyewitness Phil Beasley-Harling: "There was a big plume of black smoke"

An amphibious tourist boat company has suspended operations on the River Thames after one of its vessels caught fire.

Thirty people were rescued from the London Duck Tours craft on Sunday afternoon by the emergency services and a passing tourist boat.

A statement on the firm's website said it would run a land-only service.

A rescuer said one passenger told her that people found it "difficult" to get the life jackets out of their packets.

Three people were taken to hospital "as a precaution" following the incident.

In a statement on the London Duck Tours website, managing director John Bigos said: "The company acknowledges the distressing situation experienced by our passengers.

"However, we are pleased to report that all persons involved in the incident are safe and well.

"London Duck Tours operates to the highest safety standards, and at this early stage it is not possible to speculate on the reason for the incident.

"Until the cause is established, the company will not be operating on the river and should technical or safety modifications be required to our fleet, these will be introduced prior to the service recommencing."

'Fear and terror'

Mr Bigos said the incident should not be compared with the sinking of two amphibious vehicles, operated by another company, in Liverpool's Albert Dock in June, as his company's procedures were of a "higher standard".

"London Duck Tours operates a fully modernised fleet of nine vehicles that have been completely rebuilt and refurbished between 2002 and 2012. This includes new, purpose built hulls, new engines, computerised systems and steering equipment," he added.

Emily Farrelly, who was on a passing tourist boat with her family, said she saw "billowing smoke" and passengers in the water.

"You could see the fear and terror in their eyes," she said.

It was lucky the craft was close to the bank and many of the passengers were able to stand in waist-high water, she said.

Ms Farrelly added: "I think they were just in sheer panic at first and struggled to get [the life jackets] out.

"I spoke to one gentleman that got on to our boat and he said that getting the life jackets out of the packet was so difficult that they just fled the boat and got off because their safety was more important."

London Duck tours is yet to respond to the claims about life jackets.

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Asia shares dip as US shutdown looms

30 September 2013 Last updated at 04:24 ET

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Watch: Shutdown in 60 seconds

Asian markets have fallen on fears that the US may be heading for a shutdown of government services.

The US needs to agree a new spending bill before the financial year ends at midnight on Monday. But political divisions have resulted in a stalemate.

There are worries over the economic impact of a failure to do so, which may see non-essential federal services shut and staff placed on unpaid leave.

Stock indexes in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea all declined.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.5%, Australia's ASX dropped 1.7%, while South Korea's Kospi shed 0.7%

"It is the fear of the unknown," said David Kuo of financial website the Motley Fool. "No one knows what is really going to happen and markets don't like uncertainty."

"There is likely to be some reduction in US government spending, but we don't know what areas are going to be affected.

"Until that is resolved, we are likely to see volatility in the markets," he added.

Voting for shutdown?

One of the key areas of debate between the Democrats and the Republicans has been President Barack Obama's healthcare law, popularly known as Obamacare.

Continue reading the main story

Any member of the Republican Party who votes for this bill is voting for a shutdown"

End Quote Jay Carney White House spokesman

Early on Sunday, the Republican-run House of Representatives passed an amended version of the Senate spending bill that removed funding from the healthcare law, raising the chances of a shutdown.

US Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has vowed that his Democrat-led chamber will reject the Republican bill.

"Tomorrow, the Senate will do exactly what we said we would do and reject these measures," said Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"At that point, Republicans will be faced with the same choice they have always faced: put the Senate's clean funding bill on the floor and let it pass with bipartisan votes, or force a Republican government shutdown."

Speaking for the president, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "Any member of the Republican Party who votes for this bill is voting for a shutdown." The president, he said, would also veto the Republican bill.

Shutdown impact Continue reading the main story

If the government does shut down on 1 October, as many as a third of its 2.1 million employees are expected to stop work - with no guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is resolved.

National parks and Washington's Smithsonian museums would close, pension and veterans' benefit cheques would be delayed, and visa and passport applications would be stymied.

Programmes deemed essential, such as air traffic control and food inspections, would continue.

The defence department has advised employees that uniformed members of the military will continue on "normal duty status", but "large numbers" of civilian workers will be told to stay home.

'Far more dangerous'

The looming shutdown, which would be the first for 17 years, is not the only crisis the US government is facing.

The US government and Republicans are also at loggerheads over extending the government's borrowing limit.

Continue reading the main story

AAA-rating

The best credit rating that can be given to a borrower's debts, indicating that the risk of borrowing defaulting is minuscule.

The US Treasury Secretary has warned that the US will hit its debt ceiling by 17 October, leaving the government with half the money needed to pay its bills.

Earlier this month Jack Lew said that unless the US is allowed to extend its borrowing limit, the country will be left with about $30bn to meet its commitments, which on certain days can be as high as $60bn.

A failure to raise the limit could also result in the US government defaulting on its debt payments.

President Obama has warned that "failure to meet this responsibility would be far more dangerous than a government shutdown".

Washington faced a similar impasse over its debt ceiling in 2011. Republicans and the Democrats only reached a compromise on the day the government's ability to borrow money was due to run out.

That fight was resolved just hours before the country could have defaulted on its debt, but nevertheless led to ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgrading the US for the first time ever.

The 2011 compromise included a series of automatic budget cuts known as the "sequester" which came into effect earlier this year.

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Kercher murder retrial to open in Italy

30 September 2013 Last updated at 04:48 ET

The retrial of two suspects over the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher is due to open in Italy, but they are not expected to be in court.

Amanda Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty in 2009 but acquitted on appeal in 2011.

In March, Italy's highest court overturned both their acquittals, ordering a fresh appeals process.

The suspects spent four years in prison before their acquittal, and have always insisted they are innocent.

'So scary'

The retrial is due to open in the central Italian city of Florence, and the first session is expected to discuss procedural issues such as dates for further hearings.

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Raffaele Sollecito: "I'm fighting and striving to see the light"

The retrial was ordered after the prosecution had taken the case to Italy's Supreme Court.

The court strongly criticised the way the appeals court had dismissed important DNA evidence, ordering the whole process to begin all over again.

Ms Knox, 26, is not required to be present for the retrial.

Earlier this month, she said she expected to win another acquittal, but that "common sense" told her not to return to Italy.

"I was already imprisoned as an innocent person in Italy," she told America's NBC television. "I just can't relive that."

"I thought about what it would be like to live my entire life in prison and to lose everything, to lose what I've been able to come back to and rebuild.

"I think about it all the time. It's so scary. Everything is at stake.''

However, if her previous conviction is confirmed, Italy would be expected to request her extradition.

Mr Sollecito, 29, has been living in the Dominican Republic, but it has been reported that he intends to return to Italy to attend parts of the retrial.

Meredith Kercher, from Coulsdon, south London, was found dead in a flat she shared in Perugia with Ms Knox, a fellow exchange student.

Prosecutors said Miss Kercher, who had been repeatedly stabbed, died in a sex game that went wrong. She was 21.

Both Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito maintain their innocence.

Ms Knox insists that on the night of Miss Kercher's death she was at Mr Sollecito's flat, smoking marijuana and watching a film.

Another man - Rudy Guede from Ivory Coast - was convicted in a separate trial and sentenced to 16 years for the killing.

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Deadly car bombs strike Baghdad

30 September 2013 Last updated at 05:12 ET

A series of car bomb blasts in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has killed at least 36 people and injured more than 100, officials say.

Police say the blasts targeted markets and car parks in mainly Shia Muslim districts of the city.

There has been a recent upsurge in sectarian violence, sparking fears of a return to the bloodletting of 2008.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 people are estimated to have been killed so far this year.

Several dozen people died in a wave of attacks on Sunday, including an explosion at a funeral.

Monday's blasts struck during Baghdad's morning rush hour, with reports of 12 bombs, most of them in Shia neighbourhoods.

One of the deadliest attacks was reported from the eastern Sadr City district where seven people were killed and 75 injured in a crowded vegetable market.

Another six were reported killed in Shuala, a mainly Shia area of north Baghdad.

On Sunday, at least 25 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a Shia Muslim mosque south of the city.

Irbil, the normally stable capital of Iraq's autonomous province of Kurdistan, was hit by a series of bombings on the same day, killing six members of the security services. Officials said that violence could be linked to fighting between jihadists and Kurds in Syria.

No-one has claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks, but Sunni Muslim insurgents have been blamed for much of the most recent violence.

The upsurge was triggered in April by an army raid on a Sunni Muslim anti-government protest camp near Hawija, north of Baghdad.

Many in the country's Sunni Muslim minority complain of being excluded from decision-making and abuses by the security forces. Recent raids in Baghdad on suspected al-Qaeda hideouts in mainly Sunni districts are thought to have worsened grievances.

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Osborne in 'work for benefits' plan

30 September 2013 Last updated at 05:21 ET

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George Osborne: ''We are saying you are not going to be able to do nothing in return for your benefits'

The long-term unemployed will have to undertake work placements in return for their benefits, under changes being unveiled by Chancellor George Osborne.

From April, people who are jobless after being on the work programme will face three options, including community work, or face losing benefits.

Mr Osborne unveiled the "tough love" plan at the Conservative conference.

Labour said it was proof the coalition's main welfare-to-work scheme - set up two years ago - had failed.

In his speech to the party conference in Manchester, the chancellor is expected to say that while the government will not "abandon" the long-term unemployed, no-one will be able to get something for nothing.

Cleaning up litter

Those who have been out of work for a long time will have to work hard to find a job, he will say.

Continue reading the main story

• Help to Work is aimed at those who have been unable to get a job after two years on the government's Work Programme scheme.
• The scheme will last until the person has found a job.
• The Work Programme began in June 2011 and 1.31 million people have joined.
• Those without a job at the end of two years return to Jobcentre Plus.
• These people are expected to either join a training scheme, take part in a Mandatory Work Activity placement or undergo intensive work preparation.
• They are currently expected to sign on at the Jobcentre at least once a week but some are required to meet their adviser every day.
• Benefits can be docked for one month for any breach of the rules and three months for a second infringement.
• Those who regularly break the rules could lose their benefits for up to three years.
• The new proposal seems to have more specific work requirements, more daily signing on at Jobcentres, tougher penalties and is not time-limited.

Those who have not found work after two years on the existing work programme - where contractors are paid a fee to get people into a job - will face a new scheme called help-to-work.

To still qualify for jobseeker's allowance they will have three options - work placements, such as cleaning up litter; daily visits to a job centre; or taking part in compulsory training, for example, to improve their literacy.

People would have to remain on help-to-work until they found employment.

Those who breach the rules will lose four weeks' worth of benefits. Anyone who breaks the rules a second time faces losing three months' worth of benefits.

Ahead of his speech Mr Osborne said: "We are saying there is no option of doing nothing for your benefits, no something for nothing any more. People are going to have to do things to get their dole and that is going to help them into work."

He added: "They will do useful work to put something back into their community; making meals for the elderly, clearing up litter, working for a local charity.

"Others will be made to attend the job centre every working day. And for those with underlying problems, like drug addiction and illiteracy, there will be an intensive regime of help.

"No-one will be ignored or left without help. But no-one will get something for nothing."

'Languish on dole'

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Rachel Reeves, said it had "taken three wasted years of rising long-term unemployment and a failed work programme to come up with this new scheme".

"But this policy is not as ambitious as Labour's compulsory jobs guarantee, which would ensure there is a paid job for every young person out of work for over 12 months and every adult unemployed for more than two years," she added.

A Department of Work and Pensions assessment of mandatory work activity - a similar compulsory work scheme introduced by ministers in 2011 - found it "had no impact on the likelihood of being employed".

And on the work programme, DWP figures suggested one in 10 of those seen found a long-term job.

"Both internationally and more recently in the UK, the experience has been these schemes really don't do much to help people get into sustained employment," said Jonathan Portes - a former chief economist at the department.

"The experience so far has been they cost quite a bit of money and don't deliver that much in the way of results."

'UKIP pact'

In developments at the conference on Sunday:

Meanwhile, the leader of the UK Independence Party has said it is open to local deals for its candidates to stand aside in seats with Eurosceptic MPs.

Nigel Farage ruled out a formal electoral pact but suggested there could be agreements at constituency level between UKIP and candidates from different parties.

Writing in the Times, Mr Farage said: "If either they, or others like them, even Labour MPs, with their local associations, chose to propose running on a joint ticket then I would leave the local UKIP association to have those associations."

A poll of Conservative councillors for BBC One's Sunday Politics had suggested nearly a quarter would support an electoral pact with UKIP at the next general election.

The conference continues until Wednesday when Mr Cameron will deliver his keynote speech.

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Popes to be declared saints in April

30 September 2013 Last updated at 05:33 ET

Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII will be declared saints on 27 April 2014, Pope Francis has announced.

The Pope said in July that he would canonise his two predecessors, after approving a second miracle attributed to John Paul.

Polish John Paul, the first non-Italian pope for more than 400 years, led the Catholic Church from 1978-2005.

Pope John was pontiff from 1958-1963, calling the Second Vatican Council that transformed the Church.

The decision to canonise the two at the same time appears designed to unify Catholics, correspondents say.

John Paul II is a favourite of conservative Catholics, while John XXIII is widely admired by the Church's progressive wing.

John Paul stood out for his media-friendly, globetrotting style. He was a fierce critic of both communism and what he saw as the excesses of capitalism.

John is remembered for introducing the vernacular to replace Latin in church masses and for creating warmer ties between the Catholic Church and the Jewish faith.

He has a big following in Italy, where he is known as Il Papa Buono, the good pope.

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End war on drugs, says police chief

28 September 2013 Last updated at 19:54 ET

Class A drugs should be decriminalised and drug addicts "treated and cared for not criminalised", according to a senior UK police officer.

Writing in the Observer, Chief Constable Mike Barton of Durham Police said prohibition had put billions of pounds into the hands of criminals.

He said a controlled environment would be a more successful way of tackling the issue.

Mr Barton suggested this could be done through the NHS.

'Route of supply'

The chief constable - who is the intelligence lead for the Association of Chief Police Officers - said he believed decriminalisation of Class A drugs would take away the income of dealers and destroy their power.

He said: "If an addict were able to access drugs via the NHS or something similar, then they would not have to go out and buy illegal drugs.

"Buying or being treated with, say, diamorphine is cheap. It's cheap to produce it therapeutically.

Continue reading the main story

Addiction to anything is not a good thing, but outright prohibition hands revenue streams to villains"

End Quote Mike Barton Durham Constabulary chief constable

"Not all crime gangs raise income through selling drugs, but most of them do in my experience. So offering an alternative route of supply to users cuts their income stream off.

"What I am saying is that drugs should be controlled. They should not, of course, be freely available."

Mr Barton compared drugs prohibition to the ban on alcohol in the US in the 1920s which fuelled organised crime.

He said some young people saw drug dealers as glamorous gangsters and envied their wealth.

The officer said drug addicts must be treated and cared for and encouraged to break the cycle of addiction - they did not need to be criminalised.

Groups on radar

He said: "I think addiction to anything - drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc - is not a good thing, but outright prohibition hands revenue streams to villains.

"Since 1971 [the Misuse of Drugs Act] prohibition has put billions into the hands of villains who sell adulterated drugs on the streets.

"If you started to give a heroin addict the drug therapeutically, then we would not have the scourge of hepatitis C and Aids spreading among needle users, for instance. I am calling for a controlled environment, not a free-for-all."

He said if the "war on drugs" meant trying to reduce illicit supply then it had failed.

There were 43 organised crime groups on their radar in the Durham Constabulary area alone, he added.

Mr Barton is among a small number of top police officers in the UK who have called for a major review of drugs policy.

Danny Kuschlick, of campaign group Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said: "We are delighted to see a serving chief constable who is willing to stand up and tell the truth - prohibition doesn't work."

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Dean criticises disability work test

28 September 2013 Last updated at 21:16 ET

A letter urging Prime Minister David Cameron to get rid of work assessments for the disabled has been signed by the dean of St Paul's Cathedral.

The Very Rev Dr David Ison was among campaigners to claim the tests could "cut short" disabled people's lives.

The letter also called on ministers to address the "shameful offences" of austerity measures.

The government said the assessments had been improved and could help disabled people get into employment.

'Heaviest burden'

The letter, titled The Downing Street Demand, called for an end to work capability assessments (WCA) which "demean and distress" disabled people.

It stated that government policies forced some of the most deprived members of society to "shoulder the heaviest burden of national debt created by the super-rich".

The letter to the prime minister said: "In 2010 you said 'I'm going to make sure no-one is left behind; that we protect the poorest and most vulnerable in our society'.

"The reality of the austerity programme is the opposite.

"Since your government came to power, cuts have meant that disabled people are paying back nine times more than non-disabled people and those with the highest support needs are paying back 19 times more."

'Dignity and security'

The campaigners were particularly critical of work capability assessments, changes to housing benefit - the so-called bedroom tax - and benefits changes including the disability living allowance (DLA) and personal independence payment (PIP).

Work capability assessments were introduced in 2008 to assess entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA).

"The support needs of complex disabilities and mental health issues cannot be assessed by a tick-box system," the letter continued.

It suggested WCA should be replaced with a "rigorous and safe system that does not cause unavoidable harm".

Continue reading the main story

The old incapacity benefits system condemned too many people to a life on benefits with little hope of moving back to work"

End Quote Department for Work and Pensions spokesman

Dr Ison, who presided over the funeral of Baroness Thatcher, said: "It's right to stand in solidarity with people from many different organisations to draw attention to the needs of some of the most deprived members of our society.

"Many disabled people feel desperate facing possible cuts in support, the bedroom tax, and in particular an inflexible and failing work capability assessment scheme which can blight and even cut short their lives.

"The government needs to respond by enabling disabled people to live with dignity and security."

'Fairer process'

Campaigners said 56,000 people had signed a petition supporting an end to the "degrading" assessments.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "It is important we don't simply write-off people who have a health condition or disability.

"The old incapacity benefits system condemned too many people to a life on benefits with little hope of moving back to work.

"Now people who can work will be given help to find a job while those who need unconditional support will get it.

"Through a series of independent reviews and by working with medical experts and charities, we have considerably improved the WCA process since 2010 to make it fairer and more accurate.

"The percentage of people entitled to employment and support allowance is now at its highest level with over half of people completing a WCA eligible for the benefit."

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India warns Pakistan ahead of talks

28 September 2013 Last updated at 21:54 ET

Indian PM Manmohan Singh has said Pakistan must stop being "the epicentre of terrorism", ahead of talks with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Singh also stressed that he shared Mr Sharif's hopes for better relations between the two Asian rivals.

Ahead of their meeting in New York, Mr Sharif called for a "new beginning" with Delhi.

The bilateral ties have been strained over continuing deadly clashes in the disputed region of Kashmir.

On Thursday, at least 10 people were killed when militants stormed a police station and an army camp in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Delhi has also blamed Pakistan-based militants for the deadly attacks in Mumbai in 2008, urging Islamabad to punish the perpetrators.

'Wasted resources'

"For progress to be made, it is imperative that the territory of Pakistan and the areas under its control are not utilised for aiding or abetting terrorism," Mr Singh said in a speech at the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

"It is equally important that the terrorist machinery that draws its sustenance from Pakistan be shut down."

Mr Singh also said he reciprocated Mr Sharif's hopes for better relations, but stressed that Delhi viewed Kashmir as "an integral part of India".

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by the Line of Control.

India in the past has expressed concern over Mr Sharif's perceived ties to radical Islamic groups operating in Pakistan, correspondents say.

In his speech at the UN, Mr Sharif said he was looking for a "purposeful dialogue" with Mr Singh during their Sunday's meeting on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

"Our two countries have wasted massive resources in an arms race. We could have used those resources for the economic well-being of our people," he said.

Despite tense relations between the two countries, they may be an opening, the BBC's Nick Bryant in New York reports.

Mr Singh, 81, is not expected to contest next year's elections, and this could be his last chance to revive the stalled peace process, our correspondent says.

Mr Sharif swept to power in May with pledges to improve ties with India.

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Italian president to tackle crisis

29 September 2013 Last updated at 00:04 ET

Italy's president is considering ways out of an acute political crisis after ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi's ministers left the coalition government.

Giorgio Napolitano hinted that he would try to oversee the formation of a new coalition without calling elections.

This follows weeks of worsening ties between Berlusconi's party and PM Enrico Letta's centre-left grouping.

Berlusconi had already threatened to withdraw his ministers if he was expelled from the Senate for tax fraud.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Prime Minister Enrico Letta is among the most mild-mannered of Italy's politicians.

And that makes the ferocity of his response to Mr Berlusconi's manoeuvre all the more striking.

Mr Letta described the reasons given for the resignation of the ministers as a "huge lie".

So there's no going back. This most awkward and unhappy of coalition governments is finished.

Now President Napolitano will become a key player.

Constitutionally it is down to him to decide whether Parliament should be dissolved.

And fresh elections are a possibility.

But President Napolitano would probably do all that he could to avoid the protracted instability of an election campaign - and the prospect of another inconclusive result.

So there may well now be a major effort to try to stitch together some new coalition from within the existing parliament.

The current coalition government was put together after inconclusive elections in February, and the latest developments cast a further shadow over Italy's struggling economy, the eurozone's third-largest.

It is feared that the crisis could hamper efforts to enact badly-needed reforms to tackle Italy's economic problems, including debt, recession and high youth unemployment.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that coalition tensions represent a risk to the Italian economy.

'Grave violation'

Speaking on Saturday, President Napolitano called for political continuity in the country.

"We need a parliament that discusses and works, not that breaks up every now and then," he said.

"We do not need continuous election campaigns, we need continuity of the government's actions, decisions and its measures to resolve the problems of this country."

Italy is now in very uncertain political terrain, and at times like this its head of state becomes a hugely important figure, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome reports.

Later on Sunday, Mr Napolitano is expected to meet Mr Letta, and their talks will be closely watched for the first indications as to how this crisis will play out, our correspondent says.

Mr Letta, of the centre-left Democratic Party, warned late on Friday that he would quit unless his coalition cabinet won a confidence vote due next week.

Continue reading the main story

Silvio Berlusconi's trials

• Accused of having paid for sex with an underage prostitute and of abuse of power for asking police to release her when she was arrested for theft
• Convicted of tax fraud in case focusing on the purchase of the TV rights to US films by his company, Mediaset
• Acquitted in several other cases; also convicted in several, only to be cleared on appeal; others expired under statute of limitations

But Berlusconi pre-empted that, describing Mr Letta's comments as "unacceptable". He later said all five ministers of his People of Freedom (PDL) party were resigning.

The PDL is objecting to a planned increase in sales tax, which is part of wider government policy to reduce big public debts.

Interior Minister and PDL Secretary Angelino Alfano accused Mr Letta of "a grave violation of the pacts that this government is founded on".

But the prime minister responded angrily to the resignations, accusing the PDL leader of telling Italians a "huge lie" in using the sales tax as an alibi for his own personal concerns.

"In parliament, everyone will have to assume responsibility for their actions before the nation."

Berlusconi's legal problems are seen as a cause of much of the tension inside the coalition.

A committee of the Senate decides next week if he should be expelled after the Supreme Court recently upheld his conviction for tax fraud.

It was his first conviction to be confirmed on appeal in two decades of fighting legal cases.

Berlusconi was sentenced to a year in jail, but is expected to serve house arrest or community service because of his age.

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US shutdown nears after House vote

29 September 2013 Last updated at 03:16 ET

The US government has less than 48 hours to avert a shutdown of government services amid political divisions over President Obama's healthcare law.

On Sunday, the Republican-run House of Representatives voted to pull the law's funding, raising chances of a shutdown.

The government needs to agree a new policy-wide spending bill before the US fiscal year ends at midnight on Monday.

If it fails, non-essential federal services face closure, with employees sidelined or left working without pay.

Early on Sunday, the House passed an amended version of the Senate spending bill that removed funding from the healthcare law.

US Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has vowed that his Democrat-led chamber will reject the Republican bill.

Continue reading the main story

Shutdown scenarios

• About 800,000 federal workers could be placed on unpaid leave
• National parks and federal wildlife refuges face closure
• About 1.4m military personnel will stay on duty but pay could be delayed
• Air-traffic controllers and border guards must also report to work
• Some White House staff might be told to stay home
• Possible disruption to services like passport, visa and mortgage applications.

But with the Senate not due to meet again until Monday afternoon, it will have just hours to pass a stand-alone bill free of any measures that undermine the law.

In a statement, Senator Reid said that "after weeks of futile political games from Republicans, we are still at square one".

He added that Republican efforts to change the bill - that would delay the healthcare law for a year and repeal a tax on medical devices - were pointless.

Speaking for the president, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "Any member of the Republican Party who votes for this bill is voting for a shutdown." The president, he said, would also veto the Republican bill.

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Republican Jack Kingston and Democrat Marcy Kaptur gave their views ahead of the vote

However, House Republicans went ahead with the changes, ignoring the veto threat and passing the bill in a late-night session by 231 votes to 192.

The Senate is controlled by Mr Obama's Democratic party, while the Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives.

"House and Senate like two locomotives barreling toward one another ... in slow motion," tweeted Republican Representative Scott Rigell.

'Acting responsibly'

The looming shutdown, which would be the first for 17 years, is one of two fiscal crises facing the US government.

On 17 October, the US treasury department's authority to borrow money to fund its debt obligations expires unless Congress approves a rise in the so-called debt ceiling.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

After weeks of futile political games from Republicans, we are still at square one"

End Quote Harry Reid US Senate Majority leader

On Friday, President Obama urged House Republicans to pass the Senate's stopgap budget bill and to extend the debt limit, and demanded they not threaten to "burn the house down because you haven't gotten 100% of your way".

Mr Obama said if the nation were to default on its debt, it would have a "profound destabilising effect" on the world economy.

"Voting for the treasury to pay its bills is not a concession to me," he said. "No-one gets to hurt our economy... just because there are a couple of laws [they] don't like."

He described the healthcare law as "a done deal" and said the Republican-backed repeal effort was "not going to happen".

Mr Obama said the Senate had "acted responsibly" in passing the budget measure and that now it was up to Republicans in the House of Representatives "to do the same".

Civilian cuts

If the government does shut down on 1 October, as many as a third of its 2.1 million employees are expected to stop work - with no guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is resolved.

National parks and Washington's Smithsonian museums would close, pension and veterans' benefit cheques would be delayed, and visa and passport applications would be stymied.

Programmes deemed essential, such as air traffic control and food inspections, would continue.

The defence department has advised employees that uniformed members of the military will continue on "normal duty status", but "large numbers" of civilian workers will be told to stay home.

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Tories bring forward mortgage scheme

29 September 2013 Last updated at 05:49 ET

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David Cameron: "I'm not going to stand back while people's aspirations to get on the housing ladder... are being trashed"

A controversial scheme allowing people in England to take out 95% mortgages will be launched next week - three months earlier than planned.

PM David Cameron made the announcement as the Conservatives gathered in Manchester for their annual conference.

He rejected fears the Help to Buy scheme will fuel a housing bubble.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr show the market was "recovering from a very low base" and first time buyers needed help to get on the housing ladder.

"As prime minister I am not going to stand by while people's aspirations to get on the housing ladder are being trashed."

He added: "If we don't do this it will only be people with rich parents to help them who can get on the housing ladder - that is not fair, it is not right."

'Trust'

He rejected concerns - raised by Business Secretary Vince Cable among others - of an unsustainable boom in house prices, particularly in the south-east of England.

The prime minister urged people to "trust" the Bank of England, which has been given an enhanced role in monitoring the effect of the scheme on prices.

And he said mortgage-lenders, including the Halifax, RBS and Nat West, had already signed up to the scheme.

The first phase of Help to Buy, which applied to the purchase of new homes only, was launched earlier this year.

Under the second phase, which was due to launch in January, the government will guarantee 15% of a mortgage on any property worth up to £600,000, allowing lenders to provide up to 95% mortgages at reduced risk.

If financial institutions are asking for a 20% deposit, the government will guarantee 15% of the mortgage, allowing for deposits as low as 5%.

Applications for loans for the scheme will now be brought forward to 7 October but the loans wont be paid out until 1 January, so anyone hoping to complete on their home purchase using the second phase of Help to Buy scheme before 2014 will not be able to.

House prices rose at their fastest rate in more than six years in September, according to property analysts Hometrack.

The report follows similar findings from Nationwide building society last week, which reported evidence that the market pick-up "is becoming increasingly broad-based".

Adam Marshall, of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "With all the concern expressed about Help to Buy - rushing into it seems less than responsible on part of government."

Affordable homes

Responding to the announcement, Labour's Ed Balls said: "Rising demand for housing must be matched with rising supply, but under this government house building is at its lowest level since the 1920s.

"Unless David Cameron acts now to build more affordable homes, as Labour has urged, then soaring prices risk making it even harder for first time buyers to get on the housing ladder.

"You can't deal with the cost of living crisis without building more homes, so it's no wonder that for millions of families this is no recovery at all."

Elsewhere, new guidelines to be announced at the conference in Manchester will scrap the giving of police cautions for rape, manslaughter, robbery, child sexual abuse and other serious offences.

The Tories said the move would stop offenders who commit such crimes ending up "with just a slap on the wrist"

In other developments:

• Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, who will address the conference on Sunday, appealed for IT experts to join up as military reservists to help protect the UK's computer networks from cyber attack
• Conservative leader in Scotland, Ruth Davidson, will use a fringe meeting to call for greater choice in the Scottish education system to end the "monopoly of mediocrity too many face"
• Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend a trade union protests march and rally in Manchester against government austerity policies, particularly those affecting the NHS
• A poll of more than 1,400 Conservative councillors in England and Wales for BBC One's Sunday Politics suggested nearly a quarter would support an electoral pact with the UK Independence Party (UKIP) at the next general election

A Tory source said: "80% of our councillors didn't respond to this survey so it's hardly representative. It should be taken with a large pinch of salt."

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cameron insisted he was "not chasing off to the right".

"I'm very firmly anchored where I have always been," he said. "Yes, I want to win back voters from UKIP."

Swing voters

Meanwhile, proposals for tax breaks for some married couples and civil partners have come under attack from both Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Cameron said introducing tax breaks would mean four million married couples and civil partnerships - those paying lower tax rates - could be up to £200 a year better off from April 2015.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond also announced plans to offer interest-free home loans to armed forces personnel.

Other policy announcements are set to include a crackdown on welfare payments and an expansion of free schools.

On the eve of the conference, BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said the Tories would be trying to convince swing voters that they should be the party of choice for hard-working families.

The conference will open on Sunday with a tribute to former Prime Minster Baroness Thatcher, who died aged 87 in April, and close with Mr Cameron's keynote speech on Wednesday.

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Deadly blast hits Pakistan market

29 September 2013 Last updated at 05:21 ET

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People rushed to help those injured in the blast

An explosion has ripped through a market in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, leaving at least 33 dead and dozens wounded, officials say.

Police said a bomb had exploded in the Kissa Khwani market, with shops and vehicles set alight.

The blast comes a week after a double suicide bombing that killed at least 80 people at a church in the city.

On Friday, at least 17 people were killed in the bombing of a bus carrying government employees near Peshawar.

Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has been hit by numerous bomb and gun attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents in recent years.

Hospital emergency

Police said they suspected the explosion was caused by a car bomb.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper quoted the health minister as saying that the main Peshawar police station may have been the main target.

However, bomb disposal chief Shafqat Malik said it appeared the blast had taken place some way from the station.

He told Agence France-Presse that a parked car had been "converted into a remote controlled bomb".

One shop owner, Nazar Ali, told Associated Press: "It was a huge blast that was followed by fire in vehicles. Thick black smoke covered the air and splinters spread all over. I saw people lying dead and bleeding."

An emergency situation was declared at the Lady Reading Hospital as it received the injured, many of them badly burned. Officials said 76 people had been hurt.

Anxious relatives gathered outside the hospital for news.

Rising violence has hindered new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's overtures to end the insurgency through peace talks with the Taliban.

On 21 September, Pakistan released from the jail the co-founder of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

But the Pakistan Taliban have consistently rejected the country's constitution and demand the imposition of Sharia law.

Mr Sharif is in New York at the UN and is to meet Indian PM Manmohan Singh later on Sunday.

Mr Sharif strongly condemned the Peshawar bombing in a message from New York, saying: "Those involved in the killing of innocent people are devoid of humanity and all religions."

Ahead of the talks, Mr Singh said Pakistan must stop being "the epicentre of terrorism".

Last Sunday's attack on the historic All Saints church - thought to be the deadliest attack against Christians in Pakistan - sparked angry protests nationwide.

Two Islamist militant groups with Taliban links said they had ordered the attack to hit back at US drone strikes.

More than 120 people were wounded.

Friday's bus bomb targeted government employees returning home in the Gulbela area, some 15km (9 miles) north-east of the city.

In addition to those killed, at least 34 people were injured.

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Cancer drugs fund 'to be extended'

28 September 2013 Last updated at 04:06 ET

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Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said cancer sufferers in Wales were renting homes in England to access drugs

A £200m-a-year fund for life-enhancing cancer drugs is to continue until 2016, the prime minister has announced.

The Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) was set up in 2011 to help patients in England access certain drugs before they get approval for widespread NHS use.

The scheme was due to end next year, but David Cameron has pledged £400m to keep it running.

Cancer charities have welcomed the move, but Labour accused the prime minister of "letting down" patients.

Head of policy at Cancer Research, Sara Osborne, praised the valuable role the fund would play in battling the disease and highlighted the tens of thousands of people who received treatment because of it.

She said: "There's about 30 drugs that are available on the Cancer Drugs Fund, and over the last three years about 34,000 patients have had treatment that they would not have otherwise had, had the fund not existed."

'Special case'

The aim of the CDF was to make it easier for medics to prescribe treatments even if they have not yet been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

Continue reading the main story

It has also addressed some of the historic inequities that have existed for people with rarer cancers."

End Quote Andrew Wilson Chief executive of the Rarer Cancers Foundation

The scheme was set to run until 2014 and campaigners raised concerns about where patients would turn for help when the funding ceased.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said cancer was a special case.

He said: "We particularly make exceptions for rarer diseases which only affect small numbers of people, and the other area we make that exception for are these cancer drugs because we think it is the number one killer, and we do think that we had a particular problem with a lack of access to these drugs."

Andrew Wilson, chief executive of the Rarer Cancers Foundation, said: "The Cancer Drugs Fund has made a huge difference to cancer patients in England, significantly improving the quality of treatment available to people with advanced forms of cancer.

"It has also addressed some of the historic inequities that have existed for people with rarer cancers, ensuring that access to treatment is not denied simply because you are unlucky enough to have a rare form of cancer.

"This is a compassionate, common sense announcement which will be warmly welcomed by many thousands of cancer patients."

Continue reading the main story

An extension of the Cancer Drugs Fund in England means a radical overhaul in the NHS drugs pricing system is now unlikely.

Next year was meant to mark the start of value-based pricing, a system proposed by former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to promote a closer link between the price the NHS pays and the value a medicine offers.

It could have led to higher price thresholds for medicines for diseases with a greater burden of illness or in areas where there is un-met need, or if it could be demonstrated that there would be wider benefits, such as getting people back to work.

Some of these elements are to be incorporated into the work of the drugs advisory body the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence from January.

But this announcement effectively signals a light-touch version of what was first envisaged.

So far more than 34,000 patients have benefited from the fund and the charity estimates that 16,500 extra patients will benefit each year as a result of the extension.

Mr Cameron said: "When I became prime minister three years ago many patients with rare cancers were being denied life-saving treatments.

"That is why we created the Cancer Drugs Fund, it is why we are extending it, and it is why we are partnering with Cancer Research UK to conduct new research into the effectiveness of cancer drugs.

"It is only because we have protected health spending that we can afford these life saving treatments."

Dr Andrew Protheroe, consultant in medical oncology at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford, also backed the extension of the scheme.

He said: "The more treatment options that are available to me, the better job I feel I can do for my patients.

"There is nothing more frustrating than knowing there is an effective, licensed, evidence-based treatment available which I am not allowed to use.

"It is like trying to do your job with one hand tied behind your back.

"Before the Cancer Drugs Fund, doctors were not able to use a whole range of drugs which were part of standard practice in other countries.

"This fantastic announcement means we won't have to go back to those days."

Networks scrapped

However, BBC health correspondent Nick Triggle said the move does raise questions about the introduction of a new way of assessing drugs that had been expected to start next year.

Next year was meant to mark the start of value-based pricing, a system proposed by previous health secretary Andrew Lansley to ensure there is a closer link between the price the NHS pays and the value that a medicine offers.

There will now be no full blown overhaul although drug advisory body NICE will be looking to make some changes to improve the assessment process from January.

Shadow health minister Liz Kendall said the government was "letting down cancer patients".

She highlighted the fact that expert cancer networks - set up to improve access to high quality services - were scrapped during the reorganisation of the NHS earlier this year.

She added: "David Cameron should also stand up to the tobacco lobby rather than caving in to them over standardised cigarette packaging, which experts say would be a powerful weapon in the long-term fight against cancer."

Alongside plans to extend the fund, Mr Cameron also announced that Genomics England - a government-owned organisation tasked with mapping the DNA of 100,000 patients with cancer and rare diseases - will begin a partnership with Cancer Research UK.

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UN adopts Syria chemical resolution

28 September 2013 Last updated at 01:29 ET

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John Kerry: "Diplomacy can be so powerful that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war"

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a binding resolution on ridding Syria of chemical weapons.

At a session in New York, the 15-member body backed the draft document agreed earlier by Russia and the US.

The deal breaks a two-and-a-half year deadlock in the UN over Syria, where fighting between government forces and rebels rages on.

The vote came after the international chemical watchdog agreed on a plan to destroy Syria's stockpile by mid-2014.

'Powerful diplomacy'

Speaking after the vote in New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the decision as "historic".

"Tonight the international community has delivered."

Continue reading the main story

Only a few weeks ago, this landmark vote would have seemed highly improbable, if not unimaginable: a Security Council deadlocked for two-and-half years on Syria agreeing, with every hand raised, to a binding resolution.

After the 21 August attack in the suburbs of Damascus, its members could not even agree on a press statement condemning the killings.

The resolution has two key demands: that Syria abandon its chemical weapons stockpile and for weapons experts to be given unfettered access to make sure it is dismantled by the middle of next year.

But the resolution doesn't authorise the automatic use of force if Syria is held in violation, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov determinedly pointed out.

Punitive measures, like military action or sanctions, would require a second resolution, and then Moscow would likely wield its veto.

Nor does the resolution attribute guilt for the 21 August attack, the massacre that ended up transforming the diplomatic dynamic. Despite the agreement reached in Geneva two weeks ago which this resolution enshrines, Russia and America remain at odds over who was to blame.

For the first time, though, the Security Council has endorsed a roadmap for a political transition in Syria and the UN has also set a target date for a new peace conference in mid-November.

He urged the Syrian government to implement the resolution "faithfully and without delay", and also announced a tentative date of mid-November for a new peace conference in Geneva.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the UN demonstrated that "diplomacy can be so powerful that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war".

He said the resolution would for the first time seek to eliminate entirely a nation's chemical weapons capability.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also hailed the move, saying Moscow "was ready to take part in all operations" in Syria.

However, he stressed that the success of international efforts was "not only on Damascus' shoulders" and that Syrian opposition must co-operate.

The UN resolution condemns the use of chemical weapons but does not attribute blame.

The text has two legally binding demands: that Syria abandon its weapons stockpile and that the chemical weapons experts be given unfettered access.

Although the draft refers to Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows the use of military force, a second resolution authorising such a move would be needed.

US President Barack Obama earlier said agreement on the issue by council members would be a "potentially huge victory for the international community".

Previous attempts at a resolution stumbled amid disagreements between Russia and the US on how to deal with the crisis in Syria.

The US - backed by France and the UK - had pushed for a resolution carrying the threat of military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's armed forces. Russia had opposed this.

Reacting to the vote, Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari said the resolution covered most of Damascus' concerns.

But he stressed that countries supporting Syrian rebels should also abide by the adopted document.

'Unmistakable message'

The UN vote came just hours after the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) adopted what it called "a historic decision on the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons".

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UK Foreign Secretary William Hague: "It is a ground-breaking resolution"

In a statement after a late-night meeting in The Hague, the watchdog said its executive council "agreed on an accelerated programme for achieving the complete elimination of Syria's chemical weapons by mid-2014. The decision requires inspections in Syria to commence from 1 October 2013".

"The decision also calls for ambitious milestones for destruction which will be set by the (executive) council by 15 November."

OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu said the move "sends an unmistakable message that the international community is coming together to work for peace in Syria".

These are unchartered waters for the OPCW, a small organisation that has never undertaken a job of this size or complexity, says the BBC's world affairs correspondent Paul Adams.

It will need a lot of help and is expected to ask for urgent funding and additional personnel, he adds.

Continue reading the main story

• Syria believed to possess more than 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents and pre-cursor chemicals, including blister agent, sulphur mustard, and sarin nerve agent; also thought to have produced most potent nerve agent, VX
• US believes Syria's arsenal can be "delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets"
• Syria acceded to Chemical Weapons Convention on 14 September; it signed Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention in 1972 but never ratified

The UK is to contribute $3m (£1.85m) to the OPCW's Syria fund, Foreign Secretary William Hague announced on Friday.

The OPCW document now forms part of the UN resolution which sets out to govern the whole process.

Meanwhile. violence continued in Syria. Activists said a car bomb killed at least 20 people near a mosque in Rankus, a town north of Damascus, just after Friday prayers.

Earlier, the UN said its team of inspectors currently in Syria are investigating three chemical weapons attacks alleged to have happened after the 21 August attack in Damascus that left hundreds dead and sparked a threat of US military action.

The three attacks are among seven alleged incidents the UN said its team were investigating.

The UN said its team, led by Ake Sellstrom, arrived in Syria for its second visit on 25 September and hopes to finish its work by Monday.

It is working on a "comprehensive report" that it expects to have finished by late October.

The UN listed the alleged attacks, which all took place this year, as Khan al-Assal on 19 March; Sheikh Maqsoud on 13 April; Saraqeb on 29 April; Ghouta on 21 August; Bahhariya on 22 August; Jobar on 24 August and Ashrafieh Sahnaya on 25 August.

Damascus pushed for the investigation of the three post-21 August incidents, accusing "militants" of using chemical gas against the army in Bahhariya, Jobar and Ashrafieh Sahnaya.

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Conservative vice-chairman arrested

28 September 2013 Last updated at 02:36 ET

A Conservative vice-chairman has been arrested on suspicion of rape, relating to an alleged offence more than 40 years ago.

Alan Lewis, 75, was arrested by Greater Manchester Police after a woman claimed she was attacked in the late 1960s.

Mr Lewis was appointed vice-chairman for business relations by David Cameron in 2010. He has been released on bail.

A party spokesman said: "This is an ongoing police matter so we are not able to make any comments."

Mr Lewis is a successful entrepreneur who owns the Crombie clothing chain, and is one of nine Conservative Party vice-chairmen.

In 1990, he was made a CBE for his services as chairman of the Confederation of British Industry's initiative to prepare British businesses to the single market.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "A 75-year-old man was arrested following a complaint received earlier this year of an historic rape that occurred in the Manchester area in the late 60s.

"The man was later bailed pending further inquiries."

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PM unveils marriage tax breaks plan

28 September 2013 Last updated at 04:31 ET

Plans for some married couples to get tax breaks worth up to £200 a year have been announced by David Cameron.

The prime minister said four million couples would benefit from a £1,000 transferable tax allowance from 2015.

The move, announced ahead of the Tory conference, comes after a deal with the Liberal Democrats to introduce free school meals for children under eight.

Labour said Mr Cameron was "out of touch" if he thought the people would get married "for £3.85 a week".

The tax break would apply if couples are both basic rate tax payers and would also include 15,000 couples in civil partnerships, from April 2015.

The basic tax rate of 20% is currently in place for up to £32,010 of taxable income. That means that - including a personal allowance - at current rates people would have to earn less than £41,451 a year to be eligible.

'Happiest day'

Benefits from the scheme would come through initially at the end of the tax year in 2016.

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Jeremy Hunt: "Marriage... is the institution that particularly helps to strengthen commitment in our society"

Writing in the Daily Mail, Mr Cameron said: "I believe in marriage. Alongside the birth of my children, my wedding was the happiest day of my life.

"Since then, Samantha and I have been a team. Nothing I've done since - becoming a Member of Parliament, leader of my party or prime minister - would have been possible without her.

"There is something special about marriage: it's a declaration of commitment, responsibility and stability that helps to bind families.

"The values of marriage are give and take, support and sacrifice - values that we need more of in this country."

He later tweeted: "The £1000 marriage tax allowance will apply to straight and gay couples, as well as civil partners. Love is love, commitment is commitment."

Election pledge

Mr Cameron said stay-at-home mothers and women who worked part-time would be the main winners.

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He promised tax breaks for married couples when he ran for the leadership of his party in 2005, and it was also part of the Conservative election manifesto in 2010.

The Liberal Democrats are opposed to the measure but under the coalition agreement they would not be able to vote against it in any parliamentary vote but could abstain.

It has been suggested the Lib Dems were able to announce plans for every child in England between reception and year two to get free school lunches in exchange for the Conservative's proposed tax break.

The free school meals policy will begin in September next year and will be worth about £437 per child.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said: "Each party at their conference has launched a policy that costs about the same - somewhere between half a billion and a billion pounds.

"So the Liberal Democrats had something on free school meals, Labour had something on childcare, the Conservatives have got something on tax allowances.

"Each one is a small lollipop in the context of £25bn of cuts being expected over the following two years - none of them have said much about how they're going to do that."

'All families'

For Labour, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Rachel Reeves said: "David Cameron's so-called marriage tax break won't even help two-thirds of married couples, let alone millions of people who are separated, widowed or divorced.

"He's so out of touch he thinks people will get married for £3.85 a week.

"And even for the minority who might benefit, it will be far outweighed by what David Cameron's government has already taken away in higher VAT and cuts to child benefit and tax credits."

But Conservative Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "This is a measure that's going to help four million hardworking couples where life is pretty tough. This is going to go to lower earning couples, incidentally, it's not going to go to everyone.

"And I hope it will make a small difference but also send a signal that even though marriage is not for everyone, and there are many different shapes and sizes, different types of families, we recognise the value of this institution to our society."

'Promoting a fantasy'

Tim Yeo, the Conservative MP for Suffolk, told BBC Radio Suffolk that while he welcomed any institutions that support stability in society, in 2013 marriage "is not the only model for a family".

"I don't see why, for example, someone who has been widowed, whether it's a man or a woman, at a young age, and is trying to being up children perhaps on a relatively low income, I regret the fact that the current proposal may exclude those people," he said.

Campaign group Don't Judge My Family criticised the move.

It said the scheme was about "promoting a fantasy 1950s family" and would not benefit many of the families who needed most support.

Dr Samantha Callan, the director of families at the think tank Centre for Social Justice that seeks to address poverty and its causes, welcomed the announcement.

"We've been calling for this since 2007," she said.

"We did a report into the state of the nation and why family breakdown is such a problem in the UK today. Half of all children born today will not still be with both their parents by the time they're 15 and marriage is a more durable relationship."

She added: "Ninety-three percent of all couples still together by the time the child is 15 are married."

The Conservative Party conference takes place in Manchester from Sunday. Mr Cameron will close the conference with his keynote speech on Wednesday.

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Greek far-right leader arrested

28 September 2013 Last updated at 05:13 ET

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The BBC's Mark Lowen: "It is really an extraordinary crackdown"

Greek police have arrested the leader of the far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, on charges of forming a criminal organisation.

Three more Golden Dawn MPs, a leader in an Athens suburb and nine other party members have also been arrested.

The arrests come amid anger over the murder on 18 September of anti-racist musician, Pavlos Fyssas.

A man held for the stabbing told police he was a Golden Dawn supporter, though the party strongly denies any link.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Not since the end of Greece's military dictatorship in 1974 have MPs been arrested. It is an extraordinary clampdown by a government long accused of taking a soft touch towards Golden Dawn.

Some 154 racist attacks were recorded here last year and 104 so far this year - most attributed to Golden Dawn members. Two immigrants have been killed, again blamed on the party. But only now, after the killing of the hip hop artist Pavlos Fyssas, have authorities moved in hard and fast.

The government says it is this crime that has definitively exposed a direct chain of command to the party leadership, providing the basis for Golden Dawn to be classified as a criminal group.

The party has already had the immunity provided for Greek MPs lifted and one of those arrested on Saturday was tried earlier in the year in a separate incident. But with these arrests and several suspensions of police officers accused of links to Golden Dawn, the government has done more against the party this week than it has in the past year.

One of the MPs arrested on Saturday was party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris.

Another, Ilias Panayiotaros, told reporters before giving himself up: "Shame on them, the people will lift Golden Dawn higher."

A number of other warrants are believed to have been issued.

Golden Dawn has called on its supporters to rally outside the police headquarters in Athens and has vowed to fight back.

A text message read: "We call upon everyone to support our moral and just struggle against the corrupt system!"

'Bodyguard' held

The killing of Pavlos Fyssas, 34 - whose stage name was Killah P - has sparked protests in Athens and across Greece.

George Roupakias, 45, who said he was a supporter of Golden Dawn, was arrested. He was charged with voluntary manslaughter and illegal possession of a weapon.

The government launched a crackdown, including raids on Golden Dawn premises.

Two senior police officials resigned for "personal reasons" after the killing and another two were suspended. Seven other police officers were suspended.

Greek police also arrested one of their own colleagues who was reportedly working as a bodyguard for the party, during a raid on its offices in the western town of Agrinio on Tuesday.

Continue reading the main story

Golden Dawn - key dates

• Began 1980 but more formally established 1985
• Party banner is a Greek decorative border, often compared with Nazi insignia
• In 1996 elections, won just 4,487 votes - 0.07%. European election performance in 2004 was 0.17%, in 2009 0.46%
• Nikolaos Michaloliakos wins place on Athens Municipal Council in 2010 with 5.29%
• Breakthrough in May 2012 election with 441,018 votes and 21 deputies, cut to 18 MPs in June re-run
• June 2012 - Party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris throws water and slaps rival politician on TV
• Sept 2013 - George Roupakias (above), self-proclaimed supporter, arrested for murder of musician Pavlos Fyssas
• Sept 2013 - Leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos and other party members arrested

The government also began an inquiry into the activities of Golden Dawn, which won nearly 7% of the vote in 2012 elections.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has vowed not to let the party "undermine" democracy, and government officials say it must now be treated as a "criminal organisation".

Golden Dawn, Greece's third most popular party, has accused the government of carrying out a witch-hunt over the Fyssas killing.

Mr Michaloliakos, 56, said last week: "Everyone is talking about us without asking us. They are throwing dirt from morning to evening, and these great Democrats are not giving us an inch to respond."

On Friday, Golden Dawn threatened to pull its 18 MPs out of the 300-strong Hellenic Parliament.

Mr Samaras's coalition, which has 155 seats, would then face by-elections.

In recent months, Golden Dawn has been accused of perpetrating attacks on migrants and political opponents - including an attack on Communist Party members earlier this month which is said to have left nine people in hospital.

Golden Dawn officially denies being a neo-Nazi movement, though its badge resembles a swastika, some senior members have praised Adolf Hitler, and its members wear black T-shirts and combat trousers at anti-immigrant demonstrations.

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Obama and Rouhani speak by phone

28 September 2013 Last updated at 05:27 ET

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US President Barack Obama: "The test will be meaningful, transparent and verifiable actions"

US President Barack Obama has spoken by phone to Iran's Hassan Rouhani - the first such top-level conversation in more than 30 years.

Mr Obama spoke of a "unique opportunity" to make progress with Iran's new leadership, amid a flurry of diplomacy over its nuclear programme.

Earlier, Mr Rouhani said Iran was keen to reach a deal soon.

He also asserted that Iran did not seek a nuclear bomb, as Western powers have long suspected.

Describing meetings at the UN this week as a "first step", he said he believed the nuclear issue could be settled "within the not too distant future".

Mr Rouhani said initial discussions had taken place in an environment that was "quite different" from the past.

On his arrival back in Tehran from the UN General Assembly forum in New York, Mr Rouhani was met by a number of key political figures, as well as both supporters and opponents from the public.

A New York Times reporter described the scene as chaotic, with dozens of hardliners hurling eggs and shoes at the president's convoy.

'Full backing'

The call with Mr Obama was made just before Mr Rouhani left New York, where he has been attending the annual summit of the UN General Assembly, Iranian news agency Irna said.

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Analysis

Hassan Rouhani's actions in New York reveal a man dealing with the inherent, overwhelming contradiction of his job: he has a popular mandate without actual power.

In a speech given on 17 September in Tehran, Ali Khamenei approved the use of "heroic flexibility" in diplomacy. This would appear to translate as an instruction to President Rouhani: by all means see what you can get from the Americans, but don't go around shaking Obama's hand.

The ayatollah-approved outreach in New York included the first sustained direct talks between the US and Iran at foreign minister level for more than 30 years.

Hassan Rouhani may be able to recommend a deal, he may be able to explain how concessions are the best way to get sanctions lifted, and improve the lives of ordinary Iranians. But in the end, it is the supreme leader who will have the final say.

White House officials described the 15 minute conversation - apparently initiated by Mr Rouhani - as cordial, the BBC's Bridget Kendall reports from New York.

Mr Obama raised concerns about American prisoners in Iran, but the bulk of the call was about efforts to reach a solution on the nuclear issue, she says.

Afterwards, Mr Obama said: "While there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution."

Mr Rouhani, who is regarded as a moderate and was elected in June, has said he wants to reach a deal over the nuclear issue in three to six months.

He says he is fully empowered by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to negotiate.

On Friday, he told a press conference at the UN: "Whatever result we achieve through negotiations my government will have the full backing of all the main branches of power in Iran as well as the support of the people of Iran."

And he said he wanted a deal "within a very short period of time".

'Bomb is dangerous'

Earlier the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had held "very constructive" talks with Iran in Vienna.

IAEA Deputy Director-General Herman Nackaerts did not give details of Friday's talks, but said the two parties would meet again on 28 October.

"We will start substantial discussions on the way forward to resolving all outstanding issues," Mr Nackaerts said.

Reza Najafi, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, was quoted as saying that the aim was to reach an agreement "as soon as possible" and also spoke of a "constructive discussion".

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"Start Quote

If Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani can deliver what he has been saying in New York - and if the world's big powers can reciprocate - then there's a real chance to make progress"

End Quote

On Thursday US Secretary of State John Kerry held a rare meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Mr Kerry said he was struck by the "very different tone", but added that Iran still had questions to answer.

There had been speculation that Mr Rouhani and Mr Obama might meet in New York. Mr Rouhani told journalists that "in principle we did not have any problems with having a meeting", but "there was not sufficient time" for planning the encounter.

The Iranian president rebuffed questions about Iran's reliability as a negotiating partner, saying his country wanted to retain nuclear technology but would submit to IAEA supervision.

"We say explicitly that we do not seek a bomb," he said. "We say explicitly that we believe the building of a bomb is dangerous for us - for our region."

The US and China have said they expect Iran to respond to an existing offer by the US, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany, who form a negotiating group known as the P5+1.

The group has asked Iran to halt production and stockpiling of uranium enriched to 20% - a step away from achieving a nuclear weapons capability.

They also demanded Iran shut down the Fordo underground enrichment facility, near Qom.

Substantive talks between Iran and the P5+1 are due to take place on 15 October, and Mr Rouhani said Iran would bring a plan to that meeting, though he did not give details.

Iran's key nuclear sites

Source: 1155/New Scientist Global Security

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Pakistani quake area struck again

28 September 2013 Last updated at 05:32 ET

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has hit south-west Pakistan, in a region where at least 400 people died in a quake earlier this week.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck approximately 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of the port city of Karachi.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Local media reported that the quake affected Balochistan and Sindh regions.

It was also felt in Quetta, close to Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, and Karachi.

Pakistan's Meteorological Department measured the quake at 7.2 magnitude.

Chief Pakistani meteorologist Arif Mahmood told Pakistani television that it was an aftershock from this week's earthquake and similar tremors could continue for weeks, Associated Press reported.

"We are checking but no reports of losses have yet been received," Jan Mohammad Buledi, a spokesman for the provincial government of Balchistan told AFP.

At least 400 people died and hundreds were injured when a 7.7-magnitude quake hit the same area on Tuesday.

Officials have estimated that about 300,000 people were affected by the earlier quake but relief and rescue efforts have been hampered by poor road networks and separatist militant activity.

The violent force of the 7.7-magnitude quake caused the creation of a new 200m (656ft) long island off the coast of Pakistan near the port of Gwadar.

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Ban threat for car parking cameras

27 September 2013 Last updated at 05:47 ET

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Roy Tunstall, from Liverpool City Council, says CCTV vans act as a "high-visibility deterrent"

Fixed cameras and what critics call spy cars used to catch people parking illegally could be banned in England.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said he wanted to "rein in over-zealous and unfair rules", and that traffic wardens with cameras could do the job instead.

Static and car mounted cameras have been used to issue more than 10 million fines, totalling £301m, in the past five years, the Conservatives say.

Councils say the cameras help to keep roads safe, especially near schools.

The law could be changed "well before Easter", Mr Pickles told the BBC.

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Camera cars have been instrumental in keeping children from being hurt or killed on the way to school"

End Quote Tony Ball Local Government Association

Some 75 councils currently have permission to use CCTV cameras or "approved devices" to enforce parking restrictions, under Labour's 2004 Traffic Management Act.

In these areas, a third of all parking fines are now issued via CCTV rather than by parking wardens, case studies suggest.

Meanwhile, a study by the Audit Commission found one in three councils was earning more money through parking charges and school meals than council tax.

Ahead the Tories' annual conference, which starts on Sunday, Mr Pickles said restrictions were damaging town centres and being enforced unfairly.

The party has announced a series of proposals including:

• Banning static CCTV parking cameras and car mounted cameras, instead allowing only visible traffic wardens to film vehicles
• Publishing "open data" on parking
• Updating guidelines to help people use local shops more easily
• Improving people's "rights of redress" when fined inappropriately
• Stopping "unacceptable and aggressive parking fine collection practices"
• Reviewing "unnecessary" yellow lines

A Conservative Party briefing says using CCTV for parking enforcement "is detrimental to natural justice", as penalty notices are received in the post "with no opportunity for the driver to examine the parking location as it was at the time of the alleged contravention".

Mr Pickles added: "We want to rein in these over-zealous and unfair rules on parking enforcement, so it focuses on supporting high streets and motorists, not raising money.

"Parking spy cars are just one example of this and a step too far. Public confidence is strengthened in CCTV if it is used to tackle crime, not to raise money for council coffers."

Civil liberties campaigners called for a "serious debate" about what they said was the UK's "uniquely high level of CCTV surveillance".

"Councils should be transparent with residents about how many tickets are being issued with CCTV and how many criminals are being convicted," said Nick Pickles from the Big Brother Watch group.

"That way residents can decide for themselves if they really are better off with the cameras watching them."

'Law is clear'

But Tony Ball, of the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said parking controls were "not about revenue raising" but were "absolutely essential" for allowing people to leave their cars near shops or their homes.

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He added: "Camera cars have been instrumental in keeping children from being hurt or killed on the way to school, and CCTV plays an important role elsewhere in monitoring traffic flow and keeping cars moving.

"Nobody likes getting a parking fine but the fact that less than 1% go to adjudication shows that in the vast majority of cases councils get it right.

"Income from on-street parking fines and charges is spent on parking services with any money left over spent on services like fixing potholes and providing subsidised bus travel to children and the elderly."

'Hostility'

In response, Mr Pickles told BBC Breakfast: "It's okay for local authorities to say 'oh, it's all to save the children'. No it isn't. What this is about is raking in pretty large sums of money to fill the councils' coffers.

"The law's pretty clear. It says you're not allowed to do that. What we're going to do is enforce the law."

Meanwhile, motoring groups suggested parking policies were designed to make profit rather than improve roads.

"What really irritates drivers is the street-level hostility they feel is being waged against them," said AA president Edmund King.

"Drivers feel that civil enforcement officers are lurking in every street and are not there to deter them but to issue a ticket as soon as the driver's back is turned."

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation. added: "Nobody wants a parking free for all, but they do want reasonable charges and fairness, whatever method is used to achieve it."

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Royal Mail 'worth up to £3.3bn'

27 September 2013 Last updated at 05:47 ET

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Business minister Michael Fallon: "This is a huge day for Royal Mail"

Royal Mail shares are to be sold by mid-October, before postal workers have a chance to strike over the move.

The company is valued at £2.6bn to £3.3bn, the government said on Friday.

The Department for Business said Royal Mail would list on the London Stock Exchange next month. BBC business editor Robert Peston says that the privatisation should be complete by 15 October.

He adds that this is "long before" a possible strike could happen.

Postal workers will on Friday begin voting on whether to take industrial action to oppose the plan.

In a statement, the government said that 10% of the shares, priced between 260p and 330p, would be given to about 150,000 "eligible UK-based Royal Mail employees".

The government will also sell between 40.1% and 52.2% of the Royal Mail under its privatisation proposal.

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There is perhaps a Thatcherite confrontational tint to the whole exercise, unusual for a government led by David Cameron, whose own ideological roots seem more Blairite than Iron Lady"

End Quote

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "This will give Royal Mail access to the private capital it needs to modernise, as envisaged under successive governments and enshrined in law by Parliament two years ago. "

Moya Greene, chief executive of Royal Mail, said that the company would "not change".

"We will now be better able to compete in what is a fast changing and intensely competitive market," she added.

Strikes?

Members of the public can apply for Royal Mail shares online until 8 October. So-called "conditional dealings" in shares on the London Stock Exchange will begin on 11 October, while "unconditional dealings" will commence on 15 October.

The minimum application for the public wishing to purchase shares is £750, or £500 for eligible Royal Mail employees.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is balloting 100,000 of its members on a nationwide strike over the privatisation, as well as on changes to salary and pensions.

The CWU on Friday in statement said it "criticised" the government for pressing ahead with what it called an "unpopular" privatisation.

CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: "It seems remarkable that the prospectus is being issued on the same day that postal workers are being sent ballot papers for strike action."

Mr Hayes added: "Royal Mail is profitable and can continue to be successful in the public sector. The sale is driven by political dogma, not economic necessity, and postal workers and the CWU will continue to fight to save services as well as defend their terms and conditions."

Voting in the strike ballot will close on 16 October. The earliest a strike could take place is 23 October.

'Priced to sell'

Our business editor adds that this is a "very big moment" in the history of the 500-year-old postal service, describing the government's programme as "ambitious".

He adds: "Remember that industrial relations are pretty terrible at the moment, and the government's timetable for this means it is now impossible for there to be a strike before the privatisation is done. It will be in the private sector before there can be a strike."

Business minister Michael Fallon told the BBC that the six-day-a-week delivery, or "universal service", was "completely protected," but private investment would help the Royal Mail improve that service.

"It's a business that needs access to private capital," he added.

Postal economist David Stubbs told the BBC that the pricing of the shares was "low".

"Under some scenarios, this looks cheap. If the Royal Mail is able to keep its market share and to keep its industrial relations issues under control, then this pricing is low.

"It looks like the price reflects the government's desire for a quick sale."

Mr Stubbs added, however, that if there were continuing problems with its labour relations, and if competitors began to gain an advantage, the value would be less than the range given by the government on Friday.

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