Missing Alice Gross: Cops Comb CCTV For Clues

Detectives are scouring footage from 300 CCTV cameras covering a six square mile area in the search for missing Alice Gross.

Police investigating the disappearance of the 14-year-old say the security film is "crucial" to their investigation, as they try to piece together her last known movements.

Police are continuing to search scrubland next to the Grand Union Canal

Some 30 investigators are painstakingly reviewing the material, as dozens more officers continue to carefully search scrubland next to the Grand Union Canal in west London where the schoolgirl was last caught on CCTV.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "This continues to be a massive investigation.

"A range of officers and staff from across the Met are taking part in the ever-expanding search for Alice.

"To date the search has involved the Met's underwater and confined space search team, marine support unit, search dogs, air support unit, Territorial Support Group, local borough officers, volunteer police cadets, visual images identification and detections officers, plus licensed search officers."

Alice has not been seen since August 28

Alice was last seen on CCTV walking along the towpath next to the canal as it passes under Trumpers Way at 4.26pm on August 28 but has not been seen since.

A reconstruction staged by police in the hope of jogging people's memory led to 150 calls from the public.

Alice's family have said "every morning brings new agony" as they made a heartfelt plea for her to return home.

More than a dozen police forces have contributed specialist resources to help with the search.

A range of officers are taking part in the ever-expanding search

Detective Superintendent Carl Mehta said: "CCTV is clearly crucial in our investigation, but we still need the public's help and I want to hear from anyone who saw Alice during the afternoon of the Thursday she was last seen.

"In over 30 years of policing I have never seen such a strong community reaction. This is a community that is totally behind the search to find Alice and bring her home."

Investigators said an area of disturbed earth at Elthorne Park in west London, which runs beside the canal towpath, was no longer of interest.

A police reconstruction led to 150 calls from the public

Prime suspect, 41-year-old builder Arnis Zalkalns - a convicted murderer who served seven years in a Latvian jail for killing his wife - was spotted on CCTV cycling along the same path as Alice on the day she vanished.

He has not been seen since September 3 and has not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone.

But Det Supt Mehta stressed the Latvian, who was also accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl in 2009, was just "one line of inquiry".

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for anyone who has information that leads detectives to find Alice.

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Back In Conflict, But This Time It's Different

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

It has begun. Eleven years after the invasion that marked the beginning of the Iraq War, Britain is again involved in a conflict in the region.

The Government is (rightly) quick to point out why this time, it is different.

The Iraqi government has made a formal request for British help in defending itself against IS and the US-led coalition is broad based, with support from some countries in the Middle East.

Most significantly, British involvement is limited to airstrikes and ground troops have been explicitly ruled out.

The first British jets took off for northern Iraq on Saturday morning. Precise details of their mission is not known.

There are just six Tornado GR4 fighter bombers stationed in Cyprus. To put this in context, Denmark is deploying more war planes than Britain.

Denmark has more war planes than Britain in the current conflict

Ken Clarke has previously described the UK involvement as merely "symbolic", and others have argued that if it is so limited, what is the point of getting dragged into a potentially prolonged and complex conflict at all?

At the moment, UK military action is a halfway house.

Britain is not ignoring the crisis over IS and allowing other countries to get on with the campaign alone.

However, the involvement is incredibly limited.

Syria - where IS has its strongholds - is currently off limits. Ground troops are ruled out. MPs may have voted overwhelmingly in favour of airstrikes in Iraq, but many are extremely nervous about committing further.

The halfway house solution may work for the time being, but at some point the Government will have to decide whether the UK is fully in, or if it is out.

:: Watch full coverage on Sky News Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

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UK Military Planners Call Iraq Mission 'Dynamic'

By Tom Parmenter, RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus

The send off for the RAF Tornado jets finished with a simple thumbs up from the ground crew waving them off.

The planning and preparation for British airstrikes is now at full pace at RAF Akrotiri and everyone on the base on Cyprus knows their mission has now escalated.

On Saturday morning the Tornado crews strode out across the tarmac, two teams of two, helmets on.

They knew the cameras were there to capture the moment that debate and politics gave way to military action. The deployment of British bombs in Iraq is now in their hands.

Now that this is a combat mission their identities are protected, all we know is that they are some of the RAF's most skilled and experienced individuals.

Their families will know that their loved ones are now going to war rather than simply flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

The intelligence gathering will continue apace on these sorties and there may be flights in the coming days and weeks where they don't need to deploy missiles.

Military planners call the mission "dynamic" - it means that the plans will change according to what's happening on the ground.

The professionalism of everyone who works to support these missions means they want to respond to the orders efficiently and carry out their job as precisely as possible.

Every time they leave this base the ground crews will wave them off, every time they return they'll be relieved to welcome them back.

:: Watch full coverage on Sky News Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

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First-Time Buyers To Get 20% Off Under Tories

Young first-time buyers will get a 20% discount on their new homes, under plans announced by the Conservatives.

David Cameron has set out plans to build tens of thousands of new homes on commercial "brownfield" land, reserved for first-time buyers, under 40.

As Tories begin gathering in Birmingham for their annual conference, the PM said a Conservative government would implement the plan if they were re-elected in 2015.

Homes built under the proposed Help to Buy: Starter Homes scheme would be exempt from a range of taxes, lowering their price by 20%, say Tories.

First-time buyers have been priced out of many areas, especially in London

In an interview with The Sun, Mr Cameron said the programme would deliver 100,000 starter homes over the lifetime of the next parliament.

"We want to help more young people achieve the dream of home ownership so today as part of our long-term economic plan I can pledge we will build 100,000 homes for young, first-time buyers," he said.

"We will make these starter homes 20% cheaper by exempting them from a raft of taxes and by using brownfield land.

"I don't want to see young people locked out of home ownership.

David Cameron says the new homes would be exempt from some taxes

"We've already started to tackle the problem with Help to Buy mortgages - and these new plans will help tens of thousands more people to buy their first home."

The Conservatives said the homes would be built on brownfield land already zoned for development but no longer needed for industrial or commercial use.

Such land is not normally made available for housebuilding and can be bought more cheaply than other land, and the savings will be passed on to the buyer.

Public sector land which is surplus to requirements will also be brought into the scheme.

At the same time, the Conservatives said that the properties would be exempt from most of the taxes imposed on new homes.

These taxes include the social housing requirement and the community infrastructure levy.

Some future regulations such as the zero carbon homes standard will also not apply to properties built under the scheme.

The announcement is intended to set the tone for the party's final annual conference before the country goes to the polls next May.

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Iraq: British Jets On First Combat Mission

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

British jets armed with missiles are over northern Iraq on their maiden combat mission after taking off from a base in Cyprus.

Two Tornado GR4 fighter jets - armed with missiles for the first time - took off from RAF Akrotiri at 8.30am this morning.

They are being supported by a Voyager refuelling aircraft also based on the island.

The Tornados are carrying Brimstone and Paveway missiles on board and are authorised to fire them if they encounter Islamic State (IS) militants.

Precise details of the mission are still unknown, but they will be flying over Iraq according to the tasking given to them by US Central Command.

It is thought to be a dynamic close air support mission, hitting targets if and when they reveal themselves.

A member of the aircrew prepares to depart on the first mission. Pic: MOD

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We can confirm that following Parliamentary approval given yesterday, Royal Air Force Tornados continue to fly over Iraq and are now ready to be used in an attack role as and when appropriate targets are identified.

"For operational security reasons we will not be providing a running commentary on movements; we will provide an update on activity when it is appropriate to do so."

It comes after MPs overwhelmingly backed action in a vote in the House of Commons on Friday.

The Tornados are being supported by a Voyager refuelling aircraft

Parliament gave approval by 524 votes to 43 (a majority of 481) for Britain to join the US-led coalition in the Middle East.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said Britain is ready to play its part in dealing with IS.

He said: "We are one part of a large international coalition. But the crucial part of that coalition is that it is led by the Iraqi government, the legitimate government of Iraq, and its security forces.

"We are there to play our part and help deal with this appalling terrorist organisation."

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told Sky News Britain would select targets "in accordance with the American and international effort that's going on in Iraq.

"There's fighting around these towns - we have to fit in to the day-to-day fighting and see where we can help best," he said.

The planes have been at RAF Akrotiri for the past six weeks carrying out surveillance missions over the Middle East.

An RAF pilot at the base on Saturday morning

The US has been carrying out airstrikes in northern Iraq since August and France joined the mission last week.

Overnight, the US continued to hit suspected IS positions in Syria for a fifth consecutive day of attacks.

The Pentagon said the raids had disrupted lucrative oil-pumping operations that have helped fund IS militants, but that a final victory would need an on-the-ground campaign.

:: Watch full coverage on Sky News Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

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Missing Alice: 150 Calls After Reconstruction

A reconstruction of Alice Gross' last-known steps before her disappearance has led to 150 calls with information, police say.

The fresh leads come after an "area of interest" in a west London park brought no clues to the whereabouts of the missing 14-year-old.

Parts of Elthorne Park near her home in Hanwell had been cordoned off overnight by investigators who were scouring through disturbed earth which runs beside the canal towpath where Alice was last seen.

Part of Elthorne Park in west London was searched

"A full assessment has now been carried out, which has determined this area is not of relevance to the investigation into Alice's disappearance," a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

A white tent had been erected at the scene, and officers in diving gear had been searching a boggy area next to the river.

On Thursday, police staged a reconstruction which showed the high school student "power walking" on a towpath alongside the Grand Union Canal.

CCTV cameras overlooking the path captured her movements at 4.26pm on 28 August. She has not been seen since.

A reconstruction on Thursday brought scores of responses

Arnis Zalkalns, a convicted murder who is being treated as the prime suspect, cycled along the same towpath 15 minutes later.

Alice's mother, Rosalind Hodgkiss, has said: "Every morning, as Alice's disappearance grows longer and longer, brings new agony, new anguish."

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UKIP Seeks Blue Collar Vote At Conference

UKIP Steps Up Bid To Build Four-Party Politics

Updated: 7:29am UK, Friday 26 September 2014

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Nigel Farage and UKIP are attempting to step up from a party of protest to genuine contenders in four-party politics.

After the European elections in May, they could legitimately claim to have done that, having topped the poll with 27.5% of the vote.

It was the first time since the 1906 general election that any party other than Labour or the Conservatives had come top in a national poll.

Now UKIP is bidding to win its first seat in a parliamentary election, when Douglas Carswell attempts to hold his Clacton seat in a by-election on 9 October triggered by his shock defection from the Conservatives. UKIP is also challenging Labour in another by-election on the same day in Heywood & Middleton.

But while Mr Carswell stands a good chance of turning his 12,068 Tory majority in 2010 into a comfortable win for his new party in Clacton, realistically UKIP will win no more than a handful of seats at next year's general election.

The party had hoped its conference this weekend would be a springboard to victory in the two by-elections next month and then a major breakthrough in next year's general election.

But suddenly, Parliament has been recalled to debate going to war and, with no MPs, UKIP has no influence on that decision and its conference is in danger of looking like a sideshow.

It was all very different after the European elections, UKIP's 27.5% of the vote gave the party 23 MEPs. Labour was second with 25.4% and 18 MEPs and the Conservatives third with 23.94% and also 18 MEPs.

The Greens polled 7.87% with three MEPs, while the Liberal Democrats slumped to 6.87%, winning just one MEP. On that showing, it wasn't so much four-party politics as three, with UKIP replacing the Lib Dems as the third party.

But that was the European elections. Parliamentary by-elections are different and the general election different again. Making a breakthrough is harder, as UKIP has already found.

UKIP's task has been made harder by the fact that many of the 18 by-elections since the 2010 general election have been in fairly safe Labour seats. And while UKIP has come second in five, Labour has held them all comfortably, with one spectacular exception.

But in Bradford West, Labour's shock defeat wasn't at the hands of a flamboyant beer-drinking party leader, but an equally flamboyant teetotal firebrand, George Galloway, who stormed to victory by 10,000 votes.

UKIP came second in Barnsley Central, Middlesbrough, Rotherham, South Shields, and Wythenshaw & Sale East.

It came third in Corby and Croydon North, but fourth in Oldham East & Saddleworth, Leicester South, Feltham & Heston and Manchester Central and fifth in Bradford West and Cardiff South & Penarth.

By far UKIP's best result was in Eastleigh, where in the seat previously held by the disgraced Cabinet minister Chris Huhne, Mr Farage's party fell just 1,771 votes short of defeating the Lib Dems.

While UKIP's Diane James was a strong candidate, Mr Farage faced claims that if he had stood he might have won. Not so, he insisted.

In the most recent by-election, in Newark, a monumental Tory effort saw the Conservatives see off the UKIP threat with a comfortable majority of nearly 7,500.

Now the UKIP leader has opted to fight Thanet South, where the Tory majority is 7,617 and a one-term Tory MP, Laura Sandys, is standing down at the general election. Mr Farage is tipped to win. But how many seats will his party win in 2015?

That may depend on whether any more Conservative MPs follow Mr Carswell into the arms of UKIP. And that could depend on how well he does in his by-election next month. Another question: will Mr Carswell hold Clacton in the general election?

Provocatively, UKIP is holding its party conference at Doncaster racecourse, in Ed Miliband's constituency. Mr Farage claims his party takes votes off Labour and Conservatives in equal numbers.

But the evidence of the by-elections so far in this Parliament suggests UKIP will damage the Conservatives more in the general election, handing victory to Labour in some marginals and merely eating into Labour's majority in its safe seats.

The European elections may have given us four-party politics. But unless UKIP springs a surprise and wins more than a handful of seats at Westminster, we won't see four-party politics after the general election.

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Toddler In Newcastle Pond Tragedy Named

A three-year-old boy who died after falling into a pond in Newcastle has been named as Callum Greenwood.

The little boy was found 10 minutes after he was reported missing on Thursday evening but was later pronounced dead at the Royal Victoria Infirmary.

A neighbour who saw emergency services' frantic efforts to save Callum said he realised at once something terrible had happened.

Plasterer Paul Taylor, 37, who lives next door, said: "I'd been out to get an Indian and when I came back there was a massive police search on.

Next-door neighbours Emma and Paul Taylor

"They had closed off the road and the ambulance was there.

"I saw somebody in a blanket being carried into the ambulance.

"I thought obviously something terrible had happened but I didn't know what."

He added: "It's hard to believe this has happened to someone of that age."

His partner, Emma Taylor, 38, said: "We could see people crying and screaming. A woman was hysterical.

"When we saw someone being bundled into the ambulance, we still didn't know.

"The people next door are very private. We have since heard the boy was their daughter's child, who had come for a visit."

Two Police Community Support Officers were seen standing outside the large detached property in Elswick Road where the little boy was last seen.

Northumbria Police's Superintendent Mick Paterson said on Thursday night: "This is an incredibly tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.

"They are understandably absolutely devastated and officers with specialist training are providing them with support."

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

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Dreamliner Makes Emergency Landing In Glasgow

A Dreamliner operated by Polish airline LOT has made an emergency landing in Glasgow after crew received an alert from the fire protection system in the baggage hold.

The Boeing 787 was flying from Chicago to Warsaw with 248 people on board when the captain requested the emergency landing.

LOT spokeswoman Barbara Pijanowsk-Kuras said the emergency landing was required according to safety procedure after the crew received a warning from the firefighting system in the luggage compartment.

News reports said the pilot had reported a smell of smoke in the cabin.

The plane, which landed safely at 11.35am, was met by emergency services at the Scottish airport and checked by firefighters. It was deemed safe before it taxied to a stand.

The passengers have since disembarked, while the aircraft is "under technical review", a statement by the airline said. 

The airport remains open, and LOT said it was considering using another aircraft to bring the passengers to Warsaw.

The plane was carrying 248 people. Pic: @AndrewWork

The aircraft has been plagued by problems.

Last year, the world's entire Boeing 787 fleet was grounded for three months to have their battery systems fixed, after a few of the aircraft developed problems that led to the appearance of smoke.

The battery appeared to overheat, reaching temperatures capable of melting rock.

Boeing redesigned the battery, charger and containment system to ensure battery fires would not put the aircraft at risk. Since then, the aircraft have experienced a series of minor glitches, including a fault with an air pressure sensor and the brake system.

Boeing insists the Dreamliner is operating safely.

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DLT Sentenced For Groping TV Personality

Disgraced DJ Dave Lee Travis has left court after being given a three-month suspended sentence for indecently assaulting a TV personality.

Speaking to reporters outside, the former Radio 1 star said he was "mortified" and "really disappointed" over his conviction this week and criticised his prosecution.

He said the judge accepted that prosecutors had failed to prove their case that he was a "sexual predator".

Travis said: "I was worried if the prosecution threw enough mud at me, some of it might stick", adding it was "of little comfort that I was acquitted of so many others (alleged offences)".

He said of those closest to him: "We all know the truth and I'm grateful for that."

Travis, who became a household name in the 1970s, was found guilty on Tuesday of indecently assaulting a woman in 1995.

He was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years.

Travis pictured with his wife Marianne

The incident took place behind the scenes at The Mrs Merton Show, a programme which the victim had been working on as a researcher.

The DJ had squeezed her breasts for 10-15 seconds after cornering her in a corridor of a BBC studio.

The victim had been smoking in the corridor when he commented on her "poor little lungs" before groping her.

Sentencing the 69-year-old man at London's Southwark Crown Court, Judge Leonard said: "It was an intentional and unpleasant sexual assault.

"You took advantage of a young woman in a vulnerable position whose job it was to look after you that day."

In the dock, Travis briefly looked down and then said: "Thank you, your honour".

Marianne, his wife of more than 40 years, hugged a friend in the public gallery after the judge delivered his sentence.

In a statement read out ahead of his sentencing, the victim said: "I was subjected to an unprovoked and terrifying physical assault at my place of work.

Travis became a household name in the 1970s

"I was too paralysed with fear to confront my assailant."

Before sentencing, another woman, Camilla Long, said Travis had hit the dock glass "really loudly" and told her to move from the public gallery to the press seats as she was making him "uncomfortable".

Journalist Ms Long, who in 2012 wrote he groped her during an interview, told Sky News he was "kind of shouting" in court and she found it "incredibly intimidating".

She said she was sitting directly behind him because she did not want to sit next to his wife and there were no spare seats in the press gallery.

This week, Travis was found not guilty on a second indecent assault charge and the jury was discharged after it was unable to agree a verdict on a count of sexual assault.

He faced a retrial after jurors failed to reach verdicts on those two charges earlier this year.

He was cleared of 12 counts of indecent assault at his original trial in February.

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Anjem Choudary: Preacher Held In Terror Arrests

Nine men have been arrested in London on suspicion of being members of a terrorist organisation and encouraging terrorism.

Radical preacher Anjem Choudary, 47, was reportedly among those held by officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) on Thursday.

The men, aged between 22 and 51, have been taken to police stations in central London and remain in custody on suspicion of being members of a proscribed organisation or supporting a proscribed organisation.

Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad

The organisation is believed to be Al Muhajiroun, the Press Association reported. The group was set up by Choudary and Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad, who was told he could not return to the UK after the 7/7 bombings. Al Muhajiroun was banned in 2010.

A number of residential, business or community properties - 11 in east London, one in west London, one in northwest London, five in south London and one in Stoke-on-Trent - are also being searched as part of the investigation.

A statement from the Met Police said: "These arrests and searches are part of an ongoing investigation into Islamist related terrorism and are not in response to any immediate public safety risk."

This week, Choudary was reported to have said he had no sympathy for aid worker Alan Henning, who has been captured by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

He reportedly said: "In the Koran it is not allowed for you to feel sorry for non Muslims. I don't feel sorry for him."

Choudary reportedly said he had no sympathy for hostage Alan Henning

Last month, the Government raised Britain's terror threat level from substantial to severe because of the threat from militant groups in the Middle East.

A severe threat means an attack is deemed to be "highly likely", but there is no intelligence to suggest one is imminent.

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Stolen Digger Leads Police On Three-Hour Chase

A 22-year-old man has been arrested after a three-hour pursuit of a 44-tonne digger.

Leicestershire Police said the man called them in the early hours of the morning to say he had stolen the bulldozer.

A helicopter was drafted in to help and officers managed to stop the yellow-and-black machine on the A511 around Coalville, near Leicester, at 7am.

The force, which tweeted an image of the pursuit, said: "Police were called at 3.14am today by a man who claimed to have stolen a 44-tonne digger from the Coalville area."

No-one was hurt in the incident.

Earlier, a spokesman for the National Police Air Service Birmingham-based helicopter said: "Just assisted our Leicestershire colleagues bring the pursuit of a stolen 44-tonne wheeled bulldozer to a safe end in Coalville!"

The 22-year-old remains in police custody.

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Baby-Biting Father Jailed For Killing Child

A father who bit, beat, punched and shook his small baby daughter has been jailed for at least 22 years.

Aurimas Medvedevas, a 23-year-old from Lithuania, was sentenced at the Old Bailey for killing two-month-old Aukse.

It happened on September 5 last year, the day Aukse's mother - agency worker Dzesika Urbikaite - went back to work for the first time since giving birth.

Ms Urbikaite, 22, returned to their Peterborough home that night to find her daughter dead in a cot.

Medvedevas, of Clifton Avenue, Peterborough, denied murder but on the third day of his Old Bailey trial he changed his plea to guilty in light of the overwhelming evidence against him.

Jailing him, judge Timothy Pontius said the brutality of the attack on a defenceless baby almost defied belief and the bite marks on her head were "particularly shocking".

He said the baby's hours of suffering before her eventual death "demonstrated a callousness that is as incredible as it is inhuman".

"The murder of any human being is always a tragedy, the murder of a defenceless child of any age, the more so.

"The murder of a helpless infant only a few weeks old in circumstances of brutality which almost defy belief is an appalling crime beyond comprehension.

"The responsibility - his alone - for so horrific a crime will, I imagine, weigh heavily upon his conscience for the rest of his life. So it should."

More follows...

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Alice: Parents' Anguish Over Missing Daughter

The parents of missing schoolgirl Alice Gross have told Sky News of their anguish as they made a plea for her safe return.

The appeal came as police stage a reconstruction of her final movements, four weeks after she disappeared.

Alice, 14, was seen on CCTV on August 28 walking alongside the Grand Union Canal in west London back towards her home in Hanwell and has not been seen since.

Police have staged a reconstruction to try and jog people's memory

Her parents, Rosalind Hodgkiss and Jose Gross, have urged people to help find their daughter.

Ms Hodgkiss, who is a teacher, said: "The longer Alice has been missing the more worried and concerned that we feel and obviously the greater the anguish that we feel.

"We are looking forward to being back as a family again.

"The house feels very empty without her."

She added: "Alice is a very lively, funny girl. She's quirky.

"We are really looking forward to the sound of her voice, seeing her smile, just her presence."

Mr Gross, 60, said of his daughter, a keen musician: "Her singing was a really big part of the sounds in our house."

It is the biggest search by the Met since the 7/7 bomb attacks in London

Alice had suffered from anorexia, but Mr Gross said: "There's nothing specific we can think of that would have made her want to run away."

Her father also highlighted the "extraordinary" level of support they had received from the public, which had been "uplifting".

Yellow ribbons are in evidence all over the area of west London where the family live, along with posters highlighting the teenager's disappearance.

He said: "It's makes a really massive difference to us both in the sense of feeling supported but also that the word is getting out there, making people more aware."

Alice had suffered from anorexia, but her father said: "There's nothing specific we can think of that would have made her want to run away."

Scotland Yard hope the reconstruction of Alice's last known movements, which began with her leaving her home at 1pm before walking along Brentford Lock, will help jog people's memory of the afternoon of August 28.

Alice's parents' say the house feels empty without her

The lead investigating officer Detective Superintendent Carl Mehta told Sky News police were anxious to know what happened to Alice after 4.26pm that day.

He said people may remember her distinctive 'power' walk - very fast with swinging arms.

Police also wanted to trace Alice's iPhone, which had a cracked cover and "scribbling" on the back of it, as well as information about the teenager's rucksack found on September 2.

Around 600 officers from eight forces are involved in the investigation, making it the biggest search undertaken by the Metropolitan Police since the 7/7 transport bomb attacks in London in 2005.

Prime suspect, 41-year-old builder Arnis Zalkalns - a convicted murderer who served seven years in a Latvian jail for killing his wife - was spotted on CCTV cycling along the same path as Alice on the day she vanished.

He has not been seen since September 3 and has not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone.

Officers have been sent to his native Latvia in an effort to trace him.

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for anyone who has information that leads detectives to find Alice.

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Cabinet Discusses Military Strikes Against IS

Airstrikes Could Happen Minutes After Vote

Updated: 1:21pm UK, Thursday 25 September 2014

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

In theory, British airstrikes on Iraq could start within minutes of parliamentary approval, should it be given, on Friday night.

Realistically, if RAF Tornados are given the order, they will be in the skies in the very early hours of Saturday morning, at the earliest.

They will deploy in pairs, taking off over Akrotiri Bay and climbing northeast over the Mediterranean and towards the Turkish coast.

The butterflies of anticipation will be churning away inside, they will be aware of the television cameras at the end of the runway, they will know that within a few hours, as dawn breaks, they will be headline news.

Hugging the Turkish border with Syria at 25,000 feet, the jets will meet an RAF Voyager refuelling aircraft en route, before dropping down into northern Iraq.

Flying at 400mph (643kph), they will reach the theatre of operations within a short time.

What happens next is a decision for US Centcom, which is co-ordinating the overall operation.

The jets might fit into a holding pattern to perform an "x-cas" role, the military acronym for "emergency close air support".

Because this isn't a traditional conflict against a rogue state, there will be fewer major installations to destroy.

The coalition wants to destroy Islamic State, they don't want to destroy Iraq. Instead it will be dynamic, hitting the rats as they pop their heads out of the ground.

The Tornados, one of the best ground-attack aircraft in the world, will be fully loaded with the equipment specific to the task they've been given.

A Listening III pod will be attached underneath. This gives the crew the ability to examine the immediate area and then laser-designate the target.

The final decision to fire will be down to the pilot himself.

The payload will probably be four Paveway bombs and two Brimstone missiles.

Paveways can be programmed by the crew to explode just before it hits the target, or on impact or with a small delay so it can bury into a building.

The Brimstone locks on to its target the moment it is fired. It is a "fire-and-forget" weapon, meaning that it can be used in all weathers and at distance from the target.

Designed especially for armoured vehicles or similar, a small warhead explodes first to soften up the armour before a larger warhead detonates creating more destruction.

For the British, this will be a twin-pronged operation: from sea and air. A Royal Naval submarine is also moving into position.

Her exact identity and location is top secret but she's most likely in the eastern Mediterranean.

She carries Tomahawk cruise missiles - TLAMS - which have a range of about 1,000 miles (1,600km).

Guided by GPS, these are effective against static objects: buildings, military installations, weapons dumps and oil refineries.

The submarine can also watch live images from a camera on the TLAM as it flies over the battlefield and strikes its target.

Job done, the crew will turn for home. Landing back in Cyprus, the news will just be breaking.

Within hours, footage recorded on board the aircraft will be released to the media to be broadcast and analysed on 24-hour news channels around the world.

As the crews eat some food and get some sleep, another team will be getting ready for their mission, ready to fly at a moment's notice. 

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24-Hour Tube Launch Date Is Revealed

London's Tube trains are set to operate a 24-hour service at weekends from September 12 next year, it has been announced.

Night-time journeys in the capital are expected to be cut by 20 minutes on average, with some journeys expected to be reduced by up to one hour.

Transport For London said the new service, first promised by Mayor Boris Johnson and London Underground last November, had been made possible due to modernisation of the network and improved levels of reliability.

Half a million Londoners use the Tube after 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays

The launch of the "Night Tube" service will coincide with the Rugby World Cup, which is being hosted in England in September and October.

Fans attending at any of the three venues in London - Twickenham Stadium, Olympic Stadium and Wembley Stadium - will able to make use of the new service.

Mr Johnson said: "London is a bustling, 24-hour global city and by this time next year we'll have a 24-hour Tube service to match.

"Running trains all through the night was once thought impossible, but with the huge investment we've put in and upgrades that have been delivered we stand ready to take the Tube to the next level."

To meet the expected demand of the new service, there will be six trains per hour through central London on all Night Tube lines, including the Jubilee, Victoria and most of the Piccadilly, Central and Northern lines.

There will be eight trains per hour on the Northern line to meet demand at busy stations between Leicester Square and Camden Town.

Boris Johnson: 'We stand ready to take the Tube to the next level'

Mike Brown, managing director of London Underground, said: "We are now less than a year away from the first ever 24-hour services operating on London Underground.

"Already over half a million Londoners use the Tube after 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and the introduction of the Night Tube, which will cut journey times and open up new possibilities across the night time economy, is a historic step in our modernisation of the Underground."

While rail unions welcome the move, they have asked for talks with Transport for London managers to ensure it will not be a low cost, low management service.

Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union, said: "With Boris still wanting to axe 900 jobs and close all ticket offices, we want to ensure that the new service is properly staffed to ensure safe and secure travel for all passengers and that weekend maintenance work is not postponed to disrupt weekday services."

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iPods Save 750 Lives During Hospital Trials

By Lisa Dowd, Sky Correspondent

The lives of more than 750 patients have been saved at two hospitals after nurses started using iPods instead of paper charts to record patients' vital signs.

Research published in the British Medical Journal found that in one year the number of deaths at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth fell by 397 following the introduction of the new system.

At University Hospital Coventry 372 fewer patients died. The system has been trialled at the West Midlands hospital since 2007.

The special software automatically calculates if a patient is deteriorating and sends out alerts.

Staff have found the system is cutting down mistakes and saving time.

Nurse Amy-Dawn Lees uses an iPod to record a patient's blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels and temperature, as well as tapping in how a patient is feeling.

"The old paper charts were very, very difficult to decipher; the crosses, the arrows, written on the chart by the previous nurse. You can't actually distinguish exactly where the cross is," said Ms Lees.

"On the new electronic charts everything is colour-coded, you are able to see the previous observations in more detail, more accurately and obviously able to see whether your patient is the same, better or worse."

Handheld devices have replaced paper charts at two hospitals

Data from each iPod goes into a central computer system, which doctors, nurses and managers can access.

Patients across all wards are given a score of between 0 and 21.

"We have patients in today with high scores varying from 6, where we're starting to be concerned, to 11, which is the sickest patient we have," said Dr Duncan Watson, Clinical Director of Critical Care at University Hospital.

Doctors and nurses are also alerted to patients' needs by colour codes. Red signifies patients who need the most attention.

"It's radically changed things for us," added Dr Watson.

"It has decreased the mortality rates for the hospital, we are able to identify 10 patients a week and prevent them coming into the intensive care units, we can decrease their length of stay and the patients actually do better as they don't get as sick and we identify them quicker."

The system is expensive, according to Dr Watson - but it has the potential to save money long-term.

More importantly, across the two hospitals death rates have fallen by 15%.

Most hospital trusts still use a paper system, but University Hospital is now almost paper-free.

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Alice Gross: Police Reconstruct Teen's Journey

A reconstruction of the last-known movements of teenager Alice Gross will take place tomorrow - four weeks after the 14-year-old went missing.

Detectives are hoping it could throw up vital clues from anyone who saw her walking alongside the Grand Union Canal in west London.

The prime suspect, convicted killer Arnis Zalkalns, has disappeared and police are in his native Latvia to try to track him down.

Police found a knife in the River Brent

Police and divers are continuing to wade through the River Brent near Ealing Hospital after a knife - currently undergoing forensic testing - was found in the area earlier this week.

The search is the biggest since the 7/7 bombings in London, with 600 officers pursuing more than 700 lines of enquiry, and more than 1,000 people spoken to.

Divers have searched several miles of canals

Thursday's reconstruction will see a police cadet walk the canal-side route that Alice took on August 28 in the hope witnesses could remember a small, but potentially important detail.

CCTV recorded the teenager as she made her way back to her home in the Hanwell area of west London, and also filmed Zalkalns cycling past the same spot 15 minutes later.

Arnis Zalkans whereabouts are unknown - but he did not take his passport

Detectives believe he is likely to have seen Alice as they were both going north along the towpath.

The Latvian has not entered his homeland by plane and police there have said they would not detain him anyway because there is no evidence against him.

The labourer was seen on CCTV 15 minutes after Alice passed the same spot

Edgars Strautmanis, from the police international cooperation bureau, told The Daily Telegraph: "There are no legal grounds to put him in a cell.

"He has not committed any criminal offence in Latvia. There are no grounds to search him under Latvian law."

Zalkalns, who served seven years in prison for killing his wife and burying her in a forest after a dispute about her sexuality, has not been seen since September 3 and has not used his phone or bank account.

Alice was last seen on August 28

The labourer was also arrested on suspicion of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the UK in 2009, but no further action was taken.

Scotland Yard, meanwhile, has said it is reviewing the early stage of the investigation after coming under fire for being too slow to ask Latvian authorities for help.

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for anyone who has information that leads detectives to find Alice.

Zalkalns is white, 5ft 10ins and stocky, with dark brown hair that he normally wears tied in a ponytail.

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Arrest Imminent In Thai Murders: Reports

Britons Killed In 'Gruesome' Thai Beach Attack

Updated: 5:58pm UK, Monday 15 September 2014

The naked bodies of two British tourists who had apparently been attacked with a hoe have been found on a beach in Thailand.

The 23-year-old woman, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and 24-year-old man, from Jersey, were found with head wounds on Koh Tao, an island in Surat Thani province known for its stunning beaches.

The victims' clothes and a hoe with blood stains were found nearby, said Colonel Prachum Ruangthong from Thailand's police force.

Images from the scene show the woman's body sprawled metres from the sea in an area of the beach hidden by rocks and the suspected murder weapon discarded nearby.

Col Prachum said: "The man was chopped in the back and on the side of his head, while the woman was chopped in her face. It's very gruesome."

The pair had been staying in a bungalow 100 metres from where their bodies were found on Sairee beach and had been at a party there on Sunday night, according to Sky News sources.

Investigators are probing whether there was a sexual motive for the attack and have been checking CCTV footage from nearby restaurants, hotels and shops for clues.

Footage from the scene showed shocked tourists and locals gathered behind a cordon on the beach on Monday while dozens of police carried out investigations.

The victims' bodies were removed from the beach in blue body bags.

British travellers Kath Patel and Helen Bradbrook, who have been staying 100 metres from where the bodies were found, said they were shocked by the murders and had decided not to go out for their final night on the island.

They said many people on the island have been carrying on with their holidays as normal.

Ms Patel, 23, from Lancashire, told Sky News: "We have been in Vietnam and Cambodia, and out of everywhere we have been I have felt most safe here on Koh Tao.

"We have not noticed anything between the locals, they have seemed really friendly."

Ms Bradbrook, from Guildford, Surrey, added: "It is so small, like a really friendly atmosphere, and because it is just that one beach then you feel really safe when you are out."

Sky News Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said police have shut down ferry routes to and from the mainland.

He said: "It was a particularly gruesome attack. Eyewitnesses have said the two victims sustained incredibly serious head wounds." 

The Foreign Office (FCO) has sent a representative to the Thai island to assist with the investigation.

According to the Lonely Planet travel guide, Koh Tao welcomes thousands of visitors who "come to worship the turquoise waters offshore".

The guides say its coral, sharks and rays attract divers, while hikers enjoy jungle walks and the bar scene "rages on until dawn".

Tourism in Thailand has been badly affected by the country's deep political crisis and the introduction of martial law.

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Freed Abu Qatada 'Will Not Be Returning To UK'

Timeline: Qatada Legal Battle

Updated: 10:35am UK, Wednesday 24 September 2014

Abu Qatada challenged and ultimately thwarted every attempt by the Government to detain and deport him for many years.

Here is a timeline of the legal battle.

1993: Abu Qatada claims asylum when he arrives in Britain on a forged passport.

1994: Allowed to stay in Britain.

1995: Issues a "fatwa" justifying the killing of converts from Islam, their wives and children in Algeria.

1998: Applies for indefinite leave to remain in Britain.

1999: April - Convicted in his absence on terror charges in Jordan and sentenced to life imprisonment.

October - Speaks in London advocating the killing of Jews and praising attacks on Americans.

2001: February - Arrested by anti-terror police over involvement in a plot to bomb Strasbourg Christmas market. Officers find him with £170,000 in cash, including £805 in an envelope marked "For the mujahedin in Chechnya".

December - Becomes one of Britain's most wanted men after going on the run from his home in west London.

2002: Arrested by police in a council house in south London and detained in Belmarsh high-security jail.

2005: Freed on conditional bail and placed on a control order but arrested again in August under immigration rules as the Government seeks to deport him to Jordan.

2008: April: Court of Appeal rules deportation would breach his human rights because evidence used against him in Jordan might have been obtained through torture.

May - Granted bail by the immigration tribunal but told he must stay inside for 22 hours a day.

June - Released from Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire and moves into a four-bedroom house in west London.

November - He is rearrested after the Home Office tells an immigration hearing of fears he plans to abscond.

December - Qatada's bail is revoked by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) after hearing secret evidence that the risk of him absconding has increased.

2009: Five Law Lords unanimously back the Government's policy of removing terror suspects from Britain on the basis of assurances from foreign governments and it is ruled he can be deported to Jordan to face a retrial on the terror charges.

He is awarded 2,800 euro (£2,500) compensation by the European Court of Human Rights after the judges rule that his detention without trial in the UK under anti-terrorism powers breached his human rights.

2012: January - European judges rule he can be sent to Jordan with diplomatic assurances but not while "there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him".

February - He is released on strict bail conditions.

April - Rearrested as the Government prepares to deport him after Jordan gives assurances it will "bend over backwards" to ensure he receives a fair trial.

March - Qatada's legal team loses its bid to have the case heard by the Europe's human rights judges, clearing the way for deportation proceedings to continue.

May and August - Siac rejects Qatada's applications for bail.

October - Siac holds appeal hearing.

November - His appeal is granted and he is granted bail.

December - Qatada is moved to a larger residence in the greater London area.

2013: March 9 - It emerges Qatada has been arrested for allegedly breaching his bail conditions. He is ordered to stay in custody and sent to Belmarsh.

March 21 - Police reveal the cleric is being investigated over extremist material.

March 27 - Home Secretary Theresa May loses her appeal over Siac's decision to allow Qatada to stay in the UK. The Home Office vows to appeal.

April 17 - The Home Office formally announces that it is seeking leave from the Court of Appeal to take the case to the Supreme Court.

April 22 - The Court of Appeal refuses permission to go to the Supreme Court, forcing the Home Office to appeal directly to the highest court in the land.

April 23 - Theresa May tells MPs she has signed a new treaty with Jordan that should pave the way to deportation, but warns it might take "many months".

May 10 - Qatada's barrister says he will go back to Jordan voluntarily if the treaty on the use of evidence obtained by torture, guaranteeing he will not be tortured, is ratified by the Jordanian parliament.

May 20 - Qatada is refused bail by the Special Immigrations Appeals Commission after "jihadist material" is found on a computer memory stick.

July 2 - The new treaty between Jordan and Britain is fully ratified, sparking claims Qatada could be on a plane within days.

July 3 - A Jordanian government official tells AFP the cleric is due back on Sunday.

July 7 - Flown from RAF Northolt to Jordan

December 10: Pleads not guilty to terrorism charges at a state security court in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

2014: June 26 - Acquitted of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism over 1998 bomb plots allegations.

September 24 - Acquitted over plot to target Western tourists over the New Year in Jordan in 2000.

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Miliband To Set Out 10-Year Strategy For Britain

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Ed Miliband is expected to use his Labour conference speech to unveil his 10-year plan to bolster the health service and rebuild Britain.

The centrepiece of his speech is expected to be a major spending pledge on the NHS, likely to be funded with an extra £1bn from a "mansion tax" on homes worth more than £2m announced by Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls in his conference speech earlier.

The Labour leader will spell out a "national mission" with six goals for the country's future, including the doubling of the number of people buying their first home to 400,000 per year.

Mr Miliband released a preview of  his speech on Instagram, the first line of which promises "this election is about you" but said he was still working on it, sparking speculation there could be a little extra surprise in the speech that has not been briefed.

Ed Miliband put pictures of his speech out on Instagram

Other goals will be the boosting of apprenticeships until they match the number of people going to university, halving the number of low-paid workers and creating a million new "green technology" jobs.

Dismissing claims the "mansion tax" move would fail to win back voters in the South East, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna, told Sky News it would only hit a "very tiny minority".

He said: "The idea of owning a £2m property is very far off for many of your listeners, as much as people will aspire to do that.

"We are talking about a very small number of homes and this does not affect many people at all, doesn't affect the mainstream majority who have been struggling over the last years."

Speaking on Monday, Mr Balls said the party would do "whatever it takes" to protect the NHS and Mr Miliband will echo the pledge to create a "world class 21st Century health and care service".

Referring to the close vote in the Scottish independence referendum, he will say many Scots wanted independence "because they felt they had nothing left to lose" by quitting the UK.

"Our task is to restore people's faith in the future," he will say. "But the way to do it is not to break up our country. It is to break with the old way of doing things, break with the past."

Outlining plans to double the numbers getting on the housing ladder - partly through a pledge to be building 200,000 new homes a year by 2020 - Mr Miliband will say property ownership is "that most British of dreams" but has faded for too many young people priced out of the market.

The Labour leader will promise a "revolution in apprenticeships" to ensure as many school leavers go into one as now go on to study for a degree.

Mr Balls said Labour will do 'whatever it takes' to protect the NHS

At present four times as many go to university, "leaving both young people and businesses without the skills they need to succeed for the future", he will add.

Mr Miliband will also promise help for "the growing army of our self-employed, five million working people, so often the most entrepreneurial, go-getting people in our country".

He will add: "They don't want special treatment. But they do deserve a fair shot: two thirds have no pension, one in five is stopped from getting a mortgage. It is time to end this modern injustice."

Setting out the battleground for the general election campaign, Mr Miliband will declare: "The Tories are the party of wealth and privilege. Labour is once again the party of hard work fairly-paid."

Responding to Mr Miliband's speech, Tory chairman Grant Shapps said: "Ed Miliband forgets that he was at the heart of a Labour government which had three terms, 13 years - and left Britain on its knees at the end of it."

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Train Deaths Of Woman And Child 'Suspicious'

A woman and a child have died after being hit by a train in "suspicious" circumstances in Slough, Berkshire.

British Transport Police were called to the scene at 9.45am.

First Great Western, the train operator on the route, has confirmed Slough station has been closed, with "no public access until further notice".

Officers are currently trying to identify the pair, who were pronounced dead at the scene by the South Central Ambulance Service.

At least 15 services, many of them beginning at London Paddington station, have been cancelled so far, while other journeys have been subject to severe delays.

Passengers are advised to check before they travel. 

A police spokesman said: "We are keeping an open mind surrounding the circumstances, and we are not ruling out foul play at this time."

One commuter, who was on the train, tweeted: "Poor driver. Hits two people and he's apologising to the passengers."

The man later said the train was being treated as "a crime scene".

Another passenger told Sky News that he had heard "a terrible bump under the train", and added that the service had now been allowed to continue to London Paddington.

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Police Hunt Car Linked To Woman's Murder

Police are appealing for information about a car which may be linked to the murder of Becky Godden-Edwards, whose remains were found in a field years after she went missing.

Becky Godden-Edwards was last seen in December 2002

Officers believe a silver Volvo was in the Swindon area, where the 21-year-old lived, around the time she went missing in 2002.

Although detectives understand the vehicle was sold at an Oxfordshire auction in 2004, its whereabouts has not been known since.

Sean Memory, the senior investigating officer on the case, said: "It may have well been sold to an Irish man, who bought other cars at the same time.

"It may be that someone knows this man, or recognises the vehicle. It is possible that although it has not been registered, that it could be sitting in a backyard or garage.

"We need to know where it is or what has happened to it. I would like to hear from anyone who has information as they may be able to assist our investigation."

Police have no details on the whereabouts of the Volvo after June 2004

Wiltshire police revealed the Volvo has the registration plate T661 LGP.

Becky - full name Rebecca - was last seen on December 27, 2002.

In 2011, her remains were found buried in a field in East Leach, Gloucestershire. In April 2014, a further bone was discovered at the crime scene.

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Alice Gross Search: Forensic Tests On Knife

Forensic tests are being carried out on a knife found during the search for missing teenager Alice Gross.

The investigation into her disappearance is focusing on the River Brent and its banks near Ealing Hospital in west London, where the knife was found.

The search for 14-year-old Alice, who went missing after leaving her home in nearby Hanwell on August 28, is the biggest operation of its kind since the 7/7 bombings in 2005.

Arnis Zalkalns with police in Latvia. Pic: The Sun

Scotland Yard said: "The knife will be taken away for analysis but it is too early to say if it's connected."

Police have also released a new picture of prime suspect Arnis Zalkalns, taken with Latvian police after his wife was murdered in his home country.

The force has come under fire for taking four days to ask Latvian authorities for help in finding Zalkalns, who served seven years in prison for the killing of his wife, Rudite Zalkalns.

The knife was found in the River Brent, in west London

He went missing six days after Alice was last seen walking alongside the Grand Union Canal, not far from her home.

Zalkalns has not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone since September 3, nor has he returned home to his partner and young child.

His passport was left at his house and police in Latvia have confirmed he has not entered the country by plane.

They said it is possible he could have got in undetected if he travelled by car or coach.

Zalkalns went missing days after Alice was last seen walking by a canal

Zalkalns was seen on CCTV footage cycling along a path by the Grand Union Canal 15 minutes after the last sighting of Alice.

Detectives believe he is likely to have seen Alice as they were both going north along the canal towpath.

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for anyone who has information that leads detectives to find Alice.

Zalkalns is white, 5ft 10ins and stocky, with dark brown hair that he normally wears tied in a pony tail.

Police have said that he "potentially poses a risk to the public" and have asked anyone who sees him not to approach him and to dial 999.

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Syria Airstrikes: PM In Talks Over UK Role

US And Arab Allies Attack IS Targets In Syria

Updated: 2:10pm UK, Tuesday 23 September 2014

The US and five Arab countries have been carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time.

Fighter jets, bombers and drones as well as 47 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from two US ships in the northern Persian Gulf and the Red Sea were deployed in the aerial raids.

At least 70 IS fighters are said to have been killed in the attacks, which also targeted al Qaeda veterans.

The strikes form part of the expanded military campaign against IS insurgents that was authorised two weeks ago by President Barack Obama. He is due to meet foreign leaders at the UN General Assembly later.

US Central Command said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar had either taken part in or supported the Syria raids although their exact roles were unclear.

The strikes did not involve the UK but Prime Minister David Cameron supported them and will discuss at the UN what contribution Britain can make, according to Downing Street.

Damascus said Washington informed Syria's UN envoy before launching the bombings against the Sunni insurgent group which have grabbed swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.

The US also carried out eight aerial raids on its own west of Aleppo against al Qaeda veterans - known as the Khorasan group - who were thought to be planning an "imminent attack" against US and Western interests.

The US military said it had destroyed or damaged multiple IS targets around the militant stronghold of Raqqa as well as Deir al Zor, Hasakah and the border town of Albu Kamal.

It said targets included IS fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance centre, supply trucks and armed vehicles.

Residents in Raqqa said last week that IS was moving underground after Mr Obama signalled on September 11 that air attacks on its forces could be expanded from Iraq to Syria.

The group had evacuated buildings it was using as offices, redeployed its heavy weaponry, and moved fighters' families out of the city, the residents said.

The strikes follow a summit of world leaders in Paris where agreement was reached to form a broad coalition to counter the advance of IS in Syria and to provide military aid to Iraq to fight the extremist network.

Military leaders have said about two thirds of the estimated 31,000 IS militants are in Syria.

International efforts to combat the group have taken on an added urgency after the beheading of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines, and the threat to kill UK hostage Alan Henning.

Meanwhile, a second propaganda video of another British hostage John Cantlie has been released by IS.

Speaking to the camera and seemingly under duress, he addresses the coalition of states targeting the group, though it is not clear when the video was filmed.

"Everyone now is getting involved," he said. "Denmark and France have sent air power, Britain is arming the Kurds, Iran is sending troops and contractors are being sought in Iraq.

"Even Bashar al Assad, until earlier this year the most hated and villainised tyrant in the Arab world, is being approached for permission to go into Syria.

"It's all quite a circus. Not since Vietnam have we witnessed such a potential mess in the making."

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Human Leg Found: Body May Be Missing Man's

A body found by officers searching the area where a human leg was found near Rochdale, Greater Manchester, could be that of a missing 31-year-old.

The body was discovered on land behind Healey Conservative Club in Whitworth shortly before 2.45pm on Sunday.

Officers said that although a formal identification had not yet taken place, police believe there is a "strong possibility" that the body is that of Heath Nield.

Mr Nield went missing from his home in Rochdale Road, Bacup, in July.

The find was made near this Conservative Club. Pic: Healy Conservative Club

Lancashire Police say it appears to have been there for some time and is badly decomposed.

There is no indication of the sex or age of the body.

A police statement said: "Mr Nield's family have been made aware of the latest development."

Further forensic tests will take place to confirm the identity of the body.

The Conservative Club declined to comment.

More follows...

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Hundreds Face DNA Tests In Beach Murder Probe

Thai police are to take DNA from all the men on Koh Tao island - potentially hundreds of people - in their investigation into the murders of two Britons.

The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on a beach on September 15.

Police have been criticised over the investigation and are now expanding testing, with some 150 officers drafted in to the popular holiday island, which has 1,300 residents.

Ms Witheridge was caught on CCTV in the hours before her death

"We will submit one set of DNA samples and wait for their results before collecting another set of samples," said Colonel Uakrissadathikarn in The Phuket Gazette.

"We will do this until we find the culprits."

Police are also trying to trace fishing boat workers who may been on the island on the day of the killings.

Ms Witheridge's family have brought her body back to the UK

Officers previously said "sexual jealousy" may have been the motive and revealed DNA taken from Ms Witheridge's body was from two Asian men.

Claims the pair may have argued with a Thai man in a local bar are also being investigated.

Thailand's police chief (centre) has visited the island

Police Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen said: "We have discovered fresh evidence which could lead to a new suspect who may have had a relationship or one-night stand with Hannah or one of her friends or David the night before they were killed.

"We have asked the Metropolitan Police to go back and make enquiries of Hannah's friends on this matter."

Ms Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, suffered severe head wounds and Mr Miller, from Jersey, died from blows to the head and drowning, post-mortem examinations showed.

Islanders have also been helping to raise reward money

A garden hoe with Ms Witheridge's blood on it was discovered nearby, and investigators are searching for a blunt metal object used on Mr Miller.

Ms Witheridge's family said they had now brought their "beautiful Hannah" back to the UK.

A £4,000 police reward is on offer for information, and shocked island residents have also raised several thousand pounds on top of that.

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Balls To Freeze Child Benefit To Balance Books

Ed Balls has told his party's conference a child benefit freeze, a cut in politicians' pay and higher tax for top earners will form part of Labour's plan to bring the deficit down.

The shadow chancellor presented a 1% cap on rises for the first two years of a Labour government as one of the "tough decisions" needed to deal with the deficit if the party takes power next year.

In a speech in Manchester, Mr Balls insisted: "We are tough enough to make the difficult decisions. We won't spend money we can't afford."

He also hit out at the "unfair, out-of-touch and failing Tory government", and pledged to raise the minimum wage, and scrap the so-called bedroom tax.

Mr Balls says a cap in child benefit rises will save £400m

New free schools would be blocked in areas where there is an excess of pupil places, police and crime commissioners would be scrapped, and the controversial "shares for rights" scheme, that allows workers to give up some rights such as unfair dismissal in return for shares, ditched.

And Mr Balls apologised for the party's past mistakes, including over immigration and bank regulation.

He went on: "It's the oldest truth in the book - you can never, ever trust the Tories with the NHS.

"We don't just need to learn from our mistakes, we also need to put right mistakes this government is making.

"So we won't pay for free schools in areas where there are excess school places.

"The next Labour government will scrap the bedroom tax, too.

"Scrap police and crime commissioners so that we can do more to help frontline policing."

A 5% cut in ministerial salaries is also on the cards

Criticising the coalition cut to the 50p top rate of tax, Mr Balls promised to balance the budget in a "fairer way".

He pledged Labour would not "walk away from Europe" and said the party had learned from its past and mistakes.

Sky's Political Editor Faisal Islam said it was a "passionate speech" from Mr Balls, pitched to appeal to the party's core vote.

Speaking on Sky News ahead of his appearance Mr Balls said he would not "duck or flinch" from the tough decisions and he defended claims the savings provided by the measures would be miniscule.

He said the child benefit move would save £400m in the next parliament, plans to end the winter fuel allowance for rich pensioners would bring an extra £100m a year of savings and the introduction of a 50p tax rate for those earning more than £150,000 would bring in £3bn.

Labour also plans to cut ministerial salaries - taking £7,125 off the Prime Minister's annual wage, and £6,728 from Cabinet ministers.

The party also has plans to raise the minimum wage to £8 an hour, and introduce a jobs guarantee for young people and the long-term unemployed funded by a tax on bank bonuses and limiting pensions tax relief for the highest earners.

Treasury Exchequer Secretary Priti Patel poured scorn on Mr Balls' plan for the economy, claiming Labour would put the deficit up, not down.

The Children's Society said Labour's plans to freeze child benefit would leave the average family more than £400 a year worse off by 2017 and urged the shadow chancellor to reconsider.

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Major Incident Declared After School Bus Crash

A major incident has been declared after a school bus and a car were involved in a crash in Drumquin, Co Tyrone.

More than 50 people, mostly children, have been injured after the collision on Omagh Road, but Sky News understands none of them are seriously injured.

The bus and the car ended up on their sides in a field.

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service spokesman John McPoland said: "Fifty-two people were treated at the scene but none of their injuries were serious. The vast majority were checked as a precaution because of their age.

The bus was travelling to a secondary school. Pic: Ulster Herald

"Six people have slightly more than minor injuries. This would include children who banged their heads off the bus windows but no one went through any windows."

A total of 48 people have been taken to the South West Acute Hospital and Altnagelvin Hospital.

Omagh Road has been closed between Segully Road and Drumrawan Road.

The bus was travelling from Castlederg to a secondary school in Omagh.

The majority of those injured were children. Pic: Ulster Herald

The crash happened in Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness' Stormont constituency.

He has tweeted: "Relieved to hear there are no serious injuries to pupils & adults in this morning's bus & car accident on Drumquin-Omagh Rd #bestwishestoall."

Sinn Fein councillor Frankie Donnelly, who represents West Tyrone, said the crash "had the potential to be a major disaster".

He said: "This is obviously a traumatic incident for everyone involved, including the parents, so I would like to thank the emergency services for their swift response to the accident that ensured everyone was treated quickly and professionally."

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