Afghanistan: Taliban Talks 'A Decade Overdue'

The top British officer in Afghanistan has said talks with the Taliban have come a decade too late after efforts to negotiate with the insurgents faltered.

General Nick Carter told The Guardian newspaper that it would have been more successful to approach the Taliban in 2002 after they were ousted from power.

The deputy commander of the Nato-led coalition said: "Back in 2002, the Taliban were on the run.

"I think that at that stage, if we had been very prescient, we might have spotted that a final political solution to what started in 2001, from our perspective, would have involved getting all Afghans to sit at the table and talk about their future."

He added that the problems since then have essentially been political problems, which "are only ever solved by people talking to each other".

The US and Afghanistan are still waiting to hear from the Taliban about opening peace talks, but remain willing to go ahead with negotiations despite a stir the militant group caused in opening a new office in Qatar.

The opening of the Taliban office in Doha

Afghan President Hamid Karzai had to shut down the process after Taliban spokesmen presented the office as a de-facto embassy for a government-in-exile.

As the US and UK prepare to pull their troops from Afghanistan next year, Gen Carter said the Kabul government may have to accept it may only have shaky control over some remote areas of the country for some years.

Afghan forces would also need Western military and financial support for several years after Western combat troops head home, he said.

However, he insisted Afghan forces were strong enough to be taking over control from Nato, a move he believed would eventually bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

"What the opponents of the Afghan government now realise is they are likely to be up against capable Afghan security forces who are going to be here in perpetuity and therefore that old adage that 'We have the clocks but the Taliban have the time', has now been reversed," he told the newspaper.

US soldiers in Afghanistan

"They are now up against security forces who have the time, and they are also Afghan forces ... for those reasons I think that there is every chance people will realise that talking is the answer to this problem," added Gen Carter, who previously served as the top Nato officer in southern Afghanistan, the Taliban's birthplace.

The comments came as Britain was set to mark the fifth annual Armed Forces Day - recognising the relationship between the military and the public.

Ahead of the spending review, announced earlier this week, Gen Carter said the Treasury rather than the military would be to blame if Britain's defence was weakened by cuts.

He said: "At the end of the day our politicians need to decide what they want the Army to do.

"If they determine that the Army is going to do less, it's reasonable for them to reduce it still further."

He added: "We are bound as military people to point out the risks during the course of this to our political masters and ultimately it's down to them to look themselves in the mirror each morning and determine whether or not those risks are manageable."

The review revealed no Army, RAF or personnel would lose their jobs and the equipment budget would be protected.

The budget cut of 1.9% in 2015 would be achieved through civilian job losses in the Ministry of Defence, changes to the way the department buys and commissions big items and by outsourcing the purchasing of non-military goods.

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Barack Obama To Meet Nelson Mandela's Family

Barack Obama and his wife Michelle will hold a private meeting with the family of Nelson Mandela during their trip to South Africa, the White House has confirmed.

However the US President and First Lady will not see the 94-year-old former South African leader, who is critically ill in hospital.

"Out of deference to Nelson Mandela's peace and comfort and the family's wishes, they will not be visiting the hospital," the White House added in a statement.

Mr Obama has arrived in Pretoria as part of a three-nation Africa tour and will first attend bilateral talks with South Africa's president Jacob Zuma.

Earlier, Mr Obama told reporters in Senegal that he "did not need a photo op" with the anti-apartheid icon and would not be pushing for a visit with him.

Mr Mandela is critically ill in hospital

"I think the main message we'll want to deliver, if not directly to him, but to his family, is simply profound gratitude for his leadership," Mr Obama said.

The prospect of a public encounter between the first black presidents of South Africa and the US had been eagerly awaited for years, but has now been scuppered by Mr Mandela's failing health.

Since starting his Africa tour on Thursday, Mr Obama has paid fulsome tribute to the man globally admired as a symbol of struggle against injustice and of racial reconciliation for the way he led South Africa out of centuries of white-minority rule.

The president has called Mr Mandela a "personal hero" and is due to make a tour on Sunday of Robben Island, the former prison where the anti-apartheid leader passed 18 of the 27 years he spent in jail.

It comes after Mr Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said the former South African president's condition has shown "great improvement" over recent days.

Speaking outside the Pretoria hospital on Friday where the 94-year-old is being treated for a recurring lung infection, she said he remained "unwell".

She said: "It becomes very difficult to understand the seeming impatience and statements like: 'It is time for the family to let go'.

"And statements like: 'We are praying for the family not to pull the tubes'.

"Those are insensitive statements that none of you would want made about your parents and grandparents."

Mr Mandela, South Africa's first black president, was taken to hospital three weeks ago with recurrent lung problems.

He turns 95 next month.

On the eve of Mr Obama's visit, Mr Mandela was said to be in a critical condition, but had stabilised since a scare forced Mr Zuma to cancel a trip to neighbouring Mozambique.

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Moors Murderer: I Killed Four More People

Previously unpublished letters show Moors murderer Ian Brady claimed to have killed four more people.

As his bid to be transferred from a maximum security hospital to prison failed, the letters show that he confessed to killing two men in Glasgow and a man and woman in Manchester.

Brady made the claims in a series of letters to journalist Brendan Pittaway, which have been published in The Daily Telegraph.

On Friday, Brady lost his £250,000 legal bid to be transferred to a jail. The decision, which follows a week-long public hearing, means the Moors Murderer will remain at Ashworth Hospital on Merseyside on the grounds that he is mentally insane.

The tribunal was the first time Brady has been seen in public since the 1980s, when he was taken back to Saddleworth Moor in the search for the bodies of two of his victims.

The hearing was also the first time he had spoken in public since being jailed for life at Chester Assizes in 1966.

But families of the victims have criticised the mental health tribunal, saying it gave Brady the opportunity to "grandstand".

Brady, pictured in 1966, is one of Britain's most notorious killers

In the newly-published letters, written in the 1980s, Brady described the four additional murders as "happenings".

He says that he killed a man "on the waste ground behind the station" and a "woman in the canal".

He went on to say that he also killed a man in Glasgow and another man "above Loch Long", which is 20-mile long sea loch at the mouth of the Clyde.

The decision on Brady's appeal was given by the three-man panel headed by Judge Robert Atherton, who heard the tribunal at Ashworth Hospital.

Reasons for the decision will be given at a later date because of the length of the material the panel needs to consider.

After the ruling, Dr David Fearnley, medical director at Ashworth, said the judgement was "consistent with the expert opinions of our clinicians".

"Ashworth Hospital has been subject to in-depth scrutiny and the public has been able to see at first hand the quality of care which we offer to all of our patients," he said.

Brady has been at Ashworth Hospital since 1985

"Mr Brady suffers from a severe personality disorder and a mental illness which still require high quality care.

"It is a testament to the staff of Ashworth Hospital that we have been able to stabilise his schizophrenia to the degree we have.

"However, his condition is chronic and will require this support for the foreseeable future."

Terry Kilbride, whose brother John was one of Brady's victims, said he had "good reaction" to the decision.

"It means that they're going to keep him alive," Mr Kilbride said.

Brady - who claims to have been on a hunger strike since 1999 - told the hearing he was merely "a petty criminal".

He described his crimes as "recreational killings" which were part of an "existential experience".

His legal application challenged the order made under the Mental Health Act when he was transferred from prison to Ashworth in 1985, when he was diagnosed as being a paranoid schizophrenic.

Brady's legal team argued that, despite his severe personality disorder, he is not mentally ill and therefore no longer fulfils the legal criteria for detention in hospital.

He suggested that, if he is allowed to go back to a jail, he would be "free to end his own life" by starving himself to death.

Brady, whose legal costs will be paid by the taxpayer as he gets legal aid, has the right to challenge the decision, which would require a further hearing at an Upper Tribunal.

Brady and his partner, Myra Hindley, were convicted of luring children and teenagers to their deaths, with their victims sexually tortured before being buried on Saddleworth Moor.

Hindley died in hospital, still a prisoner, in November 2002 at the age of 60.

The brother of victim Keith Bennett, whose body was never found, has said Brady was "nothing more than a serial killer of children, a paedophile, a coward and a self-pitying liar".

Alan Bennett said the only people that mattered to Brady was Brady himself and those he manipulates.

He wrote: "I have to say now that I am glad Brady did have his say, he tied his own defence team in knots, never gave a definitive answer under cross-examination and went on to show anybody interested that he is nothing more than a self-pitying liar."

In Brady's letters he says Bennett's body was buried in Yorkshire, rather than the Moors as originally thought.

Martin Bottomley, head of Greater Manchester Police's Cold Case Review Unit said: "In the 1980s, Brady 'confessed' to a number of other unrelated murders. All these claims were thoroughly investigated at that time and found to be completely unsubstantiated.

"GMP has been investigating Brady's horrendous crimes and their aftermath for over 40 years now.

"A week hardly goes by when we do not receive some information which purports to lead us to Keith's burial site.

"All of these claims are investigated and it remains our aim to find Keith for the sake of his surviving family members.

"Only one person knows where Keith is buried and he refuses to disclose that information, preferring to taunt Keith's loved ones, assisted by those who seek to profit from his manipulative scheming."

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World's First Three-Parent Baby May Be British

By Frazer Maude, Sky News Reporter

Britain may become the first country in the world to allow babies with three genetic parents to be born.

A landmark decision by the Department of Health has opened the door to controversial treatments for inherited diseases that use donated DNA from a second donor mother.

The Department of Health has announced that the Government intends to publish draft regulations later this year in a public consultation about the IVF-based techniques to eradicate Mitochondrial Diseases.

The new regulations to fertility law allowing the procedures will be issued for consultation and then debated in Parliament.

Should MPs find the regulations ethically acceptable, the first patients could be treated within months.

It is envisaged that between five and 10 three-parent babies would be born in Britain each year.

The aim of the IVF treatments is to stamp out serious Mitochondrial Diseases which can be passed from a mother to her children.

Mitochondria replacement involves transferring nuclear genetic material from a mother's egg or embryo into a donor egg or embryo that has had its nuclear DNA removed.

This would allow a woman carrying Mitochondrial Diseases to have healthy children.

Around one in 200 babies are born each year in the UK with defects in the mitochondria, rod-like bodies that supply cells with energy.

One in 6,500 is seriously affected and can suffer potentially life-threatening diseases including a form of muscular dystrophy.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said: "Mitochondrial Disease, including heart disease, liver disease, loss of muscle co-ordination and other serious conditions like muscular dystrophy, can have a devastating impact on the people who inherit it.

"People who have it live with debilitating illness, and women who are affected face passing it on to their children. It's only right that we look to introduce this life-saving treatment as soon as we can."

Allowing the currently illegal techniques would mark a turning point. At present only unadulterated sperm and eggs can be used for assisted reproduction treatments.

Professor Doug Turnbull, one of the leaders of the research project based at Newcastle University, said: "I am delighted that the Government is moving forward with publishing draft regulations this year and a final version for debate in Parliament next year."

One of those affected with Mitochondrial Disease is Nicola Parker.

Ms Parker did not know she had Mitochondrial Myopathy, a condition which reduces her energy levels and restricts her movement, until she had already passed it on to her daughter.

She told Sky News: "No parent would ever want to pass on an illness to their child, so this work should be applauded. It means my daughter could now have the chance of being a mother herself one day, without having to take the risk of this genetic condition being passed on again."

But some people think the techniques are ethically questionable.

The ethical issue is that the techniques will result in a tiny trace of DNA from the donor egg's mitochondria remaining, effectively creating a baby with three genetic parents.

Josephine Quintavalle, founder of the group Comment on Reproductive Ethics (CORE), thinks the creation of children with genetic material from more than two people is incompatible with both human dignity and international law.

"We're obviously outraged, but it's not just my outrage and the outrage of many people in the United Kingdom - it's worldwide.

"People just mustn't sit back comfortably and think this is a great idea; we're going to cure disease and get better.

"It's crossing a line that many, many experts in ethics and genetics and scientists generally are very concerned about worldwide."

Dame Sally said: "There are clearly some sensitive issues here, but it's clear there is general support to allow these treatments subject to strict safeguards. So what we're going to do is move forward."

The researchers at Newcastle University say they need to carry out more tests on human eggs in order to make sure the techniques are proven and safe.

In order to speed up that process they are asking potential donors in the North East to contact them.

Details can be found at www.ncl.ac.uk/eggdonate.

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Russia Meteor Shock 'Went Twice Around Earth'

The shockwaves from the meteor which exploded over Russia in February travelled twice around the Earth, according to scientists.

More than 1,000 people were injured when the 10,000 ton object - larger than a double-decker bus - burnt up in the skies above Chelyabinsk in Siberia.

The tremors from the meteor were recorded at 20 'infrasonic' monitoring stations, which are designed to detect nuclear weapon tests, across the world.

Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists said it was the first time the stations had detected "multiple arrivals involving waves that travelled twice round the globe".

Skies lit up as the meteor burned up over Chelyabinsk

"It generated infrasound returns, after circling the globe, at distances up to (approximately) 85,000 km, and was detected at 20 infrasonic stations of the global International Monitoring System (IMS)," said researchers.

The explosive energy of the blast is estimated to be equivalent to 460 kilotons of TNT. The force of the Hiroshima bomb dropped during the Second World War was about 16 kilotons.

"This extraordinary event is, together with the 1908 Tunguska fireball, among the most energetic events ever instrumentally recorded," scientists concluded.

The 1908 event, which occurred over a more remote area of Siberia, decimated tens of millions of trees over hundreds of square miles.

The meteor's force was detected by nuclear test monitoring stations

A far larger comet or meteor, in the region of 100 metres, is thought to have been responsible.

The Chelyabinsk meteor blazed across Russian skies on February 15 this year and saw a number of people injured by flying glass after windows were blown in.

Witnesses in the city, which has a population of more than one million, described feeling a pressure wave and hearing explosions overhead as the object hurtled towards Earth.

The meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere at 33,000mph (54,000kph) - 15 times the speed of a rifle bullet, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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Muslim Leaders To Condemn Street Grooming

Religious leaders at around 500 mosques across the UK will deliver sermons to hundreds of thousands of Muslims condemning street grooming by gangs.

The campaign organised by Together Against Grooming (Tag), a not-for-profit community organisation set up to tackle the issue, will see imams and other leaders address their congregations.

The campaign will highlight how the Koran condemns all forms of sexual indecency.

Sermons will also focus on the responsibility placed on Muslims to ensure they do all they can to safeguard children and vulnerable people in their communities.

The move comes after five members of a seven-man sadistic paedophile ring found guilty of grooming vulnerable underage girls were given life sentences at the Old Bailey.

Two other defendants were both jailed for seven years.

Seven men were convicted of grooming underage girls in Oxford

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the faith and communities minister, said: "As Muslims we are commanded to be just and fair. To shun evil, wrongdoing and all forms of indecent and immoral behaviour.

"(These are) words from a powerful sermon being read out (in) mosques today, condemning the evil that is child grooming and challenging communities to act."

Tag spokesman Ansar Ali said his group had been "horrified" by the Oxford case and said Muslims feel "a natural responsibility to condemn and tackle this crime".

"Sexual grooming and child abuse afflicts all sections of society and is perpetrated by people of all ethnic groups," he said.

"The Koran and traditions of our Prophet exhort us to act against evil and injustice, and create just societies.

"This is the start of what will be a nationwide project in which we seek to work with others to eradicate this practice from all communities."

Friday is a religious day for Muslims and consists of the Jummah Salah - or midday prayer - a particularly significant part of the Islamic week which sees hundreds of thousands of Muslims up and down the country visiting their local mosques to hear the Khutbah, or sermon.

The Tag campaign has been backed by leading Muslim organisations such as Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the Mosque and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB), the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB) and independent mosques.

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Double-Dip: Recession Never Actually Happened

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says updates to its past calculations on the performance of the UK economy mean Britain was never in a double-dip recession after all.

Revised GDP data showed that output was actually flat in the first three months of 2012 - rather than shrinking as had first been measured - meaning there was no second recession.

The ONS credited a stronger contribution to growth from the construction sector.

But that was where the good news ended for the Chancellor George Osborne as there were downgrades to other key economic indicators.

The ONS said the original recession in the wake of the financial crisis was deeper than had been previously found, with growth contracting by 7.2% instead of 6.3%.

The body said that output was now 3.9% below its pre-recession peak - again worse than previously reported.

While growth in the first three months of 2013 was unrevised at 0.3%, the year-on-year growth estimate was unexpectedly halved to 0.3%.

The ONS also released first quarter current account data which showed that Britain's deficit with the rest of the world widened unexpectedly.

More follows...

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Hundreds Of Billions To Boost British Economy

By Poppy Trowbridge, Business and Economics Correspondent

A £100bn package aimed at kick-starting economic growth will be unveiled later, with roads, railways, construction and energy all set for major cash boosts.

The Government will promise to pour money into extra infrastructure spending by 2020, just 24 hours after confirming details of another £11.5bn in Whitehall cuts.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander will outline the plans, which will include cash for new roads, train services, science facilities and nuclear power-stations.

Tax breaks and fast-tracked permits for shale gas exploration will also be offered, just as new data suggests Britain has higher reserves of the energy source.

Exploiting the natural resource is controversial because critics say the process can cause earthquakes, pollute water supplies, blight the countryside and hit house prices.

But ministers believe it could boost tax revenues, create jobs, reduce energy imports and cut household bills.

Tax breaks and fast-tracked permits for fracking will be offered

Mr Alexander is expected to tell MPs the Treasury will start consulting on the tax break and publish detailed planning guidance with the next three weeks.

Protection will be offered to communities affected, with each receiving at least £100,000 in benefits for each well and no less than 1% of overall revenues.

The investment package is due to begin in 2015, with £50bn spent on capital projects that year, but critics have questioned when construction will actually start.

And there is already embarrassment after the Government was forced to admit the cost of one of the most high-profile projects has soared.

The HS2 high-speed rail line is now set to cost nearly £10bn more than was originally allocated, which will raise doubts about other forecasts.

About £3bn will be spent on affordable housing projects

Labour called the announcement a "con", claiming £50bn would mean a 1.7% cut in real terms and that 80% of major infrastructure projects had yet to begin.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "There is no point in boasting about infrastructure investment in five or seven years' time, we need action now."

He claimed that infrastructure investment in the first three months of 2013 is down by 50%.

Appearing on ITV's Daybreak, he added: "They should do an immediate boost for housing and transport this year and next. George Osborne talks about capital spending but he's not actually acting."

Mr Osborne later insisted on Sky News: "Things are happening right now. We have 80,000 homes being built, 80 schools have been built, 40 roads have been completed.

"You can't just build a road overnight, you have to plan for the next road and get permission to build the next school so we also want to create a pipeline for these things."

The coalition has admitted HS2 is set to cost billions more than forecast

About £3bn of the money is earmarked for affordable housing. Mayor of London Boris Johnson will also receive around £9bn in extra finance over the coming years.

In his spending review on Wednesday, Mr Osborne said: "From roads to railways, bridges to broadband, science to schools: it will amount to over £300bn pounds of capital spending guaranteed to the end of this decade."

Nick Prior, head of government and infrastructure at Deloitte, told Sky News the high numbers being announced were "encouraging" but questioned the detail.

"If it is more than rhetoric, it could be quite powerful, it could really be a driver for the UK economy," he said.

"We wait to see if that's going to be incremental investment in infrastructure and real capital spend. Or is it just going to be a rehash of previous statements?"

CBI director general John Cridland added: "While the Government talks a good game on infrastructure, we've seen too little delivery on the ground so far.

"It is critical we see a real pipeline of projects announced, so investors know what schemes are going ahead, where and when."

The coalition's economic strategy has come under intense pressure as Britain's recovery from the financial crisis and recession continues to be sluggish.

Mr Osborne insists the country is now "moving out of intensive care and from rescue to recovery" but poor growth has forced him to extend drastic austerity measures beyond the next election.

His latest raft of cuts includes a new hit on public sector pay, a cap on welfare spending, forcing the jobless to wait a week before claiming benefits and stripping some ex-pats of the winter fuel allowance.

Government departments face further budget reductions of up to 10% in 2015/16, with only the NHS, schools, overseas aid fully ring-fenced.

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Shale Gas Reserves 'Far Bigger Than Thought'

Britain's reserves of shale gas are much larger than previously thought, it has emerged as the Government is due to announce major investment in extracting the energy source.

New geological data from the British Geological Survey shows much more shale gas could be extracted from under the UK - as much as double earlier estimates at one site.

There is now thought to be as much as 1,300 trillion cubic feet at the Bowland site in Lancashire.

The findings are expected to be highlighted by Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander when he announces a £100bn Government infrastructure package aimed at kick-starting sluggish economic growth later.

Tax breaks and fast-track permits for controversial shale gas exploration will be at the centre of the announcement.

Exploiting the natural resource is highly controversial as critics say the process of fracking - fracturing rock with high-pressure liquid to release the gas - can cause earthquakes, pollute water supplies, blight the countryside and affect house prices.

Danny Alexander is unveiling the controversial measures

But ministers believe the experience of the United States shows it could boost tax revenues, create jobs, reduce energy imports and drive down household bills.

Setting out details of the latest round of capital spending in a Commons statement, Mr Alexander is expected to tell MPs the Treasury will now move quickly - consulting on a tax break and publishing detailed planning guidance within the next three weeks.

It could pave that way for the Environment Agency to offer permits for fracking projects more quickly and to set them to defined timetables in a further bid to encourage firms to invest.

There will also be protection offered for communities affected - with each receiving at least £100,000 in benefits for each well and no less than 1% of the overall revenues.

Environmentalists expressed concern at the plans. Lawrence Carter, energy campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "The idea that shale gas is going to get the economy moving again is groundless.

"There's a huge difference between the amount of gas in the ground and how much fracking companies will be able to commercially extract.

"Even if they do manage to get some gas out, the fracking industry's own research reveals that production wouldn't reach meaningful levels until well into the next decade."

George Osborne delivering his spending review to MPs in the Commons

He said Greenpeace had recorded a senior member of Cuadrilla, which is pursuing shale drilling in Lancashire and has hotly opposed plans for exploration at Balcombe, West Sussex, admitting it would have an insignificant impact on energy bills.

Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Tony Bosworth added: "Shale gas is not the solution to the UK's energy challenges. Its potential has been hugely over-hyped and there's little evidence it will drive down fuel prices."

The statement by the Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury comes a day after Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to slice a further £11.5bn off other Whitehall spending in 2015/16 - as poor growth forced him to extend austerity measures beyond the next general election.

In an interview with Sky News ahead of Mr Alexander's statement, Mr Osborne said that it was essential for Britain to make the most of its natural energy resources.

He said: "We want cheaper energy. We have gas under the ground in this country and we have a way of getting it out.

"This country can't be left behind by the rest of the world. Just saying no to a gas revolution that is taking place in places like the US and China would be a massive mistake."

But Labour's shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex said the fracking move was premature.

"Announcing community benefits and tax breaks before we know how much shale gas is actually recoverable, or before anyone even has a licence to extract it, looks like a desperate attempt to draw attention away from the Government's cuts to infrastructure investment in the spending review and its abject failure to get the economy growing," he said.

The Government's latest infrastructure investment also includes funds for projects such as new road and rail capacity, science facilities and nuclear power stations.

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Australia: Gillard Faces Challenge From Rudd

Australian prime minister Julia Gillard is holding a vote on her leadership, with party rival Kevin Rudd confirming he would be challenging the embattled leader.

Ms Gillard moved to end uncertainty over her job in response to reports that Mr Rudd's supporters were gearing up for a challenge ahead of September elections.

The ballot in the Labor Party is being held behind closed doors.

Mr Rudd was ousted as prime minister by Ms Gillard in 2010. He previously had ruled out a leadership bid unless he was assured of the overwhelming support of his colleagues.

Opinion polls have shown that the party could face huge losses in the September elections, but that Mr Rudd would be a more popular leader than Ms Gillard.

Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott

Ms Gillard said earlier: "I wouldn't be putting myself forward unless I had a degree of confidence about the support of my parliamentary colleagues."

She appeared to express frustration over a petition that reportedly was circulating within the party to call for the leadership ballot.

"Call me old-fashioned, but the way in which these things are normally done is a challenger approaches the leader of the Labor Party and asks them to call a ballot for the leadership, who shake hands and then a ballot is held," she said.

"That hasn't happened but in these circumstances I do think it is in the best interests of the nation and in the best interests of the Labor Party for this matter to be resolved ... "

Mr Rudd said: "The truth is many, many MPs have requested me for a long time to contest the leadership of the party because of the parlous circumstances we now face.

"We are on course for a catastrophic defeat unless there is change."

He said he wanted to do "what I can" to prevent opposition leader Tony Abbott - the favourite - from becoming prime minister.

Both Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd have agreed that whoever loses the vote should quit Parliament at the election.

He has promised tighter control of public spending, a speedier return to surplus budgets, and stronger economic growth if he wins office.

However, a victory for Mr Rudd could trigger an earlier election if he cannot attract the level of support from independent politicians and from the minor Greens party that Ms Gillard managed.

Mr Rudd had been a popular prime minister who started sliding in the polls when Ms Gillard, his then deputy, challenged him to a leadership ballot three years ago.

He did not contest the ballot when he became aware of the level of her support, so she was unopposed when she became the first female prime minister in Australia's history.

Weeks later she led her party to a narrow election victory and formed an unpopular minority government with the support of independents and a legislator from the Greens.

In March, Ms Gillard retained the leadership of the party just hours after she was urged to hold a ballot and Mr Rudd admitted he did not have enough support to defeat her. Mr Rudd also lost a bid for the leadership in 2012.

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Police Investigate Racist Graffiti At Mosque

Racist graffiti including swastikas has been painted on a mosque in Redditch after intruders forced their way in to the site.

The damage at the mosque in Jinnah Road was caused between 2am and 4.30am on Wednesday and was discovered by a targeted police patrol.

The graffiti, including swastikas, had been sprayed on to walls and at least half a dozen windows using paint taken from builders' cabins on the site.

Intruders had forced their way on to the site through a gate and then broke into the main building of the mosque.

Superintendent Kevin Purcell, North Worcestershire police commander, said: "For as long as I can remember the relationship between the Muslim community in Redditch, the police and the wider community would best be described as excellent.

"Due to incidents happening nationally targeted patrols have been put in place and these will now be further increased as we will not tolerate mindless attacks of this nature.

"I will be arranging meetings with the chairs of the mosques, local civic leaders and the Independent Advisory Group to reassure them of our commitment and determination to do everything possible to prevent and further such incidents and track down those responsible for this attack."

The graffiti comes just days after detectives in Walsall launched a major hate-crime investigation when a small home-made bomb exploded near a mosque.

Around 150 people were evacuated from their homes in the Caldmore area of Walsall on Saturday night while bomb disposal experts made the device safe.

West Midlands Police said a loud bang heard by residents late on Friday "appeared to be consistent" with the device exploding. No one was injured and it caused minimal damage.

Last week two men were charged in relation to an alleged arson at a mosque in Gloucester, and an Islamic cultural centre in Grimsby was hit by petrol bombs last month.

Mosques in Braintree, Essex, and Gillingham, Kent, have also been targeted.

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Spending Review: Osborne To Slash Budgets

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

George Osborne will today take the axe to public spending and claim the Government's tough policy of cuts is leading to economic recovery.

The Chancellor will announce his spending review, setting out limits for 2015/16 and slicing £11.5bn off the budgets of Whitehall departments, an average of 8%.

But he is also expected to pledge billions more to major big infrastructure projects in an attempt to boost growth over the years up to 2020.

Echoing his Mansion House speech last week, the Chancellor is expected to tell MPs: "Britain is moving from rescue to recovery. But while the British economy is leaving intensive care; now we need to secure that recovery ...

"We're saving money on welfare and waste to invest in the roads and railways, schooling and science our economy needs to succeed in the future.

"I know that times are still not easy for families. But we have a clear economic plan. We've stuck to it. It is working. And I'm determined to go on delivering it.

"Now, together, we're moving Britain from rescue to recovery, let's build an economy that works for everyone."

Following the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby outside Woolwich barracks, the Chancellor will confirm a boost in spending on the fight against terrorism.

Earlier this month, after agreeing Theresa May's Home Office budget, Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said: "Counter-terrorism policing is a crucial part of our national security and I took no convincing of the need to protect this area.

"Given recent events in Woolwich, we cannot compromise on our national security."

Tory MPs will be anxiously awaiting news of where spending cuts in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) budget will fall, following the Chancellor's pledge at the weekend that they will not involve further cuts in manpower levels.

But they will welcome Mr Osborne revealing how he intends to implement a proposed cap on previously uncontrolled parts of the public finances, such as welfare, debt interest and payments to the EU.

The Chancellor tweeted this image as he was finishing off his speech

The cap on so-called "annually managed expenditure" was floated by Mr Osborne in his Budget in March, when he said he would impose a limit on a "significant proportion" of AME, which is made up of elements of public spending which can go up and down due to factors beyond the Government's control.

The Treasury has signalled that the state pension will not be affected by any cap, and Mr Osborne has said it will not impact on the "automatic stabilisers" which come into effect in a downturn, suggesting that unemployment benefits could also be excluded.

Mr Osborne reached agreement at the weekend with Vince Cable over the level of cuts at his Business Department - the last Whitehall ministry to finalise its settlement.

All areas of departmental current spending will be asked to tighten their belts except the NHS, schools and overseas aid, which are ring-fenced.

Attention will, however, be focused on whether departments like defence or the Foreign Office have succeeded in reassigning elements of their activities to the health or international development budgets.

Mr Osborne said at the weekend that there would be a cut in numbers of civilian workers at the MoD, as well as a renegotiation of major contracts with suppliers to save money.

Cuts will take place in the defence budget

But he insisted there would be no cuts in numbers of sailors, soldiers or airmen and no reduction in the UK's military capability.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said on Wednesday morning: "What we see again today is the British people paying the price for this Government's failure.

"The Government tells us the economy is healing but actually it is getting worse for ordinary families. What we actually need is a fairer plan to get growth moving, living standards rising and the deficit down."

But in Treasury Questions on Tuesday, Mr Osborne insisted his economic plan was moving Britain "from rescue to recovery" and vowed to protect health and schooling.

Mr Balls taunted the Chancellor: "The fact is that you promised to get the deficit down and it is rising. How can you still say we are all in it together, when for everyone else living standards are falling and the economy has flat-lined for three years?

"Isn't this economic failure the reason why you will not balance the books in 2015 and why tomorrow you are coming back to the House to ask for more cuts in public services, because you are unfair, out-of-touch and now revealed as totally incompetent?"

Mr Osborne replied: "Getting a lesson from you in how to balance the books is like getting a lesson from Dracula in how to look after a blood bank."

Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) head Paul Johnson said: "The scale of the cuts is really astonishing,

"If you really do carry on with the next two years up to 2017-18 as pencilled in, that will result in a whole slew of government spending one third or more less than it was in 2010.

"So, if I was a betting man I would think there would be some kind of tax rises after the election."

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Snowden's Arrival In Moscow Strains Relations

The departure of whistleblower Edward Snowden from Hong Kong to Moscow is threatening to strain the diplomatic relations between the US and Russia and China.

The former US spy agency contractor is seeking asylum in Ecuador after leaving the Chinese territory on Sunday morning, scuppering Washington's efforts to extradite him on espionage charges.

The US said it was disappointed by Hong Kong's "troubling" failure to arrest the ex-CIA analyst, who was hiding there after apparently leaking information about monitoring by the National Security Agency to The Guardian and The Washington Post.

And there is growing anger in America over Russia's decision to allow him access to the country.

US Senator Charles Schumer said Russian President Vladimir Putin probably knew of and approved Mr Snowden's flight to Russia, and predicted "serious consequences" for a US-Russian relationship already strained over Syria and human rights issues.

Mr Schumer told CNN: "Putin always seems almost eager to stick a finger in the eye of the United States - whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden."

He said he also saw "the hand of Beijing" in Hong Kong's decision to let Mr Snowden leave.

Mr Snowden's route since leaving Hawaii and his possible next destinations

China said on Sunday it was "gravely concerned" by Mr Snowden's claim that US spies had hacked Chinese IT targets, particularly as the Obama administration has painted the US as a victim of Chinese government computer hacking.

The debacle is a major embarrassment for President Barack Obama, who has been trying to reset ties with Russia and build a partnership with China.

The US State Department said Mr Snowden should not be allowed to travel any further as an international manhunt for him is launched.

But Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said a ticket has been bought in his name for a flight from Moscow to Havana in Cuba, and Mr Snowden would then fly on from there.

The US has revoked Mr Snowden's passport, and says the "chase is on" to catch him.

A twitter picture of Mr Snowden's plane in Moscow. Credit @Russian_Market

Senate intelligence committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said: "I want to get him caught and brought back for trial. I think the chase is on and we'll see what happens."

Ecuador, which has been sheltering Julian Assange, the founder of the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, at its London embassy for the past year, once again took centre stage in the international diplomatic saga.

Ecuadorean foreign minister Ricardo Patino said the country was "analysing" his request for asylum, which "has to do with freedom of expression and with the security of citizens around the world".

Venezuela, Cuba and Ecuador are all members of the ALBA bloc, an alliance of leftist governments in Latin America that pride themselves on their "anti-imperialist" credentials.

Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, the legal director of WikiLeaks, who is assisting Mr Snowden and is a lawyer for Mr Assange, said: "The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving Mr Snowden's rights and protecting him as a person.

"What is being done to Mr Snowden and to Mr Julian Assange - for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest - is an assault against the people."

The manhunt for Edward Snowden has prompted protests

WikiLeaks said he was being accompanied by Sarah Harrison, whom it described as a UK citizen, journalist and legal researcher.

Mr Snowden claimed the NSA has been keeping details of millions of phone calls by Americans and monitoring the use by foreigners of internet sites including Google, Facebook and Yahoo.

He left Hong Kong after the White House asked the autonomous Chinese territory to extradite him. He had earlier been charged in the US with espionage.

The Hong Kong government said although the US had sought his extradition, the request did not fully comply with requirements and he was therefore free to leave.

A US Department of Justice spokesperson said: "The US is disappointed and disagrees with the determination by Hong Kong authorities not to honour the US request for the arrest of the fugitive.

"The request for the fugitive's arrest for purposes of his extradition complied with all of the requirements of the US-Hong Kong Surrender Agreement.

"At no point, in all of our discussions through Friday, did the authorities in Hong Kong raise any issues regarding the sufficiency of the US's provisional arrest request.

"In light of this, we find their decision to be particularly troubling."

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Nelson Mandela's Condition Becomes Critical

Nelson Mandela remains in a critical condition in hospital, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said.

Mr Zuma and ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mr Mandela in hospital on Sunday evening after the former president's health deteriorated.

They were briefed by Mr Mandela's medical team and told the 94-year-old's condition had become critical over the past 24 hours".

Mr Zuma said in a statement: "The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable. He is in good hands."

Mr Zuma visited Mr Mandela in hospital in Pretoria this evening

The pair also met Mr Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, who has been by her husband's bedside since he was taken ill.

On Monday, Mr Zuma told a news conference in Johannesburg that he had no further updates on Mr Mandela's condition.

Mr Mandela has suffered repeated bouts of illness in recent months and has been admitted to hospital four times since December.

The anti-apartheid leader has been in intensive care since he was last admitted to hospital on June 8 for a recurring lung infection.

Children have been sending "get well soon" messages to Mr Mandela

Mr Zuma appealed to South Africans and to the world to pray for Mr Mandela, his family and the medical team attending him.

In Sunday's statement, Mr Zuma also discussed the government's acknowledgement a day earlier that an ambulance carrying Mr Mandela to the hospital two weeks ago had broken down.

"There were seven doctors in the convoy who were in full control of the situation throughout the period. He had expert medical care," Mr Zuma said.

"The fully equipped military ICU ambulance had a full complement of specialist medical staff including intensive care specialists and ICU nurses.

"The doctors also dismissed the media reports that Madiba suffered cardiac arrest. There is no truth at all in that report."

Mr Mandela is seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation.

He played a leading role in steering South Africa from the apartheid era to democracy, becoming the country's first black president in all-race elections in 1994.

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Lawrence 'Smear Plot': Cameron Wants Inquiry

The Prime Minister David Cameron has said he wants an immediate investigation into claims the Met Police carried out an operation to "smear" the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

The claims emerged in an interview with a former undercover police officer.

Peter Francis said he was told to find "dirt" that could be used against members of the Lawrence family, shortly after the 18-year-old was killed in a racist attack in April 1993, the Guardian reported.

He was also asked to target the friend who witnessed the murder and campaigners angry at the failure to bring his killers to justice, the newspaper said.

Downing Street said Mr Cameron was "deeply concerned" about the allegations and wants them looked into.

Mr Lawrence's mother, Doreen, told the Guardian that there was no justification for efforts to discredit her family following her son's murder.

Doreen Lawrence said the revelation 'tops' everything she knows

Scotland Yard said it recognised the seriousness of the allegations and shared the concerns of the Lawrence family.

"The Met must balance the genuine public interest in these matters with its duty to protect officers and former officers who have been deployed undercover, often in difficult and dangerous circumstances," a spokesman said.

"At some point it will fall upon this generation of police leaders to account for the activities of our predecessors, but for the moment we must focus on getting to the truth."

The claims have surfaced as a result of a joint investigation into undercover policing by the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme, to be broadcast this evening.

Mr Francis, who reportedly posed as an anti-racist activist in the mid-1990s, said he came under "huge and constant pressure" to "hunt for disinformation" to undermine those arguing for a better investigation into the murder.

The teenager's death sparked a change in how race crimes are investigated

He told the Guardian: "I had to get any information on what was happening in the Stephen Lawrence campaign.

"They wanted the campaign to stop. It was felt it was going to turn into an elephant.

"Throughout my deployment there was almost constant pressure on me personally to find out anything I could that would discredit these campaigns."

Mr Lawrence, an aspiring architect, was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white youths in an unprovoked racist attack as he waited at a bus stop in Eltham, southeast London.

In January 2012, Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of being involved in the attack and sentenced to life imprisonment after a forensic review of the case found significant new scientific evidence on clothing seized from their homes following the murder.

Responding to Mr Francis's claims, Mrs Lawrence told the Guardian: "Out of all the things I've found out over the years, this certainly has topped it."

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described Mr Francis's claims as "shocking and appalling" and called for Home Secretary Theresa May to seek a faster investigation into his specific allegations.

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Burnham And Lansley Face Hospitals Claims

Former health secretary Andy Burnham has denied pressuring the NHS watchdog to tone down criticism of hospitals during his time in the job.

Mr Burnham has faced questions about whether he influenced hospitals' watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at the time it gave Morecambe Bay NHS Trust a clean bill of health, despite deaths of mothers and babies.

Labour's shadow health secretary insisted he did not cover up any problems at England's hospitals in the run-up to the 2010 General Election and was in fact "actively working to identify them".

An open letter from David Morris, the Conservative MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, asked Mr Burnham: "How much 'pressure' did you put on the CQC to 'tone down' its criticism of hospitals?

"You were the Labour Secretary of State for Health, when the first whitewash inspection of the Morecambe Bay NHS trust occurred in the spring of 2010. This was a crucial pre-election season for you."

Mr Burnham's reply denied any hospital problems were swept under the carpet.

Labour Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham will discuss the crisis on Sky

"When I was appointed in June 2009, one of my first decisions was to appoint Robert Francis QC to conduct an independent inquiry into what went wrong at Stafford," said Mr Burnham.

"Separately, the Department raised concerns with me about the effectiveness of CQC and I began taking steps to deal with it.

"In late 2009, when problems emerged unexpectedly at Basildon and Thurrock Hospital, it became clear to me that an in-depth look at all hospitals in England was needed so that all problems could be flushed out, action taken and reassurance given to the public," writes Mr Burnham.

He adds that "far from covering up any problems at hospitals in the pre-election period, I hope you can now see how was actively working to identify them."

David Morris has also asked Mr Burnham to make public any emails, texts and letters in which the CQC was discussed and detail conversations he had with former CQC bosses Cynthia Bower and Baroness Young before the hospital was given a clean bill of health.

Joshua Titcombe's father wrote to Mr Lansley three years ago

Meanwhile, Professor Sir Brian Jarman - head of the major healthcare information provider - has told Sky News that he alerted Morecambe NHS Trust to its high mortality rates in December 2009, but nothing was done.

His comments come as it emerged that another former health secretary, the Conservatives' Andrew Lansley, was warned about baby deaths at Furness General Hospital three years ago.

Mr Lansley received a letter from James Titcombe, whose son Joshua died aged just nine days at the hospital, raising concerns over inaction by the CQC.

"Despite all of these regulatory bodies, Joshua's death was preceded by the preventable deaths of other babies, yet no action was taken in time to make a different (sic) to our son," wrote Mr Titcombe.

He continues, "...there seems to be a gap in that the CQC can not investigate individual events and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman do not assess complaints to their office against principles of patient safety".

Ex-CQC chief executive Cynthia Bower denies there was any cover up

Mr Titcombe told Sky News he believes the CQC may have been under pressure from senior health officials not to uncover another big hospital scandal.

The reply to his letter from the Department of Health said it was unable to comment on individual cases.

Mr Lansley also faces allegations that he told whistleblower Kay Sheldon he was considering her dismissal from the CQC board after she warned a public inquiry in 2011 that the CQC was in disarray and public safety was at risk.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "The then Secretary of State, Andrew Lansley, was asked to consider removing Kay Sheldon from the CQC Board by the previous Chair of the CQC, Dame Jo Williams. He chose not to remove her.

"He ordered a review to establish the facts around how Kay Sheldon's raising of concerns about the CQC were handled, taking into account all perspectives.

"After considering its recommendations and the representations of Kay Sheldon he decided that she should remain a member of the Board."

Another whistleblower, former CQC head of media Roger Davidson, has told the Sunday Telegraph that he was forced from his job just before the 2010 General Election, after telling how one quarter of NHS Trusts had failed to meet basic hygiene standards.

Former bosses of hospitals' watchdog CQC have been accused of covering up a report which criticised their original inspection of the Morecambe Bay NHS Trust. They deny the claims.

The CQC gave the trust a clean bill of health in 2010 despite the deaths of up to 16 babies.

James Titcombe and other families who lost babies at the hospital are now calling for a police investigation and an independent inquiry to establish who knew about the alleged cover-up.

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Suspicious Item Found At Walsall Mosque

Homes near to a mosque in Walsall are being evacuated following the discovery of a suspicious item, West Midlands Police say.

Army bomb disposal experts are currently at the scene and have this morning ordered the evacuation of around 39 homes in the immediate vicinity of the mosque.

The measure is precautionary while a further examination of the item is undertaken.

Police were called to the Rutter Street address at around 10.45pm last night following the discovery in the grounds of the building.

The item was then brought inside the building by a member of the public, police said.

The area has been cordoned off.

"People in the affected area and who are unable to make alternative arrangements are being taken to Walsall Town Hall where they will be cared for," a police statement said.

Meanwhile, local officers remain at the scene and are talking to residents to keep them up-to-date with the incident and offer reassurance.

More follows...

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Whistleblower Snowden Leaves Hong Kong

The whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked details about US snooping, has left Hong Kong for Russia.

His departure was revealed on the website of the Hong Kong newspaper the South China Morning Post, which said that Russia was not thought to be his intended final destination.

His departure now been confirmed by the Hong Kong government.

It is thought that the eventual destination could end up being Iceland or Ecuador.

He is understood to have left on the Russian airline Aeroflot flight SU213.

The paper said it left Hong Kong around 11am local time (4am UK time) and was due to arrive in Moscow around 5.15pm local time (1pm UK time). It is believed to be currently in the air.

The White House had asked Hong Kong to extradite him, after he was charged in the US with espionage.

An Icelandic newspaper reported four days ago that Snowden had asked Iceland for political asylum.

The website of the South China Morning Post said: "US whistleblower Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong on an Aeroflot flight to Moscow, credible sources have confirmed to the South China Morning Post.

"Moscow will not be his final destination."

The Hong Kong government confirmed Snowden had left and said that he did so legally and voluntarily.

Edward Snowden was revealed earlier this month to have been the man who leaked to the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers information about monitoring by America's National Security Agency.

Snowden told the Guardian the National Security Agency has been keeping details of millions of phone calls by Americans and monitoring the use by foreigners of internet sites including Google, Facebook and Yahoo.

The Hong Kong government has said that although the US had sought his extradition, the request did not fully comply with requirements.

A statement issued by the Government said: "Mr Edward Snowden left Hong Kong today (June 23) on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel.

"The US Government earlier on made a request to the HKSAR Government for the issue of a provisional warrant of arrest against Mr Snowden.

"Since the documents provided by the US Government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law, the HKSAR Government has requested the US Government to provide additional information so that the Department of Justice could consider whether the US Government's request can meet the relevant legal conditions.

"As the HKSAR Government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.

"The HKSAR Government has already informed the US Government of Mr Snowden's departure.

"Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government has formally written to the US Government requesting clarification on earlier reports about the hacking of computer systems in Hong Kong by US government agencies.

"The HKSAR Government will continue to follow up on the matter so as to protect the legal rights of the people of Hong Kong."

The Russian President's office said it has not been given any information about Mr Snowden's imminent arrival.

More follows...

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