Gordon Brown has defended the UK mission in Afghanistan and called for talks to be held in London next year to discuss the transferral of security to the Afghan government. Making his annual foreign policy speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet in the City of London on Monday night the prime minister said he wanted the Nato meeting to set a timetable for the transfer, beginning in 2010. The process would involve moving from district to district through Afghanistan with responsibilities slowly being returned to the Afghan security forces.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:30:00

Children who are sexually exploited are still being failed by the system, the charity Barnardo's has said today. A report from the children's group says there is a worrying trend in organised child trafficking for sexual exploitation within the UK, and identifies dangers to children who regularly go missing. Barnardo's said there are currently 209 local authorities and trusts across the UK with responsibility for producing Children and Young People Plans (CYPPS), yet only 40 are known to provide any type of specialist service.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:21:43

The United Nations nuclear watchdog has lost confidence in Iran to tell the truth about nuclear facilities, it has emerged. Iran was forced to admit to building a previously-unknown uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom after its existence was revealed by Barack Obama, Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy. In a leaked report the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the Qom site "gives rise to questions about whether there were any other nuclear facilities not declared to the agency".

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:21:18

Dementia care in the UK is costing lives and hundreds of millions of pounds, according to a report from the Alzheimer's Society. The charity said people with dementia occupy a quarter of all hospital beds, and are staying far longer in hospital than people without the condition who go in for the same treatment, at a cost of millions of to the NHS. 'Counting the Cost: caring for people with dementia on hospital wards', reveals there are large, costly variations in the quality of care for people with dementia. It found the majority of people with dementia leave hospital worse than when they arrived, and a third enter a care home, unable to return home.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:00

Egypt's poorest are living with the constant threat of being buried alive, a new report has warned. Amnesty International has called on the Egyptian authorities to take immediate steps to protect those living in the capital Cairo in designated "unsafe areas" where they are at risk from rockslides and other natural catastrophes. The report also castigates the failure by officials to protect the residents of Al-Duwayqa hit by a fatal rockslide in September 2008.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:00

A British soldier has died following an explosion in southern Afghanistan bringing the total UK death-toll in the conflict to 234. The soldier, from 33 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, was killed in the blast near Gereshk, in Helmand province, on Sunday afternoon. The serviceman was part of the Counter-IED (improvised explosive device) Taskforce.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:24:41

A doctor has been jailed for six years after being found guilty of poisoning his pregnant mistress in an attempt to cause a miscarriage. Last month a jury at the Old Bailey found Dr Edward Erin guilty of two counts of trying to poison 33-year-old Bella Prose. The 44-year-old doctor, who worked at St Mary's hospital in Paddington, west London, had denied attempting to administer poison to procure a miscarriage.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:44:39

The first-ever UK soldier to be convicted of war crimes has claimed that troops in his former regiment frequently punched and kicked Iraqi prisoners in their custody. Donald Payne, who was jailed and thrown out of the army after pleading guilty to a charge of inhumane treatment in 2006, said he had covered up for his former comrades out of "misguided loyalty". The 39-year-old is the only person to ever be convicted over the death of Basra hotel receptionist Baha Mousa, who died aged 26 in 2003 a day after being taken into British custody.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:43:56

A 25-year-old man has pleaded guilty to attacking West Ham defender Calum Davenport with a knife. Worrell Whitehurst appeared at Luton crown court today and admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He also pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding Davenport's mother, 49-year-old Kim Stupple in the incident outside her home in Bedford back in August.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:30:00

A Scottish forest has been designated as one of the best places for stargazing in the world after winning a prestigious international award. Galloway forest park, in south-west Scotland, was awarded dark sky park status by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) this weekend. Only three other parks in the world have received the award, Natural Bridges national monument in Utah, Cherry Springs state park in Pennsylvania and Geauga park in Ohio.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:01:00