Bomb Blast Near Cairo Police Academy

Egypt Bombings Bear The Mark Of Al Qaeda

Updated: 8:35pm UK, Friday 24 January 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Not unprecedented, not unpredicted, the Cairo bombings blamed on radical Islamist groups do have a new distinctive signature - al Qaeda.

The global Jihadi movement has specialised for years in what the military call "complex attacks" - the assault of several targets in close chronological order.

The Egyptian capital was rocked by three explosions in one morning.

They were mostly targeting the organs of the state but, by hitting a metro station, they also signalled to the Arab world's most populous state that violence is going to continue to be a way of life.

Ironically, the terror attacks suit the military-dominated government of Egypt as much as it furthers the agenda of the violent groups who want to bring it to its knees.

The massive car bomb outside the state security building in Cairo, which left a gaping hole in the street and at least four dead, was easily predicted.

It flows directly from the massacre of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi during July and August last year as they protested against the military coup that deposed him.

The former president's Muslim Brotherhood has foresworn the use of violence, and continues to insist that this is its position.

But the scale of the killing of Egyptian citizens by their own military last year inevitably led to a violent backlash.

This started in the Sinai where local tribes have been infiltrated by al Qaeda agitators, and further radicalised through violent Islamist groups from neighbouring Gaza, a Palestinian territory.

It has been inflamed by the banning of the Brotherhood late last year and the arrest of many of its leaders who have, therefore, been denied a peaceful platform.

Poor, disenfranchised, youth across the Middle East have been easy prey for the radicalising messages of al Qaeda-style groups who offer a simple means - violence - to a simple solution to their many woes - the establishment of an Islamic caliphate.

By launching attacks on the capital, the terrorists have played into the narrative of the military - that ridding the country of the Brotherhood is part of a necessary fight against terrorism.

The bombs are likely to signal greater attacks on personal freedoms by the government which have already resulted in the rounding up of non-Islamic pro-democracy activists and even the extended detention of foreign journalists.

The military calculation, which has the support of many Egyptians, is that it can crack down on radical Islamic groups so hard that it can crush them - much as it did for decades before the revolution which ended military rule in January three years ago.

The difference today is that al Qaeda-style violence is a global phenomenon which is tearing into the Middle East in Iraq, Syria, the Lebanon, and parts of the Palestinian territories.

It is ultimately self-sustaining, but it is fuelled by oppression.

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Balls Commits To Balancing The Nation's Books

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls is promising to balance the nation's books, run a budget surplus and cut the national debt if Labour win power.

In a speech to the Fabian Society Annual Conference today, Mr Balls will make a raft of commitments on the economy and public finances.

New laws introducing tough fiscal rules would be introduced during the party's first year in power and rolling five-year targets scrapped under Labour's plans.

The party is seeking to regain ground on the economy by demonstrating its fiscal discipline following growth forecasts that are favourable for the coalition Government.

The move echoes Chancellor George Osborne's plans to lock in deficit-reduction plans until the end of the next parliament.

Mr Balls accuses George Osborne of flatlining the economy

But Labour insists the timescale for its commitment is dependent on the state of the economy after the election.

Mr Balls will say: "I am today announcing a binding fiscal commitment.

"The next Labour government will balance the books and deliver a surplus on the current budget and falling national debt in the next Parliament. 

"So my message to my party and the country is this: where this government has failed, we will finish the job.

"We will abolish the discredited idea of rolling five year targets and legislate for our tough fiscal rules within 12 months of the general election.

"We will get the current budget into surplus as soon as possible in the next Parliament. How fast we can go will depend on the state of the economy and public finances we inherit."

Mr Balls' bid to bolster Labour's economic position will see him repeat his claim that coalition austerity has flatlined the economy and spurred the cost of living crisis.

Mr Balls will say: "Tory claims their plan is working are not going to wash with working people who are seeing their living standards falling and for whom this is no recovery at all.

"Because the current cost-of-living crisis is not just about people on tax credits, zero-hours contracts and the minimum wage. It's also about millions of middle-class families who never thought that life would be such a struggle."

Andrew Harrop, general secretary of the Fabian Society, said: "Labour needs to prove it has cast-iron plans to reduce the national debt when it returns to power. But the top priority for sustainable economic growth is investment.

"Ed Balls needs to show that his fiscal plans will not prevent Labour spending for the future."

Sky's Sophy Ridge said: "What he's going to do today is set out a timetable for when Labour want to try and eliminate the deficit by.

"He will say he will bring Britain back into the black by 2020 if there's a Labour government after the next election. That's a year later than George Osborne has currently committed to.

"It's all about Labour trying to regain voters trust on the economy."

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Philpott Fire Killings 'Could Not Be Predicted'

By Adele Robinson, Midlands Correspondent

The six Philpott children killed in a house fire started by their parents were victims of "a criminal act no one could have predicted", according to a Serious Case Review.

The Derby Safeguarding Children Board concluded that their deaths could not have been prevented.

Mick and Mairead Philpott and their friend Paul Mosley were convicted of manslaughter and jailed last year.

Jade Philpott and her brothers John, Jack, Jesse, Jayden and Duwayne died after their home was set alight in May 2012.

A statement from the board said their "tragic" deaths could not have been foreseen.

"Given the notoriety of the father, the incidents of domestic abuse and visibility of the children, there were some opportunities to get to know the family better, although this would not have led to professionals becoming aware that there were plans to deliberately set fire to the house when the children were sleeping."

Mick and Mairead Philpott were jailed last year

Mick Philpott lived for some time with his wife and former mistress, along with their 11 children.

The review found that the living arrangements at Victory Road were "unorthodox" but stated: "Although professionals recognised the arrangements as unusual they did not appear to affect the children and there was no evidence of difficulties between the adults."

The report considered a number of issues relating to the children including adult relationships, overcrowding at the house, Mick Philpott's previous convictions, domestic abuse, and media coverage.

"There were not concerns about the care of the children," report author Glenys Johnston told Sky News.

"In fact the children presented as happy, healthy, who formed good relationships with others around them.

"They were not malnourished, there were no concerns about the welfare of the children."

The Derby house has been demolished

In 2005 and 2006, Sure Start staff "commented positively on the family atmosphere and the father's engagement with his children".

In 2011, after one child told school staff she had been slapped at home, investigations found the "family continued to appear well adjusted and happy".

The report highlighted areas for improvement, however, including the sharing of information of past convictions going back decades.

Several agencies did not know of Mick Philpott's violent past, a conviction for attempted murder on an ex-girlfriend in 1978.

Workload pressures also meant more thorough checks on the children's files did not happen.

There were also opportunities to get to know the family better due to Mick Philpott's notoriety and various incidents of domestic abuse.

Paul Mosley also received a 17-year sentence for the deaths

The report stated: "Information that has emerged after the deaths of the children have described some tensions between the father and the women who lived in the house due to his controlling manner, but this was not apparent at the time.

"The relationship between the two mothers was always viewed as supportive and caring with neither of them having any difficulty with the partnership arrangements or any jealousy."

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue advice forms part of the review's 10 recommendations, for example continuing to encourage the installation of sprinklers into new houses.

As a result of the Philpott children's deaths research was carried out by the service into why they did not hear the smoke alarms.

Area manager Gavin Tomlinson, said: "Obviously children are developing their hearing at a younger age and they may not be woken by the smoke alarm.

"That said, the smoke alarm is there to alert all occupants and obviously there will be responsible people in the house - adults with children."

Mick Philpott was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years after being described as a "disturbingly dangerous" man.

His wife, who is likely to be released after serving half of her 17-year term, took part as part of a plan to frame his former mistress who had left the family.

Their friend Paul Mosley was also jailed for 17 years.

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Justin Bieber Leaves Jail After DUI Charge

Justin Bieber has left jail after being bailed on charges including driving under the influence of drink or drugs and resisting arrest.

The teenage pop star was earlier stopped by Miami police after apparently drag racing where he was clocked in a rented yellow Lamborghini doing around 60mph in a 30mph zone.

Bieber admitted he had been drinking, smoking marijuana and taking prescription medication, police say.

Justin Bieber pictured after he was arrested. Pic: Miami Beach Police

He was arrested and taken to jail from where he made his first court appearance via videolink.

He was also charged with driving with an expired licence and bail was set by a judge at $2,500 (£1,500).

After he was released from jail, Bieber, wearing a hooded black top, sat on top of a waiting SUV for a few seconds and waved to his fans.

Bieber's booking form after his arrest

Bieber failed a sobriety test during his arrest, authorities claimed, and he swore at officers when he was stopped, according to a copy of the arrest report.

An officer claimed the Canadian singer had "bloodshot eyes" and added he could smell alcohol on his breath.

The singer waves to fans after he was released from jail

Police said two SUVs had blocked the road in a residential area of Miami Beach so the 19-year-old star could race a friend, identified as R&B singer Khalil Sharieff, who was driving a rented Ferrari.

Miami Dade state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle told Sky News: "We take cases like this very seriously. It could have been the recipe for a tragedy."

Bieber told police he was returning from a studio recording session and repeatedly asked why he had been stopped and arrested.

The van transporting Bieber to jail

"Why did you stop me?" he asked, according to the report. "Why do you have to search me?"

Speaking at a press conference, Miami Beach Chief of Police Raymond Martinez said the singer had resisted arrest although he had done so "without violence".

Mr Martinez said the 19-year-old Canadian had been "belligerent" and had used some "choice words" when he was arrested.

He said Bieber had been very cooperative once he got to the station.

Bieber posted this graffiti photo on Instagram just hours before his arrest

The star, who reportedly earned $58m (£35m) last year, arrived at Miami-Dade County Jail where he had his mugshots and fingerprints taken.

The van transporting the singer, with blacked-out windows, was trailed by squad cars.

Miami-Dade Police spokesman Sergeant Bobby Hernandez told WSVN in South Florida that officers saw two cars racing at 4.09am.

Mr Hernandez said two vehicles apparently had been used to block off an area on Pine Tree Drive and 26th Street for the race.

Khalil Sharieff was also charged with driving under the influence

He said the second car was a red Ferrari, and that the driver, Khalil, was also arrested. Khalil was later charged with driving under the influence, and his bail was set at $1,000 (£600). Both cars were towed away.

Bieber was pictured in the car with a woman, named in some reports as model Chantel Jeffries, in the driving seat before his arrest.

The teenager has been in Florida for the past few days and has been spotted in nightclubs and at a skate park.

He posted photos on Instagram of him performing tricks on his skateboard and spraying his initials onto a wall at the park.

He is also alleged to have spent thousands of dollars at a strip club called the King of Diamonds.

Bieber promoting his film Believe in December

A first conviction could bring a fine of between $250 (£150) and $1,000 (£600), depending on the level of alcohol, as well as community service and possibly a jail sentence.

Bieber's arrest comes just a week after the singer's California home was raided by police over claims he pelted his neighbour's house with eggs, causing thousands of dollars of damage.

In that case, authorities arrested one member of Bieber's entourage, rapper Lil Za, on suspicion of drug possession.

Last year the singer disappointed thousands of fans in the UK by showing up to gigs late, which left many of his young followers having to leave his performances only moments after he started performing to catch trains home.

He was also involved in a scuffle outside his hotel in London during his colourful visit.

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NHS Waiting Times: Hospitals Misrecord Data

Patients can not rely on NHS waiting time figures when choosing a hospital because the information is often recorded wrongly, the National Audit Office has found.

Treatment statistics are often inconsistent and unreliable, with waiting times shortened in a fifth of cases, the watchdog found.

The National Audit Office reviewed 650 cases of patients having orthopaedic surgery in seven trusts and found that overall there was a tendency for misrecording data to hide delays rather than exaggerate waiting times.

In 129 cases the waiting times had been shortened, with patients actually having their operations six weeks later than suggested by the official record.

The figures were recorded accurately in 281 cases - fewer than half.

The NAO said that it was not possible to tell if the inaccurate reporting was deliberate, but that it should be investigated.

The NAO's Keith Hawkswell told Sky News: "We think the Department of Health and NHS England need to make sure that consistent and reliable waiting time information is provided by hospital trusts in future.

"At the moment we don't think the data provided by hospital trusts is sufficiently comparable and that means as a patient, if you're trying to decide which hospital to go to and waiting time matters, you haven't got a solid basis on on which to decide."

NHS targets say 90% of admitted hospital patients should start their treatment within 18 weeks.

Of those patients who do not need admitting to hospital, 95% should be seen within 18 weeks of referral by their GP.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Sky News that waiting times were "low and stable" and said he wanted to reassure people they would not face lengthy waits for procedures.

He said: "The report is not talking about hospitals falsifying figures, it's talking about different methods of collation and we want to make sure we get those right.

Police are investigating claims of falsified waiting times in Colchester

"But overall it recognises the changes that this Government has brought in has actually led to a dramatic fall in the number of people waiting a long time."

At Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, police are already investigating allegations that cancer waiting times were deliberately falsified.

Mr will today try to improve patients' experience in hospitals by saying that they must offer patients "whole stay doctors" who will look after them throughout their treatment.

He wants to tackle the "fragmentation of care experienced by patients in hospitals" and to make sure patients are treated like people rather than numbers or problems.

Later in a speech at St Thomas' Hospital in central London Mr Hunt will highlight how action is needed to stop patients feeling like they are being passed from pillar to post.

It comes after an announcement in November that patients should have the name of a consultant above their bed.

He will say: "Every day, the first thing I do when I arrive at work at the Department of Health is to read and reply to a letter from someone whose NHS care has gone wrong.

"Of course I know that for every mistake there are many instances of superb care.

"But as Health Secretary I want to know where the problems are because I want to sort them out."

Mr Hunt will describe a letter he received from a lady whose husband passed away after "what can only be described as two years of chaotic care".

Individual hospitals will be asked to develop their own plans for how whole stay doctors will work in practice.

Professor Norman Williams, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: "The progressive fragmentation of care that we have seen in the NHS is not only confusing and damaging for patients but also undermines the professionalism of medical teams.

"We have to end the situation where patients are shuttled from one member of staff to another with no one individual taking responsibility for ensuring they receive the right treatment at the right time and in the right place.

"Having one named consultant in charge across a hospital stay will help bring about an important cultural change and reassure patients that they are not lost in the system, with no-one overseeing the totality of their care."

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Ukraine Violence Continues As US Sanctions Loom

Police and protesters in the Ukrainian capital Kiev were locked in a tense standoff early Thursday, as the US threatened to impose sanctions over street battles which have claimed three lives.

Police and protesters clashed again overnight, turning an area at the heart of the city into a virtual war zone with demonstrators setting fire to barricades, hurling stones and Molotov cocktails and police using tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Ukrainian opposition leaders have called on President Viktor Yanukovych to announce early elections within 24 hours or face more violence on the streets.

The protesters have demanded that Mr Yanukovych dismiss the government and scrap harsh anti-protest legislation.

"You, Mr President, have the opportunity to resolve this issue," said opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, speaking to around 40,000 people in Kiev's Independence Square.

Protesters have set fire to tyres in the streets and built barricades

"Early elections will change the situation without bloodshed and we will do everything to achieve that."

Medical staff in Kiev told Sky News that three people have been killed during the clashes.

Two protesters died after being shot, while another died from injuries sustained in a fall. One of the dead protesters was named locally as Serhiy Nihoyna.

Police have thrown stun grenades and broken through protesters' barricades, made from burnt-out buses.

Protesters have also lobbed petrol bombs at police as fighting continued on the city's snow-covered streets.

During confrontations on Wednesday, riot police beat and shot at protesters, volunteer medics and journalists.

Early on Thursday, there was a tense stand-off at the site of the deadly clashes as hundreds of protesters faced riot police over barricades of burning tyres and sandbags stuffed with snow.

Image said to show one of the dead, Serhiy Nihoyna (Pic: Serhiy Proskurnia)

The Interior Ministry has announced that 70 protesters have been arrested.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the police did not have live ammunition and that opposition leaders should be held responsible for the deaths.

The US State Department has threatened to impose sanctions against the Ukraine in response to the continued use of violence against protesters.

Spokeswoman Marie Harf said the US would continue to call upon Mr Yanukovych "to protect the democratic rights of all Ukrainians, including the rights of peaceful protest".

"I don't have more details on what those sanctions might look like, but we will continue to consider additional steps, as I said, including sanctions, in response to the use of violence," she said.

Some 200,000 took to the streets at the weekend in a show of anger over the new anti-protest laws rushed through by Mr Yanukovych.

The laws allow for jail terms of up to five years for those who blockade public buildings. They also ban protesters from wearing masks or helmets.

Meanwhile, Russia said it would not intervene, according to President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"We consider we do not have the right to intervene in any way in the internal affairs of our brother Ukraine. That's unacceptable and Russia has not done this and will not do it," he said in an interview published on the website of Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.

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Syria: Diplomatic Push To End Bloody Conflict

A diplomatic battle to end Syria's bloody civil war begins in Switzerland today as opposition delegates sit down with government representatives for the first time in three years.

International delegates have gathered in the city of Montreux, on the banks of Lake Geneva, for talks aimed at ending a conflict which has killed more than 100,000 people.

The peace talks will go ahead despite a last-minute dispute over the United Nations' decision to withdraw an invitation to Iran.

The exclusion of the Islamic Republic from the conference has highlighted tensions between the West and Russia over how to broker an agreement to end the violence.

Iran is the main ally of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. The country's exclusion came after Tehran refused to endorse a UN-backed plan for a transitional governing body in Syria.

The city of Montreux, in Switzerland, will host the Geneva 2 talks

The issue of transition of power is expected to be central to the success of the talks, which have been dubbed "Geneva 2". 

The Western-backed opposition has demanded that Mr Assad must quit and face a war crimes trial.

But the Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al Moualem, has rejected any discussion of Mr Assad being forced to step down.

"The subject of the president and the regime is a red line for us and the Syrian people and will not be touched," he said on the eve of the talks, according to the SANA news agency.

The conference also begins in the shadow of allegations of large-scale torture and execution of prisoners by government forces.

US Secretary of State arrives in Switzerland ahead of the talks

The day before the talks, a group of international lawyers published allegations of the "systematic torture and killing" of up to 11,000 people by the Syrian regime.

Fatima Khan, the mother of British doctor Abbas Khan, who died in a Syrian prison last month, told Sky News' Joe Tidy that the reports of torture and execution were no surprise.

"I'm not surprised with the report. I knew ... all this," she said.

"I heard my son was living with 9,000 other prisoners and my son told me that every day they used to take two or three (and) torture them.

Fatima Khan said allegations of torture in Syria were "no surprise"

"Either one comes back or two comes back, or none of the three comes back. I knew this. My son was only a humanitarian aid worker. Why was he tortured?

"If that regime is so cruel (that) they have no brains and no heart to understand (the difference between) a humanitarian aid worker and a terrorist, then they should not stay in power."

Foreign Secretary William Hague urged both sides in Syria to "seize the chance" to end the civil war as he arrived in Switzerland.

"Opposition has been tested and has come. Now regime must be tested on willingness to seek a political solution," Mr Hague wrote on Twitter.

Smoke rises after a bomb blast in the Syrian city of Aleppo

Mr Hague added that it was a "great shame" that Iran - which has enjoyed a thawing of relations with the West in recent months - had failed to endorse the principles of the talks.

US President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin had a "business-like" conversation about the Syrian conflict by phone on Tuesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also met US Secretary of State John Kerry in Montreux ahead of today's opening of negotiations.

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