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Defence lawyers have demanded forensic evidence be re-examined in the retrial of two suspects over the 2007 murder of Briton Meredith Kercher in Italy. American Amanda Knox and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty but acquitted on appeal in 2011. But that ruling was overturned in March by Italy's highest court, amid strong criticism of the way the appeals court had dismissed important DNA evidence. The suspects have always insisted they are innocent. Neither was in court. The second appeals hearing is being held at a court in the central Italian city of Florence. The appellate court is expected to re-examine forensic evidence to determine whether Ms Knox and her ex-boyfriend helped kill the 21-year-old British student, while the two women shared an apartment in Perugia. At the first session on Monday defence lawyers called for new tests to be carried out on DNA on the alleged murder weapon and semen stains from the crime scene. Lawyers for Ms Knox and M...

Spoiler alert: Multiple key plot details revealed below Cranston has described his character as "a very good manipulator" Arguably the most talked-about television series of the past five years, the finale of Breaking Bad aired in the US on Sunday, swiftly followed by its UK premiere on Netflix. Set in Albuquerque, the series followed the life of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the beginning of the first series. In order to secure his family's future before he dies, he turned to a life of crime, making and selling methamphetamine. Reviews in the US press, which contain several spoilers, have been generally favourable . New York Times by Alessandra Stanley Perhaps the best thing about the finale of Breaking Bad is that it actually ended. So many shows, notably The Sopranos and Lost, have gone dark without anything approaching finality. Here, the writers were so determined to not leave unfinishe...

Authorities in Nigeria say there was no security protection at an agricultural college where up to 50 students were shot dead as they slept on Sunday. The students were killed by suspected Islamist gunmen in their dormitory in Yobe state, north-eastern Nigeria. Official Abdullahi Bego told the BBC the government and military would work to increase protection in schools. When we heard the sound of gun shots, we tried to run to escape for fear of our lives Survivor North-eastern Nigeria is under a state of emergency amid an Islamist insurgency by the Boko Haram group. Boko Haram is fighting to overthrow Nigeria's government to create an Islamic state, and has launched a number of attacks on schools. Schools 'to stay open' BBC Hausa service editor Mansur Liman says there seems to be some complacency in the Nigerian military after their recent successes in driving militants out of many urban areas in the north-east. However, the insurgents have previously seized army u...

Last-minute negotiations are expected to take place in Washington between Democrat and Republican lawmakers to try to agree a new budget. If they fail to reach a deal by midnight (04:00 GMT Tuesday), the US government will be forced to close all non-essential federal services. More than 700,000 staff could be sent home on unpaid leave, with no guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is over. The shutdown would be the first in the US for 17 years. One of the key reasons for the political stalemate has been President Barack Obama's healthcare law, popularly known as Obamacare. Impact of shutdown *.State dept will be able to operate for limited time *.Dept of defence would continue military operations *.Dept of education would still distribute $22bn (£13.6bn) to public schools, but staffing would be severely hit *.Department of energy - 12,700 staff would be sent home, 1,113 remain to oversee nuclear arsenal *.Department of health and human services to send home more than ha...

The US civil rights activist Rev Jesse Jackson says he will go to Colombia to seek the release of a former US marine held hostage despite the government's rejection of his mediation offer. President Juan Manuel Santos said on Saturday he did not want the freeing of the man held by left-wing Farc rebels to become a "media spectacle." Only the Red Cross would be allowed to participate, Mr Santos said. Meanwhile, the rebels have asked the president to reconsider his position. The International Committee of the Red Cross also said on Sunday it is waiting for an agreement to get into the process. "When both sides [the Farc and the government] reach an agreement, we will start playing our part," the ICRC spokesperson Erika Tovar told Colombian newspaper El Espectador. From Havana, where he had met with Farc leaders who are in Cuba for the peace talks with the government, Rev Jesse Jackson said he still intended to go to Colombia "in a matter of days". ...

Have the events of September 2013 changed the way the world is run? For The Editors, a programme which sets out to ask challenging questions, I decided to find out. In late August it seemed pretty certain that America would bomb the Assad regime in Syria as a punishment for using chemical weapons. Then a number of wholly unexpected things happened. Britain's parliament voted not to join in a bombing campaign; President Obama decided he would have to put the issue to Congress before going ahead; and some clever diplomatic footwork by Russia resulted in an offer by Syria to destroy its chemical warfare arsenal. The world looked like a distinctly different place by the end of the month. It was not simply that war had been averted. The United States seemed diminished, and its previously reliable ally, Britain, was shown to be irrelevant in an area of the world which it once dominated. Byblos, a small coastal town north of the Lebanese capital Beirut, is a good place to reflect on s...

Last-minute negotiations are expected to take place in Washington between Democrat and Republican lawmakers to try to agree a new budget. If they fail to reach a deal by midnight (04:00 GMT Tuesday), the US government will be forced to close all non-essential federal services. More than 700,000 staff could be sent home on unpaid leave, with no guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is over. The shutdown would be the first in the US for 17 years. One of the key reasons for the political stalemate has been President Barack Obama's healthcare law, popularly known as Obamacare. Impact of shutdown *.State dept will be able to operate for limited time *.Dept of defence would continue military operations *.Dept of education would still distribute $22bn (£13.6bn) to public schools, but staffing would be severely hit *.Department of energy - 12,700 staff would be sent home, 1,113 to oversee nuclear arsenal *.Department of health and human services to send home more than half of s...

Tomorrow is the day, That NIGERIANS sings Tomorrow is the day That the liberty bell starts to ring, Tomorrow is the day We all start to remember What We stand for And to celebrate NIGERIA Independence We stand up high, as We All start to cry As we think about, All that died For you, for me, for our whole country NIGERIA. Risking there life Each & everyday here is a salute To all that lay their Life and Soul. Happy Independence DAY NIGERIA, Happy Independence DAY GAINT OF AFRICA. Happy Independence DAY YOU!!!

What the future holds for you depends on what you hold for the future. May all your days be beautiful and bright.. Keep your face to the sunshine Let a series of happy thoughts run through your mind. They will show on your face. HAPPY NEW MONTH OF OCTOBER IN ADVANCE.

The retrial of two suspects over the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher has opened in Italy. Amanda Knox, from the US, and her Italian then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty in 2009 but acquitted on appeal in 2011. In March, Italy's highest court overturned both their acquittals. The suspects spent four years in prison before their acquittal, and have always insisted they are innocent. They are not expected to be in court. 'So scary' The retrial is being held in the central Italian city of Florence. The first session is expected to discuss procedural issues such as dates for further hearings. The retrial was ordered after the prosecution had taken the case to Italy's Supreme Court. The court strongly criticised the way the appeals court had dismissed important DNA evidence, ordering the whole process to begin all over again. Ms Knox, 26, has since returned to the US and was not required to be present for the retrial. Earlier this month...

Asian markets have fallen on fears that the US may be heading for a shutdown of government services. The US needs to agree a new spending bill before the financial year ends at midnight on Monday. But political divisions have resulted in a stalemate. There are worries over the economic impact of a failure to do so, which may see non-essential federal services shut and staff placed on unpaid leave. Stock indexes in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea all declined. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.5%, Australia's ASX dropped 1.7%, while South Korea's Kospi shed 0.7% "It is the fear of the unknown," said David Kuo of financial website the Motley Fool. "No one knows what is really going to happen and markets don't like uncertainty." "There is likely to be some reduction in US government spending, but we don't know what areas are going to be affected. "Until that is resolved, we are likely...

Children born to mothers under 30 are more likely to die than those born to older mums, a report on child deaths in the UK suggests. While overall child mortality fell by 50% in the past 20 years, young maternal age was found to be a risk factor for death in early childhood. Support should be extended to mothers of all ages, not just first-time teenage mums, the report said. The researchwas led by the Institute of Child Health at UCL. It looked at why children die in the UK using death registration data from January 1980 to December 2010. It focused on child injuries, birthweight and maternal age to assess the risk factors for child deaths. The research found that in England, Scotland and Wales, the difference in mortality between children of mothers under 30 and those born to mothers aged 30 to 34 accounted for 11% of all deaths up to nine years old. This is equivalent to an average of 397 deaths in the UK each year, the report said. Young maternal age at birth is becoming a m...

Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has begun announcing far-reaching political reforms aimed at benefiting Kurds and other minorities. He has proposed lowering the 10% electoral threshold, which currently prevents Kurdish and other smaller parties entering parliament. He says towns will be allowed to take Kurdish rather than Turkish names. He also plans to end the ban on women wearing headscarves in public service - a longstanding goal of his party. "This is a historic moment, an important stage," Mr Erdogan said. The reforms are a long-awaited move to improve the rights of Turkey's Kurds, who are thought to make up about 20% of the population. They are seen as a vital part of efforts to end the three-decade conflict between the government and Kurdish rebels, which has cost more than 40,000 lives.

Nearly 300 children aged 11 or under were admitted to A&E units across the UK last year after drinking too much, a BBC Radio 5 live investigation shows. Revealing UK-wide data for the first time, it said a total of 6,500 under-18s were admitted in 2012-13. Charities and public health bodies say fewer children are drinking overall, but those who do may be drinking more. The five years of data comes from Freedom of Information requests to 125 of the 189 UK NHS organisations. Prof Ian Gilmore, chairman of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance, told the BBC: "I think in under-11s, it's mainly experimenting, but I think we see children in the 11 to 16-year-old range who are beginning to drink regularly." He added: "There are some encouraging signs in that the numbers of under-18s drinking is probably falling, but those that are drinking are probably drinking earlier and drinking more heavily, so we certainly can't be complacent." Over the last five years A...

Kenyan MPs have started an investigation into alleged intelligence failings over the deadly Westgate shopping centre attack. The head of the parliament's defence committee says "people need to know the exact lapses in the security system". There are reports the NIS intelligence agency issued warnings a year ago. Some 67 people were killed and many injured after al-Shabab militants stormed the Westgate centre in the capital Nairobi on 21 September. Kenya's Red Cross says the number of people still believed to be missing is 39, down from an earlier figure of 61. Five militants were killed by the security forces during the four-day siege and 10 people have since been arrested, the authorities say. Al-Shabab, a Somali Islamist group, said the attack was in retaliation for Kenya's military involvement in Somalia. Security sources have told the BBC that the militants hired a shop there in the weeks leading up to the siege. Operation's 'anatomy' The ...

Every morning Raju Sapui cycles to his employer's home in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta. Mr Sapui works as a driver, but like most people in this teeming city, he cannot afford to buy a car or two-wheeler to commute. But things have suddenly turned difficult for Mr Sapui. In a surprise move, authorities have recently banned cycles - along with hand carts and other non-motorised vehicles - from 174 key roads and streets in the city during the day. "This is making my life very difficult . Every time I get on my cycle I am scared that I will be fined as I have to break the law and go on some of the banned roads to get to work," says Mr Sapui. He is not the only one who is unhappy about people being told to get off their bikes. Raju Sapui says he is scared to commute to work on his cycle Commuters make more than 2.5 million trips on bicycles in Calcutta every day. It is also the only major city in India where the number of cycle rides is greater than the number o...

The Kenyan Red Cross has said the number of missing in the Westgate shopping centre attack has gone down to 39 from an earlier figure of 61. Fourteen of the missing have been found alive and seven bodies were in the morgue, it said. The government has said 67 people were killed after al-Shabab militants stormed the Westgate centre in the capital, Nairobi, on 21 September. MPs have started a probe into alleged intelligence failings over the attack. The Red Cross says some relatives were not updating them when they found people who had been reported as missing. Kenya: Major attacks *.1998:US embassy in Nairobi bombed, killing 224 people - one of al-Qaeda's first international attacks *.2002:Attack on Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa kills 10 Kenyans. Simultaneous rocket attack on an Israeli airliner fails *.2011:Suspected al-Shabab militants raid Kenyan coastal resorts and a refugee camp, targeting and kidnapping foreigners *.2011:Kenya sends troops into Somalia to tackle al...

The opposition candidate hoping to become India's next prime minister has said the government is too "addicted" to corruption to tackle the issue. Narendra Modi vowed to eradicate the problem if he is elected to replace incumbent Manmohan Singh in 2014. The right-wing Bharatiya Janata party candidate addressed thousands at a campaign launch rally in Delhi. He blamed Mr Singh's Congress party-led coalition for making India a laughing stock through lack of development. "The coalition is now addicted to corruption and instead of finding solutions to end the culture of graft, it stops functioning," Mr Modi said, according Agence France-Presse. "India needs a dream team and not a dirty team in 2014 and people must decide that during the elections," he added. Critics have called Mr Singh's government one of the most corrupt in India's history following incidents of bribery and other scandals that have prompted the resignation of several cab...

Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII will be declared saints on 27 April 2014, Pope Francis has announced. The Pope said in July that he would canonise his two predecessors, after approving a second miracle attributed to John Paul. Polish John Paul, the first non-Italian pope for more than 400 years, led the Catholic Church from 1978-2005. Pope John was pontiff from 1958-1963, calling the Second Vatican Council that transformed the Church. The decision to canonise the two at the same time appears designed to unify Catholics, correspondents say. John Paul II is a favourite of conservative Catholics, while John XXIII is widely admired by the Church's progressive wing. John Paul stood out for his media-friendly, globetrotting style. He was a fierce critic of both communism and what he saw as the excesses of capitalism. John is remembered for introducing the vernacular to replace Latin in church masses and for creating warmer ties between the Catholic Church and the Jewish fait...

Syria's neighbours are expected to ask donors for support in dealing with the ongoing refugee crisis at a meeting in Geneva. Foreign ministers from Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq will present reports at the meeting, hosted by the UN. More than two million Syrians have fled their country, and many more have been displaced internally. Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he would comply with a plan to rid his country of chemical weapons. "Of course we have to comply. This is our history, we have to comply with every treaty we sign,'' he told Italy's RAI News 24. On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a binding resolution to eliminate Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons by mid-2014. Inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is tasked with implementing the plan, are expected to leave for Syria shortly. A separate team of inspectors, from the UN, has been investigating allegations of chemical we...

  At least 31 asylum seekers drowned when their vessel sank off Java's coast last week Australian new PM Tony Abbott is to begin a visit to Indonesia, amid tensions between the two nations over his tough asylum policies. Jakarta says Mr Abbott's policy of sending boats with illegal migrants back to Indonesia risks violating the country's sovereignty. Mr Abbott, who was elected earlier this month, defends his plans. Last week, at least 31 asylum seekers drowned when their vessel sank off the coast of Java. 'Stand or fall' Mr Abbott is expected to hold talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the two-day visit to the country - his first overseas trip since becoming prime minister. Ahead of the tour, Mr Abbott has sought to play down the tensions, saying he would like to focus on other key issues, including trade. He is bringing dozens of Australian business leaders to Jakarta. He also stress...

More on the Story- Some subcultures, such as metal, hip-hop or those based around graphic novels, are particularly fond of tattoos. They can be inspiring, says writer and critic Sam Leith, but there are pitfalls. "Your tastes will probably change fundamentally. You may really think that Catcher in the Rye is the secret to your whole personality at 15. At 50, you probably won't. Something cryptic and short is better." Victoria Beckham's tattoo quotes the Song of Solomon from the Old Testament Why the musings of Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard or a Guns N Roses lyric needs to be branded across someone's back might puzzle some people. Can't someone just keep it in their head? I am my love's / And my love is mine / Who browses among the lilies Victoria Beckham's Song of Solomon tattoo Ing says the Moby Dick quote is about not wanting to forget that moment of connection. "I so wanted to remind myself. I didn't want to forget. I wanted...

It probably wasn't on Shakespeare's radar that his work would one day unite Megan Fox, Danielle Lineker and Lindsay Lohan. But it has - they all have Shakespeare quotations tattooed to their bodies. Why are more people getting such high-brow inkings? The trend for long pieces of script is part of the tattoo's journey from the margins to the mainstream. Rarely a week passes without a celebrity being spotted with a defiant rallying cry, knowing aphorism or erudite quote inked to their bodies. Angelina Jolie, the doyenne of written tattoos, was recently spotted with a long bit of text- thought to be Arabic - on her right arm. It joins a Tennessee Williams quote, the Arabic word for determination, and the geographical coordinates of her six children's birthplaces, among others. Literary quotations, song lyrics and philosophical musings are popular. Megan Fox took her Shakespearean tattoo from King Lear - "We will all laugh at gilded butterflies" - Danielle Li...

A plant that produces both tomatoes and potatoes, called the TomTato, has been developed for the UK market. Ipswich-based horticultural firm Thompson and Morgan said the hybrid plants were not genetically modified. Similar plants have been created in the UK, but the firm said it was thought to be the first time they had been produced on a commercial scale. Guy Barter, of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), said it was looking at the plant with "real interest". Mr Barter said many of these plants - created by a technique known as grafting - had been created before but taste had previously been a problem. "We're looking at it with real interest because Thompson and Morgan are a really reputable firm with a lot to lose, but I wouldn't rule out that it could be a very valuable plant to them," said Mr Barter, who is a contributor to BBC Gardener's World. "In the past we've never had any faith in the plants - they've not been very good - ...

Suspected Islamist gunmen have attacked a college in north-eastern Nigeria, killing up to 50 students. The students were shot dead as they slept in their dormitory at the College of Agriculture in Yobe state. North-eastern Nigeria is under a state of emergency amid an Islamist insurgency by the Boko Haram group. Boko Haram is fighting to overthrow Nigeria's government to create an Islamic state, and has launched a number of attacks on schools. Classrooms burned Casualty figures from the latest attack vary, but a local politician told the BBC that around 50 students had been killed. The politician said two vanloads of bodies had been taken to a hospital in Yobe's state capital, Damaturu. Boko Haram at-a-glance *.Founded in 2002 *.Official Arabic name, Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad" *.Initially focused on opposing Western education *.Nicknamed Boko Haram,...

Jon Venables, the killer of James Bulger, has said he thinks of the boy's death every day and "how different life might have been for those affected". He has been jailed for two years after pleading guilty to charges of downloading and distributing indecent images of children. Venables, 27, said he was "genuinely ashamed" of the offences. His solicitor said Venables had vowed to turn his life around and "never go back" once released from prison again. James Bulger's mother, Denise Fergus, said the two-year sentence was "simply not enough". 'No excuse' A statement read outside the Old Bailey by her spokesman, Mr Johnson, said: "Once again we have had to sit through proceedings where justice has not been done. "These were very serious offences and two years is simply not enough to meet the gravity of what this person did." In a statement, Venables' solicitor John Gibson said his client was "extremely ...

Jon Venables was just 10 years old when he and friend Robert Thompson murdered toddler James Bulger. Venables served seven years of a life sentence for the 1993 murder before he was freed in June 2001, aged 18. He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security and give him an "ordinary" life. Had he gone on to lead such a life, that might have been the last the British public ever heard about Jon Venables. But at the age of 27, Venables finds himself back in the headlines and back behind bars having been jailed for two years after pleading guilty to charges of downloading and distributing indecent images of children. A lifetime ban was placed on reporting anything about either his or Thompson's whereabouts or their new identities after their release. New details The ban relating to Venables was partially lifted on Friday at the Old Bailey after he was jailed for the offences under the 1978 Protection of Children Act. The judge ...

Jon Venables, one of the killers of toddler James Bulger, struggled to cope after his release from a secure children's home and was jailed for child pornography offences last year. The detective who handled the case believes the youth justice system failed Venables. Venables, now aged 28, was 10 when he and friend Robert Thompson murdered the toddler in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993. Venables was sent to the Red Bank Home in Merseyside and Thompson to Barton Moss Secure Care Centre in Manchester. They were given new identities and freed in 2001, when they turned 18. "I'd hoped that they would be capable of being rehabilitated, but I never had the faith in the system where I believed they could achieve that by 18 years of age," Albert Kirby, the former Merseyside detective, said. Thompson is not known to have reoffended since his release, but Venables's life spiralled out of control. While at a vulnerable stage, Venables "had problems adjusting to trying t...

This content is unavailable A BBC investigation reveals how the militants carried out the attack at Westgate Mall Kenya attack Horror and heroism in Nairobi siege    The militants who led the attack on a Kenyan mall hired a shop there in the weeks leading up to the siege, senior security sources have told the BBC. This gave them access to service lifts at Westgate enabling them to stockpile weapons and ammunition. Having pre-positioned weapons they were able to re-arm quickly and repel the security forces. Sixty-seven people are known to have died in the four-day siege. Kenya's Red Cross says 61 others are still missing. Forensic experts are still combing the complex, looking for bodies and clues. Analysis By Karen Allen BBC News, Nairobi "Terrorism is an exploitation of openings" was the way Ndung'u Gethenji, chair of Kenya's parliamentary defence committee, described to me the attack in Nairobi. And the gunmen at the Westgate siege explo...