Britain’s most senior policeman is accusing courts of being too 'soft' on knife crime. Sir Ian Blair claims that fewer than one in five offenders convicted of carrying a knife in London last month was jailed.

Of 53 people sentenced, only 1 in 24 youths were put behind bars, and 8 in 29 adults received a jail term. He is not satisfied courts are taking into consideration community concerns about the matter.

Muslim community leaders in Derby are protesting a large rise in the price of religious burials. The cost of the land and special concrete vaults used in Muslim ceremonies is set to go up by over £1,000.

The City Council says the increase reflects the true cost, but some Muslims say they should have been consulted first. The decision has now been deferred with officials saying they will explore further options.

An Asian woman who went missing over a week ago in Hounslow has been found by police. Satpal Jandu, 30, went to work a week ago on Tuesday but did not return home and left her car keys on her desk.

Police have said she was found safe and well, but are not able to elaborate on her whereabouts.

People living in the east London area of Tower Hamlets may wait longer than anywhere else in the UK for a GP, according to a poll by the Healthcare Commission which found 25% of people waited longer than two days for an appointment.

However in Tower Hamlets, the figure rose to 57%; their Primary Care trust have said they are in the process of transforming local services.

Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust said it was in the process of transforming local services and will be opening them for longer.

An Asian physiotherapist has been struck off for incompetence and misconduct. Arul Rathina was employed by Devon Primary Care Trust at Totnes Community Hospital in Devon in 2005.

The Health Professions Council panel ruled he endangered a patient by administering inappropriate and unsupervised treatment.

Panel chairman Gordon Sutehall said Mr Rathina showed a "reckless disregard for patient safety".

A teenager has been charged with the murder of an Asian man in West Yorkshire. The 17-year-old is charged with stabbing 21-year-old Rashid Elahi to death in Bradford on Friday.

He will appear before Bradford Magistrates' Court later also charged with violent disorder and the attempted murder of a 24-year-old man who is critically ill in hospital.

A charity is asking for permission to knock down St Paul's Cathedral in protest at plans to mine a sacred mountain in India. Action Aid has requested the total demolition of the London landmark to search for precious metals underneath.

The Charity is reacting to plans for a British company to mine Niyamgiri mountain. ActionAid believes open-cast mining in the state of Orissa will destroy local ecosystems, cause deforestation and affect water sources.

The 8,000-strong Kondh tribe believe it is home to their god Niyam Raja. Campaigners are comparing the mountain to St Paul's, saying that just as London would not tolerate the demolition of their cathedral, the Kondh people should not lose their mountain.

The company behind the plans, Vedanta Aluminium Ltd, have claimed to have the highest environmental standards.

The CIA has confronted Pakistan saying their spies have terror links.

It is believed they presented senior officials in Pakistan with evidence their secret service had strengthened ties with militant groups responsible for violence in Afghanistan. The secret meeting happened on July 12th according to The New York Times.

City Hall has taken legal advice on whether the London Mayor can suspend the Met Police chief pending an inquiry into claims of financial impropriety.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair faces a probe into £3million of work awarded to a friend's company in December 2002.

Emails obtained by a newspaper show Boris Johnson's aides were told they must follow police authority rules.

A curfew has been put in place in the Pakistani valley of Swat where pro-Taliban militants have captured 25 police officers and soldiers. Pakistan says its forces have killed more than 20 militants and lost five soldiers.

The fighting is threatening a peace deal agreed in May by the local governnment and a militant Islamic leader whose followers took over parts of the valley last year.

The British Minister for Communities and Local Government is in South Asia. Hazel Blears has already visited Pakistan, is currently in India and will flying to Bangladesh later.

Her job in the UK includes maintaining relations with different faith groups.

The Hindu community in Oxfordshire has launched a campaign to construct a £2million pound purpose-built temple.

The 500-strong religious community currently have no base for communal prayer and are forced to hire out locations such as local schools.

Organisers now want to build a 12,000 sq ft temple, with Headington in Oxford being labelled as a potential location.

A Syrian immigrant has been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of attempting to make bombs and being involved in plotting acts of terrorism.

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court took 5½ hours to reach a unanimous verdict, convicting 38-year-old Hassan Tabbakh, under the Terrorism Act.

Mr Tabbakh, who was arrested at his Birmigham home last year, was found to have liquid chemicals in his possession.

An ex-Tory councillor from Slough is back in court charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and perjury.

The charges were brought in connection with February’s High Court Election Petition hearing at Slough Town Hall.

Eshaq Khan was found guilty of vote rigging in Slough’s central ward during local elections in May 2007. Three other men from the area are appearing on the same charges.

A man has denied the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky who was shot dead at a Bradford travel agency three years ago.

Mustaf Jama, 27, pleaded not guilty at Teesside Crown Court and also denied charges of robbery and illegal possession of firearms.

He has been remanded in custody and a trial date has been set at Newcastle Crown Court for 13th January next year.

Police are searching for a mother and son who have disappeared after visiting friends in Ealing, west London.

29-year-old Salma Kadri and 11-year-old Nassar Hassan from Paddington haven’t been seen since 10pm on Tuesday in Hanwell. Police are concerned for their safety as Ms Kadri suffers from epilepsy and depression.

Campaigners at the House of Lords have defeated a government scheme to make foreigners pay to marry in the UK.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the Centre for Advice on Individual Rights in Europe argued the plans discriminated against people born outside the EU.

Under the scheme, they had to ask for the Home Secretary's permission to marry, and pay almost £300 to marry unless they choose to do it under the Church of England.

An Asian teenager is appearing at Ealing Magistrates Court charged with possessing a large amount of cannabis.

Jay Jassi, 18, from Hayes was arrested a week ago in Southall. He was allegedly seen dropping a bag of cannabis out of his car window.

Four men have been charged with the murder of an Asian man who was stabbed to death in the street in West Yorkshire. 31-year-old Shoaib Khan died of multiple stab wounds in Bradford on 27th May.

The suspects - aged 19, 20, 23 and 26 - have also been charged with the attempted murder of another man stabbed at the time. They are due to appear before Bradford magistrates later today.

A 70-year-old doctor has been fired after groping a woman patient and saying men need sex. Mr Amar Basu had denied committing the offences over 5 months while working as a locum at surgeries in Leeds and Halifax.

Last night a General Medical Council panel in Manchester told the Bradford-based doctor he had abused his position of trust, and he has now been struck off.

The panel heard in May 2006 that the doctor, whilst working in Leeds, bombarded a patient seeking treatment for a kidney infection with sexual comments.

They also heard that later that year in September, when the doctor was working in Halifax, he groped a patient's breasts and made lewd comments about them.

A boy abandoned at a Sikh temple in Southall a year ago has gone missing again. Parvinder Singh, 13, was put in foster care in Bromley after his parents, who bought him to Britain from India, left him last June.

On Sunday the boy left a note saying he was going to try and find his real parents as he wanted to go back to India.

Police are asking for anyone with information about his whereabouts to get in touch immediately.

Police have defused 18 bombs found near the main diamond markets in the city of Surat and issued a sketch of a young man believed to be linked to one of two explosive-filled cars discovered there.

The announcement came as authorities in Mumbai probe further into the series of blasts on Saturday that killed 42 people and wounded 183.

An Islamic militant group has claimed responsibility for the Ahmadabad attack.

The cousin of an honour killing victim and his friend allowed her to be buried in their garden to curry favour with community elders, an Old Bailey jury has heard.

20-year-old Banaz Mahmod of Mitcham was found buried in a suitcase in the garden of a Birmingham house where cousin Dashti Babaker, 21, and Amir Abbas, 31, lived.

Mr Babaker and Mr Abbas have both denied perverting the course of justice as well as preventing the lawful and decent burial of a corpse.

An Asian man accused of murdering a Polish woman whose body was found in a suitcase in Hampshire has been found hanging in his cell at Winchester jail.

Staff attempted to resuscitate 27-year-old Ziaul Haque from Camden, who was on remand awaiting trial, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Haque faced Basingstoke Magistrates' Court in May accused of murdering 26-year-old Sylwia Sobczak.

A man charged over the death of a Birmingham girl who was allegedly starved has been remanded in custody.

Junaid Abuhamza, 29, is accused of causing the death of 7-year-old Khyra Ishaq, and cruelty to five other children.

A district judge sitting at Birmingham Magistrates' Court has ordered Mr Abuhamza, from Handsworth, to appear at the city's Crown Court in August.

World Trade talks have collapsed after India and China clashed with America over measures to protect poor farmers. Negotiations broke down following seven years of global trade negotiations yesterday.

A deal would have equalled a vote of confidence in globalisation from the 153 members of the World trade Organisation.

India’s Trade Minister Kamal Nath said it was important to represent members concerned about the livelihood of poor and subsistence farmers.

Racist insults were directed at a British Asian police officer on duty in Looe, Cornwall, a magistrates has heard. The officer called to an incident at a pub was called a "foreign pig" by Gavin Rushton, 24.

Mr Rushton from Walsall, West Midlands, told the officer: "I hate people like you…I wouldn't pick you off the bottom of my shoe. You're scum."

Bodmin Magistrates' Court warned Mr Rushton they were considering sending him to prison, but after hearing a pre-sentence report from a probation officer, they decided instead to give him a curfew instead.

It is thought other religious groups may push for their religious rights, following the decision yesterday to allow a teenage Sikh the right to wear a religious symbol at school.

14-year-old Sereeka Singh won the right to wear a religious bangle despite the fact jewellery was banned.

The Race Relations Act that secured victory for the Welsh teenager only applies to Sikhs and Jews.

President of the National Secular Society Terry Sanderson has claimed that it could cause tensions.

Campaigners are hoping to defeat a government scheme to make foreigners pay to marry in Britain in a bid to curb bogus marriages.

It is being challenged in the House of Lords by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the Centre for Advice on Individual Rights in Europe.

All foreigners born outside the EU will have to pay nearly £300 to marry, unless within the Church of England.

A jury in the trial of a Syrian man accused of attempting to make bombs for terrorist attacks has retired to consider its verdict.

The court heard 38-year-old Hassan Tabbakh from Birmingham was caught trying to create improvised explosive devices when he was arrested.

However, Mr Tabbakh claims he was making fireworks and denies the terror charges at Birmingham Crown Court.

The High Court has ruled in favour of a Sikh girl who says her school denied her rights by expelling her for wearing her religious bracelet, known as a Kara.

14-year-old Sarika Singh said her bracelet was a symbol of her faith not an item of jewellery. The human rights group Liberty helped her bring a discrimination case against Aberdare Girls’ School in South Wales.

India and Pakistan have blamed each other for the ceasefire violation along the Line of Control in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that left an Indian soldier dead.

Pakistan's military rejected Indian accusations that it had broken the ceasefire, saying Indian troops had crossed the Line of Control overnight and opened fire first.

Pakistan also denied Indian media reports that four of its troops were killed in the fierce gunbattle in the region, which has triggered two of the three wars between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

The family of a mental health patient who died at a Greater Manchester hospital is considering legal action after a jury at his inquest said an attempt was made to conceal facts about his death.

24-year-old Azrar Ayub, who suffered from schizophrenia, died in a seclusion room where he had been placed after being restrained at a psychiatric unit at Prestwich Hospital on 28th May in 2004.

A jury at Rochdale Coroner's Court found the way he had been restrained had been "inappropriate" at times, and that a member of staff had "unintentionally" knelt on his back.

30 hostages have been taken after pro-Taliban militants attacked a security post in Pakistan's Swat valley. This news comes a day after insurgents killed three Pakistani army intelligence agents.

The incidents could jeopardise a peace deal signed between Islamabad and militants two months ago in the north-western valley.

Insurgent violence has soared since a radical cleric called Fazlullah launched a campaign to enforce Taliban-style Islamic law in the valley last year.

The Professional standards committee for the metropolitan Police have called for the Home secretary to investigate after Police chief Sir Ian Blair awarded a lucrative Scotland Yard contract to a friend.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner's skiing companion Andy Miller won the contract back in 2003. Mr Miller's company Impact Plus was awarded a consultancy role in the upgrading of the 999 emergency phone system.

The initial contract was worth £150,000, but rose to approximately £3million. Reports over the weekend claimed Impact Plus won the contract even though rival companies were offering to do the same work for a third of the price.

The MPA declared today that it wanted an investigating officer to look into whether Sir Ian's behaviour was in line with the police code of conduct.

President Bush says Pakistan is a strong ally in the fight against terrorists and committed to securing its border with Afghanistan. Yesterday the US president appeared on the South Lawn with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Relations have been tense between the countries with the US calling for officials in Pakistan to stop militants staging cross-border attacks on US forces in Afghanistan.

Mr Gilani said he wants the United States to know the vast majority of Pakistanis want peace, and to cooperate with the US.

A recent poll suggests that one in three Muslim students in Britain believe it justifiable to kill in the name of their religion. Most of those questioned felt extreme action could be used in defence of Islam, but some believed that killing people was acceptable.

However, more than 50% of those questioned rejected the idea of violence: the survey, carried out by YouGov, interviewed 600 Muslim and 800 non-Muslim students at 12 high profile universities with influential Islamic Societies.

The study, commissioned by the Centre for Social Cohesion, said that it had revealed broad and varied opinions among Muslim students, but the survey's co-author Hannah Stuart said the findings on extremist views, which were twice as high among Islamic society members, were "deeply alarming".

She added that students in higher education are the future leaders of their communities, yet significant numbers of them appear to hold beliefs which contravene "liberal and democratic values".

National Union of Students president Wes Streeting said: "This report is a reflection of the biases and prejudices of a right wing think tank – not the views of Muslim students across Britain.

Police have found ten unexploded bombs in Surat, just three days after a series of bombs in the same state killed 45 people. Police say the bombs were all found in one of the city’s most crowded neighbourhoods.

No details have been given about the nature of the explosives or who could have placed them. A group called the "Indian Mujahideen" has taken responsibility for a series of 16 blasts which ripped through the nearby city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Saturday.

A group of British Muslims and Hindus want to build relations between the two groups after a joint prayer meeting in Harrow, west London.

It was called in response to the bomb blasts in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Saturday that killed 49 people.

The aim of the meeting was to pray for the victims and urge Indian Muslims and Hindus to unite. Councillor Navin Shah announced that they have decided to meet again in a bid to unite communities.

West Londoners opposed to the expansion of Heathrow airport have vowed to take direct action if the Government gives the go-ahead to expansion later this year.

The pledge was made at a conference held on Saturday attended by local people, pressure groups and politicians.

Two men from Manchester have appeared in court charged with kidnapping an 18-year-old woman at a retail park.

The two 18-year-olds Ahmar Hussain and Muhammad Junaid have been remanded in custody by Redditch magistrates until October.

The charges relate to the abduction of a Redditch woman at the town's Trafford Retail Park on Friday.

An inquest has heard a Lancashire medical student who jumped from a Leeds General Infirmary building was calm when he was told he would have to leave his course.

25-year-old Amir Mahmood, from Rossendale in Lancashire, died when he leapt of the building after hearing he was to be expelled and would not be able to follow his father's footsteps as a GP.

An academic Dean told the Leeds inquest into his death he had "accepted it very calmly".

Three Pakistani security officials were killed last night in the north-western district of Swat.

Their vehicle was ambushed and witnesses say some suspects were later arrested during a search operation.

The area is a hub for militants and it is believed the officials were killed for torturing. It is feared the security situation in the area is deteriorating.

Four men have been arrested over the murder of a 31-year-old man in Bradford. Shoaib Khan died when he was stabbed in Highfield Place in the city's Manningham area.

A 27-year-old man was also seriously injured. Four men, aged 19, 20, 23 and 26, have been held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

Two men have been jailed in connection with a brutal attack on an Asian man. 21-year-old Jamie Sharrocks and 20-year-old Javed Higman racially taunted Mohsin Khan as he left his mother’s house in Oldham.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard the victim was then held down by the neck as the two punched and kicked him until he fell unconscious. Both denied the attack on Mr Khan, but were found guilty of racially aggravated assault.

Mr Sharrocks was jailed for three years, whilst Mr Higman was given 3½ years in a Young Offender Institute.

The jury in the trial of a High Wycombe man accused of plotting to blow up transatlantic passenger jets has retired to consider its verdicts.

At Woolwich Crown Court, 28-year-old Assad Sarwar denied two charges of conspiracy to murder, but admitted conspiring to commit public nuisance. Mr Sarwar has also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause explosions.

Scepticism is increasing surrounding the reporting of forced marriage cases amongst disabled people, with some fearing that cases may be going unreported.

Out of 200 cases reviewed by the Government’s Forced Marriage Unit last year, 80 involved young people with disabilities. The problem particularly affects the Asian community.

Mandy Sanghera from the charity Voice UK which supports vulnerable people says spouses can be affected by forced marriages to disabled people.

A top al-Qaeda expert on chemical and biological weapons is believed to have been killed in a suspected US missile strike in Pakistan.

Egyptian militant Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar had a £2.5million bounty on his head, and allegedly ran terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.

Officials earlier said that three Arab militants and three Pakistani boys were killed when missiles fired by a suspected US drone hit a house attached to a mosque in South Waziristan.

Pakistan’s intelligence agents may be responsible for recent attacks in Afghanistan, and the international community should support the Afghan government’s complaints about such activity, a senior United Nations envoy says.

Chris Alexander, a former Canadian ambassador now serving as a UN Deputy Special Representative in Afghanistan, says he believes the Afghan authorities, who claim their neighbour's spy service is sending terrorists across the border.

President Hamid Karzai has accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency of plotting attacks in his country in recent months, including an attempt on his life and an Embassy bombing that killed at least 41 people in Kabul.

Passengers flying from British airports could be fingerprinted from next year, under government plans.

The new anti-terror measure is being introduced despite opposition from the Information Commissioner who recently forced Heathrow to abandon a similar idea.

Airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick, which have departure lounges shared by domestic and international passengers, are affected. It is feared a passenger arriving from abroad could switch tickets with someone on a domestic flight and enter Britain unchecked.

The Border and Immigration Agency is expected to issue new orders to airport operators before Christmas; under current legislation there will be no need for a parliamentary debate.

The Information Commissioner has raised concerns about the invasion of passengers’ privacy; the Immigration Agency says that is a problem for airport operators to deal with.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani is in the US for talks with President George Bush. He is also expected to meet presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.

America is putting pressure on Pakistan to crackdown on Islamic militancy, so terrorism is likely to be high on the agenda.

Both Afghanistan and the US say Taliban militants are launching attacks from Pakistan’s western border against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The judge trying three men accused of helping the July 7th bombers says he will accept a majority verdict from the jury. Deliberation has already been taking place for two weeks.

Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil visited various sights in London, allegedly pinpointing potential targets. The trio from Beeston in Leeds deny conspiring to cause explosions.

Two out of five Indian children are malnourished, despite the economy growing at 9% a year. The news comes from one of the leading development economists in the world.

Editor of the UN’s Human Developement report Kevin Watkins says child malnourishment in India is higher than in Africa where the average is 28%.

He says economists should be asking how a country with such a fast growth rate has failed to cut child hunger. Despite India’s higher growth rate, Bangladesh has been reducing its child death rates 50% faster.

If India had matched Bangladesh since 1990, 200,000 fewer Indian children would die this year. Kevin Watkins says India needs to improve its public health system, make sure the wealth flooding into the upper classes filters down to the poorest and improve the treatment of girls.

The terror threat from Irish republic extremists is higher than from any other group, including Islamic fanatics, security services have warned.

Up to 60% of all electronic information intercepted by MI5 through wire taps and other covert operations is related to dissident republicans.

Republicans have claimed responsibility for murder attempts on five police officers in Northern Ireland since November.

Police, lawyers, social workers and campaign groups are holding urgent talks about the problem of young people with learning disabilities being forced into marriage.

More than one in five forced marriages reported to the Government involved disabled people, and the numbers could be higher as many cases are not reported. The problem particularly affects South Asian communities.

As the Indian government blames Pakistan militants for the weekends bomb blasts, The Hindu Forum of Britain is asking the Home Secretary to speed up an investigation into British money funding terror groups.

Back in 2006 an investigation was launched into claims a jet bomb plot was funded with cash raised in the UK for Pakistani quake victims.

The Home Office has not come to a conclusion yet. The charity commission who are investigating the claims say it is difficult to say how long the enquiry may take and once it is complete they, will issue a full report.

Hindu and Muslim communities will hold a prayer meeting later today in response to the bombings in India on Saturday.

Around 49 people were killed and over 100 injured when bomb blasts rocked Ahmedabad. The meeting aims to condemn the bombings, to pray for peace and unity as well as praying for friends and family of those killed or injured.

It is taking place at the Sangat Advice Centre in Harrow at 7pm.

Three Asian teens have been jailed in connection with the attack of a man outside an Ealing nightclub. Sukvinder Singh Mann, Zafar Ahmed Choudhary and Harjot Singh Cheema, all 19, kicked and punched 40-year-old Michael McPherson unconscious.

They continued to attack him as he lay motionless on the ground outside Edwards nightclub on 8th December last year. As a result of the severity of the attack, Mr McPherson has been left with a metal plate in his jaw and walks with a limp.

The trio were sent to a young offenders' institution for a total of nine and a half years at Isleworth Crown Court.

Britain's first Shariah-compliant insurance company has launched, offering motoring policies in line with the Islamic legal code. The policies are aimed at Britain's 1.6million Muslims.

The Government is giving money to bright students from poorer backgrounds in a bid to encourage them to apply for university.

It will be available for pupils who receive free school meals, living in London, the Black Country and Manchester to spend on after school clubs. About 1,500 14-15-year-olds will get up to £400 a year.

Judges have expressed disappointment that Ghe government will not announce plans this week to introduce American-style charges of first and second degree murder.

Harriet Harman, Leader of the House and deputy Labour leader, is to set out proposals to change the law on provocation in murder so that it can apply to domestic homicide cases.

Judge John Samuels yesterday expressed disappointment that the government, will not at this stage accept proposals by the Law Commission to give judges or juries discretion to convict defendants of first or second degree murder.

Britain is the number one destination for Indian businesses to buy companies; they have spent £1.5billion on British acquisitions in the first half of the year.

The total was boosted by the sale of Jaguar and Range Rover to Tata Motors putting the amount spent ahead of purchases in other leading countries, including the US and the Netherlands.

The figures come from accountants Grant Thornton’s new research programme, India Watch.

A missile strike near the Afghan boarder in Pakistan has killed at least six people according to officials. The missile hit a house next to a mosque in the village of Azam Warsak.

It is believed it was fired from Afghanistan and officials say it is not clear whether it was launched by Taliban militants or NATO forces fighting them.

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit the site of blasts in Ahmedabad later. Pressure is growing on his government to take action to protect the country after at least 49 people were killed and over 100 wounded by an estimated 17 bombings on Saturday.

The criticism against authorities comes not only after Saturday’s blasts, centred mainly on residential areas and hospitals, but also a series of bombings killed a woman in Bangalore.

A little known group called the "Indian Mujahideen" claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad attack claiming it was revenge for a 2002 massacre of 2,000 people who were mainly Muslims in Gujarat by Hindu mobs.

An emergency cabinet meeting is being held in the state and a similar meeting of top security officials is taking place in the capital Delhi. Indian cities have been put on high alert while police search for those responsible.

A London MEP who has just arrived back from Sri Lanka says the Government needs to do more to protect people living there. The European delegation were prevented from going on a planned trip to the eastern province.

However, the group met with both journalists and non-governmental organizations who voiced concerns over abductions and human rights in the country.

Robert Evans led the European Parliament’s Delegation last week and claims he is confident that relations between Sri Lanka and Europe have not been soured, despite recounting the problems they saw to the Government.

Government claims that one illegal migrant is removed every eight minutes have been undermined, by the revelation that one in four never sets foot in Britain.

Of nearly 64,000 illegal immigrants removed in 2006 almost 17,000 were stoppped at French ports.

The Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve has called on the Government to establish a permanant UK Border Police, but the Home Office said Britain’s borders were among the toughest in the world.

Pakistan and Ireland are voicing concerns about the US-India nuclear deal. They both fear India has not signed the nuclear proliferation treaty.

The international Atomic Energy Agency are due to meet and need to approve a safeguards agreement for the deal to move forward.

Officials from the 35 member board of governors will be meeting on 1st August to endorse the agreement.

It has emerged the Treasury is owed more than £500million pounds in unpaid fines by criminals.

The figures from the Justice Ministry suggest tactics such as text message reminders and the threat of car clamping are failing to make offenders pay up.

Critics say tax payers are being let down by the justice system’s failure to carry out punishments.

Two men have been arrested in West London on suspicion of murder. Rashid Elahi, 21, was stabbed in Bradford on Friday, and a 24-year-old is still critically ill after the attack.

Last night police said they had arrested a 26-year-old man and a 17-year-old youth on suspicion of murder, and a 32-year-old man arrested earlier was still being held on the same charge.

Police investigating the events say it does not appear to be a random attack.

A leading football club has pledged to train 16 talented Indian schoolboys. Arsenal picked the boys aged 10-15 after a two week coaching program in Calcutta.

The boys will be flying to England next month. It is believed leading European football clubs are increasingly targeting India, because of huge market potential.

British businessmen are attending lessons in Indian business etiquette. The UK India Business Council are giving cultural briefings to professionals flying out to India for a job.

Indian companies already employ around 32,000 people from the UK and the numbers are increasing.

The lessons taught by culture experts aim to address stereotypes, but also help in the understanding of different values.

The event believed to be the UK's oldest Asian Mela was held in Nottingham yesterday. It was the 20th festival in the city to promote Asian music, dance and culture.

The Portfolio Holder for Communities, Leisure and Culture, Councillor David Trimble, said Nottingham Mela was attracting new and bigger audiences each year, and highlighting the mix of communities living in the city.

REBELS COULD WIN PAKISTAN 'S NUCLEAR HAVEN
DATE: 26.07.08
Updated: 07:46

A crisis meeting of Pakistan 's new coalition government has been warned that it could lose control of the North West Frontier Province, which is believed to hold most of its nuclear weapons.

The warning came yesterday from the coalition leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman who, although part of the new government, is suspected of having the close links to al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

This has come just days before Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's is due to meet with US President George W. Bush to discuss al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan.

PRESSURE GROUPS OPPOSE HEATHROW EXPANSION
DATE: 26.07.08
Updated: 07:43

Heathrow anti-expansion campaigners are gathering today to decide on their tactics if the Government gives the go ahead to a third runway.

The half day conference is being organised by anti expansion group HACAN, the No Third Runway Action Group, Greenpeace and the Camp for Climate Change.

A number of politicians including Hayes and Harlington MP John McDonnell and Baroness Jenny Tonge will be speaking.

DATE SET FOR JULY 7 REPORT
DATE: 26.07.08
Updated: 07:41

A long awaited report into whether the July 7 bombings could have been prevented will be published later this year, it has been confirmed.

The Intelligence and Security Committee will issue its review on 10th September after legal cases delayed publication.

The committee of MPs and one peer was asked to reinvestigate MI5's actions after revelations about links between the bombers and another terror cell.

Eight of the dozens of Pakistani troops and officials, being held hostage by pro-Taliban militants for nearly two weeks in the north-west of the country, have been freed. The captives’ release comes two days after Pakistani forces ended an operation in the region.

Pakistani military action was launched after militants killed at least 15 troops and kidnapped nearly 50 soldiers and officials to use as a bargaining tool for the release of their comrades.

One government official was released on Wednesday. This latest release of hostages has come after a group of tribal elders held talks with the militants.

The Home Office is defending itself after reports claim blunders will lead to hundreds of thousands asylum seekers staying in Britain.

A scandal two years ago saw a backlog of 450,000 case files just left lying around in boxes. Some dated back to the mid-1990s and many were refugees whose case had been rejected but they had never been deported.

In a statement, the Chief Executive for the UK Border Agency Lin Homer said: "Significant progress has been made. 90% of these foreign criminal cases have either been removed, told by a court they can stay, don't meet our criteria for removal, are currently serving prison sentences or are in the process of being deported. In addition we've already dealt with almost a quarter of our older asylum cases."

"We are strengthening our borders. Asylum applications are at their lowest level since 1993.Last year we removed someone with no right to be in the UK every eight minutes and removed a record number of foreign criminals. So far this year the UK Border Agency has removed 2,400 foreign prisoners; 22% more than the same time last year."

A grandmother in Cambridgeshire has been cleared of racial abuse after she told a rowdy gang of Asian students to go home.

The Crown Prosecution service cleared the 51-year-old Liberal Democrat councillor Jo Calvert Mindell of using racially aggravated threatening words or behaviour.

The former social worker told Kismat News she meant for them to return home to the houses where they live, rather than the racially sensitive interpretation.

A murder trial is set to finally end, nearly three years after an Asian businessman was found beaten to death. Mohan Singh Biring, 59, from Leicester was allegedly set upon by a gang of armed men in the Indian town of Phagwara in August 2005.

Mr Biring was on a business trip to India when the attack happened. He had been overseeing a property development in Punjab.

Eight men have been on trial in Punjab since September 2006, charged with murder. The trial has been delayed because each defendant ask to be represented by a separate lawyer. Solicitors have said the trial could end on Saturday.

Pakistan finally retained its position as the host of an international cricket event scheduled in September, even though doubts persisted over security situations in country, according to Pakistani newspapers.

The ICC's final decision also ended the speculations that the ICC could move the tournament venue from Pakistan to other countries due to security fears.

The Champions Trophy, the year's biggest one-day tournament, is scheduled to be held in Pakistan from 11th - 28th September. The tournament involves top eight nations including Pakistan.

A least one woman has been killed and 15 people injured in a series of explosions in the southern Indian city of Bangalore. Six blasts have been reported in the country's IT centre, all within 15 minutes of each other according to police.

Schools and other public facilities have been closed and police have cordoned off the blast sites.

The cause of the explosions is not yet clear. Bangalore city police commissioner announced: "We are conducting the investigation. Bomb squads have reached the scene. We appeal to the citizens to carry on their normal activities without any fear."

A United Nations committee told Britain to take firm action against negative public attitudes towards Muslims yesterday.

Some of the UK’s anti-terror measures were also criticised such as plans to extend the length of pre-trial detention of terror suspects from 28 to 42 days.

Comments were made in response to reports from the UK on how it’s implementing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Members of the committee come from 9 nations worldwide and are expected to opine independently of their governments.

Bill and Melinda Gates are joining forces with the Mayor of New York Micheal Bloomberg to fight smoking in developing countries such as India and Bangladesh.

Tobacco companies have expanded in South Asian countries because there are fewer anti-smoking measures or public health warnings.

Around 700,000 Indians die every year from smoking related problems; this is expected to grow to around 930,000 by 2010.

Pakistan’s Prime Yusuf Raza Gillani has told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh their countries must work together to fight terrorism and extremism.

The two leaders spoke by telephone yesterday when Mr Gillani congratulated Mr Singh on winning a vote of confidence on Tuesday after his left wing allies pulled out of his coalition.

Mr Gillani called Mr Singh’s victory a ‘success of democracy’ and said democracy of this kind should be encourgaged in South Asia to improve relations between their countries.

Earlier this week Indian newspapers said Mr Singh’s victory was tainted after opposition MPs claimed his goverment offered bribes in return for support in the vote. A parliamentary investigation has been launched.

Hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers whose cases were lost or overlooked by the Home Office are expected to be allowed to stay in Britain in what critics called an effective amnesty.

The Home Office was engulfed in scandal two years ago when a staggering backlog of 450,000 case files was found lying around in boxes.

Some dated back to the mid-1990s and earlier, including many would-be refugees whose cases had been rejected as bogus but who had never been deported.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday said that a proposed US-India nuclear energy deal is good for both countries and for global efforts to reduce the spread of atomic technology and greenhouse gas emissions.

The pact would open India’s civilian reactors to international inspections in exchange for the nuclear fuel and technology.

India has been denied outside help in the past because of its refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its testing of atomic weapons.

Sikhs living in Britain are outraged at the treatment of Sikh protesters in Mumbai, after an unarmed Sikh was shot in Mumbai five days ago.

Demonstrators took to the streets and were attacked by police; the images of brutality were broadcast on state TV.

The tension has been fueled by Bal Thackery, leader of the right wing Hindu Shiv Sena party, who has said further protests could lead to a repeat of the anti-Sikh violence seen in the 1970s and 80s.

Pay-as-you-go Oyster cards, used by passengers to travel across London, failed to work on the Underground system this morning. The news comes only two weeks after 40,000 cards were corrupted across the system.

Transport for London have opened barriers to let people carry on their journey during the morning rush, and will issue automatic refunds for anyone charged the £4 fare until the system returns to operation.

A TfL spokesperson has announced: "There is currently a technical problem with Oyster readers at London Underground stations which is affecting pay-as-you-go cards only."

TfL also confirmed that no cards have been corrupted in today's failutre, although no estimates have been given for when the system will be re-operational.

Celebrating the contribution UK mosques make to communities is the aim of an event being held at the House of Commons this evening.

The Minister for International Development Shahid Malik will join Islamic Relief in praising the work mosques have done to help people world wide.

The ceremony will be attended by prominent community leaders and imams who have worked to link mosque communities with causes worldwide.

1,000 mosques are registered across the UK and between them they have raised around £100million for good causes. This evening Mosques will be congratulated for their successful efforts in helping the needy both locally and aboard.

Police have arrested three men in connection with a professional gambling ring who conned their way into casinos in London’s West End and across the UK.

The gang are thought to have used false documents to get into casinos and then distract staff to steal gaming chips.

The men, aged 30, 42 and 53, were arrested at their east London homes on suspicion of various fraud offences.

A teenager has been charged with stabbing an Asian boy in South Yorkshire who was then murdered five days later. 17-year-old Tarek Chaiboub from Wincobank was shot dead in a barbers shop in Sheffield on 11th July.

Javan Galloway, 19, is due to appear before magistrates today accused of stabbing Mr Chaiboub on 6th July, just days before his murder. He has been charged with grievous bodily harm.

Another teenager is still in questioning after being arrested yesterday in connection with the murder.

Two men have been jailed after being convicted of operating a cannabis farm with an estimated street value of £1million at Bolton Crown Court.

51-year-old Mahmood Anwar from Rochdale, has been jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to producing cannabis.

26-year-old Mujahid Ishaq, from Levenshulme, was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty in the production of cannabis and possession with intent to supply.

Pakistan will not allow foreign troops in to its tribal areas to root out extremists threatening coalition troops in neighbouring Afghanistan, according to its Foreign Minister.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s comments come as Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani prepared to leave for the United States to discuss stepping up efforts against Islamist extremists launching attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The visit comes amid mounting fears in Pakistan that the United States is prepared to launch military raids into the troubled Pakistani tribal belt as attacks increase in Afghanistan.

A GP from Ilford in east London has appeared in court in Essex accused of four sex offences. Rajinder Aggarwal, 53, appeared before magistrates in Grays to face four allegations of sexual touching.

The case was adjourned until 17th September at Basildon Magistrates Court. Four women aged between 26 and 53 have made allegations against Mr Aggarwal.

A London MEP on a diplomatic mission in Sri Lanka is demanding to know why his group were not allowed to go the east of the Island.

Papers in the country have said the MEPs could not go because their UN plane had engine failure.

They were meant to see a regional government in the east of the island which the central government says is a model of democracy, but London MEP Robert Evans says they were told they could not go at the last minute.

It has been revealed in a report by the Met Police that in the last financial year, 13 terrorist networks were disrupted in London by Scotland Yard.

The report claims there was an average of one suspected terrorist incident every other day over the 12 month period, with a total of 181 incidents and over 4,000 calls made on their anti-terrorism hotline.

It is reported Pakistan has warned India’s nuclear deal with the US could accelerate the arms race between the two rival nations.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won a vote Tuesday allowing him to continue negotiating a nuclear deal with Washington which will increase India’s access to nuclear fuel.

The warning was in a letter addressed to more than 60 nations, coming less than two weeks before the International Atomic Energy Agency board is expected to approve a safeguards agreement which will establish rules for inspecting India's civilian nuclear facilities.

India’s ability to gain access to legal nuclear fuel and technology depends on the approval of the safeguards deal.

Islamabad says the safeguards agreement will hurt non-proliferation efforts and "threatens to increase the chances of a nuclear arms race in the sub-continent".

Sikhs in Mumbai protesting against the shooting of an unarmed Sikh man have been beaten by police and soldiers. Balkar Singh was shot by police in Mumbai on 20th June; another Sikh protester was shot by police on 18th July.

The tension between Sikhs and Hindus has been increased by the leader of the nationalist Hindu Shiv Sena Party Bal Thackerary.

Birmingham Yardley MP John Hemmings has submitted an Early Day Motion on behalf of the UK Sikh community.

The Home Office has raised the age people can apply for a marriage visa from 18 to 21 to tackle forced marriages. Around 30% of cases dealt with by the Government's Forced Marriage Unit involve victims younger than 21.

Shadow Immigration Spokesman Damian Green agrees with the Government's plan but still thinks more could be done, and does not think the measures will hinder arranged marriages where both parties have given consent.

The Home Office has scrapped plans for migrants to pass a language test on their spoken English to obtain a visa; instead, they will have to sign an agreement promising to learn once they are here.

The plans had been criticised by pressure groups who said the test discriminated against migrants from non-English speaking countries.

A man has been arrested after a 17-year-old boy was murdered as he went for a haircut. Tarek Chaiboub was shot dead almost a fortnight ago at a barbers shop in Sheffield.

The 19-year-old suspect from Burngreave is also being questioned on suspicion of stabbing the victim a few days earlier.

On Thursday six people were arrested in connection with the murder, but all have been released.

A man has been remanded in custody charged with murdering two men in a Southall nightclub six years ago.

27-year-old Shakah Anderson from Bristol appeared at Ealing Magistrates Court yesterday accused of shooting 19-year-old Mohamed Korneh and 21-year-old Selorm Gbesemete.

Mr Anderson has been remanded in custody, and is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 6th August.

An explosion has killed at least five people in Jammu and Kashmir. Police say at least 8 people were wounded in the attack which took place in the Batmaloo area of the capital, Srinagar.

Despite a reduction of violence in Kashmir since a 2003 ceasefire between India and Pakistan, there have been several attacks in the region in recent weeks.

Politicians, big business and train firms have hailed the go-ahead for the long awaited £16billion cross-London Crossrail scheme.

A bill for the scheme, originally scrapped on cost grounds in the 1990s, has received Royal Assent after a three year passage through Parliament. The line will run from Maidenhead in Berkshire to Shenfield in Essex.

A jury trying eight Muslims accused of plotting to blow up transatlantic airliners at Heathrow Airport has been warned to discount outside influences. All eight are charged with conspiracy to murder at Woolwich Crown Court.

Prosecutors allege the gang planned to smuggle home-made liquid bottle bombs on board jets flying from Heathrow to North America.

The Islamabad High Court yesterday refused to accept a review petition against its verdict which restricted Pakistan's nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan from giving interview to media.

The court on Monday ruled that Mr Khan was not allowed to speak to media on the nuclear proliferation issue, but allowed to meet relatives and travel inside the country after security clearance.

Mr Khan, founder of Pakistan's nuclear program, was put under house arrest in 2004 after he confessed on state-run television for selling nuclear technology to foreign countries.

A Sikh employee for a major Supermarket chain can return to work after being told by managers he had to remove his Kirpan or risk losing his job. Asda have now changed their policy.

On taking the job Mr Singh told management he was a practising Sikh, but on his first day of work he was given the ultimatum to remove the Kirpan (a ceremonial sword worn as part of the religions "5 Ks") or lose his job.

Mr Singh refused to remove his article of faith and contacted the National Sikh Resource Centre.

They wrote to the store concerned and explained how the law allows a practising Sikh to wear a Kirpan. Asda have since changed their policy and given Mr Singh his job back.

A man accused of being part of a gangland-style killing had never even been to the house in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, where it happened, a court has heard.

St Albans Crown Court was told Kevan Thakrar was only linked to a triple murder by circumstantial evidence.

Mr Thakrar, 21, and his brother Miran Thakrar, 24, both deny murder and attempted murder in August last year.

Two Britons jailed in India for sexually abusing boys have been cleared on appeal. The charity worker and naval officer, who have always maintained their innocence, were jailed for six years in 2006 and fined £20,000.

Now a High Court in Mumbai, has acquitted them due to lack of evidence. Campaigning group, Fair Trials Abroad, has welcomed the verdict.

An Asian man has told a jury he had no idea parcels of rugs flown into Manchester Airport were hiding a consignment of heroin.

Waseem Rauf, 22, from Bradford said he was driven to the airport on an innocent day out. Mr Rauf denies conspiracy to contravene the Customs and Excise Management Act by importing heroin.

Mr Rauf told the jury at Bradford Crown Court he had one previous conviction in 2005 for stealing from his employer. He said he had never committed any drugs offences.

The court has heard that heroin with a street value of up to £1.6million was flown into the country from Kabul, Afghanistan, on 25th January this year. The trial continues.

As Indian newspapers report allegations of votes being