Car Chase Woman 'Had Postnatal Depression'

Authorities are investigating what led a woman with a toddler in her car to ram into a White House barrier and lead police on a high-speed chase to Capitol Hill.

The dramatic chase, which forced a brief lockdown of the Capitol and stirred panic among tourists, ended with the woman shot dead by police.

The driver was identified by law enforcement officials as Miriam Carey, of Stamford, Connecticut, it was widely reported in the US media.

The car chase forced a lockdown of the US Capitol

She was a 34-year-old dental hygienist and the mother of a young girl, the reports said.

Hours after the chase, the FBI and other agencies conducted a search of Carey's condominium building in Stamford. 

ABC said Carey suffered from postnatal depression after the birth of her daughter.

The suspect was reportedly a dental hygienist. Pic: Facebook

"She had post-partum depression after having the baby" last August, the woman's mother, Idella Carey, told ABC.

"A few months later, she got sick. She was depressed ... She was hospitalised."

The mother said Carey had "no history of violence" and she did not know why her daughter was in Washington, DC.

Other reports suggest that she had a history of mental health issues.

A federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Carey was delusional and believed President Barack Obama was communicating with her.

The official, who was briefed about the investigation, spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorised to speak publicly about the ongoing probe.

The chase began shortly after 2pm on Thursday when a black Toyota Infiniti attempted to smash through a barricade close to the White House.

Video footage showed officers with guns drawn attempting to get the driver out of the vehicle.

But Carey spun the car around and sped away, knocking a law enforcement official.

The car raced up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol where Congress was in session.

A girl in the car was not hurt

Police chased and fired at the car, which came to a halt near the Capitol building, and she was shot dead.

By the end of the chase, two people were injured - a Secret Service member struck by the car outside the White House, and a Capitol Police officer whose vehicle hit a barricade during the chase.

A little girl who was in the suspect's car was not hurt. It was unclear if the child was the woman's daughter.

Officials said there appeared to be no direct link to terrorism and there was no indication that the woman was armed.

"This appears to be an isolated, singular matter," said Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine. "There is no nexus to terrorism."

Still, the high-speed chase rattled Washington two week after a gunman killed 12 people in a Navy Yard shooting.

Two law enforcement officials were injured

The House and Senate, where politicians were debating how to end a government shutdown, abruptly suspended business. 

Some politicians were told to shelter in place on the floor of the House. Outside, some tourists were frightened.

"I was just eating a hot dog over here and I heard about four or five gunshots, and then a swarm of police cars came in wailing their sirens," said Whit Dabney, a 13-year-old who was visiting Washington from Louisville, Kentucky.

People standing outside the Supreme Court across the street from Congress were hurried into the court building by authorities.

The White House was quickly locked down after the incident at Capitol Hill and the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the compound was closed to pedestrians. Secret Service said the procedures were precautionary.

Police are trying to understand the motives behind Carey's gesture.

At her condo in Stamford, dozens of neighbours were forced to wait outside, as a bomb squad stood by.

Resident Eric Bredow, a banker, said police told him the suspect in the car chase was one of his neighbours.

"I see the door to my building open and the FBI bomb squad in front of it," he said.

Erin Jackson, 31, lived next door to Carey and said she doted on her young daughter, often taking the girl outside for picnics.

"She was pleasant. She was very happy with her daughter, very proud of her daughter," she said.

"I just never would have anticipated this in a million years."

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Calais Ferry: Dozens Of Syrians In Stand-Off

More than 60 Syrians who want to enter the UK are in a stand-off with French police at the Calais ferry terminal.

The group have occupied a footbridge at the terminal in northern France since Wednesday, and today police moved in to clear them.

Two of the Syrians have climbed on to the ferry terminal roof and are threatening to jump off if their demands are not met. Twenty of the group are on hunger strike, according to reports.

France has offered the migrants the right to seek asylum. But the group said they wanted to start a new life in Britain and were treated "worse than animals" in France.

Two Syrians are threatening to jump off a ferry building if police approach

Around 50 riot police moved in early this morning to try and clear the refugees from the footbridge.

But they backed off when two of them climbed on top of a nearby building and threatened to jump off if officers approached.

Denis Robin, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region, then went to the site and offered the Syrians, who are currently illegal immigrants, the right to asylum.

"Today, the Syrians present here are caught in a stalemate. What we can do is to offer them a status on French territory ... in other words to make a request for asylum," he told reporters.

He said each demand for asylum had "95% chances of success", adding that he was in contact with the British Embassy in Paris.

"We cannot take any decision on their access to Britain," Mr Robin said. "I am not persuading them to settle in France but trying to legalise their status."

The group hopes to make a new life in Britain

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius has pledged to fast-track the asylum applications of Syrians fleeing the civil war.

But the refugees, most of whom arrived in Calais a month ago, have been critical of their treatment.

"We thought that France was the country where human rights are respected," said Tarik, a 19-year-old engineering student from the southern Syrian city of Deraa.

"But we live outside like dogs, hunted down by the police, we see we are not welcome, how can we seek asylum here?"

He said he was convinced he would find "more humanity" in Britain and eventually bring over his mother and younger brothers currently living in Egypt.

Ali, 38, said that although President Francois Hollande had taken a strong stand against President Bashar al Assad's regime for allegedly using chemical weapons, the French were not welcoming at all.

"Why does [Mr Hollande] say one thing and the police another?" he said, adding that he had spent £8,700 (€9,500) to come to a country where the "President said 'we must help Syrians'".

"Here even animals are better treated than us," he said.

Some of the Syrians are on hunger strike

The group has written a letter to British Home Secretary Theresa May demanding to speak to an official from her department.

"We have the right to claim asylum in England, but how do we get there? There is not a legal way to cross," they wrote.

"David Cameron has pledged to 'lead the world' on aid for Syrian  refugees. The situation of the Syrians protesting in the port of Calais offers a perfect opportunity to support Syrian refugees at our borders, turning this rhetoric into action.

"Failure to do so will open the Government to accusations of hypocrisy."

A UK Border Force spokesperson told Sky News: "The responsibility for legal and illegal migration in France is the responsibility of the French authorities.

"We work very closely on matters of border security with the French authorities to maintain the integrity of the controls."

The UN refugee agency has said 17 countries, including France, have agreed to receive quotas of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.

France has had only 850 registered demands for asylum from Syrians since the start of this year, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said late last month.

A P&O spokesman told Sky News: "The protest is not disrupting any services out of Calais."

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China Couple Speak Of 'Forced Abortion'

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

A couple have told Sky News how they were physically forced into an abortion by the Chinese authorities, three months before their child was due to be born.

At 4am last Friday, a group of 20 officials from the Shandong Province Family Planning Commission forced their way into the home of Zhou Guoqiang and his wife Liu Xinwen.

The officials kicked down the door of the family's home. Mr Zhou was held down while his wife was pulled from her bed and taken away.

Liu Xinwen, 33, was taken to the People's Hospital of Fangzi District in Weifang City where she was injected with an abortion-inducing drug.

Liu Xinwen says she was forcibly removed from her bed

Her baby, which she would later discover was a boy, died a day later in her womb. It took a further day for the foetus to be delivered.

Her husband was not told where she had been taken. It took him five hours to find her at the hospital. By then, the injection had been given.

Sky News met the couple six days later. Mr Zhou had invited us to the family's modest home in a rural corner of the province to hear their story.

We found his wife lying in the bed she had been taken from a week earlier. She was sobbing quietly.

"I miss him." she said.

An image of Liu Xinwen in hospital

"I didn't get to see him. I would be even more upset if I had seen him.

"Baby, I'm sorry. We were not meant to be. You rest in peace in heaven. We will pray for you. We hope your next life is better."  

Her heartbreak is the most brutal consequence of China's one-child policy.

The law is designed to keep the country's population in check. It prevents couples from having more than one child with a few exceptions in some rural provinces.

The policy is supposed to be enforced through financial penalties and not forced abortions. But in some provinces, over-zealous local officials, keen to keep within their birth quotas, break the law and terminate pregnancies by force.

"They don't have any humanity. They are not humans." Liu Xinwen said.

"They must have children and parents too. But they don't have any conscience. This is how China is."

Mr Zhou told how the officials held him down on the sofa while others took his wife away. In all, there were 16 male officials and four females.

We then sit down to look at photos he had taken in the hospital room. They are almost indescribably graphic.

One photograph shows Liu Xinwen lying on the bed. Beside her, on the floor, is a bucket. Inside is her aborted child.

Several other images show the foetus. It is fully formed.

Mr Zhou broke down after discussing the abortion

"His nose, ears, mouth are all there." Mr Zhou said.

"It is a child that would have lived if not for the forced abortion. It's because of their cruelty. Look, his hand is very obvious."

Mr Zhou broke down as he recalled the moment he arrived in the hospital, just minutes after the injection had been administered.

"My wife was lying in bed. I asked her: 'Have you been injected?' She said 'yes'. I asked if the baby was still moving. She said 'not much'.

"After that, I didn't want my wife to see my crying. I went outside. I cried, but only for a while because I needed to return to comfort her. She was very sad. She cried, day and night.

"Every time I heard babies' voices from other wards, I could hardly control myself. I had to go out. I have lost my child. I am speechless, words can't describe my feelings."

A footprint on the front door of the couple's home

He claimed that his wife was forced to sign papers which said she had agreed to the abortion.

When she initially refused, he said they told her that if she did not sign the papers, they would arrest her husband and she would have nothing. We have not been able to independently verify this.

The couple already have one son. Zhou Junfeng is 10. As we talk to his parents, he runs around the house playing. He is oblivious to the grief around him.

After Zhou Junfeng was born his mother underwent a state-proscribed procedure to insert a contraceptive coil into her body.

She says that this "forced sterilisation" must have failed, allowing her to fall pregnant for a second time.

The couple had the option to tell the authorities about the pregnancy the moment they discovered it, four months after conception.

They decided not to come clean because they were concerned that an abortion may be forced on them.

Mr Zhou and his son cook together

Instead, they said they planned to tell the authorities after the birth and then offer to pay the fine. This is common in parts of China and is sometimes acceptable.

Mr Zhou offered to take us to the hospital to see the room where the abortion happened.

Inside the hospital, we saw the room which is part of a fully functioning maternity ward; it is not a backstreet abortion clinic.

We found just two members of staff. One refused to comment. The other, a young nurse, was reluctant and a little startled to find a foreign TV crew in her hospital. 

"I don't know if it's forced or not. And I don't know the reason for it," she said.

"This is a maternity ward; there are many reasons for abortions. I don't know the specific reason for this case and it's not my place to care."

Sky News has approached the Shandong Health and Family Planning Commission, the central government Family Planning Commission in Beijing and the Chinese Embassy in London for a response to this case.

At midday British time, the embassy told Sky News they were looking into the case and would provide a more detailed response later.

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Striker Gary Madine Jailed For Attacks

A Championship footballer has been jailed for 18 months after he was found guilty of two separate nightclub attacks.

Sheffield Wednesday striker Gary Madine, 23, who has a previous conviction for knocking a man out in a Carlisle pub, punched Wednesday fan Daniel Beresford in the Paris Bar in Sheffield city centre in February last year, breaking his nose.

Four weeks later, he punched bricklayer and Sheffield United fan Reece Hall in the city's Viper Room club, shattering his cheekbone.

He was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after being found guilty by a jury following a week-long trial last month.

Judge Rodney Jameson QC sentenced the footballer, who will now automatically be sacked by his club, to six months for the Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) on Mr Beresford, and 12 months for the offence of Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) against Mr Hall.

Alison Dorrell, defending Madine - known by some Wednesday fans as Goal Machine - said he had thrown away his talent due to "drink, childish behaviour and a temper problem".

"He is not an asset to his club any more," she said, and added he would struggle to re-start his career after serving a prison sentence.

Judge Jameson said the assaults occurred when the footballer "lashed out" when drunk with "little, if any, thought for the consequences".

He said: "When sober there is no reason to suppose that you would misbehave but I have to sentence you for serious offences which reflect the other side of your character.

"The side which comes out when you are in drink, which causes unprovoked violence causing serious injuries to innocent members of the public."

The judge said Madine had chosen not to "suppress" that side of his character.

However, Judge Jameson said other professional footballers had rebuilt careers after serving time in jail and there was no reason why he could not.

Madine, who used to earn £5,000 a week, was also told that he would have to pay £1,500 in compensation to Mr Beresford and £4,200 court costs.

Ms Dorrell believed this would be difficult for the defendant, who has not been paid by the club since he was convicted last month.

She said was he struggling to pay a mortgage on the house where his family lived.

More follows...

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Knox Trial: Mobster Accuses Brother Of Murder

A transgender mafia convict has accused her own brother of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher at the retrial of Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-lover.

Jailed mobster Luciano Aviello, who told the court she wanted to be referred to as "Luciano Lucia", served time in prison with Knox's co-accused Raffaele Sollecito.

It is the second time she has taken the stand, having done so already at the original trial before retracting her testimony and being charged with perjury.

But giving evidence, Aviello, who has convictions for defamation, returned to her original accusation, claiming that her brother killed Meredith in the university town of Perugia in 2007, during a random burglary.

"My brother is the guilty one, not Amanda or Sollecito," said Aviello, who is still in prison for a separate case.

The testimony has already been widely dismissed as unreliable, and lawyers questioned why the appeal court judges had decided to re-hear it.

Kercher family lawyer Francesco Maresca says DNA tests could be critical

Meredith was found in a pool of blood in the house she shared with Knox on November 2, 2007. She had been stabbed, and experts said the murder had to have been carried out by more than one person.

Ivory Coast-born drifter Rudy Guede, who like Knox and Sollecito has always denied the murder, is the only person still in prison for the crime.

Neither Knox nor Sollecito is in court, although Sollecito's lawyer Giulia Bongiorno said he would address the court at an unspecified future date.

Knox and Sollecito served four years in prison before being acquitted on appeal in 2011, but earlier this year Italy's highest court dramatically ruled there should be a fresh trial for both of them.

Knox, 26, now a University of Washington student in Seattle, has insisted she will not return to Italy saying she had been depicted as "a sex fiend" and "a young, unscrupulous liar".

The prosecution has said that the murder was the result of "an erotic game that spun out of control" - a theory the supreme court suggested was valid, and asked the retrial to examine.

The court also decided that new DNA tests on a kitchen knife, believed by prosecutors to be the murder weapon, could be carried out.

Francesco Maresca, the Kercher family lawyer, said: "The court has to draw conclusions, but we can say that if genetic traces of the defendants or the victims were to be found on the weapon, we would have certainly made a step forward."

Luca Maori, Sollecito's lawyer, explained that "he is calm and he is waiting" and had avoided the trial "because the attention has to be focused on the trial. He wants to defend himself in the trial and not from the trial".

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Police Searching For Teen Discover Body

Police searching for missing 15-year-old Chloe Kinsella, who has not been seen for six days, have found a body.

The body was recovered at Brown's Quay in the Thomondgate area of Co Limerick and has been moved to Limerick University Hospital.

Police said the body had not yet been identified, however searches for the youngster are understood to have been stood down.

Chloe Kinsella has been missing for six days

Chloe has been missing from her home in Kenyon Avenue, Kileely, Limerick for almost a week.

Specially trained bloodhounds were brought in on Friday to help with the search.

Glen Barton, from Irish Search Dogs, said: "We are using trailing bloodhounds which can trace the last steps of missing people.

"We are also using air-scenting dogs."

The Limerick Leader reported that there were emotional scenes at a community centre in the city when family, friends and volunteers who had been helping with the search effort, heard the news.

Her uncle, Matthew Franklin, told the group: "Thanks for everything you did over the past week, it was hard but we all stuck together."

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Egypt Police Fire On Tahrir Square Protesters

At least one person has been killed after Egyptian riot police clashed with protesters trying to take control of Cairo's Tahrir Square.

The protester was shot dead after both the police and civilians, supporting the military, opened fire on Muslim Brotherhood supporters.

Troops sealed off Tahrir Square with tanks and barbed wire, diverting traffic from the central plaza as thousands of Mohamed Morsi supporters marched towards it.

Protesters eventually surrounded police and army troops guarding the square, initially prompting forces to fire volleys of tear gas.

Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo's Rabaa al Adawiya Square

Reuters reported that an Egyptian army vehicle had later fired live rounds in the direction of Muslim Brotherhood supporters.

Civilians also clashed with pro-Morsi supporters - firing guns and throwing rocks. There were outbreaks of violence across the city.

Medical sources said one person had died from a gunshot wound, though it was unclear how he had been shot.

Across the country, similar clashes broke out. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is escalating protests to coincide with commemorations of Egypt's October 6 opening strike in the 1973 war with Israel.

Protesters chanted: "Down down with the murderer!", referring to Army Chief General Abdel-Fatah el Sissi, who forced Mr Morsi out of power.

Mr Morsi - leader of the Muslim Brotherhood - was ousted after millions took to the streets in the summer demanding he step down.

Earlier in the day, at least two Egyptian soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected militants on an army convoy east of Cairo.

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Killer Mum Claims Cash After 'Voodoo' Deaths

By Sky News US Team, in New York

A mentally disturbed mother who drowned her three young children in a bathtub is going to court to ask a judge for a portion of their $350,000 (£218,000) estate.

Leatrice Brewer drowned her three children - ages one, five and six - believing she was saving them from what she saw as the deadly effects of voodoo.

After the killings she tried to commit suicide twice.

The 33-year-old New York woman was found not guilty of the murders because of mental disease or defect.

Her attorneys now say she should not be subject to laws that bar convicts from profiting from their crimes.

Nassau County Surrogate's Court Judge Edward McCarty ruled on Thursday that Brewer will be taken from an upstate psychiatric facility to testify about her request next month.

Although the case would establish a precedent in New York if Brewer succeeds, she is not expected to see any money because of the $1.2m (£747,000) cost of the psychiatric counselling and other services she has received since her arrest, attorneys said.

Brewer admitted she drowned the children in the bathtub of her apartment in New Cassel, on Long Island about 20 miles east of New York City, in February 2008.

She later placed the children's bodies on a bed and tried to kill herself by swallowing a concoction of household cleaning chemicals.

When that suicide bid failed, she jumped from her second-storey window.

Psychiatrists determined she suffered a major depressive disorder and she believed she killed the children to protect them.

Brewer is being kept at a state psychiatric hospital until doctors determine she is no longer mentally ill.

The case drew attention to Nassau County's social services agency, whose caseworkers visited Brewer's apartment two days before the killings and found no one home but neglected to schedule an immediate follow-up visit.

Two social workers were suspended over the case.

Lawsuits against the county filed by the father of Brewer's one-year-old son, Innocent Demesyeux, and five-year-old son, Michael Demesyeux, were settled for $250,000.

A lawsuit filed by the father of Brewer's six-year-old daughter, Jewell Ward, was recently settled for $100,000.

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'Mummified Boy': Hutton Jailed For 15 Years

Timeline: Hamzah Khan Case

Updated: 3:42pm UK, Thursday 03 October 2013

Here is a timeline of events leading to the death of Hamzah Khan and the discovery of his mummified body:

May 28, 1996 - Amanda Hutton and partner Aftab Khan have an argument in the street. She complained to police that Khan had hit her, giving her a black eye

March 18, 2003 - Amanda Hutton tells a police officer she was suffering from domestic violence at the hands of Aftab Khan

June 2, 2003 - Amanda Hutton complained Khan had assaulted her.

September 25, 2004 - Police investigate alleged assault of Amanda Hutton by Aftab Khan

February 24, 2005 - Amanda Hutton fails to attend appointment for hospital scan while pregnant with Hamzah

March 2005 – Second missed appointment

April 7, 2005 – Third missed appointment

June 17, 2005 - Hamzah born weighing 5lb 4oz

July 7, 2005 - The last time Hamzah is seen by any healthcare professional - a health visitor. Previously on the same day a midwife visits and records Hamzah putting on weight and "doing well."

October 2005 - Four attempts by health visitors to gain access. Door slammed on nurse on at least one occasion.

December 18, 2005 - Police called over claims of domestic violence

December 24, 2005 - Amanda Hutton's mother dies. She claims it affects her badly

February 2006 - Failed attempt to gain access by health visitor

March 14, 2006 - GP writes to Amanda Hutton because Hamzah has not been registered with them.

July 10, 2006 - Health visitor denied access.

August 12, 2006 - The Registrar of Births contacts the health visitor after unsuccessful attempts to contact Amanda Hutton about the birth of Hamzah.

The registrar subsequently contacts the health visitor to say she has seen Amanda Hutton at home, she had a "puffed up" eye and smelt of alcohol.

August 23, 2006 - Amanda Hutton goes to her GP complaining of depression.

September 2006 - Health visitor contacts social services child protection unit over "significant concerns" about non engagement with all health professionals.

September 7, 2006 - Amanda Hutton goes to GP. Records read: "Came with eldest son. Has been drinking with partner "too much". 

Has had 2 glasses of vodka a day since mother died in January (sic). Helps to numb things says that family are not aware. Feels as if has hit rock bottom. Wants to change"

September 19, 2006 - Amanda Hutton registers Hamzah with her GP. He was never seen at the practice.

November 2006 - Letter sent (unclear by whom) to children's social care to express concerns about child neglect by Amanda Hutton

November 15, 2006 - Social worker visits, could not get in, left a note.

November 23, 2006 - Social worker returns, sees Hamzah who was "well cared-for and well dressed". Amanda Hutton tells her she's lost faith in the NHS, but would seek help for Hamzah if he was ill.

November 2006 - April 2007 - Amanda Hutton "off the radar" of official health & social care records

December 13, 2006 - Domestic violence report to police

December 30, 2006 - Police called to the house after an argument, Amanda is "obstructive and reluctant to give information to police".

April 2007 - Social worker is told by health visitor that Amanda Hutton says she is willing to engage with healthcare and family centre services.

April 2007 - Hamzah misses a GP appointment for vaccinations

May 2007 - Amanda Hutton and Hamzah suspended from GP practice list with note saying: "too many failed appointments"

December 2007 - Tests on Hamza's bones and teeth after he died showed he was not eating enough food from at least this point

December 7, 2007 - 999 call made claiming domestic violence

February 26, 2008 - Complaint made to police of domestic violence

April 10, 2008 - Amanda Hutton makes tearful call to domestic violence unit.

April 17, 2008 - Amanda speaks to the PC at the domestic violence unit, says she had been drinking heavily but has now stopped.

May 5, 2008 - Complaint made to police of domestic violence

June 9, 2008 - Domestic violence unit police officer contacts health visitor asking her to make contact with Amanda Hutton.

June 13, 2008 - First multi-agency MARAC meeting organised by social services. Discusses concerns about Amanda Hutton and Hamzah because they are at risk of serious domestic violence

August 2008 - Second MARAC meeting. Amanda Hutton reported to have refused help from a domestic violence charity.

December 4, 2008 - Amanda Hutton dialled 999 alleging domestic violence.

December 09, 2008 - Aftab Khan arrested, tells police they should check on Hamzah.

December 22, 2008 - Injunction granted preventing contact by Aftab Khan

December 2008 - Amanda Hutton moves house, police arrange fitting of panic alarm and anti-arson letterbox

January 19, 2009 - Complaint made to police of domestic violence

January 2009 - Third MARAC meeting. Concerns over GP non engagement discussed.

February 17, 2009 - Domestic violence unit police officer sent on welfare visit, told can't see Hamzah because he's upstairs with a dirty nappy because it's half term

February 2009 - Girlfriend of Hamzah's brother Qaiser stays at house, says Hamzah was 'definitely underweight, like a baby" was eating only milk, bananas and half a pasty for tea and "whatever was lying around" and that he was often locked in a bedroom in the dark.

An 11-year-old girl who had been to the house told the police after his body was found that Hamzah was not fed much.

February 17, 2009 - Domestic violence unit police officer visits Amanda, she didn't see Hamzah as was playing upstairs, house was clean and tidy.

March 11, 2009 - Text from Aftab Khan to Amanda Hutton: "Don't wori its not me whose going to land u in the shit ur going to do that ur self turnd in to the biggest lyer stop drinking wat [has Hamzah] had today think about wat ur doing to everi body"

March 16, 2009 - Amanda Hutton moves house for last time, tells neighbour the move is to escape from abusive relationship.

April 21, 2009 - Police called by childcare professional who reports concerns about child neglect

April 21, 2009 - PC Marie Furness visits house, speaks to Hamzah, leaves "satisfied that he was fit, well, clean, healthy-looking." She was the last police officer to see him.

June 9, 2009 - Aftab Khan admits battery against Amanda Hutton on  December 4, 2008

September 2009 - Hamzah expected in school, but not seen

October 2009 - Amanda Hutton and Hamzah fully removed from the GP practice list.

October 14, 2009 - Amanda Hutton meets a domestic violence charity worker and says she wants to help other victims of child abuse.

December 15, 2009 - Hamzah dies aged four and a half. Tests later showed his bones were the same size as a child of 12 to 18 months.

August 10 - Nurse at the school Hamzah was expected to attend was asked about him by the health visitor. Nurse says he was not attending the nursery.

September 2010 - Hamzah had to start school by law. He was never seen.

March 16, 2011 - Anonymous tip-off to social services to report concerns about significant problems in the house.

September 05, 2011 - A police community support officer goes to house after neighbour complains about rubbish. She is suspicious about smell and flies, calls social services who tell her Amanda Hutton lives there with a child.

September 21, 2011 - Hamzah's body found mouldy and mummified in Amanda Hutton's bedroom. His body had no muscle and almost no flesh.

He was dressed in a baby grow for a six- to nine-month-old baby, which fitted him comfortably.

There were five other children, aged between five and 13, in the home at the time. The fridge was found to contain rotten food.

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Vietnam War General Vo Nguyen Giap Dies

General Vo Nguyen Giap, the architect of Vietnam's military victories over France and the US has died at the age of 102.

The general was one of Vietnam's best known 20th-century figures, ranked by historians among such military giants as Montgomery, Rommel and MacArthur.

The son of a peasant scholar, he was considered the mastermind of the historic defeat of the French in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu and the communist victory over US-backed South Vietnam 21 years later.

He died on Friday evening after spending several years in a Hanoi military hospital.

In a 2004 interview at his villa in central Hanoi, the veteran warrior insisted Vietnam's independence wars were a "victory for colonised countries all over the world".

The general (back left) with President Ho Chi Minh (second right) in 1950

He recalled that on a visit to the UN in Geneva the previous year, he was handed a book to sign.

"I wrote ... and signed Vo Nguyen Giap, General of Peace," he said.

Born in 1911 in central Vietnam, the general was a close friend of the late revered president Ho Chi Minh and was held in high esteem alongside former prime minister Pham Van Dong.

But his critics and his nemesis, the late US General William C Westmoreland, said he was effective partly because he was willing to sustain huge losses in pursuit of victory.

"Any American commander who took the same vast losses as General Giap would have been sacked overnight," General Westmoreland was quoted as saying in Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stanley Karnow's 1983 book Vietnam. A History.

General Giap meeting the then Cuban President Fidel Castro in 2003

Karnow wrote that General Westmoreland seemed to misunderstand how determined the communists under Ho Chi Minh and his general really were.

General Giap is known to have opposed several important military decisions, including the costly move in 1968 to delay the withdrawal of forces from unsustainable positions in South Vietnam during the Tet Offensive.

He held back again in 1975 on a decision by Hanoi to commit all its forces - leaving the capital unprotected - to the spring campaign which climaxed in late April with the fall of Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City.

Later, he opposed Hanoi's decision to maintain an occupying force in Cambodia following Vietnam's late-1978 invasion.

This, coupled with long-harboured resentment by some members of the establishment towards him, is said to have contributed to his declining political influence after the war years.

He remarried after his first wife died in a French prison in 1943. General Giap had three daughters and two sons.

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