Assad accused of moving human shields to key military targets as a defence against Western air strikes

The Syrian Coalition claims prisoners are being held in military loactions
Sources in Damascus report seeing inmates being loaded onto buses
David Cameron defeated in the Commons on plan to launch missile strikes
Obama advisers suggest he is prepared to intervene on his ownAssad says Syria would 'defend itself in the face of any aggression'UN inspectors prepare to examine sites were chemical rockets struck

By Daniel Miller

PUBLISHED: 01:31 GMT, 30 August 2013 | UPDATED: 01:31 GMT, 30 August 2013

President Assad has moved thousands of Syrian prisoners to key military targets to use as human shields against air strikes, opposition groups claimed last night.

Sources in the capital Damascus report inmates being led from their cells onto buses and being taken to sites the regime fears will be targeted by western forces.

As the international community continues to debate military intervention in the long-running civil war following the alleged use of chemical weapons, opposition groups opposed have accused the Assad regime of murdering and torturing political prisoners.

Crucial evidence: A U.N. chemical weapons expert inspects one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Damascus

In a statement released last night, The Syrian Coalition in Istanbul said:  'Assad's fascist regime is amassing detained activists and civilians in prisons inside military locations that may be potential targets for foreign military forces.

'Using civilians as human shields is a blatant breach of International Humanitarian Law, and those responsible must be held accountable for crimes against humanity.

Tyrant: Syrian President Bashar Assad has been accused of moving political prisoners to key military sites as human shields against Western air strikes

'Assad has deployed a policy of arbitrary detention since the start of the revolution in March 2011 infringing on Syrian law, International Covenants on Human Rights, and International Conventions related to the prohibition of enforced disappearance.

'In Assad’s torturous prisons, thousands of detainees experience deplorable conditions. They are forced to live a life of pain, fear, and intimidation by Assad’s intelligence forces. The locations where prisoners are held, nearly in all cases, are not disclosed.

'Prisoners are often summarily executed, placed in sites where Assad forces carry out explosions and bombardments or are tortured to death. 

'The Syrian Coalition holds Assad and his accomplices accountable for crimes against activists and civilians detained in security centers, government institutions, and military installations.'

British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday suffered an embarrassing defeat in the Commons when MPs voted against air strikes.

Mr Cameron insisted it was 'beyond doubt' that the Assad regime had used chemical weapons against its own people.

And he claimed that if the West failed to act it was likely they would continue to be used against the civilian population.

In The U.S. government officials say they received 'intercepted communications from high-level Syrian officials' reporting personnel being moved around Damascus that indicated 'it was ready for something big like a chemical attack,'.

A British Typhoon fighter jet arrives at a British air base in Cyprus. The Ministry of Defense said it was deploying six Typhoons as a 'prudent and precautionary measure'

The Obama administration appeared undeterred by the British vote with advisers suggesting he would be willing to retaliate against Syria on his own. 

However President Obama has not yet  revealed definitive evidence to back claims that Assad used chemical weapons on Syrians.

Even before the vote in London, the U.S. was preparing to act without formal authorization from the United Nations, where Russia has blocked efforts to seek a resolution authorizing the use of force, or from Capitol Hill. But the U.S. had expected Britain, a major ally, to join in the effort.

France announced that its armed forces 'have been put in position to respond' if President Francois Hollande commits forces to intervention against Syria. Hollande does not need French parliamentary approval to launch military action that lasts less than four months.

Assad, who has denied using chemical weapons, vowed his country 'will defend itself against any aggression.'

Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for no military attack on Syria outside the White House yesterday

Defeat: Prime Minister David Cameron was outvoted in the Commons over plans to launch missile strikes against Syria however the Obama advisers suggest the U.S. would be willing to retaliate on its own

Some of the U.N. chemical weapons experts will travel directly from Syria on Saturday to different laboratories around Europe to deliver 'an extensive amount of material' gathered, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said.

While the mandate of the U.N. team is to determine whether chemical agents were used in the attack, not who was responsible, Haq suggested the evidence - which includes biological samples and witness interviews - might give an indication of who deployed gases.

U.S. officials say the intelligence assessments are no 'slam dunk,' with questions remaining about who actually controls some of Syria's chemical weapons stores and doubts about whether Assad himself ordered the strike.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the intelligence publicly.

Despite shortcomings in the intelligence, the White House signaled urgency in acting, a White House spokesman said the president believes there is a 'compressed time frame' for responding.

In safe hands: An Italian soldier gives water to a rescued girl aboard the Foscari ship near Sicily after recovering almost 200 people from a crippled fishing boat who are believed to have fled the violence in Syria

Desperate measures: Italy's coast guard and navy rescue about 350 people, mostly Syrians, off the coast of Sicily from a badly overcrowded and crippled fishing boat which they used to escape the civil war

Traumatic: Among those rescued from the boat were 48 children, including a four-day-old girl born on the crossing

He said: 'It is important for the Assad regime and other totalitarian dictators around the world to understand that the international community will not tolerate the indiscriminate, widespread use of chemical weapons, particularly against women and children as they're sleeping in their beds.

But many Congress members were pressing Obama to explain the need for military action and address fears that such a move might draw the U.S. deeper into the Syrian civil war.

Escape from Assad: Syrian refugees use containers to collect water at the Arbat refugee camp in the northern Iraqi province of Sulaimaniya after fleeing the violence in their native country

Syrian children stand outside their tent at a temporary refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Faour

Conflict rages: Free Syrian Army soldiers help their wounded fellow fighter in Al Rasheddin, Aleppo

Displaced: Chart shows the number of Syrian refugees who have fled to surrounding countries as of August 27

On Wednesday a Syrian army officer that Assad was considering using kamikaze pilots against Western forces.

In the event of an attack by the U.S. and Britain, the Syrian army had 8,000 'suicide martyrs' who would give their lives to bring down warplanes if necessary, the unnamed officer said.

He said: 'If (US and British) warplanes raid our skies they will face hell fire.

'If we are unable to shoot down their warplanes with artillery, we have military pilots who are ready to attack these foreign warplanes by their own warplanes and blow them up in the air.' 

The officer told The Guardian that 13 pilots had signed a pledge this week saying they would form 'a crew of suicide martyrs to foil the U.S. warplanes'.

He claimed: 'We have more than 8,000 suicide martyrs within the Syrian army, ready to carry out martyrdom operations at any moment to stop the Americans and the British.

'I myself am ready to blow myself up against U.S. aircraft carriers to stop them attacking Syria and its people.'

Mobilising: Israeli soldiers patrol near an Armored Personal carrier near the border with Syria after the Israeli cabinet authorised a call-up of army reservists amid growing expectations of a foreign military strike on Assad

Eyes on the skies: An 'Iron Dome' missile battery of the Israeli army in industrial area of Haifa

Building a case: A U.N. chemical weapons expert carries a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack

Hazardous: UN inspectors collect samples inside a house during their investigations at Zamalka, east of Damscus on Thursday

Will the results trigger a war? United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he is expecting a report on the chemical weapons investigation on Saturday

Meanwhile, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has pleaded for more time for diplomacy and to allow U.N. investigators to complete their work.

U.S. leaders, including Vice President Joe Biden, have charged that Assad's government was behind the August 21 attack that Doctors Without Borders says killed at least 355 people.

The White House says it's planning a possible military response while seeking support from international partners.

The U.S. has not presented concrete proof of Syrian regime involvement in the attack, and U.N. inspectors have not endorsed the allegations, although the U.N. envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said evidence suggests some kind of 'substance' was used that killed hundreds.

Gathering evidence: U.N. chemical weapons experts wearing gas masks carry samples from one of the sites of an alleged gas attack while escorted by Free Syrian Army fighters in the Ain Tarma district of Damascus

On the frontline: Members of a UN team of arms experts inspect the site where rockets fell in Damascus

Delicate operation: A member of a UN investigation team takes samples of sands near a part of a missile believed to be one of the chemical rockets fired at civilians in Damascus last week, killing hundreds

With many seeing Western intervention no longer a question of if but when, there were signs of growing fears across the wider region.

At least 6,000 Syrians crossed into Lebanon in a 24-hour period through the main Masnaa crossing, including an estimated 4,000 on Wednesday, according to Lebanese security officials in the country's Bekaa Valley near the border.

The normal daily influx is 500 to 1,000 refugees, depending on the level of fighting.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Long lines of packed cars - some with suitcases strapped to roofs - were backed up at the frontier post, witnesses said.

A security official said about 2,000 also crossed into Syria, but many of them said they were going in to evacuate relatives.

One woman, Um Ahmad, entered Lebanon with her five children, saying she fearing U.S. strikes on Damascus.

'Isn't it enough, all the violence and fighting that we already have in the country, now America wants to bomb us, too?' the 45-year-old said, declining to give her full name for security concerns. 

Enlarge   Gearing up for war: A graphic looking at the options open to the West if it were to launch strikes on Syria

Running gun battles: Free Syrian Army fighters run to take cover from snipers loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad near Aleppo International airport

Nearly two million Syrians have fled the country since the crisis began in March 2011 and millions more are displaced inside Syria.

Effects were also evident in Israel, where large crowds lined up at gas-mask distribution centres.

Meanwhile, the Israeli government ordered a 'limited' call-up of reserve units to bolster civil defense preparations and to operate air-defense units near the border. Officials said the call-up is anticipated to bring in hundreds of troops.

While Israeli officials believe the chances of a Syrian strike remain slim, there are concerns that Damascus may respond to any U.S.-led military action by attacking the Jewish state, a close American ally.

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BBC spends �2m of licence fee on food and drink: Corporation accused of wasting money of 'boozy farewells' for its staff

BBC spent ?42,971 on alcohol and another ?33,745 on leaving partiesOrdered in 13,000 bottles of wine and 11,000 bottles of beer and cider Another ?1.3million was spent subsidising canteens for staff to eat cheaply

By Tv Correspondent

PUBLISHED: 00:25 GMT, 30 August 2013 | UPDATED: 00:25 GMT, 30 August 2013

The BBC has been accused of wasting the licence fee on ?boozy farewells? for its staff

The BBC has been accused of wasting the licence fee on ‘boozy farewells’ for its staff after it emerged that it spent more than ?2million on food and drink last year.

Figures show the BBC spent ?42,971 on alcohol and another ?33,745 on leaving parties.

The corporation ordered in more than 13,000 bottles of wine and 11,000 bottles of beer and cider to fuel a series of celebratory drinks parties and ‘ad hoc team parties’.

Another ?1,655 was spent on spirits – including 31 bottles of Smirnoff vodka, 15 bottles of Bombay Sapphire gin and a bottle of ten-year-old Isle of Jura whisky.

In 2008, it was reported that the corporation had introduced a champagne ban. But last year it splashed out ?4,673 on sparkling wine instead.

And the food and drink bill shows that the BBC is spending more than ?1,000 a day providing free tea and coffee to its staff. In total, the spend on hot drinks increased by around 60 per cent in a year.

Another ?1.3million was spent subsidising canteens to allow staff to eat cheaply at work, while ?293,000 was spent on water dispensers.

The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, also revealed that staff claimed ?3.2million in expenses for meals and drinks when they were not in the office, as well as ?187,000 for business entertaining.

The expenditure appears at odds with the BBC’s drive to reduce costs, which has resulted in deep cuts to programme budgets and thousands of job losses in recent years.

Some ?1,655 was spent on spirits – including 31 bottles of Smirnoff vodka, 15 bottles of Bombay Sapphire gin and a bottle of ten-year-old Isle of Jura whisky

And the news comes as it faces a scandal over its generosity to departing staff after last month’s revelation that it handed ?369million in severance deals in eight years.

Yesterday Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The licence fee should be spent on quality programming, not boozy farewells for departing staff.

‘BBC bosses should focus on reducing the burden funding the broadcaster places on families by ensuring it provided better value for money. That means spending less on subsidised wining and dining.’

A BBC spokesman said: ‘We are mindful of our obligation to the licence-fee payer when purchasing food and drink and the BBC has tight guidelines that govern the occasions when alcohol may be bought.’

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English oral exam is cut from GCSE: Teachers accused of marking it too generously

Ofqual said speaking and listening tests were vulnerable to 'over-marking'Pupils will still complete exercises but results will be recorded separately

By Andrew Levy

PUBLISHED: 00:40 GMT, 30 August 2013 | UPDATED: 01:09 GMT, 30 August 2013

Ofqual has said speaking and listening tests will no longer count towards the final grades for GCSE English because they are vulnerable to 'over-marking' (file picture)

A GCSE English classroom assessment will no longer count towards final grades because of widespread cheating by teachers, the exam regulator announced yesterday.

Ofqual said the speaking and listening tests would not be taken into account because they are vulnerable to ‘over-marking’.

Pupils will still have to complete the exercises but the results will be recorded separately on their GCSE certificate.

The changes follow Ofqual’s controversial decision to move grade boundaries last year after it found teachers were pushing up marks to help children achieve C grades – which affect school league tables. The move meant thousands of pupils received lower grades than expected.

Speaking and listening assessments can include a group debate or a speech delivered to a class before taking questions. Performance is recorded and marked by a teacher.

These classroom tests were worth 20 per cent of marks in GCSE English. Reading and writing assessments added 40 per cent, with written exams making up the rest.

But from next summer written exams will count for 60 per cent and reading and writing tests 40 per cent.

Chief regulator Glenys Stacey said: ‘We know that this will be unpopular with many teachers and will affect many students who have already completed their first year of studies but we think it right to make these changes?…?because the current arrangements result in unfairness.

‘Exam boards cannot be sure that speaking and listening assessments are being carried out and marked consistently across all schools and we have evidence they are not.’ She added: ‘Many teachers rightly say that speaking and listening skills are of vital importance. We agree, which is why we still require [results] to be reported.’

Last year’s GCSE marking fiasco, in which an estimated 10,000 teenagers were awarded a grade D instead of C, was challenged in the High Court. 

Pupils will still have to complete the exercises but the results will be recorded separately on their GCSE certificate (file picture)

The case was rejected on the grounds that any unfairness came from the structure of the qualification. Tighter controls have been introduced for written assessments but Ofqual said it was impossible to do this for speaking and listening.

'The prime purpose of our qualifications system should be to assess what young people know, understand and can do, not to service the current over-inflated, high-stakes accountability system' 

- Brian Lightman, of the Association of School and College Leaders

Russell Hobby, of the National Association of Head Teachers, yesterday accused Ofqual of ‘flying in the face of reason’, adding: ‘Students going into Year 11 who were assessed for speaking and listening last year will feel cheated, having already prepared for something they felt was going to contribute to their GCSE grades.

‘Teachers will return to school faced with the task of explaining the situation to anxious students and their parents and also with the task of amending the planning of teaching and learning for an as-yet-unknown reformed assessment regime.’

Brian Lightman, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: ‘We are disappointed with this decision?…?The prime purpose of our qualifications system should be to assess what young people know, understand and can do, not to service the current over-inflated, high-stakes accountability system.’

A spokesman for Pearson, which owns the Edexcel exam board, said reducing the role of coursework and controlled assessment would ‘help improve public confidence in GCSEs’.

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