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28 February 2012Last updated at21:11 ET
US exit polls put Mitt Romney on course for an Arizona primary win, but the crucial Republican race in Michigan remains too close to call.
Arizona exit polling showed 44% support for Mr Romney and 27% for Mr Santorum.
In early Michigan results, Mr Romney had 41% of the vote and Rick Santorum 38%, with some 15% reporting.
Michigan is seen as vital for Mr Romney, who was born in the state but has had a hard time connecting with conservative voters there.
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28 February 2012Last updated at20:39 ET
Policy Exchange said the pensions scheme was now a "drain on police budgets"
Ministers should make "wholesale" changes to the pension scheme for police officers in England and Wales, a think tank report has recommended.
Policy Exchange said the scheme had become "unaffordable" for taxpayers at almost £2bn a year.
It called for a move away from a final salary to a career-average scheme and raising the retirement age to 60.
Most officers can currently retire from the age of 48, after 30 years' service, on two-thirds of their final salary.
The right-of-centre think tank said the scheme was now a "drain on police budgets".
'Fight crime'
Costs have risen almost 80% in real terms over the past 15 years and one pound in every seven pounds spent on policing goes on pensions.
The report recommended reforms in line with the Hutton review of public sector pensions, raising the pension age to 60 and moving to career-average payments.
But it said "bold" reforms were required in the longer-term for a less costly scheme that gave officers more choice and was open to civilian police staff.
Report author Edward Boyd said: "Police officers' pensions have become increasingly unaffordable for taxpayers.
"A growing pensioner population, primarily down to increased life expectancy coupled with only minimal changes in the retirement age, has increased costs substantially over the last decade.
"The more we have to pay for pensions, the less police forces have available to spend on hiring officers to fight crime."
He added: "We desperately need a new police pension scheme fit for the modern world.
"Without reducing costs, police officer pensions will become unaffordable for taxpayers and for officers themselves."
'Extra payments'
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said police average pensions were higher than those of firefighters, soldiers, teachers and NHS workers.
Last year, Home Secretary Theresa May outlined large increases in police pension contributions.
Officers will pay between 1.5 and 4 percentage points more of their salaries, with the increases staggered over three years.
The extra payments will vary according to salary bands and the section of the scheme the officers are in.
The proposals are similar to those announced for teachers, civil servants and NHS staff.
Mrs May said the higher payments were needed to help the government raise an extra £2.8bn from public service pension scheme members to help fill its spending deficit.
The Police Federation of England and Wales said in response it would "do everything within our means to ensure that the value of police officers' pensions continue to reflect the difficult job that we do".
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27 February 2012Last updated at17:16 ET
Mitt Romney has been dogged by doubts over his record as a staunch conservative
US presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have attacked each other on the final day of campaigning before two crucial Republican primary votes.
Mr Romney called on Mr Santorum, who has made social issues central to his campaign, to focus on the economy.
Over the weekend, Mr Santorum said he would give religion a more prominent role to play in public life.
Latest opinion polls show Mr Romney holding a marginal lead in Michigan, the state where he grew up.
But analysts say a Michigan victory is essential for Mr Romney, who has struggled to establish a strong rapport with Republican voters.
With polling day looming in Michigan - and also in Arizona, where Mr Romney has a more secure lead - the pair of front-runners criss-crossed the state in a last-minute effort to reach out to voters.
The winner of the eventual nomination will go on to face President Barack Obama in the November election.
Focus on economy
After spending much of last week campaigning on social issues, on Monday Mr Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, focussed on bringing the conversation back to the economy.
He challenged former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum for putting social issues at the centre of his campaign, saying: "If the economy is going to be the issue we focus on, who has the experience to actually get this economy going again?"
Mr Romney told supporters at a campaign event that Mr Santorum was a nice guy but he would not be able to create jobs.
Rick Santorum sees himself as a culture warrior, saying he will not give up the fight on social issues
"I understand why jobs go, why they come, I understand what happens to corporate profit, where it goes if the government takes it," Mr Romney told supporters.
"I think to create jobs it helps to have a guy as president who's had a job, and I have."
Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, Mr Santorum told supporters it was a "joke" for Mr Romney to attack him for not being a real conservative.
The former senator also derided "climate science" and Wall Street bailouts - referring to legislative positions the former governor had supported.
In it he took aim at his rival, saying Mr Romney was "attempting to distract from his record of tax and fee increases as governor of Massachusetts, poor job creation, and aggressive pursuit of earmarks", and that Mr Romney's plans did not go far enough.
His editorial followed remarks slamming Mr Romney at the weekend, who Mr Santorum described as "uniquely unqualified" to take on the key issues facing America.
He argued passionately for a more prominent role for religion in public affairs, saying: "I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state are absolute."
The battle between candidates to get as much advertising on television and radio as possible. In recent years, online adverts, which are cheaper and can be more carefully targeted, have grown increasingly important.
"The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country...
"You bet that makes me want to throw up."
Precarious lead
In recent weeks, Mr Santorum has mounted an unexpectedly strong challenge to Mr Romney in Michigan.
A loss for Mr Romney in either state could establish Mr Santorum as a new front-runner in the presidential race, correspondents say, and raise questions about Mr Romney's ability to appeal to his party's base.
Mr Santorum sprung an upset in the last round of voting, when he picked up three victories - in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado - in a single night.
Mr Romney currently has 123 delegates, compared to Mr Santorum's 72, with 1,144 needed to secure the nomination.
Fifty-nine delegates are at stake in Tuesday's primary elections, 29 from Arizona and 30 from Michigan.
The two other presidential candidates - former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Texas Congressman Ron Paul - have chosen not to focus their campaigns on Michigan and Arizona.
They are looking ahead to Super Tuesday on 6 March, when 10 states will vote.
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28 February 2012Last updated at19:07 ETBy Nick TriggleHealth correspondent, BBC News
Nursing standards have been criticised in a series of reports
Being compassionate should be as important as being clever when it comes to the recruitment of staff to care for the elderly, experts say.
The recommendation was one of a series made by the Commission on Improving Dignity in Care for Older People to improve standards in hospitals and care homes in England.
The group said too many vulnerable people were currently being "let down".
The review comes after a series of critical reports into elderly care.
Cases of neglect have been documented by the likes of the Health Service Ombudsman and Patients Association in the past year.
And so the commission was set up by Age UK, the NHS Confederation and the Local Government Association to set out a blueprint for how the NHS and social care sector should tackle the issue.
Patronising language
In total, the commission published 48 draft recommendations which will be consulted on over the next month before a final action plan is published in the summer.
The measures cover issues such as making dignity a priority at board level, encouraging staff at all levels to challenge bad practice and ensuring patronising language, such as "old dear", is not used.
The report said language which denigrates older people should be as unacceptable as racist or sexist terms.
Another key recommendation involved the role of ward sisters, which the report said should be given the authority by management to take action when standards slip.
But it is the issue of staff training which there will be most focus on. There have been suggestions in the past that nurse training has become too academic.
Some places have started to trial ways of testing the emotional intelligence and bedside manner of students.
The commission said it should become commonplace for universities and professional bodies to take into account compassionate values as much as they do qualifications.
Sir Keith Pearson, co-chairman of the commission, said: "We've been deeply saddened by the reports highlighting the undignified care of older people in our hospitals and care homes.
"In too many cases, people have been let down when they were vulnerable and most needed help. We want this report to be a call to arms."
But Peter Cater, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, suggested the most important factor when it came to standards was ensuring there were enough staff.
"It is absolutely critical that hospitals and care homes employ safe numbers of nurses with the correct skill mix. This is the key challenge that must be met."
Roswyn Hakesley-Brown, of the Patients Association, said the recommendations were a "step forward".
But she added without action on the ground it would be of no comfort to the people "who contact our helpline every day to tell us their loved ones are being left without adequate pain relief, are not being helped to eat and drink or who are left to lie in their own faeces because a nurse says she is too busy to help them to the toilet".
Care services minister Paul Burstow said the commission had made some good recommendations and he would be looking to work with the group to improve standards.
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Dereck Chisora has been suspended indefinitely by the World Boxing Council for his behaviour surrounding his recent fight with Vitali Klitschko.
British heavyweight Chisora was involved in a violent confrontation with David Haye in the press conference after his defeat by the Ukrainian.
The WBC said it was "one of the worst behaviours ever by a professional."
It has demanded Chisora, 28, seeks anger management treatment before considering whether to lift the suspension.
The Londoner, ranked 14th in the WBC's heavyweight division, will also be taken out of the organisation's rankings.
Jose Sulaiman, president of the WBC, said the authority would also look to impose a "serious" fine on the Zimbabwe-born fighter.
"The WBC is absolutely condemning behaviours that are not to be accepted in boxing under any circumstances and will act as soon as it can proceed to impose the fines and sanctions as we consider necessary," said a statement issued by the organisation.
"Boxers are gentlemen and show to the world an example of honour and fair play when, after a tremendous battle, they go to the centre of the ring to pay respect to each other.
"Dereck Chisora is not going to tarnish the sport for those born in the humblest beds, who become sports heroes of the world to live a life of dignity and pride."
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28 February 2012Last updated at16:51 ET
Scores of people have died in the past week alone, activists say
More than 7,500 people have died in Syria since security forces launched a crackdown on dissent last March, a senior United Nations official says.
Under-Secretary-General for political affairs Lynn Pascoe said there were "credible reports" the toll often exceeded 100 civilian deaths per day.
Syrian forces pounded residential areas in Homs and elsewhere, on Tuesday, killing scores, activists reported.
Meanwhile, a UK journalist hurt in Homs last week, was smuggled to safety.
Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy is reported to be safe and well in Lebanon, but the whereabouts of Frenchwoman Edith Bouvier, who has a broken leg, and two colleagues is unclear.
The four journalists left Homs together but their convoy was shelled and they were separated, said the Avaaz campaign group, which said it co-ordinated the rescue attempt.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy withdrew an earlier statement that Ms Bouvier had reached safety in Lebanon.
The UN's new estimate of the number of deaths came at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
"There are credible reports that the death toll now often exceeds 100 civilians a day, including many women and children," said Lynn Pascoe.
"The total killed so far is certainly well over 7,500 people."
In Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that President Bashar al-Assad fitted the definition of a war criminal.
The confusion surrounding the whereabouts of the wounded French reporter Edith Bouvier - and President Sarkozy's embarrassing admission that he had got it wrong in saying she had crossed safely into Lebanon - illustrate both the complications and the extreme dangers surrounding efforts to bring the trapped Western journalists to safety.
Necessarily, any attempt to extricate them has to be surrounded with secrecy, especially if it involves smuggling them across the Baba Amr battlefront and then the tense and dangerous terrain between Homs and the Lebanese border.
From several accounts, the four journalists came under shellfire as they were trying to escape, and the group got broken up.
The Avaaz group, which played a role in the operation, said many activists died while escorting the journalists.
The whereabouts of the missing three journalists remains unclear, though some relatives and other sources believe they may still be trapped in Baba Amr under shellfire.
She told a Senate hearing that an argument could be made for declaring the Syrian leader a war criminal.
Mrs Clinton added that such an action would complicate the chances of finding a solution to the violence - and tended to make it harder to persuade a leader to stand down.
An emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council was also held in Geneva, where commissioner Navi Pillay said atrocities against civilians were being committed.
Syria's representative to the UN, Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui, stormed out of the session, accusing countries of "inciting sectarianism and providing arms".
'Convoy shelled'
With no clear word on the fate of Ms Bouvier and her colleagues, campaign group Avaaz said activists had died taking part in the rescue attempt.
Executive director Ricken Patel said the rescue group had been split in two by shelling after leaving Homs, and only Mr Conroy's group had been able to move forward.
Avaaz described the three other journalists - Ms Bouvier, Javier Espinosa from Spain and Frenchman William Daniels - as "unaccounted for".
Mr Conroy was apparently able to walk across the border into Lebanon during the night, but the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut adds that the more seriously wounded Ms Bouvier would have had to be carried on a stretcher.
She and Mr Conroy were both hurt in the attack in which journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik died. There has been no word on what has happened to their bodies.
Reports on Tuesday said Homs had come under some of its heaviest bombardment yet, with the government sending in units of an elite armoured division into rebel-held districts.
The activists' network the LCC said 65 people were killed on Tuesday. Death tolls remain very hard to verify as media access across the country is tightly restricted.
'Crimes against humanity'
The emergency session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) discussed a confidential report delivered by a UN panel of experts that lists Syrian army officers and government officials who could be investigated for crimes against humanity.
Hillary Clinton: Assad 'fits definition' of war criminal
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has urged the 47 nations in the council to be prepared to submit a complaint against Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
"The task of the council is to express the disgust of the entire world at the odious crimes that the Syrian state is committing against its people," he said.
But the meeting is unlikely to bring about any change from the government in Damascus which is currently fighting for its survival, says Jim Muir.
It is more likely to put pressure on countries such as Russia and China, which have opposed any international action against Syria, he adds.
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28 February 2012Last updated at14:30 ET
Portchester School is offering counselling to its pupils
A 16-year-old boy has died after suffering a head injury at a Bournemouth school.
The teenager was injured at Portchester School at about 14:10 GMT on Monday and taken to Bournemouth Hospital.
He was later transferred to Southampton General Hospital in a "critical condition" before his death.
Police were called to the school and are continuing to investigate the incident.
Kim Drake, service director for children's social care at Bournemouth Borough Council, said: "We have set up a counselling service at the school to offer pupils, staff and parents support following the incident at the school and we are currently working with both the school and the police with their investigation."
18.43
Antonio
