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Leaders of Thailand’s anti-government protesters say they will accept an offer by senators to mediate talks, amid growing pressure to end violence.

Five days of street clashes between troops and protesters in Bangkok have left 37 people dead and scores more injured.

A leader of the "red-shirt" protesters said the group would agree to the proposal to prevent more loss of life.

But it is not yet clear whether the government will take part in the talks.

BBC correspondents in Thailand say pressure is growing on both sides to end the crisis, amid high tension in the capital.

Late on Monday, the United Nations called on the protesters to "step back from the brink" and urged the government troops to exercise restraint.

On Tuesday sporadic outbreaks of violence continued, but the BBC’s South East Asia correspondent, Rachel Harvey, said that confrontations between troops and demonstrators appeared to be less intense than they once were.

But several thousand protesters remained inside the barricaded camp in the centre of Bangkok in continued defiance of government demands to leave.

Schools and government offices remained closed, with underground and elevated train services suspended.

The government is reported to have extended the public holiday until Friday to allow more time to resolve the crisis – which has seen gunfire and explosions at a number of sites around the protest camp.

The offer to mediate talks came from the head of Thailand’s Senate.

"We have agreed to take a new round of talks proposed by the Senate because if we allow things to go on like this, we don’t know how many more lives will be lost," red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikua told journalists.

Economy hit

There was no immediate response from the Thai government. Over the weekend it rejected a red-shirt proposal of UN-mediated talks, saying violence had to end and the protesters leave their camp before talks could take place.

On Tuesday the military held a news conference, showing footage which it said showed that the red-shirt protesters were aggressors in the fighting.

The red-shirts have been protesting in Bangkok since 14 March. They are currently occupying the shopping district, forcing hotels and shops to close and hitting the economy hard.

The protesters are a loose coalition of left-wing activists, democracy campaigners and mainly rural supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

They say the government is illegitimate because it came to power through a parliamentary deal rather than an election, and want fresh polls.

The Thai government says that hard-liners within the red-shirts are using innocent demonstrators as a shield behind which to create unrest.

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Five Pakistani students who were accused of planning a bomb attack will hear if they have won appeals against deportation from the UK.

The men were arrested last year in one of the UK’s most high-profile counter-terrorism operations.

The security services believed they were planning to attack within days, but none of the students was charged.

The group were told they would be banned from the UK, but five appealed, saying police and MI5 had got it wrong.

The controversial affair began last April when the Metropolitan Police’s then head of counter-terrorism, Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, accidentally revealed details of the investigation.

Shortly afterwards, police raided a series of locations across Liverpool, Manchsester and Lancashire, eventually detaining 11 men.

Ten of them were students from Pakistan,who were all either close friends or loosely known to each other.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said at the time that the security services were "dealing with a very big terrorist plot".

A covert investigation by MI5 had led officers to believe that one of the men, Abid Naseer, was the leader of a cell that was being guided by al-Qaeda in Pakistan.

No explosives were found and all of the men were released without charge after two weeks.

But they were immediately detained again under immigration laws after the then Home Secretary sought their deportation saying they were still a threat to national security.

After several months in prison, all but two left the UK. The remaining pair, Abid Naseer and Ahmad Faraz Khan, say they want to stay in the UK.

They both deny the allegations that they are involved in terrorism or al-Qaeda.

Three of the detainees who left the country, Abdul Wahab Khan, Shoaib Khan and Tariq ur Rehmanare also appealing against the deportation order.

The decision over the men’s future will be taken by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

The semi-secret tribunal has public sessions, but also hears evidence from MI5 officers behind closed doors.

Its ruling on whether the deportations are fair will indicate whether the courts accept MI5’s assessment of the men.

In his own report into the investigation, Lord Carlile, the terrorism laws watchdog, said that none of the arrests had been made "on a full evidential foundation" but that officers had moved in because they feared for public safety.

He said that the police had been "probably right" to launch such a massive operation, with gun-point arrests in public places – but added that detectives should have sought the advice of specialist prosecutors much earlier.

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A gay couple in Malawi could face 14 years in jail after being convicted of gross indecency and unnatural acts.

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The Unite union says it has filed for leave to appeal against a court ruling which blocked planned strikes by BA cabin crew.

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Cardinal Brady has said he will stay on as the Archbishop of Armagh.

He had been facing increasing pressure to resign after he participated in an investigation into clerical abuse.

It was revealed in March that the Cardinal was present when children signed vows of silence over allegations against a paedophile priest in 1975.

Dr Brady also revealed he has asked a Vatican inspection of child protection procedures to include a visit to the Armagh diocese.

His comments follow the publication of the Annual Report of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland.

It found that nearly 200 new allegations of abuse have been reported to the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog since April 2009.

In a statement, Cardinal Brady said he was committed with all his "human weaknesses to walk this journey of renewal and to discern God’s will for the Church at this time".

Dr Brady said the impact on abuse survivors of the "drip-by-drip revelation of past failings has to be addressed".

The Archbishop revealed he had held both public and private meetings with survivors of abuse.

"I also listened to people from the Diocese, in Parishes and in Diocesan groups."

Cardinal Brady said he was committed to building on the substantial progress made in child safeguarding in recent years and to achieve the objectives set out by Pope Benedict XVI in his pastoral letter to Irish Catholics.

He has also asked Pope Benedict for an additional bishop in the diocese.

Cardinal Brady said that he would be appointing a Director of Child Safeguarding for the diocese who would handle all future allegations of child abuse and report to civil authorities in both jurisdictions.

Sharing ‘soft information’

"In the future, it will be this statutory authority and not the Church (or any other organisation which works with children in Northern Ireland) that will decide who is permitted to work with children," he said.

" As part of our registration with this new Independent Safeguarding Authority, Bishops in Northern Ireland will give a commitment to sharing ‘soft information’ held or known about any person working in a Church context, as well as all allegations of abuse, with the new Authority."

The head of Ireland’s Catholics apologised in March for his role in mishandling the case of a serial child abuser.

As a priest in 1975 Cardinal Sean Brady was at meetings where children signed vows of silence over complaints against paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth.

The Catholic Church in Ireland released more details about why Cardinal Brady asked two victims, aged 10 and 14, to sign secrecy agreements.

The church said the boys were asked to sign oaths "to avoid potential collusion" in evidence-gathering for an internal church inquiry.

It added this this would ensure that the complaints could "withstand challenge."

The church statement did not explain why either Cardinal Brady or his superiors at the time did not share their information with the police. Fr Smyth went on to abuse more children in the following years.

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New rules to allow planes to fly at higher ash densities for a limited time will be introduced at noon on Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Authority has said.

To fly in the ash zone, airlines will need to get agreement from their aircraft and engine manufacturers.

The authority’s move has been welcomed by airlines, regulators and manufacturers.

It comes after heavy criticism of the current no-fly zone system by airline chiefs.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded by the latest raft of flight cancellations following airport closures across the UK.

All restrictions have now been lifted, after the volcanic ash cloud over UK airspace moved away, but knock-on disruption continues.

Airport operators are advising passengers to check for delays to their flights with airlines.

‘Exceptional features’

Air traffic control company Nats said it was "delighted" by the new measures, which meant there were "no predicted restrictions on UK airspace in the immediate future".

CAA chief executive Andrew Haines said "unprecedented situations" required "new measures" and the challenge posed by the volcano could not be underestimated.

"The world’s top scientists tell us that we must not simply assume the effects of this volcano will be the same as others elsewhere.

"Its proximity to the UK, the length of time it is continuously erupting and the weather patterns are all exceptional features.

"The answer can only come, therefore, from aircraft and engine manufacturers establishing what level of ash their products can safely tolerate," he said.

Jim French, chief executive of budget airline Flybe – the only airline so far to satisfy the CAA’s conditions – said he welcomed the move.

He said the airline had been forced to cancel 381 flights during the past 48 hours but if the new criteria had already been in place, it would have only affected 21 flights.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the CAA, aircraft and engine manufacturers and airlines had been working "extremely hard" to "get people flying".

Airline criticism

Airlines had been calling for the system – which uses Met Office data to set out no-fly zones – to be revised.

Earlier, British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh had said blanket bans on flying were "a gross over-reaction to a very minor risk" and called for a "much better and more sensible" approach.

Ash cloud forecast17 May 1800 GMT18 May 0000 GMT

Meanwhile Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said reliance on "outdated, inappropriate and imaginary" computer-generated volcano concentration charts was "ridiculous".

On Sunday, Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson called the closure of Manchester airport "beyond a joke".

The CAA had already raised the density threshold level that forces a flight ban once, following six days of airport closures in April.

Since the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted last month, throwing huge amounts of ash into the air, thousands of flights have been delayed or cancelled across Europe due to fears that ash could turn into molten glass within a hot jet engine, crippling the aircraft.

Stranded passengers

The latest UK disruption saw airspace over Northern Ireland close first on Saturday, before the cloud moved south and grounded flights in many parts of the UK on Sunday.

On Monday, thousands of passengers were left to rebook their flights or to wait in airports for new departure times.

Virgin Trains said 7,000 extra seats had been made available on Monday, mainly on routes between Birmingham and Glasgow and Edinburgh, and between London Euston and Glasgow.

Eurostar laid on six extra trains through the Channel Tunnel on Monday, amounting to about 5,500 additional seats.

In the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Rotterdam airports reopened from 1300 local time (1200 BST) after being closed for seven hours.

Among the affected travellers who contacted the BBC News website was Matt Pope, from Guildford, who e-mailed to say it was the third time the ash had disrupted his travel plans. On the first occasion he was stuck in North Carolina for six days.

He wrote: "Last weekend the Easyjet flight from Prague to Gatwick was cancelled due to aircraft positioning problems after ash in central Europe.

"This was after we ran the marathon and I missed my flight to Singapore the next day causing expensive rescheduling.

"Now I am sat at Heathrow awaiting for a flight to NY. Will this ever end?"

Are your travel plans likely to be affected by the latest disruptions? Will you make alternative travel plans? You can send us your comments Click here to add comments..

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A mother has appeared before a judge charged with the murder of her severely autistic 11-year-old son.

Yvonne Freaney, 48, of Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, was arrested after her son Glen was found dead at the Sky Plaza Hotel near Cardiff Airport on Saturday.

She made a brief appearance at Cardiff Crown Court.

Nicholas Cooke QC, Recorder of Cardiff, remanded her to a mental health clinic until she appears again at the same court next month.

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Gary Neville has questioned England manager Fabio Capello’s decision to pick Liverpool’s Glen Johnson as his sole right-back for the World Cup.

Johnson has established himself as England’s first-choice right-back under Capello, but suffered an injury-interrupted second half of the season.

And Neville said: "I’m surprised there is only one right-back in the squad."

Neville also labelled attempts to lure Paul Scholes out of international retirement "a bit desperate".

Despite failing in his attempt to bring Scholes back into the England fold, Capello did persuade Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher to return to the squad three years after his own international retirement.

And although Carragher has played the majority of his career at centre-back, his ability to cover either full-back position was seemingly key in Capello’s decision to overlook Manchester United’s Neville and Wes Brown.

However, Neville argued that Brown, who started at right-back when England beat Egypt in their last fixture as Johnson recovered from knee ligament damage, was unlucky to miss out.

"I wouldn’t say I’m overly disappointed not to be named in the initial 30-man squad, although I did think there was maybe a chance I could get in," added Neville, who made 15 Premier League starts last season but failed to add to his 85 England caps.

"I’m probably more surprised Wes Brown isn’t in the 30, to be honest."

Scholes, who retired from international football in 2004, appeared set for a return of his own before eventually rejecting Capello’s overtures.

And Neville admitted that courting Scholes made sense, even if it was unlikely to succeed.

"I’m not surprised Capello tried to get him out of retirement because if there’s one player I would try to pull out of retirement it’s Scholes," Neville said of his team-mate and fellow 35-year-old.

"Capello maybe got a bit desperate at the last minute and wanted Scholes because he’s still probably the best midfielder in England, but Scholes decided to stick to his guns."

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Men are more likely to tell lies than women and feel less guilty about it, says a survey.

In a poll of 3,000 people, researchers found that the average British man tells three lies every day, that’s equivalent to 1,092 a year.

However the average woman appears more honest, lying 728 times a year – around twice a day.

Mums are the people mostly likely to be lied to, says the Science Museum who commissioned the survey.

Twenty-five per cent of men say they’ve lied to their mother, but only 20% of women admit to having lied to their mum.

In comparison, only 10% of people said they are likely to lie to their partner.

Concerning the kind of lies we tell, men said that they most often lie to their partner about their drinking habits. "I didn’t have that much to drink" is men’s most popular fib.

Whereas women use the line, "Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine" most often to hide their true feelings.

"It’s just what I’ve always wanted" is the least likely lie to be told to a loved one by either men or women, suggesting that men and women are quite discerning when it comes to buying presents for each other.

Women are most likely to feel guilty after telling a lie. Eighty-two per cent say it eats away at their conscience, compared to just 70% of men.

Is there such a thing as an acceptable lie? Eighty-four per cent of people think there is. Three quarters of those surveyed believe it’s alright to fib if it’s to save someone’s feelings.

When it comes to the quality of the lie, 55% of Brits think women are the better liars, even though they tell fewer lies.

The survey found that 71% of people think it is fine to protect someone by telling a lie, and 57% would be happy to fib if they didn’t like a gift they’d been given.

Katie Maggs, associate medical curator at the Science Museum, says the jury’s out as to whether lying is a result of our genes, evolution or our upbringing.

"Lying may seem to be an unavoidable part of human nature but it’s an important part of social interaction," she says.

The museum in west London is launching a gallery called "Who am I?" which makes sense of brain science, genetics and human behaviour.

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US actor Dustin Hoffman is to make his directorial debut with a British comedy starring Dame Maggie Smith, for BBC Films.

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Midfielder Tim Cahill has signed a new four-year deal that is set to keep him at Everton until 2014.

The 30-year-old Australia international had two years remaining on his previous contract but Everton were keen to secure his long-term future.

The World Cup-bound midfielder has scored 56 goals in 209 games since arriving from Millwall in 2004.

Cahill told the club website before the end of the season: "The chairman knows my thoughts, I will sign for life."

He added: "He knows my thoughts on what I love about this club. I respect everyone so much and hopefully I am here for a long time."

More to follow

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At least 12 people have been killed in a bomb blast near a police vehicle in the north-western Pakistani town of Dera Ismail Khan.

Officials say the bomb was planted on a bicycle and targeted the town’s deputy police superintendent, who was killed along with his guard and driver.

Nobody has yet said they carried out the attack.

Dera Ismail Khan borders the tribal region of South Waziristan, where the army took on the Taliban last year.

Many people fled to the town after the army launched its offensive against militant strongholds in the volatile region.

While there has been a relative lull in violence in Dera Ismail Khan since the offensive, correspondents say many insurgents simply shifted to the nearby regions of Orakzai and Khyber.

"The target was Deputy Superintendent Iqbal Khan," a local police official told the BBC.

DSP Khan had been leaving his house in the Kutchi Painda Khan area of the city and getting into his car when the bomb was detonated by remote control, police said.

Hospital officials said the dead included women and children.

Are you in the area? Did you witness the explosion?

Send your comments using the post form below.

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A fast growing invasive plant spreading through parts of the US could increase ozone pollution near the ground, a study warns.

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The NHS in Scotland is to increase the amount of weight loss surgery it carries out, BBC Scotland can reveal.

Extra operations are to be offered at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank, Glasgow.

It will provide bariatric surgery – procedures to fit gastric bands and stomach stapling to restrict the amount of food people can digest.

The move comes after Scottish ministers announced plans in February to tackle the country’s obesity "timebomb".

NHS guidelines state that anyone who is so overweight that their life is at risk should be offered weight loss surgery, such as a gastric band, to restrict the amount of food they can eat.

In reality, however, severely obese people in Scotland face a long wait, if they ever get surgery at all.

First referrals

Last year more than 250 people were referred for weight loss surgery, but only 165 operations were carried out.

Most Scottish health boards do not offer it and the few that do often say they are overwhelmed by demand.

The Golden Jubilee Hospital will announce on Tuesday that it is to start performing gastric band operations.

A total of 60 procedures will be carried out next year for patients from the west of Scotland although health boards anywhere in Scotland will be able to refer patients in future.

In February, Scottish ministers announced plans to work with the food industry, business and schools to try to tackle Scotland’s obesity "timebomb".

The move came after a report suggested 40% of the population could be classed as obese by 2030.

Ministers believe the condition is a huge threat to Scotland’s future.

Obesity is thought to cost the NHS £475m a year, but projected estimates state this could rise to £3bn a year in two decades.

The Golden Jubilee Hospital was built as a private hospital in 1994 by Health Care International.

It was purchased by the NHS in 2002 at a cost of £37.5m to help reduce waiting times for treatment.

As well as that specialised function, it is also home to the West of Scotland Heart and Lung Centre.

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British Airways has won a High Court injunction to stop the latest strikes by its cabin staff. Do you agree with the decision?

The judge ruled that the union had failed to tell its members about a number of spoilt ballot papers in the latest strike votes. The union said it would appeal.

The union’s joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, said the decision brings into question whether we have the right to strike in this country” and announced the union would appeal the ruling.

Should courts stop strikes on technicalities? Does this bring to question the right to strike? Should both parts try to solve the dispute? Are you flying today? Has your flight been affected?

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