Britain looks set to ramp up its military involvement in the struggle against the Islamic State terror group, as David Cameron addresses the United Nations in New York.
Ahead of the address, Mr Cameron is likely to receive a formal Iraqi request for UK involvement in air strikes when he meets prime minister Haider Abadi, head of the new inclusive administration in Baghdad.
And he will become the first British Prime Minister since the Islamic Revolution 35 years ago to hold face-to-face talks with an Iranian president, as he seeks to enlist Hassan Rouhani into the international coalition being assembled by US president Barack Obama to tackle the Sunni extremists.
Please release Alan, urges wife
The wife of British hostage Alan Henning has urged Islamic State to release him after she received an audio message from her husband pleading for his life.
Barbara Henning called for the militant group to "open their hears and minds" and said she had been told that a Sharia court had found her husband innocent of being a spy.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, she said: "I have a further message for Islamic State.
Jihadi John: "We're getting warm"
Philip Hammond has said intelligence agencies are "getting warm" on the identity of the militant seen in Islamic State's (IS) beheading videos.
The Foreign Secretary also condemned the continuing hostage situation involving British aid worker Alan Henning, 47, after IS, also known as ISIL, sent an audio recording to his wife Barbara in which he pleads for his life.
It comes as the United States and Arab allies begun bombing parts of Syria where IS have gained a foothold, reportedly including the city of Raqqa where it is thought the former Salford taxi driver is being held.
Cooper vows to reverse police cuts
Yvette Cooper will today unveil plans to reduce cuts at the Home Office, restoring 1,000 police officers and halting the closure of domestic violence refuges.
The shadow home secretary will tell delegates in Manchester that Labour will reverse cuts to the police planned for next year if it wins power in May.
And she will tell the conference a national network of refuges is vital, with both pledges paid for by savings including the scrapping of police and crime commissioners.
Sturgeon to declare leadership bid
Nicola Sturgeon is today expected to formally announce her bid to become leader of the SNP and Scotland's First Minister.
Ms Sturgeon, who has been Deputy First Minister since the nationalists came to power at Holyrood in 2007, has emerged as the overwhelming favourite to take over the post from Alex Salmond.
He announced his intention to step down on Friday after Scotland voted against independence in last week's referendum.
Policy based evidence criticised
Politicians push for evidence that supports whatever initiative they back, but formal evaluation often shows such initiatives to have failed, according to a former health tsar.
"We need evidence based policy, not policy based evidence," says David Oliver, former national clinical director for older people at the Department of Health, in an article in The BMJ this week.
In July this year commissioners throughout England published projections for reductions in urgent admissions to their local hospitals. "But the size and speed of these reductions were not informed by any credible peer reviewed evidence - they rarely are," writes Professor Oliver, visiting professor of medicine for older people, School of Health Sciences, City University, London.
Statins increase diabetes risk
Cholesterol-lowering drugs taken by thousands of Britons can directly increase the risk of diabetes because of the way they function, research has shown.
Statins have previously been associated with higher rates of type 2 diabetes, but it was not clear whether the drugs were responsible or some other coincidental factor.
Now a study has produced strong evidence that the drugs' basic mechanism can lead to weight gain and a modest increase in diabetes risk.
Public sector strike chaos on the way
The Government is facing a series of strikes by public sector workers after an announcement that civil servants are to stage a national walkout next month.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will take industrial action on October 15 in a long-running row over jobs, pay and conditions.
Council workers will strike the previous day, while a day of action in the NHS is expected on October 13 in separate disputes over pay. The three days of disruption will be followed by a national protest in London organised by the TUC on October 18 under the slogan, Britain Needs A Pay Rise.
Family killer bids for estate cash
A man who stabbed to death his girlfriend and their six-year-old son will learn today whether his legal bid to inherit her estate has been successful.
Paul Chadwick, 35, is already entitled to half the proceeds of any sale of the bungalow they owned in Bolton-le-Sands, Lancashire, but he is also bidding for her half - worth £60,000 - as well as another £20,000 of assets in her name.
He says Marks & Spencer employee Miss Clay, 40, would have wished him to inherit the £80,000 and claims he was "very unwell" at the time of the killings on April 9 last year, which he added were "not by my hands".
Deaths fall with use of software
Death rates at two large hospitals fell by more than 15% after nurses started using handheld computers instead of paper charts to record patients' vital signs, according to new research.
The drop in mortality represented more than 750 lives saved in a single year across the two sites, the paper in BMJ Quality & Safety found.
Nurses record patients' blood pressure, pulse, oxygen levels and other indicators on the handheld devices.
