Turkey's Erdogan Backs Return Of Execution

The Turkish President has told a rally of a million supporters he would approve the return of the death penalty.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the huge crowd that had gathered to hear him speak after a failed coup that if Parliament votes to bring back capital punishment, he would back it.

The move could scupper proposals for Turkey to join the EU which has collectively agreed to call for the universal abolition of the death penalty.

Council of Europe guidelines state that countries that join the EU are expected to commit themselves to moratoria and to ratify the 6th Protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) committing them to permanent abolition.

The rally Mr Erdogan was speaking at in Istanbul was designed to draw a line under the 15 July coup attempt that has since resulted in widespread arrests and a purge of swathes of Turkey's civil service.

In a speech to the Democracy and Martyrs' Rally, which was broadcast live on public screens across the country, the President said: "If the nation makes such a decision (in support of death penalty), I believe political parties will abide by this decision.

"It is the Turkish parliament that will decide on this (death penalty) given the sovereignty rests with the nation... I declare it in advance, I will approve the decision made by the parliament."

He went on to blame the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen for the coup attempt and said it must be destroyed within the framework of the law.

He went on to accuse Germany of being undemocratic by refusing to allow expat Turks living there to watch him speak over a video link.

He said: "Where is democracy? Let them nourish the terrorists, it will come back to hit them."

German authorities prevented Erdogan from addressing a rally in Cologne last Sunday over a video link, prompting Ankara to summon Germany's charge d'affaires.

The rally follows concern in some European countries that the President's heavy-handed response to the coup has breached human rights and is itself stifling democracy.

Earlier, the Turkish head of the armed forces Hulusi Akar told the rally that "traitors" behind the attempted coup would be punished in the harshest way and thanked civilians for their role in putting it down.

The President's rally was supported by the leader of the main opposition party Kemal Kilicdaroglu who told the audience, made up mostly of supporters of the leading AK Party, that the coup had opened a "new door of compromise".

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, meanwhile, before Mr Erdogan spoke, threatened veto ongoing negotiations with Turkey over its attempts to join the European Union because the country has not made sufficient progress towards meeting the conditions of entry.

A deterioration in relations has the potential to put at risk the bloc's dependence on Ankara to prevent migrants heading further west.

Hurricane Earl Landslides Kill 38 In Mexico

At least 38 people have been killed in Mexico after mudslides sparked by heavy rain from Hurricane Earl.

Many died in landslides in Puebla state, in the country's mountainous north - 25 of them in the township of Huaucinango.

Gabriel Alvarado, mayor of Huauchinango, said: "It's a tragedy what has happened to our people in Huauchinango."

Another 10 of the dead were killed in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, in the towns of Cocomatepec, Tequila and Huayacocotla.

The heavy rain also forced the closure of the main highway connecting Mexico City to the region.

Hurricane Earl was briefly a Category One hurricane before it hit Belize and then Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

It built up strength after passing the Gulf of Mexico, before hitting the coast of Veracruz late on Friday.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Javier has formed off Mexico's Pacific coast with winds of about 45mph.

The storm is moving west-northwest at about 14mph and is expected to hit the southern portion of the Baja California Peninsula early on Tuesday.

Forecasters say it will bring between four and eight inches of rain and high winds.

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Passenger Killed 'Leaning From Train Window'

The passenger was travelling on the Gatwick Express when he was hit by another train

A man has died after leaning out of a train window and being hit by another train.

The Gatwick Express passenger was pronounced dead at the scene after the incident at Wandsworth Common station, London.

A spokeswoman for London Ambulance Service said they were called at 5.34pm.

"We sent an ambulance crew, a single responder and a car and an incident response officer to the scene alongside an air ambulance.

"We treated a person at the scene for a head injury but sadly they were pronounced dead by the doctor from the air ambulance."

A police cordon was in place around the entrance to the station.

Officers carried the man's body, wrapped in a blanket, to the back of a private ambulance.

They placed it carefully in the back before the vehicle was driven slowly from the scene.

Residents said they were shocked to see the air ambulance land on the common earlier in the afternoon.

One told the Press Association: "We were coming back across the common when we saw the helicopter land.

"It was at about 6pm. There were lots of police and ambulances there, it was disconcerting."

Another said: "I heard a man was hit by a train and heard the air ambulance land on the common. It's such a horrible thing to have happened."

A Gatwick Express spokesman said it first received reports about the incident at 5.45pm.

He said: "We have received reports of an incident on board a Gatwick Express train which was en route to Victoria from Gatwick this afternoon.

"The emergency services are in attendance at Wandsworth Common station. We have no further information at this stage."

A spokesman for British Transport Police said the incident was not being treated as suspicious.

A file is being prepared for the coroner.

Southern Rail, who run the Gatwick Express, tweeted that services between Victoria and Balham were being delayed.

"Emergency services dealing with an incident between Balham & Wandsworth Common," the tweet read.

Two Teenage Boys Missing Off Welsh Coast

A major search is under way to find two teenage boys who have disappeared while swimming off Barmouth beach in Wales.

The swimmers, aged 14 and 15, were part of a larger group visiting from Birmingham.

A Coastguard statement said: "It was reported that the people who got into difficulty in the water were part of a large group of visitors to the beach from Birmingham and the first respondent reported that they had lost sight of one of the people in the water.

"There is also another member of the group unaccounted for and the search continues for two missing people."

Local councillor Ann Griffith told the Daily Post the waters have been "very choppy" all day.

RNLI lifeboats, Coastguard rescue teams and the Coastguard helicopter from Caernarfon are all involved in the search.

Police are also assisting the operation and have urged people in a tweet to stay away from the beach.

Body Found In Search For Missing Teenager

Police searching for missing teenager Nathan Wood have found a body in the River Dart in Devon.

The 16-year-old boy was last seen in the Swallowfields area of Totnes around 6pm on Friday, heading towards the river.

The body was found by police divers around 12pm on Sunday and has not yet been formally identified.

But the youngster's family has been told of the discovery.

The boy went missing while possibly under the influence of a "psychoactive substance".

He had been out with a group of female friends.

Police dogs and a police helicopter as well the coastguard were involved in a major search for the teen, who came from the nearby town of Paignton.

Inspector Tracy Sharam said: "We would like to thank the community in Totnes for their support while the search has been underway for Nathan over the last few days.

"Our thoughts remain with the family at this difficult and upsetting time."

Body Found In Search For Missing Teenager

Police searching for missing teenager Nathan Wood have found a body in the River Dart in Devon.

The 16-year-old boy was last seen in the Swallowfields area of Totnes around 6pm on Friday, heading towards the river.

The body was found by police divers around 12pm on Sunday and has not yet been formally identified.

But the youngster's family has been told of the discovery.

The boy went missing while possibly under the influence of a "psychoactive substance".

He had been out with a group of female friends.

Police dogs and a police helicopter as well the coastguard were involved in a major search for the teen, who came from the nearby town of Paignton.

Inspector Tracy Sharam said: "We would like to thank the community in Totnes for their support while the search has been underway for Nathan over the last few days.

"Our thoughts remain with the family at this difficult and upsetting time."

PM 'Preparing To Lift Grammar Schools Ban'

Theresa May is said to be planning to allow a new wave of grammar schools for the first time in 20 years. 

A government source suggested bringing back academic selection in state schools would be part of her agenda to increase social mobility.

But lifting the ban on new grammar schools, imposed by Labour in 1998, would be highly controversial and put her on a collision course with the teaching establishment. 

Mrs May attended a grammar school and recently allowed a new "annex" for one in her Maidenhead constituency, which is permitted within the law.

The green light for a new generation of grammars, which now account for just 163 of the 3,000 state secondaries in England, would cheer Tory backbenchers who failed to win David Cameron's backing.

Downing Street said: "The Prime Minister has been clear that we need to build a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.

"Every child should be allowed to rise as far as their talents will take them and birth should never be a barrier.

"Policies on education will be set out in due course."

A government source told The Sunday Telegraph that grammars were about "social mobility and making sure that people have the opportunity to capitalise on all of their talents".

Education Secretary Justine Greening has said she is 'open' to reversing the ban

The report suggests an announcement may be made at the party conference in October.

Mr Cameron dropped the Conservative party's commitment to bringing back grammars in 2007 - accusing his party of "clinging to outdated mantras".

He said at the time that parents "don't want children divided into successes and failures at age 11".

He and his education secretary Michael Gove instead put their energies into expanding academies and free schools, which do not select by ability but are free from local authority control.

But Mrs May's education secretary Justine Greening said she was "open-minded" about allowing new grammar schools.

State-educated Miss Greening said the education system had changed "dramatically" from the "binary" choice between grammars and secondary modern schools of decades past. 

Her comments fuelled speculation that the new administration may change its policy by allowing some free schools and academies to introduce academic selection. 

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has vowed his party will work to block the move

Graham Brady MP, the chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, is a powerful supporter of grammar schools, who says they would "restore the ladder that used to take so many of us from modest backgrounds to the best universities and beyond".

But there are also strong opponents within the Tory party.

Ryan Shorthouse, of the Bright Blue think-tank of Tory modernisers recently said grammar schools are "not engines of social mobility" as only 3% of entrants are eligible for free schools meals, compared to an average of 18% of the children in these areas. 

Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw has said bringing back grammars would be a "disaster" and warned that they make nearby schools worse. 

Reversing the ban would require a change in the law, which could come this autumn with a new schools bill.

There would be strong opposition from other parties.

Labour's former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell said re-introducing grammar schools would be an "incredibly backward step".

She said: "All the evidence tells us that, far from giving working class kids chances, they entrench advantage and have become the preserve of the privately-tutored."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said his party "will work to block any Tory attempt to create grammar schools" - which his party could do in the House of Lords where the Tories lack a majority.