The US and and five Arab countries have launched air strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria for the first time, using fighter jets, bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from ships in the region.

Damascus said Washington informed Syria's United Nations envoy before the attacks began.

The strikes in a country whose three-year civil war has given the brutal militant group a safe haven were part of the expanded military campaign President Barack Obama authorised nearly two weeks ago in order to disrupt and destroy the Islamic State (IS) militants.

Miliband: 10 years to a new Britain

Ed Miliband is expected to pledge more funding to bolster the health service today as he unveils a 10-year plan to rebuild Britain.

There is widespread speculation the Labour leader will use his final conference speech before the general election to signal that money will be redirected to the NHS - and possibly to social care.

But he will stress the party's commitment to fiscal discipline, insisting a "world class" country can be achieved without "big spending".

Cameron to meet Iran president

David Cameron is to meet the president of Iran to urge him to join an international effort to tackle the Islamic State (IS) terror group and drop his country's support for the Assad regime in Syria.

The meeting with Hassan Rouhani, at a crucial United Nations summit in New York, will be the first time a British prime minister has held face-to-face bilateral talks with an Iranian president since the country's Islamic revolution in 1979.

It marks Mr Cameron's determination to enlist the active support of regional powers in the Middle East in taking on IS, which has seized control of swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria and carried out a string of atrocities against local people and foreigners as it seeks to impose its own brand of extremist Sunni Islam.

Beaten Salmond in Holyrood return

Alex Salmond will return to Holyrood today for the first time since his bid for Scottish independence failed.

Mr Salmond, who has announced his intention to step down as First Minister, is expected to reflect on the independence referendum and put pressure on the victorious unionist parties to deliver on their devolution pledges in a statement to the Scottish Parliament.

Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick will open today's proceedings with "time for reflection", a Holyrood slot normally reserved for spiritual or philosophical contributions from religious or secular figureheads.

Child early development failing

Half of children have not attained their expected level of development when they move on from reception to their first year of school, new figures suggest.

Only 52% of five-year-olds in England have reached a "good" level of development, the data shows.

As few as 28% of children have reached this level in some parts of the country, experts from University College London's Institute of Health Equity said.

Phones 4U to axe 1,700 jobs

Beleaguered mobile phone retailer Phones 4u is to close 362 stores, with the loss of nearly 1,700 jobs, administrators have said.

A further 720 staff have been retained to assist with the closure programme, PwC said.

It comes after Phones 4u went into administration last week following network operator EE's decision not to renew its contract.

Web trolls threaten actress Emma

Internet trolls on the site which hosted naked celebrity photos have made what appears to be a threat to film star Emma Watson just hours after she addressed the United Nations on gender equality.

A web page entitled Emma You Are Next, featuring an image of the Harry Potter star next to a countdown, appeared to have been created by a user of image-sharing website 4chan, on which lewd photos of celebrities including actress Jennifer Lawrence and model Kate Upton were posted last month.

It came hours after Watson, 24, a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, launched the HeForShe campaign in a speech at the world body in which she appealed to men to speak out for equality.

Stephen's cancer signs ignored: mum

The mother of "bucket list" cancer patient Stephen Sutton has said signs of her son's illness were "ignored".

Jane Sutton said it took several months for Stephen's condition to be recognised.

The 19-year-old went on to become a household name when his list of accomplishments and cheerful disposition won him a legion of celebrity fans and prompted the biggest fundraising effort in the Teenage Cancer Trust's history.

Army in 'biggest laser quest game'

Thousands of soldiers have begun the world's biggest game of laser quest as they take part in a simulated battle.

Lasting eight days and set in 1,160 square miles of Canadian prairie, the training exercise sees about 2,000 soldiers along with hundreds of tanks and other vehicles kitted out with laser guns and hi-tech sensors similar to those used in the futuristic war game.

The massive war game is part of a bid to ensure troops are at their highest level of readiness should British armed forces be called upon to intervene in a conflict anywhere in the world.

Alice: Divers continue river search

Police frogmen are continuing to search a river near to where missing teenager Alice Gross was last seen as a knife found in the water is sent for forensic analysis.

Hundreds of officers have been involved in the hunt for the 14-year-old since she disappeared more than three weeks ago and attention will again focus on the River Brent and its banks near Ealing Hospital in west London.

The knife was recovered from the river in front of press photographers, a spokesman said, as Scotland Yard issued a further appeal for information on her whereabouts and that of Arnis Zalkalns, who has been identified as a suspect.

Search to resume for missing man

A search for a man believed to have disappeared in the sea after attempting to save his dog will resume this morning.

The man has been missing off the coast of Hendon beach in Sunderland since around 4pm yesterday.

A woman who also went into the water was rescued by an RNLI crew shortly after the first emergency call was received and taken to hospital by ambulance.