![Satellite's fall to Earth slows]()
A six-ton Nasa satellite on a collision course with Earth is clinging to space, apparently flipping position in its ever-lower orbit and stalling its death plunge.
The old research spacecraft was on target to crash through the atmosphere during Friday night or early on Saturday, putting Canada and Africa in the potential crosshairs, although most of the satellite should burn up during re-entry. The United States was not entirely out of the woods as the possible strike zone skirted Washington state.
"It just doesn't want to come down," said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics.
Mr McDowell said the satellite's delayed demise demonstrates how unreliable predictions can be. That said, he explained that "the best guess is that it will still splash in the ocean, just because there's more ocean out there".
Until Friday, increased solar activity was causing the atmosphere to expand and the 10-metre, bus-size satellite to fall more quickly. But late on Friday morning, Nasa said the sun was no longer the major factor in the rate of descent and that the satellite's position, shape or both had changed by the time it slipped down to a 100-mile orbit.
"In the last 24 hours, something has happened to the spacecraft," said Nasa orbital debris scientist Mark Matney.
On Friday night, Nasa said it expected the satellite to come crashing down while passing over the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as Canada, Africa and Australia.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, will be the biggest Nasa spacecraft to crash back to Earth, uncontrolled, since the post-Apollo 75-ton Skylab space station and the more than 10-ton Pegasus 2 satellite, both in 1979.
People can take comfort in the fact that no-one has ever been hurt by falling space junk - to anyone's knowledge - and there has been no serious property damage. Nasa put the chances that somebody on Earth would get hurt at one in 3,200. But any one person's odds of being struck were estimated at one in 22 trillion, given there are seven billion people on the planet.
Any surviving wreckage belongs to Nasa, and it will be against the law to keep or sell even the smallest piece. There are no toxic chemicals on board, but sharp edges could be dangerous, so the space agency is warning the public to call police if they find any.
More than 12,000 Muslims are to attend a peace conference at Wembley Arena.
The Peace for Humanity event is to be addressed by a leading Islamic scholar who will call for an end to terrorism and violence.
Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, founder of Islamic organisation Minhaj-ul-Quran International, which is behind the London conference, will issue a declaration for global peace, saying: "We reject unequivocally all terrorism because at the heart of all religions is a belief in the sanctity of the lives of the innocent.
"The indiscriminate nature of terrorism, which has in recent years killed far more civilians and other non-combatants than it has combatants."
Video messages of support from Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband will be shown to those attending.
Mr Miliband said in his message that the "values of tolerance, understanding and of bringing people together" demonstrated by the conference was "exactly what our society needs".
He said: "A month or so ago we saw the terrible riots that affected some of our major cities but what we also saw was the vast majority of people, right across this country, coming out, cleaning up and saying 'no' to the violence that we saw on our streets.
"It's exactly that message of peace, harmony and working together that I know your conference is designed to promote. And indeed the way you come at the issues that you'll be talking about today, your faith, is such an important part of British life."
Mr Clegg said: "Your conference today is even more important than usual - coming together to talk openly and candidly about the issues that can divide people but crucially the values that unite us too, tolerance, human rights, peace, and belief in opportunity for all, a faith in young people and their potential to learn from our mistakes, from the mistakes of the past, to help tackle discrimination and prejudice, building communities that are strong, where we take on our problems together."
A collective multi-faith prayer will be said at the event, and a campaign to get a million signatures to back the declaration for peace will be launched.
Children are growing up too quickly because of a combination of early testing in school, advertising, bad childcare, and a reliance on computer games and television, experts have warned.
The group of over 200 teachers, academics, authors, charity leaders and other experts have written to the Daily Telegraph to call for people to come together to "interrupt the erosion of childhood".
The group includes novelist Philip Pullman, Oxford University neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield, and emeritus professor of economics at the London School of Economics Lord Layard.
They write: "Our children are subjected to increasing commercial pressures, they begin formal education earlier than the European norm, and they spend ever more time indoors with screen-based technology, rather than in outdoor activity. The time has come to move from awareness to action.
"We call on all organisations and individuals concerned about the erosion of childhood to come together to achieve the following: public information campaigns about children's developmental needs, what constitutes 'quality childcare', and the dangers of a consumerist screen-based lifestyle; the establishment of a genuinely play-based curriculum in nurseries and primary schools up to the age of six, free from the downward pressure of formal learning, tests and targets; community-based initiatives to ensure that children's outdoor play and connection to nature are encouraged, supported and resourced within every local neighbourhood, and the banning of all forms of marketing directed at children up to at least age seven."
The letter comes five years after many of the same experts wrote to the newspaper urging the Government to stop children being poisoned by the modern world.
Their comments led to an inquiry into the state of childhood by the Children's Society, which was concerned about rising levels of depression among youngsters in the UK. But the group believe that "the erosion of childhood in Britain has continued apace since 2006".
They concluded: "It is everyone's responsibility to challenge policy-making and cultural developments that entice children into growing up too quickly - and to protect their right to be healthy and joyful natural learners."
The letter was circulated by Dr Richard House, senior lecturer at Roehampton University's Research Centre for Therapeutic Education. Other signatories include childcare expert Dr Penelope Leach, clinical psychologist Oliver James and ex-London Schools Commissioner Sir Tim Brighouse.
Dr House told the Telegraph: "The inexorable momentum of modern technological life is such that despite the awareness raised through the September 2006 Telegraph open letter on toxic childhood, matters have improved very little since then."
The Duke of Cambridge has given an insight into his close relationship with the Queen, describing the long-standing monarch as "incredible".
In a candid interview, William said the bond between them has gone from "strength to strength" over the years and revealed that he treats her first and foremost as a grandmother rather than the head of state of the United Kingdom.
"I say to people: 'She's my grandmother to me first and then she's the Queen'. Words that come from her I take very personally and really appreciate," said the heir to the throne.
William made the revelations during an interview with journalist Robert Hardman, who was given access to the young royal for his new book Our Queen which is being serialised in the Daily Mail.
He continued: "My relationship with my grandmother has gone from strength to strength. As a shy, younger man it could be harder to talk about weighty matters. It was: 'This is my grandmother who is the Queen, and these are serious historical subjects'.
"As I've got older, she's become an even more important part of my life, so it's much easier. And obviously with the wedding it was a massive help."
"There's no question you can ask, and no point you can raise, that she won't already know about - and have a better opinion about," William said.
"She's very up for that sort of thing. And for me particularly being the young bloke coming through, being able to ask my grandmother, ask her questions and know that there's sound advice coming back is very reassuring."
The RAF helicopter pilot also spoke of how the Queen sent him a letter of congratulations following his trip to meet victims of the Australian floods and New Zealand earthquake earlier this year.
"It's funny, but when you get a letter from her or a bit of praise it goes a long, long way, more so than anyone else saying 'well done' to you. It's mainly because there's such gravitas behind the words," he said.
New allegations about the phone-hacking scandal have hit News International, with claims of more victims and fresh legal rows.
It was revealed tonight that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson is suing News Group Newspapers, the publishing arm of the media giant. Papers were served at the High Court on Thursday "regarding the termination of the payment for his legal action".
A spokesman for law firm DLA Piper, which represents Mr Coulson, said: "We can confirm that proceedings have been issued."
News International declined to comment. It had been reported earlier this month that News International was paying DLA Piper for their legal advice to Mr Coulson following his arrest.
Mr Coulson resigned from his position as Prime Minister David Cameron's spin chief in January and was later arrested on suspicion of corruption and phone hacking. He is on police bail.
It has also emerged that the family of Jade Goody fear the late celebrity could have had her phone hacked and are reportedly set to contact Scotland Yard. The police force said it would not comment on individual cases.
Publicist Max Clifford told The Guardian that Ms Goody's mother Jackiey Budden also believes she was targeted. He said: "She will be going to the police. She believes her phone was hacked by the News of the World, and Jade's. Jade told me, 'I'm convinced my phone is being hacked'."
News International also declined to comment on the allegations.
In addition, it has been alleged tonight that Neil Wallis, the former deputy editor of News of the World was paid more than £25,000 by News International while working at Scotland Yard as a police consultant.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said that Mr Wallis's contract with the police force included confidentiality, data protection and conflict of interest clauses, all of which would have prohibited him from selling on any information while employed by them.
A man and woman are being questioned by detectives after the decomposing body of a three-and-a-half-year-old boy was discovered inside a family home.
Police found the body of the youngster at a mid-terrace house in Crofton Road in the Heaton area of Bradford after "concerns were raised about the occupants".
The female suspect, 41, named locally as Amanda Hutton, was arrested along with a 22-year-old man. Both remain in police custody. It is understood the dead toddler is the woman's son Hamza.
West Yorkshire Police said they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation.
Officers have given out few details about how or where the youngster was found but it is understood he may have been dead for a considerable period of time - possibly months.
Neighbours living on the quiet suburban street expressed their shock in the wake of the police investigation.
They said the house was occupied by a woman and her large family who had lived at the property for about two years.
One neighbour said she did not know the woman or her family very well but would often see her bringing in the shopping. She had not seen much of her in recent weeks.
The neighbour, who has lived in the street for six years, said: "It's just such a terrible shock. This really is a quiet area. No-one knows what's happened. It's just incredibly sad."
She said the street was generally problem-free but that there had been trouble recently with some members of the family under investigation for throwing rubbish in other people's gardens. The woman said she thought this was why police were called to the house on Wednesday.
A six-ton Nasa satellite on a collision course with Earth is clinging to space, apparently flipping position in its ever-lower orbit and stalling its death plunge.
The old research spacecraft was on target to crash through the atmosphere during Friday night or early on Saturday, putting Canada and Africa in the potential crosshairs, although most of the satellite should burn up during re-entry. The United States was not entirely out of the woods as the possible strike zone skirted Washington state.
"It just doesn't want to come down," said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics.
Mr McDowell said the satellite's delayed demise demonstrates how unreliable predictions can be. That said, he explained that "the best guess is that it will still splash in the ocean, just because there's more ocean out there".
Until Friday, increased solar activity was causing the atmosphere to expand and the 10-metre, bus-size satellite to fall more quickly. But late on Friday morning, Nasa said the sun was no longer the major factor in the rate of descent and that the satellite's position, shape or both had changed by the time it slipped down to a 100-mile orbit.
"In the last 24 hours, something has happened to the spacecraft," said Nasa orbital debris scientist Mark Matney.
On Friday night, Nasa said it expected the satellite to come crashing down while passing over the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as Canada, Africa and Australia.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, will be the biggest Nasa spacecraft to crash back to Earth, uncontrolled, since the post-Apollo 75-ton Skylab space station and the more than 10-ton Pegasus 2 satellite, both in 1979.
People can take comfort in the fact that no-one has ever been hurt by falling space junk - to anyone's knowledge - and there has been no serious property damage. Nasa put the chances that somebody on Earth would get hurt at one in 3,200. But any one person's odds of being struck were estimated at one in 22 trillion, given there are seven billion people on the planet.
Any surviving wreckage belongs to Nasa, and it will be against the law to keep or sell even the smallest piece. There are no toxic chemicals on board, but sharp edges could be dangerous, so the space agency is warning the public to call police if they find any.
Secret records from the earliest days of the Special Air Service (SAS) carrying out daring attacks behind Nazi lines in north Africa and France have been published in a new book marking the regiment's 70th anniversary.
The tome includes first-hand reports from the special forces unit's disastrous first operation in November 1941, from which only 22 of the 65 soldiers who took part returned.
It also features the succinct orders for an ambitious but unsuccessful mission to "kill, or kidnap and remove to England" German commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in France in 1944.
The 600-page book, entitled The SAS War Diary 1941-45, collects rare and previously undisclosed documents detailing how the regiment was born out of fighting against Italian and German forces in the deserts of north Africa during the Second World War.
It goes on to describe the elite unit's role in the invasions of Sicily and Italy, as well as in the D-Day landings in France.
A former SAS soldier began the diary to preserve records and photographs of the regiment's incredible wartime exploits after it was disbanded in 1945 at the end of hostilities.
Its existence remained a secret even within the SAS for 50 years but it has now been expanded and is being made public for the first time.
The lavishly-produced book is being published in a series of limited editions, including one set of 100 copies signed by Sergeant Jimmy Storie, the last surviving veteran who took part in Operation Number One.
Viscount Slim, a former SAS officer and president of the SAS Regimental Association, said: "The SAS War Diary is an icon. The fact that its existence has been a secret for over 50 years - even within the regiment - is incredible.
"I can think of no better way of marking the 70th anniversary of the SAS than allowing it to break cover."
A mother has appeared in court charged with the murder of her four-year-old daughter.
Chantelle Blake, 31, was arrested on Thursday when the body of the child, named locally as Kaiya, was found at their home in Manchester.
The alarm was raised by the city's Royal Infirmary when Blake attended the hospital that evening and "expressed concerns" about the child, Greater Manchester Police said.
Nursing staff contacted police who forced entry to Blake's house in Garthorne Close, Moss Side, and discovered Kaiya's body.
It is thought the little girl was suffocated but a post mortem examination failed to establish a cause of death and more tests are planned.
Detectives charged Blake with murder earlier and she appeared before Manchester City Magistrates' Court.
During the two-minute hearing the mother, who was wearing a blue tracksuit and had a bandage around her right wrist, spoke only to confirm her name and date of birth.
Two police officers followed the proceedings from the public gallery. No application for bail was made and bench chairman John Roberts remanded Blake in custody to appear at Manchester Crown Court on Monday.
It has emerged that there has been previous contact between the family and police and other agencies.
Six people, including three children, two teenagers and an adult have died following a house fire in Neasden, north west London, the London Fire Brigade has said.
Emergency workers were called to the semi-detached property in Sonia Gardens during the early hours of Saturday morning after a blaze took hold of the ground and first floors.
Two other people who escaped from the burning home, believed to be a man and a 16-year-old girl, were taken to hospital with burn injuries, officials said.
It is believed all the victims, which include a boy of five, are members of the same family.
The fire is being treated as unexplained, and the Metropolitan Police and LFB have begun an investigation, a police spokesman said.
Around 30 firefighters from Willesden, West Hampstead, North Kensington and Park Royal fire stations were called to the serious blaze at around 1am, fire officials said.
They were joined by officers from the Met and medics from London Ambulance Service.
A LFB spokesman said: "It is understood that there were six fatalities - it is thought that this may be three children, two teenagers and one adult, but we await confirmation.
"Two further people escaped from the house before firefighters arrived at the scene, both were injured and were taken to hospital by ambulance."
An LAS spokeswoman said that the two injured victims, a 55-year-old man and 16-year-old girl, were taken to Saint Mary's Hospital in Paddington.
An Italian prosecutor is firing back at independent forensic experts who reviewed - and trashed - the DNA evidence used to convict American student Amanda Knox of murder.
Manuela Comodi was wrapping up the prosecution case in the appeals trial of Knox and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito.
The prosecution is asking the appeals court to uphold their conviction, insisting they killed Meredith Kercher, a British student who was Knox's housemate, in 2007.
The DNA review found the evidence unreliable and possibly contaminated, significantly weakening the prosecution's case.
Comodi maintained the evidence can stand. Defending the original investigation, she held a bra in court to show how it was cut from Kercher's body.
Knox and Sollecito deny any wrongdoing.
Mahmoud Abbas' bold bid for UN recognition of Palestinian statehood is doomed to fail but has won him admiration at home and re-energised international efforts to seek a negotiated settlement.
Thousands of jubilant, flag-waving Palestinians watching on outdoor screens across the West Bank, cheered their president on Friday as he submitted his historic request for a UN nod.
In Nablus, the crowd roared ecstatically when Mr Abbas, known as Abu Mazen, told the UN General Assembly that he had submitted the request for full UN membership.
In New York, Mr Abbas' speech was interrupted repeatedly by thunderous applause as he told the largely sympathetic gathering of world leaders that the Palestinians had had enough of negotiations that have foundered for nearly two decades and yielded few tangible results for the millions who live under Israeli occupation.
The new Palestine he envisioned would be in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in 1967.
"It is a moment of truth and my people are waiting to hear the answer of the world," Mr Abbas said. "At a time when the Arab peoples affirm their quest for democracy - the Arab Spring - the time is now for the Palestinian Spring, the time for independence."
UN chief Ban Ki-moon referred the statehood request to the Security Council, where US opposition is expected to shoot it down. The US - which maintains long-term peace can only be reached through negotiations - and Israel have also been pressuring council members to either vote against the plan or abstain when it comes up for a vote.
The vote would require the support of nine of the council's 15 members to pass, but even if the Palestinians could line up that backing, a US veto is assured.
The Security Council will meet on Monday to examine the Palestinian membership request.
Shortly after Mr Abbas submitted his formal application, international mediators called on Israelis and Palestinians to return to long-stalled negotiations and reach an agreement no later than next year.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has proposed Vladimir Putin as presidential candidate for 2012, almost certainly guaranteeing Putin's return to office.
Medvedev made the proposal in an address to a congress of United Russia, the pro-Kremlin party that dominates Russian politics.
There was no immediate official reaction from Putin or the party, but the proposal brought a heavy round of applause from the congress delegates.
The proposal appears to end months of intense speculation over whether Medvedev would seek a second term or step aside for his powerful predecessor.
Nasa says that a defunct six-ton satellite has fallen from the sky.
The agency posted on its official Twitter site that the spacecraft crashed through the atmosphere early on Saturday morning. A location was not immediately known.
Most of it was believed to have burned up.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite was Nasa's biggest spacecraft to tumble out of orbit, uncontrolled, in 32 years.
UARS was launched aboard space shuttle Discovery in 1991. Nasa decommissioned the satellite in 2005, after moving it into a lower orbit that cut its life short by two decades.
Bits of space junk re-enter the atmosphere virtually every day. No injuries have ever been reported from it.
Details were still sketchy, but the US Air Force's Joint Space Operations Centre and Nasa say that the bus-sized satellite first penetrated Earth's atmosphere somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.
That doesn't necessarily mean it all fell into the sea. Nasa's calculations had predicted that the former climate research satellite would fall over a 500-mile swathe.
Some 26 pieces of the satellite - representing 1,200 pounds of heavy metal - were expected to rain down somewhere. The biggest surviving chunk should be no more than 300 pounds.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is the biggest Nasa spacecraft to crash back to Earth, uncontrolled, since the Skylab space station and the more than 10-ton Pegasus 2 satellite, both in 1979.
Vladimir Putin has said he will run for Russia's presidency in 2012, almost certainly ensuring a return to the office he previously held and foreshadowing years more of a strongman rule that many in the West have called a retreat from democracy.
If Mr Putin wins two presidential terms in a row, he will have been at the top of the Russian hierarchy for almost a quarter of a century.
In nominating Mr Putin, his United Russia party also approved his proposal that president Dmitry Medvedev take over Mr Putin's current role as prime minister.
Mr Putin took over the premiership after serving as president from 2000-2008, bowing to term limits. But he was always the more powerful figure, with Mr Medvedev viewed as a caretaker president.
During his presidency, Mr Putin ruled Russia with a steely command, bringing about a system known as "managed democracy" that saw opposition politicians all but eliminated from the national eye.
His personal popularity aided his manoeuvring. Many Russians view Mr Putin as the strong, decisive figure needed by a sprawling country troubled by corruption, an Islamist insurgency and massive economic inequality.
Mr Putin's nomination at a congress of the United Russia party on Saturday ends months of intense speculation as to whether he would seek to return to the Kremlin or whether he would allow the more mild-mannered and reform-leaning Mr Medvedev to seek another term in next year's election.
The presidential election, to be held on March 4, is preceded by national parliamentary elections on December 4, in which United Russia will seek to retain its dominance; the party has 312 of the 450 seats in the current parliament.
The period for formal submission of presidential candidates' names has not yet begun, and it is unclear who might choose to challenge Mr Putin for president.
Constitutional changes have extended the presidential term to six years from four beginning in 2012, meaning Mr Putin could stay on as president until 2024.
A leading Islamic scholar has received a standing ovation from thousands of UK Muslims as he denounced terrorism and called for peace.
Wembley Arena in north-west London was a sea of colourful robes as an estimated 12,000 Muslims gathered to give their backing to a global declaration of peace.
Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, founder of the Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) movement, was repeatedly applauded during a speech in which he said the "terrible" 9/11 attacks in the US had distorted perceptions of Islam over the past decade.
"In spite of statements and memorandum and condemnation of the terror, the voices of the 99% true, peace-loving Muslims have not been heard, they have been drowned out by the clamour and the noise of extremists," he said.
"Islam has nothing to do with any act of terrorism. We reject every act of extremism and terrorism unconditionally."
Dr Qadri's speech was the keynote address at the peace for humanity conference organised by MQI.
The conference heard a series of lengthy and impassioned speeches, some in Arabic, from Islamic scholars denouncing terrorism and extremism.
There were also prayers for peace from a range of representatives from different religions including the Bishop of Barking, the Rt Rev David Hawkins, Jewish rabbis and representatives from the Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh faiths.
The declaration of peace includes a call for democracy and good governance in the Muslim world, respect for human rights, and alleviation of poverty throughout the world.
Dr Qadri's speech was made in spite of death threats he has received after issuing a fatwa against terrorism last year.
A man has been charged with contaminating packs of Nurofen Plus which were found to contain anti-psychotic and anti-epileptic drugs, police said.
Christopher McGuire, 30, of no fixed abode, was arrested on Friday and has been charged with one count of contamination of goods, and two counts of administering a noxious substance, the Metropolitan Police said.
He will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday.
Reckitt Benckiser, manufacturer of the drug, recalled the product on August 26 and halted distribution after discovering five boxes contained other companies' medicines.
It estimated some 250,000 packets were still in customers' hands.
Four of the affected boxes were found to contain the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel XL 50mg and one packet contained Pfizer's anti-epileptic medication, Neurontin, in 100mg capsules.
The Met's Specialist Crime Directorate, which tackles serious and organised crime, is leading the probe and has been examining the entire production line of the drug as part of the inquiry.
A spokesman for the Met said unemployed McGuire had been charged with one count of contamination of goods, contrary to the Public Order Act 1986, and two of administering a noxious substance, which is contrary to the Offences Against The Person Act.
Chancellor George Osborne has warned that the global economic crisis has reached a "dangerous phase", but he hailed progress in agreeing emergency action.
He said finance ministers are "optimistic that we have taken a step towards resolving it" following crunch talks in Washington DC.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials said they have been encouraged by the willingness of eurozone governments to do what is necessary.
They said the situation remains "precarious", but they noted a "very clear recognition by ministers of the gravity of the situation we are in".
Speaking after the talks, Mr Osborne said: "I think there is a recognition here that the debt crisis has reached a dangerous phase. But we are optimistic that we have taken a step towards resolving it.
"The countries of the eurozone, which are at the epicentre of this crisis, understand that they need to take decisive action and that the rest of the world is there ready to help them. We are making progress but there are still a lot of challenges ahead."
On Friday, the Chancellor said eurozone countries had just six weeks to devise a long-promised solution to the crippling debt crisis, suggesting a meeting of the G20 nations in France in November is the deadline for action.
He insisted no specific plan had been put forward to deal with a Greek default, amid reports that G20 ministers had privately accepted that it is likely to happen.
"No one here has put forward a plan for a Greek default," he told Sky News. "Greece has its programme. Its got to meet its conditions but it is also clear that the eurozone has to deal decisively with their issues.
"At this meeting we have seen the eurozone understand that they are at the epicentre of this global debt crisis, that it has entered a dangerous new phase and that the sooner we resolve it the better for the whole global economy."
Tens of thousands of victims are being let down by a criminal justice system which fails to recognise stalkers, campaigners have said.
Only offenders whose behaviour escalates to violence are handed substantial jail terms, leaving victims suffering years of abuse, and a new stalking law needs to be brought in to tackle the problem earlier, the probation union Napo said.
The call comes as shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper committed the Opposition to the move in a speech to Labour women gathering for the party's annual conference.
She blamed a "lack of clarity" in the law for allowing stalking cases to escalate into still more "heinous" crimes against both women and men.
Some 120,000 victims, mostly women, are stalked each year, but just 53,000 are recorded as crimes by police and only one in 50 of these lead to an offender being jailed, Napo said.
Harry Fletcher, the union's assistant general secretary, added: "Unless stalking laws are reformed and therefore treated seriously, women will continue to be assaulted, psychologically harmed and even murdered."
Last week, an unemployed 22-year-old man from Nottingham who stalked his girlfriend online for years without her knowing it was him admitted causing harassment when he appeared before magistrates.
Ruth Jeffery, 22, said Shane Webber, who faces up to five years in jail when he is sentenced next month, had "wrecked the past three-and-a-half years of my life".
Laura Richards, a psychologist with Protection Against Stalking, said: "Too often the pattern of stalking behaviour and the escalation is missed by professionals.
"The psychological terror and fear goes unrecognised. Incidents tend to be seen in isolation and it is only when the most serious assaults happen that it is taken seriously, but by then it is all too late."
Reports that the speed limit will be raised to 80mph on motorways to shorten journeys and help boost the economy have been described as "speculation" by the Department for Transport.
A review of road safety is expected to conclude that the increase from the current 70mph limit should be made official, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
The newspaper said there is understood to be a "broad agreement" within the coalition Government and civil servants over the issue, with the only question being the timing of the announcement.
A condition would be likely to be that an 80mph limit would be more strictly enforced, to prevent the usual speed rising to 90mph, the newspaper said. There would also be more 20mph zones in residential areas.
A Department for Transport spokesman described the report as "speculation".
He said: "We need to make sure that we are looking at the right criteria when considering what level speed limits should be set at.
"This means looking at the economic benefits of shorter journey times as well as considering other implications such as road safety and carbon emissions.
"Any proposal to change national speed limits would be subject to full public consultation."
