This week Yemen reaches a grim milestone: half a million people are sick with suspected cholera this year, almost 2,000 of whom have died. It’s the world’s worst cholera outbreak in the midst of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Conflict, hunger and disease are daily affairs in this war battered country: two thirds of the population – 17 million people – do not know where their next meal will come from; 5,000 more Yemenis fall ill with cholera or acute watery diarrhoea every day.

Cholera is an old and insidious disease. It thrives where there is famine, poverty, conflict and weak governance. It goes after the most vulnerable: half of all suspected cholera cases and a quarter of associated deaths in Yemen are among children; a third of those who die of cholera are aged over sixty. Hunger and malnutrition exacerbate vulnerability to cholera and acute watery diarrhoea – and disease, in turn, can drive malnutrition: a deadly cycle. Two weeks ago in Yemen, we met a young boy at al-Sabeen Hospital in Sana’a. Less than five years old, he was breathing heavily on a hospital bed, an IV attached to the veins of his small hands to help him battle cholera and malnutrition. We were so focussed on his desperate condition that we almost missed his mother, sitting nearby, who was also very ill, and needed attention. 

Their suffering is mirrored many thousands of times over across the country. 

While in Yemen, we talked with the sick, their families and the health workers caring for them.

We saw the tragic state of a health system in ruins, with less than half of its facilities able to offer the most basic medical care.

We saw the impossible conditions that health workers face day in day out; 30,000 have not been paid their salaries in nearly a year.

But we also saw that coordinated action can save lives and bring an end to this epidemic. 

More than 99 per cent of people sick with suspected cholera or severe acute watery diarrhoea who can access health services are now surviving.

The number of reported assaults in care homes has more than doubled in three years, shocking figures reveal today.

Police forces from across England and Wales received almost 2,500 reports of assaults in care homes in the 12 months to April – up from the 1,100 reported three years previously.

In total, officers recorded a staggering 5,400 reports of crimes in care homes last year – including reports of neglect, ill-treatment, blackmail and even a case of 'administered poison'.

Worryingly, the true toll of crime is likely to be even higher as less than half of police forces responded to the Freedom of Information request.

The figures are the latest to illustrate the scale of the crisis in the social care sector, which has been beset by funding problems, care home closures, staff shortages and allegations of ill-treatment. 

• Number of reported assaults in care homes has more than doubled in 3 years 
• Police forces from across England and Wales heard of almost 2,500 assaults 
• Officers recorded a staggering 5,400 reports of crimes in care homes last year 

A father died of an accidental overdose after taking 150 tablets a day of Imodium.

Aaron McCaffrey, 27, from Manchester became addicted to diarrhoea-relief tablets that he had stockpiled.

On January 13, he took a large quantity of painkillers and was found collapsed in a supermarket toilet.

He was taken to Tameside Hospital and was put into an induced coma, but died six days later. 

Today, a coroner called for a limit on the sale of the medication used by millions of people in Britain. Miss Harvey said she was told that medics had to wait for the drugs to leave her partner's system before he could be woken up from his coma.

But because the nature of the overdose was so unusual, doctors did not have any idea how long that would take.

'It was really scary, because in the beginning they didn't know how to treat him. They had to contact another hospital to ask how to,' she said in January. 

'For us it was scary because they said they hadn't seen anything like it and we didn't know what was going to happen to him.'

Miss Harvey said Mr McCaffrey was a 'fit young man' before his collapse. 

'This was a total shock to everyone when this happened, and of how it happened,' she said. 'He had four more cardiac arrests when he was in hospital and we were told that he had taken hundreds of pills on the day that he died. It was a shock to us as well that he had taken that much.'

The coroner has referred her findings to MHRA. A spokesman for the regulator said: 'Over-the-counter medicines are safe and effective when used in accordance with instructions on the label and in the patient information leaflet. There is a risk, however, with any medicine that people may deliberately or inadvertently misuse the product. Last year, doctors warned of an alarming new trend of people using anti-diarrhoea drugs such as Imodium to 'get high' - with fatal sometimes consequences.

Medics say the over-the-counter medication - which contains the active ingredient is loperamide - is being used recreationally and drug addicts are taking it to manage their addictions.

While loperamide works by reducing the movement in the intestinal wall - to prevent diarrhoea - some medical literature suggests at high doses it can cause euphoria.

But it is also extremely toxic to the heart - and the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine has documented the case of two people died of an overdose as a result of taking the drugs.

Dr William Eggleston, of the Upstate New York Poison Centre, and the study's lead author, said: 'Loperamide's accessibility, low cost, over-the-counter legal status and lack of social stigma all contribute to its potential for abuse.

A Lithuanian man today admitted killing a Buddhist widow in her £2million woodland home before burning her body in the garden.

Albertina Choules, 81, was found dead outside her isolated home in the rolling Buckinghamshire countryside in July last year after desperately calling the police to report an intruder.

The call handler could hear the chilling voice of a man in the background before the line went dead.

Tautvydas Narbutas, 24, today admitted hitting Mrs Choules over the head with a blunt instrument before dragging her outside and setting her body alight.

The prosecution accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter not murder because he has a 'psychotic disorder' that makes him less responsible for his actions. 

Narbutas also admitted affray for his 'abnormal' behaviour at the scene of the crime where he attacked two Thames Valley Police officers with a machete. Two charges of attempted grievous bodily harm were dropped. Psychiatrists for the Crown Prosecution Service and Narbutas' defence team agreed that his responsibility for the gruesome crime was 'severely diminished'.

Narbutas, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, today appeared at Reading Crown Courtcourt via video link from HMP Woodhill.

He wore a red, prison-issued jumper and only spoke only to enter his pleas. Through a Lithuanian translator he said: 'Not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.'

Prosecutor Alan Blake said today: 'We've carefully reviewed all the evidence and in particular the medical evidence.

'The mental abnormality is identified as arising from a psychotic disorder.

'With that consensus among the medical experts and the evidence of abnormal behaviour at the scene when the defendant was arrested we do not consider there is a realist prospect the jury would reject that medical evidence.

'Accordingly, we consider it proper to accept the plea that has been offered.'

The prosecution team met Mrs Choules' family on Monday before agreeing to accept the pleas he revealed.

Known fondly as 'Tina in the woods', she had spent decades transforming her Marlow gardens into a sculpture park complete with religious shrines. 

Fit and active, Mrs Choules grew all her own vegetables and even used a chainsaw to chop her own wood despite her advancing age. She had no electricity in her isolated home and is believed to have used gas lanterns. Villagers were free to visit her estate as part of a Buddhist trail she created with her husband Michael, a fellow Buddhist convert, who died in 2004 after battling cancer.

A statement from her family after her death said: 'Tina was incredibly special, as was her simple, self-sufficient way of life with no electricity, television or washing machine.

'She never liked to sit still and worked tirelessly to maintain her beautiful garden and produce all year round.

'Even in her old age she would chop trees, dig up flowerbeds and wrestle with her lovely dog, Georgie.

'She was completely selfless in giving away her fantastic fruit and vegetables to friends and family as well as sharing her wonderful Buddhist Stupas (that she built with her own hands) with those that chose to walk in the woodland.

Lying unconscious in the road as a Mercedes drives over him, this is the appalling , moment a driver ran over a pedestrian and drove off leaving him for dead.

The horrifying attack was filmed on a motorcyclist's GoPro camera and shows the black Mercedes reverse, and drive over the man just before 4.30pm on July 11.

The motorist drove off leaving his victim, aged 35, lying motionless on the road in the Moseley area of Birmingham as passersby ran to his aid screaming in fear and shouting: 'I've got you on f****** camera, you t***.' 

The man is now fighting for his life in hospital and is believed to be severely brain damaged.

A 43-year-old man handed himself in around six hours later and has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder before being bailed. She said: 'It happened so quickly. The man was standing in the street and talking to a driver through the window of his car.

'The man in the Mercedes behind was impatient and started shouting. He reversed and drove over him.

'It was shocking. I couldn't believe it was happening. The car just drove off while the man lay in the street.'

In the footage, the victim can be seen crumpled underneath the wheels of the car as Zoe immediately reacts to the brutal attack.

She is heard screaming: 'Oh s***, what the f*** are you doing? Oh God. Somebody get the police. What the f***? Are you joking? Someone just f***ing run him over, the d*******.'

She climbs off her bike and runs to the man's aid as he lies motionless in the street and the motorist in the Mercedes drives away.

She screams after him: 'I've got you on f****** camera, you t***.'

Another woman is seen kneeling on the wet street checking the man's pulse as seven passersby cluster around him.

Zoe said: 'Luckily there was a nurse two cars behind who got him into the recovery position. We waited with him until the ambulance arrived.

'An ambulance and police came within five minutes and then an air ambulance arrived just minutes later.

'It airlifted him to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I've heard that he's got no family.

'He was on life support for a couple of days. He's severely brain damaged and has broken legs and ribs. A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said that a 43-year-old man handed himself into Stechford police station at 10pm that night where he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

He has been released on bail.

Constable Stephen Tomlinson from the Complex Crime Investigation Team at Stechford police station, said: 'This happened at a busy traffic junction approaching rush-hour; we know there were lots of potential witnesses nearby, both motorists and pedestrians, and we need them to get in touch.

'The man has undergone surgery in hospital for a very serious head injury; he is in a critical condition.

'Maybe people drove on not realising the extent of the man's injuries or assumed it was an accident and that the driver would have stopped at the scene. 

Many of us will have an idea in our minds of what a typical cancer sufferer looks like.

But one personal trainer has set out to overturn those preconceptions after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer - despite looking perfectly fit and healthy.

Vicky Veness, 30, from Cheltenham, shared a photograph of herself that was taken just hours before the devastating diagnosis, explaining that 'when you have cancer you won't necessarily look ill on the outside'.

The fitness fanatic - who describes herself as a non-smoker and healthy eater - said her symptoms had initially been 'brushed off' by doctors as being asthma, and revealed that it has taken 18 months for her to be diagnosed with lung cancer.  She said the moral of the story was to 'question everything' if you're feeling unwell, no matter 'how silly you think it might be'. 

Posting on Facebook, Vicky wrote: 'Just a warning that this post may be upsetting to read.

'This photo was taken a few hours before I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. I'm 30 years old, a personal trainer, runner, non smoker and healthy eater. 'Unfortunately my symptoms were brushed off as asthma by many general practitioners.' 

She continued: 'The moral of the story is this, if you feel unwell for whatever reason, it doesn't matter how silly you might think it might be, see your doctor, question everything and keep going back until you get the answers you need.

'This has been the most emotionally and physically challenging week of my life, but now it's time to fight this!'   

Explaining her decision to share her post, Vicky told FEMAIL: 'I decided it was important to share my post in order to highlight that cancer really can affect anybody, in any walk of life. 'When most people think of lung cancer they immediately imagine somebody who smokes. I want to make people aware this is not always the case. 

'Hopefully me speaking out will encourage everyone to see their GP if they have a persistent cough.' 

She added: 'Because I do look healthy, lung cancer wasn't thought of as a possible reason behind my symptoms. 

'It worries me that "healthy looking" people and non-smokers may be overlooked when diagnosing this condition. It took 18 months to reach my diagnosis.

Silent Witness actress Liz Carr was stabbed in the head by an attacker armed with a pair of scissors in each hand. 

The man, who is in his 20s, attacked the 45-year-old wheelchair user while she was with her carer near London busy Euston station.

Ms Carr, who plays scientist Clarissa Mullery in the BBC crime drama series, was rushed to hospital and she is currently recovering from a slash wound.

A man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of GBH and was later detained under the Mental Health Act. 

Her friend said that the actress later joked that it was like 'being attacked by Edward Scissorhands'.  

They told The sun, 'It was a terrifying experience for Liz. She was being pushed in her wheelchair when this young man armed with two pairs of scissors suddenly headed towards her. 

'There was blood everywhere but she was very lucky that the wound grazed her head and she was not more seriously injured.

'Typically, Liz is putting a brave face on it - joking that it was like being attacked by Edward Scissorhands. Her carer suffered a broken finger and minor cuts was also taken to hospital after the attack. Ms Carr had never seen the man before and has no idea who he was. 

Ms Carr, who is also a stand-up comedian, has been in a wheelchair since she was seven after she was diagnosed with the rare condition, arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. In 2010, she entered into a civil partnership with her partner Jo, who is looking after her while she recovers. 

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Police were called at 8.21pm on Thursday, August 10, to Euston Road, near to Euston station, to a reports of man attacking two women with scissors. 

'One of the victims was in a wheelchair. She was with her carer who was the second victim. 

'Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended the location. The two women were taken to hospital suffering minor cuts and subsequently discharged. 'A man - aged in his 20s - was arrested at the scene on suspicion of GBH. 

'He was taken into custody at a north London police station. He was subsequently detained under the Mental Health Act. Enquiries continue.

Police are not currently treating this as a hate crime, but will continue to speak to the victims.