Hurricane Maria has strengthened to a major category three hurricane, US forecasters say, as it heads towards the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean.

It is due to hit on Monday night local time.

Maria is moving roughly along the same path as Irma, the hurricane that devastated the region this month.

The authorities fear Maria could whip up and throw the debris left behind by Hurricane Irma.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Maynard, a Royal Marine deployed to the British Virgin Islands, told the Press Association the hurricane could pick the debris up, "spin it around, and throw it like ammunition". The UK's International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, said: "British troops, police and aid experts are working relentlessly to get help to the victims of Hurricane Irma. Those same individuals will now be tasked with also preparing for the impact of Maria."

Hurricane warnings have been issued for Guadeloupe, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Martinique, St Lucia and the US and British Virgin Islands.

A hurricane watch is in effect for Puerto Rico, St Martin, St Barts, Saba, St Eustatius and Anguilla.

Some of these islands are still recovering after being hit by Irma - a category five hurricane which left at least 37 people dead and caused billions of dollars' worth of damage.

In its latest update on Monday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Maria had maximum sustained winds of 200km/h (125mph).

They warned that heavy rainfall caused by the hurricane "could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides".

The eye of the storm is 100 miles east of Martinique, and Maria is moving west-northwest at about 13mph.

"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the NHC said.

Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, has been devastated by a war between forces loyal to the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those allied to the Houthi rebel movement. More than 7,600 people have been killedand 42,000 injured since March 2015, the majority in air strikes by a Saudi-led multinational coalition that backs the president.

The conflict and a blockade imposed by the coalition have also triggered a humanitarian disaster, leaving 70% of the population in need of aid. 

The conflict has its roots in the failure of the political transition that was supposed to bring stability to Yemen following an uprising that forced its longtime authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to hand over power to Mr Hadi, his deputy, in November 2011.

Mr Hadi struggled to deal with a variety of problems, including attacks by al-Qaeda, a separatist movement in the south, the continuing loyalty of many military officers to Mr Saleh, as well as corruption, unemployment and food insecurity. The Houthi movement, which champions Yemen's Zaidi Shia Muslim minority and fought a series of rebellions against Mr Saleh during the previous decade, took advantage of the new president's weakness by taking control of their northern heartland of Saada province and neighbouring areas.

Disillusioned with the transition, many ordinary Yemenis - including Sunnis - supported the Houthis and in September 2014 they entered the capital, Sanaa, setting up street camps and roadblocks.

In January 2015, the Houthis reinforced their takeover of Sanaa, surrounding the presidential palace and other key points and effectively placing Mr Hadi and his cabinet ministers under house arrest.

The president escaped to the southern port city of Aden the following month. The Houthis and security forces loyal to Mr Saleh then attempted to take control of the entire country, forcing Mr Hadi to flee abroad in March 2015.

Alarmed by the rise of a group they believed to be backed militarily by regional Shia power Iran, Saudi Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Arab states began an air campaign aimed at restoring Mr Hadi's government. 

The coalition received logistical and intelligence support from the US, UK and France. 

A paranoid schizophrenic today admitted stabbing a university lecturer to death in a park.

Mark Loveridge, 39, from Mitcham in south-west London, knifed Daniel Young as the 30-year-old walked to Morden tube station on his way to his ‘dream job’ at the London campus of Coventry University.

Loveridge had stabbed Kamil Bulat in the buttocks just over half an hour before the fatal attack on January 19 last year.

Mr Young, who grew up in Paignton, Devon, and lived in Morden, was attacked as he walked through Kendor Gardens at around 8am.

Police and paramedics were called at 8.07am as rush-hour commuters desperately tried to save his life but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Bulat, aged 23 at the time, had been attacked at around 7.25am in nearby Lewis Road.

Loveridge was arrested a week later and charged with Mr Young’s murder and the attempted murder of Mr Bulat. The killer, who has a history of mental health problems, appeared at the Old Bailey today flanked by three hospital workers in the dock.

He denied murder but admitted manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.

Loveridge, wearing a grey hooded sweater, also admitted one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent relating to the attack on Mr Bulat. Prosecutors offered no evidence on the charge of attempted murder against Mr Bulat, who has returned to Poland since the attack.

Prosecutor William Boyce, QC, said the CPS accepted the pleas after two psychiatrists produced reports about Loveridge which showed he was suffering from paranoid shizophrenia at the time of the killing.

He has been moved to a psychiatric hospital while he awaits sentence. Judge Mark Lucraft, QC, may send Loveridge to a psychiatric hospital indefinitely or send him to prison when he sentences him at the Old Bailey on 24 October.

‘Today you have pleaded guilty to manslaughter and to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm,’ he said.

‘We will reconvene on the 24 October to deal with the question of how you are to be sentenced.’

Loveridge admitted manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility and wounding with intent.

He was formally cleared of one count of attempted murder. 

Fears are growing about a chemical incident in south London after residents were rushed to hospital and families with children evacuated from their homes.

Emergency services were called to Alwold Crescent just before 10am today amid fears locals may have suffered an allergic reaction.

Witnesses said a number of people suffered a reaction to an unknown substance yesterday morning. 

Seven adults and two children were evacuated from their homes and assessed by paramedics.

Two of them were rushed to hospital, while 12 others living at surrounding properties were also forced to leave, according to the London Fire Brigade.   Taxi driver Ian Crouch, 39, told The sun that emergency services appeared to be investigating the sewage system.

He told the newspaper: 'I could see the emergency services outside my house.

'When I spoke to a policeman he said there were people complaining of irritation, who had been throwing up all morning. 

'He said they were investigating whether it is terror related, but told us not panic. 

'They think it's coming from the sewage system. Five fire engines, paramedics and police were all deployed to deal with the incident.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the incident is not believed to be crime-related and the investigation is being led by the London Fire Brigade.

A fire spokesman said: 'We were called to Alwold Crescent in Lee at 9.53am.

'We reviewed a row of terraced houses and maisonettes after residents reported smelling an unknown chemical.

'We carried out a sweep using specialist equipment but had no elevated readings.

'Responsibility for the incident has now been passed to the water and gas authorities who are carrying out an investigation.' 

The London Ambulance Service was called to the scene just over an hour later at 11.05am and confirmed they checked over nine people, two of which were sent to hospital.   

The oldest person in the world who was the last living subject of Queen Victoria and worked for 'masters' on a Caribbean sugar plantation has died aged 117.

Violet Mosse Brown died in Jamaica at around 2.30pm yesterday.

She became the world's oldest person on April 15 this year at 117 and 38 days, taking the title from Italian Emma Morano, whose life spanned three centuries and was born in 1899.  Known as 'Aunt V' to her friends, she was born on March 10 1900 and lived in the same house in Trelawney, north west Jamaica all of her life. 

She was a mother of six and a great-grandmother several times over. 

Asked what was the secret to long life, she replied that eating cows feet, not drinking rum and reading the bible were key.

She told the Jamaican Observer after her 110th birthday:  'Really and truly, when people ask what me eat and drink to live so long, I say to them that I eat everything, except pork and chicken, and I don't drink rum and them things. 

'You know, sometimes I ask myself, 'Am I really 110 years old?' because I don't feel like 110. She added her 'faith in serving God, and believing strongly in the teaching of the bible' were also fundamental to a long and healthy life.

Giving more details on her diet, her caretaker told the newspaper last year: 'She likes fish and mutton and sometimes she will have cow foot, but she does not eat pork or chicken.

'She also likes sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, breadfruit, and fruits, especially oranges and mangoes.' 

When the news of her death came, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness tweeted to offer his condolences. Mrs Mosse Brown was sent a plaque by Queen Elizabeth II when she became the oldest citizen of the Commonwealth.

She was also the last person who lived under the reign of Queen Victoria, as Jamaica still formed part of the British West Indies in 1900. 

In her early life the supercentenarian worked on a sugar plantation and as a maid in the 'post slavery period', according to her family.

She went on to buy her own home and became a successful businesswoman selling bread from the only depot in her district.   

Following her death, 117-year-old Nabi Tajima, of Japan, is now the world’s oldest person. 

Armed police have flooded London's streets as the terror threat level was raised to critical amid fears the Parsons Green bomber could strike again, Theresa May announced tonight.

The introduction of Operation Temperer will see soldiers replacing police at key sites including nuclear power plants to free up extra armed officers for regular patrols.

Scotland Yard said it is making 'excellent' progress in hunting the suspected terrorist who set off a crude bucket bomb on a packed commuter train by Parsons Green tube station in west London at 8.20am.

Mrs May said in a statement from Number 10: 'The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has now decided to raise the national threat level from severe to critical - this means their assessment is that a further attack may be imminent.'

Minutes later Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley suggested there might have been more than one person involved, stating that police were 'chasing down suspects'.

Police identified the suspected terrorist using CCTV footage but the investigation has been overshadowed by an extraordinary diplomatic row triggered by Donald Trump

The US President tweeted just hours after the rush hour blast that police had the attacker 'in their sights' and should have been 'more proactive' in catching 'the loser'.

Scotland Yard hit back and said Mr Trump's comments were 'pure speculation' while senior officers refused to name the suspect.

The President later rowed back on his controversial comments by posting another tweet saying, ‘our hearts and prayers go out to the people of London’.

The islamic state group claimed responsibility for the attack tonight, saying its 'soldiers' had 'planted IEDs'. It was the middle of rush hour when the crude bucket bomb - which had a timer - went off at 8.20am inside a tube train packed with commuters, including children and a pregnant woman.

The device was hidden in a builder's bucket and could have killed dozens but failed to properly detonate and sent a 'wall of fire' through the carriage at Parsons Green, injuring at least 29 people.

Terrified passengers were left covered in blood with scorched hands, legs, faces and hair – others suffered crush injuries during a stampede as they 'ran for their lives' over fears the 'train would blow up'.

London Ambulance took 19 patients to hospitals, while the others went in themselves. The four hospitals dealing with patients were Imperial, Chelsea and Westminster, Guy's and St Thomas' and St George's.

Officers are tonight hunting for the bomber across London amid claims he could be armed and might have planted other explosive devices.

An officer at the scene told MailOnline: 'We believe there is a second bomb - there is a man with knives on the loose.'

In a pre-recorded television statement released around 8.30pm, May said military personnel would replace police officers 'on guard duties at certain protected sites which are not accessible to the public'.

Gold Coast's Glitter Strip has reportedly become home to new street gang, 269—a collective of ex-bikies and middle-eastern organised crime associates.

The young clan, believed to be about eight months old, is allegedly made up of high-profile former bikies and associates of Muslim youth feeder gangs, including Ummah United, the Gold Coast Bulletin Reports. 

Sources revealed the gang first emerged when a group of 'brothers' 'proved themselves' while in jail.  

'They recruit like any other gang,' a bikie source told the publication. 'They want people who have made a name for themselves in jail. You prove yourself inside by showing you’re a good guy, that you’ll back someone or that you can fight.' 

The formation comes amid speculation many men have begun converting to Islam in order to make links with high-profile hoodlums in such gangs. 

Apparently the group doesn't physically 'run' together on the street, rather they have an understanding that if 'backup' is required, 'they’re there'. 'There is no president, no secretary or that kind of thing. They’re all in it together.' 

Senior police had been monitoring the gang and believed they were 'capable of serious criminal activity'.

They also seized jewellery in a series of property raids that was believed to have been 269's.

A separate source allegedly said the growth of gangs in the area was 'rapid' and 'sidewinder' groups like 269 were continuing to grow in strength. 

Multiple brawls within Brisbane jail walls were also speculated to have been linked with the new clan.