• Super Bowl 2012: Patriots vs Giants - live coverage
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Patriots 10, Giants 9 13:48 3rd quarter: The Pats have the ball to start the second half. Ochocinco gets a rare chance to show his stuff and gets out to the 42 with a 21-yard pass and run. The Law Firm runs right for 17 yards and the Pats are at the NYG 33.

Second half: Thanks Michael for the half time coverage. Steve back in the hot seat.

Paolo tweets: "Belichick had his team take breaks in middle of practice this week to mimic extended Super Bowl half-time. Let's see if it worked."

Instant halftime show review: Well that final number—and the Wicked Witch of the West exit—saved it for me. The costumes were bizarre. (Did she borrow them from an old Caesars Palace floor show?) And the dance moves were surprisingly stiff. But when the choir starting belting it out and Cee-Lo hit those high notes...she took me there.

Halftime show, "Like a Prayer": Thank God, Cee-Lo came out with the marching band. After a quick medley into "Open Your Heart," she begins her best song—"Like a Prayer."

And here comes the choir. A quick costume change for Madonna—and Cee-Lo, who looks like a sequined Sith lord—and we're off...to gospel heaven.

And then she disappears through the stage!

Poof...

Halftime show, "Give Me Your Luvin'": The cheerleaders come out as Madonna performs her new single, which is eminently poppy—and forgettable. Was this written for Avril Lavigne? By Avril Lavigne? And this choreography (borrowed from the video) is straight out of Toni Basil "Mickey." Even MIA and Nicki Minaj—wearing Flash Gordon cheerleader outfits—can't save this number.

Cue the marching band...

Halftime show, "Music": She segues into "Music" and is barely dancing in that little gold Trojan cheerleader skirt. Or maybe it's the thigh-high boots? And here comes some Cirque du Soleil magic. Oh, there's LMFAO. (Because "Party Rock" is a classic Madonna tune.)

Halftime Show, "Vogue": Madonna comes out dressed like she thinks she's doing a Wagner opera. But "Vogue" is a perfect song to open with. Will LMFAO make a cameo during this number as they're rumored to?

Also...there's, like, (not) a prayer that she is singing live.

Halftime show preview: "What do Madonna and Bridgestone tires have in common?" humorist Andy Borowitz asked tonight in a tweet. "200,000 miles! -- rejected promo slogan."

In other words, there are plenty of people waiting for the wheels to come off Madonna's wagon during tonight's halftime show. But I am not one of them. Say what you want about Madonna as a singer. And an actress. And a director. And as a British accent faker. But she has always delivered a great stage show.

And that's what I expect here when she performs "Vogue," her new single "Give Me All Your Luvin'," "Holiday," "Ray of Light" and "Like a Prayer."

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2nd quarter analysis: Paolo Bandini writes:

"I think we can now officially say that Rob Gronkowski's ankle is a problem for the Patriots. One catch in that first half and it didn't arrive until there were less than three minutes to go in the half. At times the Giants were lining up Antrel Rolle over him and that is a match-up the Patriots would normally love. Nevertheless, after playing so poorly for a lot of the game, they go into the break with the lead after an incredible drive. The offence looked a lot more potent when it got into the no huddle on that final drive, keeping the Giants from substituting in personnel between plays, and Brady was just relentlessly accurate - 10 for 10. Technically a 96-yard drive, but with penalties against the Pats it was actually over 100."

Patriots 10, Giants 9 HALF TIME: Paolo says: "Brilliant drive (96 yards).But after that great play from Pierre-Paul on play before, where was penetration from Giants D-line on last play?" Manning takes a knee. NYG will be disappointed with that: had much the better of the first quarter and yet find themselves behind.

And, while you rush to the fridge/restroom/wherever for beer/pee/whatever, I'm handing over to my colleague Michael Solomon for Madonna and the half-time show....

TOUCHDOWN Patriots 10, Giants 9 0:08 2nd quarter: JPP halts Woodhead on the 3-yard line. Brady is given an age to make the pass. Looks at about five options before throwing short - again to Woodhead - who is free. Patriots are winning despite their awful first quarter.

Giants 9, Patriots 3 0:18 2nd quarter: Woodhead catches wide on the left and gets out of bounds. First down on the NY 12. Woodhead catches next play too and battles to the 3-yard line...

Paul Holland tweets: @busfield Starting to wonder if the Giants might regret not putting more points on the board having dominated thus far. Pats still in this."

@junk_monkey tweets: "This #Superbowl could be decided by the punting. Has a punter ever been MVP? In any game?

Giants 9, Patriots 3 0:28 2nd quarter: Pats use their first timeout as Welker battles down the middle for a first down at the NY 22.

Giants 9, Patriots 3 1:01 2nd quarter: Hernandez catches in midfield but then the ball is loose as he goes to ground. Fumble? No. Down by contact. New England close to the 40. A holding play by Waters - desperately trying to halt JPP - puts the Pats back into their own half. Big 3rd & 4 coming up. Brady finds Hernandez again and he gets out of bounds.

Giants 9, Patriots 3 2:00 Minute Warning 2nd quarter: Paolo tweets: "Fans being briefed for what they need to do during half-time show. It involves waving flashlights during Like A Prayer"

Michael Solomon will be here blogging the half-time show shortly. Just see if the New England no-huddle offense can wipe out the Giants' great start first.

Giants 9, Patriots 3 2:00 Minute Warning 2nd quarter: Pats get a first down with a run and then a pass to...Gronkowski. A 20-yard gain and the Pats are out to the 35.

Giants 9, Patriots 3 4:03 2nd quarter: Gronkowski has been on the field for almost all the Patriots offensive plays thus far - but has yet to receive the ball. Great offensive decoy or waste of a man?

Giants 9, Patriots 3 4:03 2nd quarter: Jacobs gets another first down but a holding call against left guard Booth sends NY 10-yards backwards. 3rd & 11 back in their own half. Manning just misses Manningham - touches his hands as he leaps. Giants will kick and it's another good one, right to the corner by Weatherford and New England will begin on their own 4 yard line.

Hunter Felt asks: "Has this... Has this become a defensive battle? The heck?"

Giants 9, Patriots 3 5:48 2nd quarter: A first down comes with a Bradshaw run and a short pass to Hynoski. A second first down comes with another Bradshaw run through the middle. He has 44 yards on 9 carries. HY on their own 45.

Giants 9, Patriots 3 8:30 2nd quarter: JPP again bats down a Brady pass. The Patriots fall just inches short of the first down when Welker takes a pass. Pats kick and Blackmon takes a fair catch on his own 24 yard line.

Beckum is out of the game with a torn ACL.

Anybody have any money on a safety opening the game? Paolo tweets: "Safety odds. RT @teotalk was paying 50-1 with aussie bookmakers."

Giants 9, Patriots 3 10:10 2nd quarter: But then Nicks is penalised 5 yards for an illegal substitution. Pressure from the Pats defense leaves the Giants with a third and 15. Bradshaw takes the pass but comes up short of the first down. Giants will punt. This one goes into the endzone and a touchback will see the Pats on the 20.

Giants 9, Patriots 3 12:00 2nd quarter: On a 3rd & 3, Manning finds Nicks running and leaping from the left into the center. Giants at midfield.

Giants 9, Patriots 3 13:00 2nd quarter: Jacob runs down the middle for an 11-yard gain and a first down on the 31. His offensive line carved a huge hole for him to run through. Pats defense needs to do better. Injury time out with Travis Beckum holding his knee.

Giants 9, Patriots 3 14:00 2nd quarter: Giants will start on the 20 after the kick-off.

Kári Tulinius emails: "Hi Steve, I lived in Providence, RI for five years. Though the Patriots were the most popular NFL team, Giants were second most popular. The explanation that I heard was that the Patriots were especially popular among Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans supported the Giants. Four
years ago I was at a Superbowl party which had around fifty people, with only two people supporting the Patriots. So not all New Englanders support the Pats."

The balance seems a bit like that in the stadium tonight. Although, to be fair to Pats fans, their team haven't yet given them much to shout about.

FIELD GOAL Giants 9, Patriots 3 14:00 2nd quarter: Patriots are on the board, but they'll be disappointed with that inside the red zone. Two short conservative plays by the Patriots fail to get the first down. And then Pierre-Paul bats down a Brady pass. Gostkowski is good from 29-yards.

1st quarter analysis: Paolo Bandini writes:

"Incredible start to this game. Pats linebacker Jerod Mayo probably should have got to that touchdown pass from Manning, but the fact is that both the Giants' scores have come off entirely avoidable penalties. Throwing the ball away in the endzone? Having 12-men on the field? You don't expect to see the former from Brady. You really don't expect to see the latter from a Belichick-coached team in the first quarter of a Super Bowl."

Ad break updates: Michael Solomon writes:

"1st quarter: Elton John plays the bored king listening to talent auditions in Pepsi's new commercial. Then X-Factor winner Melanie Amaro comes in and blows the room away. Simon Cowell is reportedly trying to sign King Elton as a judge of X-Factor next season. Then Hyundai runs with a runaway cheetah/jaguar ad. Meh.

This Bud Light Platinum thing is just not working. But M&M's introduces its newest character—sassy Ms. Brown—with a naughty (PG-13) chocolate ad.

Coke goes back to the polar bears for its new Super Bowl ad. Been there, yawned at that. And Dodge's post-apocalyptic Ram commercial takes a dark swipe at Ford—with the dulcet tones of Barry Manilow in the background and a decent Twinkie joke."

Giants 9, Patriots 0 End of 1st quarter: Welker goes left for a first down. Pats are in the red zone. Will the New England Bradys start the second quarter as if the first was just a bad dream?

Giants 9, Patriots 0 0:40 1st quarter: BenJarvus Green-Ellis is smothered on the first two attempts to run by the Pats, but a 15-yard pass to Branch gets NE to midfield. Boley then gains a further 19 and the Patriots are to the NY 31-yard line.

Giants 9, Patriots 0 3:20 1st quarter: Tynes kicks 67 yards into the Patriot endzone, but Edelman does a good job of getting New England out to the 29-yard line. Now, Tom, what will you do now? Manning is 9-for-9 so far, 77 yards and a touchdown. Brady has that safety to show for the first 12 minutes of play.

Giants 9, Patriots 0 4:20 1st quarter:
Hunter Felt speaks for New Englanders everywhere: "Brandon Spikes recovers a fumble, and the Patriots have too many players on the field and it's negated. Kill me."

This is a helluva start by the Giants. Or a terrible start by the Pats. Or a bit of both.

Giants 9, Patriots 0 4:20 1st quarter: Extra point is good.

TOUCHDOWN! Giants 8, Patriots 0 4:20 1st quarter: Bradshaw makes a yard or two on the first attempt. Manning throws to Cruuuuz. Touchdown. Kick to come...

Giants 2, Patriots 0 4:20 1st quarter: Giants have a 3rd & 3 and a Giants fumble threatens to let the Patriots back, but then it transpires that the Pats have 12 players on the field. NY now have 1st & goal.

Giants 2, Patriots 0 5:20 1st quarter: A pass to Pascoe takes the Giants into the red zone. Giants have had 17 offensive plays so far. The Patriots have had one.

Hunter Felt tweets: "This is as early as I've ever been tempted to give up on any game ever."

Giants 2, Patriots 0 7:00 1st quarter: The crowd inside the stadium are definitely favoring the Giants. Huge roars greeting every NY success. Bradshaw gains 24 yards down the left touchline and the Giants are now on the NE 33-yard line.

Giants 2, Patriots 0 8:46 1st quarter: So, the Patriots kick and the Giants have it on their own 25.

SAFETY! Giants 2, Patriots 0 8:52 1st quarter: Brady is in the pocket for the first time, he drops, finally comes under pressure, throws the ball downfield to nobody and then is called for intentional grounding from the end zone. Who would've thought that would be the first score?

Giants 0, Patriots 0 9:11 1st quarter: A sack and good penetration by the Pats defense leaves the Giants with a 3rd & 13, and then he is sacked again and NY are out of field goal range. A great punt puts the Patriots on their own 5-yard line.

Giants 0, Patriots 0 10:01 1st quarter: Manning is into his stride, two more passes take the Giants into Patriots territory. Nicks catches and spins and NY are on the NE 35.

Giants 0, Patriots 0 12.56 1st quarter: The first chorus of Cruuuuuz as Manning finds his wide receiver and gets the first first down of the night on the Giants 35-yard line.

Giants 0, Patriots 0 14.56 1st quarter: Manning and the Giants will start on their own 24.

Coin toss: Paolo tweets: "NFC has won last 14 coin tosses before this one. *14*"

And how many people does it take to toss a coin anyway?

Giants call tails but it's heads: the Patriots break that long run of coin toss losses for the AFC and will kick the ball....

Did you enjoy the anthem?: Hunter Felt tweets: "Kelly Clarkson: B+. Love the arrangement, she sang it straight, not too much yodel-atious freelancing. @GdnUSsports"

A moment: As David Lengel would say at this point: I'd like you all to join me in a taking a knee and sharing a moment of contemplation...

Star Spangled Banner: Here's Kelly Clarkson:

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National anthem: Michael Solomon writes:

Conventional wisdom holds that Whitney Houston sang the best national anthem of all time at the 1991 Super Bowl. I take nothing away from her performance but let's remember two things: 1) The country was fighting the first Gulf War and patriotism was high. And 2) She lip-synced. In fairness to Whitney, she didn't know she was lip-syncing and she was lip-syncing to her own prerecorded version (as the NFL insists on doing with all Super Bowls), but it wasn't live.

Odds are pretty good that Kelly Clarkson will be singing it live. And if the previous Super Bowl performances by other American Idol contestants are any indication, she won't suck.

Jordin Sparks belted out a beauty in 2008, the last time these two teams faced each other. Carrie Underwood brought her A-game in 2010. But for my money the best-ever live version of the national anthem goes to the 2009 singer: Jennifer Hudson.

As for Kelly Clarkson. She's really the perfect person to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" when you think about it. After all, it's really a national break-up song.

Tension in Brooklyn: David Lengel tweets:

"6:02 EST. Dad orders me to change into the clothes I wore during the NFC Championship.

6:09 EST: Mom: "This TV has a very clear picture. Very sharp." I'll be dead in under an hour."

Here come the teams: Giants are first out onto the field, to that annoying "Written in the Stars". Although at least I recognised that: not so sure about the track playing as the Pats came out.

Pre-game entertainment: Paolo Bandini tweets: "Marching band on field. Love the marching band but does somehow always feel a little anachronistic amid trappings of modern NFL."

Welcome to the Super Bowl: Here's a special message from the Patriots' Kevin Faulk:

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Preamble: It's showtime! Welcome to Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants vs New England Patriots.

We hope you have enjoyed our build-up to the big game over the last week and the last few hours, but now it's time for the NFL championship to be decided.

Steve Busfield will be liveblogging the game, and you can share your thoughts with him via email to steve.busfield@guardiannews.com or via Twitter to @Busfield.

Paolo Bandini will be sharing his thoughts from the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Michael Solomon will be liveblogging Madonna's half-time show and sharing the best of the Super Bowl commercials.

Giants fan David Lengel and Patriot Hunter Felt will be sharing their hopes, fears, deep anxiety.

Commonwealth countries of Antigua-Barbuda and St Vincent-Grenadines among those supporting blocking British ships

A group of Caribbean countries have agreed to back Buenos Aires and block any ships flying the Falklands flag from docking in their ports, Argentina's foreign minister Hector Timerman has said.

They include the Commonwealth countries of Antigua-Barbuda and St Vincent-Grenadines, along with Cuba, Nicaragua and Dominica, Timerman said.

Argentina received strong support for its blockade at a meeting in Venezuela of a left-leaning bloc of South American and Caribbean nations.

The Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, said: "It is time for Latin America to decide sanctions against this mistaken power that pretends to be imperialist and colonialist in the 21st century.

"I think we have to apply more forceful things. We have to talk about sanctions."

Argentina hopes that diplomatic and economic measures will pressure Britain to comply with UN resolutions encouraging both countries to negotiate the islands' sovereignty. Britain has refused so far.

Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela, said: "If it should occur to the British empire to attack Argentina militarily, Argentina won't be alone this time.

"Venezuela is no power, but we've got some weapons and the will to face any imperialist aggression."

Tensions have risen as the 30th anniversary of Argentina's invasion nears.

Websites now pose bigger risk than prisons, says report, prompting call to clamp down on 'unregulated' material

The internet now plays a part in most, if not all, cases of violent radicalisation and is a more significant recruiting ground than prisons, universities or places of worship, according to report by a cross-party group of MPs published today.

The Commons home affairs committee says internet service providers need to be as effective at removing material that promotes violent extremism as they are in removing content that is sexual or breaches copyright.

The committee discloses that a new Home Office counter-terrorism internet referral unit has received 2,025 complaints since it was set up in 2010. About 10% of the offending websites or web pages have been taken down as a result.

But the MPs say far more needs to be done, including more action to take down extremist videos and a new code of practice to draw the line on material promoting violent extremism.

The MPs' focus on the influence of the internet comes as judges prepare to sentence this week the four men found guilty of plotting a pre-Christmas terrorist attack on the London stock exchange after being inspired by the radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki.

The nine-month inquiry found that the internet played a greater role in violent radicalisation than prisons, universities or places of worship and was now "one of the few unregulated spaces where radicalisation is able to take place".

The report stresses, however, that no single pathway leads to radicalisation and emphasises that direct, personal contact is also significant. It adds that although convicted terrorists have attended British universities and prisons there is seldom evidence that they were radicalised there. The report says recruitment activities have retreated to private homes as the authorities have targeted public arenas.

The MPs, however, heard in private an assessment from Charles Farr, the Home Office's head of the Office of Security and Counter-terrorism, that "sympathy for violent extremism is declining rather than increasing". The MPs contrast this with the situation in 2007 when MI5 said there were "at least 2,000 people" in the UK who posed a threat because they supported terrorism – a figure that had increased by 400 the previous year.

The MPs do conclude that there may be growing support for nonviolent extremism within the Muslim community, fed by feelings of alienation and a sense of grievance, and this is a challenge for society and the police.

They recommend that tackling Islamophobia and demonstrating that the British state is not antithetical to Islam should constitute a big part of the official Prevent strategy designed to counter the ideology that feeds violent radicalisation.

The MPs talked to the radical preacher Abu Hamza in the maximum security unit at Belmarsh prison in London, who told them the main drivers of radicalisation were grievances, especially concerning Palestine and Afghanistan, a sense that the prophet was being mocked, guilt and capability.

He said unemployment was not a source of grievance.

Keith Vaz MP, the committee's Labour chairman, said: "The conviction last week of four men from London and Cardiff radicalised over the internet, for a plot to bomb the London stock exchange and launch a Mumbai-style atrocity on the streets of London, shows that we cannot let our vigilance slip. More resources need to be directed to these threats and to preventing radicalisation through the internet and in private spaces. These are the fertile breeding grounds for terrorism."

Monarch reminds Britain of 'spirit of togetherness' as Republic group prepare to demonstrate against 60th anniversary pageant

The Queen is issuing a message of thanks to the public on Monday morning on the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne.

In a statement from Buckingham Palace, the 85-year-old monarch promises to dedicate herself anew to the service of the country, and echoes a call that she made in her Christmas message for the restoration of a national spirit of togetherness.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will spend the day at Sandringham, the Norfolk mansion where her father, George VI, died in his sleep on 6 February 1952.

The couple were out in the snow on Sunday, for a service at West Newton church, on the estate and being greeted with flowers from well-wishers. They visited the local Sunday school in the village hall, but a 90th anniversary parade by the Royal British Legion, in King's Lynn, which the duke had planned to attend, was cancelled due to the weather.

The Queen's message says: "Today, as I mark 60 years as your Queen, I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Philip over these years and to tell you how deeply moved we have been to receive so many kind messages about the diamond jubilee.

"In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope that we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family friendship and good neighbourliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign and which my family and I look forward to seeing in many forms as we travel throughout the UK and the wider Commonwealth.

"I hope also that this jubilee year will be a time to give thanks for the great advances that have been made since 1952 and to look forward to the future with clear heads and warm hearts as we join together in our celebrations. I send my sincere good wishes to you all."

Responding, David Cameron praised the Queen's dignity and authority, guiding and uniting Britain and the Commonwealth over six decades. To view her as a glittering ornament was to "misunderstand" the constitution. "Always dedicated, always resolute and always respected, she is a source of wisdom and continuity," he said.

Cameron, the 12th PM of the reign, who was not even born until she had been on the throne for more than 14 years, added: "All my life and for the lives of most people in this country she has always been there for us. Today and this year we have the chance to say thank you."

The main focus of the celebrations will be the first weekend in June, extended by two successive bank holidays, when there will be a riverboat pageant of 1,000 vessels sailing down the Thames through London, expected to be attended by a million spectators, an open-air concert at Buckingham Palace, and a service at St Paul's Cathedral.

anti-monarchy group Republic, which said its members would demonstrate peacefully against the pageant, argued that schools and the BBC should not be overly enthusiastic about the celebrations.

The Queen and duke are due to visit many areas of Britain and Northern Ireland in the summer, and other members of the royal family are visiting Commonwealth nations, starting in March with Prince Harry in his first official solo tour, to the Caribbean and Latin America.

On Mondaya jubilee website, is being launched with news about events during the year and two newly commissioned photographs of the Queen. There will also be commemorative postage stamps and a charitable diamond jubilee trust, led by Sir John Major, to raise money for medical research and education across the Commonwealth.

The former prime minister said the trust would "identify charitable projects that would enrich the lives and opportunities of all its citizens to provide a lasting legacy".

The anniversary was not met entirely with unalloyed joy however as some economists said the June holiday could dent GDP by 0.5% in the second quarter as firms closed and people took extra leave, though they conceded this could be made up by sales of jubilee souvenirs, food and drink purchases for street parties, and tourist revenue.

US president doubts Israel has yet decided on whether to strike, but America keeps all options open

Barack Obama has said that the United States will work in "lockstep" with Israel to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, but he did not believe Israel had decided whether to launch a military strike.

The US president's comments appeared to be an attempt to downplay speculation that Israel was preparing to attack Iran following a report last week that the US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, believes an Israeli strike could happen this spring.

Obama told NBC television in an interview from the White House on Sunday that Israel is "rightly" very concerned about Iran's nuclear program, but said: "I don't think that Israel has made a decision on what they need to do".

He said that he hopes that the crisis will be resolved diplomatically but reiterated that the US has removed no option from consideration.

Asked about a potential attack by Iran on the US minlanbd, Obama said, "We don't see any evidence that they have those intentions or capabilities right now."

Tensions between Israel and Iran have continued to ratchet up in recent days. The Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak claimed on Thursday that there is a "wide global understanding" that military action may be needed, while Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called Israel on Friday a "cancerous tumor that should be cut [out] and will bet".

Meanwhile, Obama said during the same interview that he deserves re-election, despite the difficulties of the US economy, adding that his administration is creating more than 250,000 jobs a month, the most since 2005, and a reversal from the 750,000 jobs the economy was losing three years ago.

The president said US manufacturing still needs a boost: "We have got to make sure we are pushing American energy, not just oil and gas, but clean energy."

Obama also said the country needed to return to "old-fashioned American values," so "everyone gets a fair shake".

Three years ago, Obama had said if the economy hadn't turned around by this time, his presidency would be "a one-term proposition".

Former Panamanian dictator, who was toppled from power in 1989, transferred from prison to hospital

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, toppled by a 1989 American invasion and later convicted of drug running, was transferred from prison to a hospital on Sunday. Noriega, 77, who has high blood pressure and has previously had a stroke, apparently suffered another brain haemorrhage, Panamanian police said. He ruled Panama from 1983 to 1989 before spending 20 years in US and French prisons on drug-trafficking and money-laundering convictions, before returning to Panama on 11 December last year to serve terms for abducting and murdering political opponents.

Labour leader to say that official NHS statistics prove that the coalition's reorganisation of NHS is directly affecting patient care

Ed Miliband will claim on Monday that the total number of nurses working within the NHS has been cut by 3,500 since the general election, and could fall by a further 2,500 by the end of this parliament.

The Labour leader will say that official NHS statistics prove that the Tories' reorganisation of the health service is directly damaging frontline patient care.

At the same time, Labour will argue that the funds set aside to pay for the costs of the health bill's reorganisation would protect all 6,000 nursing jobs if parliament chose in the coming weeks to abandon the reorganisation.

The claims could prove to be damaging to the government, under attack from the health profession for its proposed reforms. They come in a difficult week for the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, during which the bill will return to the Lords, where it can expect to come under attack by peers of all political persuasions. Labour is keen to maintain pressure on the Tories after an improved performance by Miliband in which he was widely praised for his attacks on David Cameron over City bonuses.

The number of full-time qualified nurses fell from 281,431 in May 2010 to 277,915 in October 2011, a fall of 3,516, according to data from the NHS Information Centre which have been released by Labour. The figure refers to the change in "qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff". The Royal College of Nursing has identified 5,000 nursing posts at risk, comprising both qualified nurses and healthcare assistants; Labour believes half these posts are qualified nurses.

Miliband will visit staff and patients at the Princess Royal university hospital in Kent on Monday, and is expected to say: "In tough times and with little money around, the very first priority should be to protect the frontline NHS.

"Instead, we have a government blowing a vast amount of money on a damaging back-office reorganisation at the same time as it is cutting thousands of nurses, with more than 3,000 already gone. Labour's priority is protecting the frontline, not a pointless and damaging reorganisation of the NHS.

"We're calling for the bill to be scrapped, and for some of the money set aside to fund this reorganisation to instead be made available to the NHS to protect the thousands of nursing posts either already cut or set to be cut in the coming years.

"It is a clear and simple choice for the government: by stopping this damaging reorganisation we can fund 6,000 nurses."

The attack by Miliband comes as Labour launches the next stage of its campaign against the government's health bill. Labour, Liberal Democrat and cross-bench peers are discussing joint strategies to torpedo further elements of the bill when it begins its report stage in the Lords on Wednesday.

They are training their sights on the parts of the bill that would open the NHS to a greater role for the private sector.

Writing in the Observer, Miliband said: "It is not too late to stop this bill.

"We have three months to prevent great harm being done to the NHS. Now is the time for people of all parties and of none, the professions, the patients and now peers in the House of Lords to work together to try to stop this bill."

The worst option, he added, would be for the government to press ahead with the reforms merely to save face.

The latest action to amend the bill – which would devolve commissioning to GPs and open up service to more competition – comes despite the government offering a string of concessions when it put down 136 amendments. Last year, the government set aside nearly £1.8bn to pay for the costs of the health bill reorganisation that could only be used once it is enacted.

Labour is calling for £750m of the money set aside for the reorganisation to be used instead to fund 6,000 nursing posts over the spending review period, replacing the 3,500 nurses that have already been lost and protecting a further 2,500 posts that research suggests will be lost in the coming years.

The list of professional bodies which have come out in opposition to the bill include the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Radiologists, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Health minister Anne Milton said that Labour's accusations were wrong.

"Since the election we've cut admin staff by 15,000 and the total number of clinical staff has remained the same.

"If we were not proceeding with modernisation in NHS by the end of this parliament there would be £1.5bn not available to support services and front line staff."

Justine Greening to attend firm's AGM to vote against executive payout – though Labour says she is failing to use full powers

The transport secretary, Justine Greening, is planning to vote against a proposed £20m bonus pool for Network Rail executives. But she was accused by Labour of failing to use her powers to put a stop to the payments.

On Friday, she will attend Network Rail's annual general meeting to vote against a package which could see chief executive Sir David Higgins collect a £340,000 payout in addition to his £560,000 basic salary.

Greening's intervention will put pressure on Network Rail to reduce the bonuses which have been paid annually to executives for many years. The company that operates most of Britain's railway structure has faced criticism over its safety record and poor track conditions.

"I'm going to go to the meeting next Friday, I'm going to vote against them," said Greening on the BBC's Sunday Politics programme. It will be the first time that a minister of state has voted against bonuses at Network Rail.

Despite her vote against the company, she claimed that she would not have the powers to stop the payments from going through. "The governance structure that the last government set up means I can go and vote against it. The problem we have got is that won't actually change the result," she said.

However, Labour is claiming that the Department for Transport has powers over remuneration and incentive schemes thanks to its position as Network Rail's "special member".

Maria Eagle, the shadow transport secretary, said: "Greening is wrong to say that she cannot block these bonuses … It is difficult to see why Network Rail would have felt able to propose this new bonus package without knowing if it had ministerial backing."

Those close to Greening hit back, saying that Labour has misinterpreted company documents. "Justine can't block bonuses, because she has one vote among 80. Labour knows that the government doesn't have a power of veto and when in office repeatedly said that bonuses were an issue for Network Rail and not for government," a source said.

Higgins will also share in a long-term bonus scheme which could be worth up to £15.6m over the next three years for the rail group's six executive directors. The six will also earn £2.3m a year in salaries plus a maximum of £4.2m in bonuses.

On the same day that Greening casts her vote, Barclays will announce an estimated £1.7bn bonus pool, some 30% less than last year but a sum that will see staff at its Barclays Capital arm remain among the highest-paid UK workers, earning an average of £210,000 each.

Barclays, one of the world's largest investment banks, is forecast to report profits of £6bn, barely changed on a year ago despite the eurozone crisis.

While the bonus of its chief executive, Bob Diamond, is unlikely to be revealed until March, he could get up to £11m.

The latest round of payouts will fuel the controversy around City pay, which prompted Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive, Stephen Hester, to waive his near-£1m bonus a week ago.

More than 20 MPs have signed a Commons motion saying Network Rail had been "found by the Office of Rail Regulation to be in breach of its licence" and had been responsible for "major asset failures, congested routes and poor management of track condition".

Last week, the company admitted health and safety breaches over the deaths of two teenagers killed at a level crossing in Essex in 2005.

A Network Rail spokesperson said that no decisions have yet been taken on any potential bonuses. "Friday's vote is not on whether directors will receive a bonus but on a proposed scheme, the shape of which is a result of discussions with our regulator. The independent remuneration committee will have full discretion on any decision to award bonuses."

Prime minister Lucas Papademos faces an uphill struggle to win the backing he needs to avoid a disorderly default in March

Greece's economic future hung in the balance on Sunday as the debt-laden country's technocrat prime minister, Lucas Papademos, met party leaders in a last-ditch effort to rally support for the stringent reforms Athens must enact in return for aid.

With at least one political leader in the coalition government publicly refusing to endorse the rescue package, it was far from sure whether Papademos would win the backing to keep bankruptcy at bay.

Before the meeting, the Greek finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, described negotiations with foreign lenders as being "on a razor's edge". To avert a disorderly default Greece must secure financial support by 20 March when it faces €14.5bn (£12bn) of loan repayments.

"The moment is very crucial," Venizelos said after emerging from 12 hours of "tough" talks with officials representing the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the "troika" propping up the near-insolvent Greek economy.

"Crucial issues which concern the future of the country and the Greek people remain [unresolved]. The distance separating the procedure being completed with success from stalemate … is very small. It's a very fine line. We are on a razor's edge," he said.

A subsequent teleconference with finance ministers from the eurozone had been "very difficult", Venizelos said. "There is great impatience and great pressure not only from the three institutions that make up the troika but also from eurozone member states," he added.

In recent weeks international frustration has mounted with the country's tardiness in delivering on reforms.

Addressing reporters over the weekend, Venizelos said the "hour of truth" had come for the political leaders backing Papademos's interim national salvation government.

"We are at the point where they must decide and commit," he said.

Wage and pension cuts are at the heart of the discord.

While international creditors remain adamant that the reduction of the minimum wage and abolition of two salaries granted to workers as bonuses in the private sector are key to boosting competitiveness, the government has called the measures "a red line" across which it cannot go.

Other controversial demands include a 35% drop in supplementary pensions and the axing of 150,000 public sector jobs in organisations due to be closed down.

Greek officials have argued that the cutbacks will be self-defeating by deepening a recession that has already brought the economy to its knees. Party leaders, trade unions and employers' associations have predicted social upheaval if the measures are applied.

"If it doesn't suit us and the troika doesn't budge we will not take the package," said Giorgos Karatzaferis, who heads the populist, far-right Laos party before heading into the meeting. "We will not give in to ultimatums."

With general elections due to take place in the spring, politicians are keen not to be associated with policies that have spawned such popular opposition.

But highlighting the gravity of the moment, Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the eurogroup of finance ministers, voiced the possibility of default. "If we were to establish that everything has gone wrong in Greece there would be no programme and that would mean that in March they have to declare bankruptcy," he said, in comments to the German news weekly Der Spiegel.

Greek insiders confirmed that the possibility of bankruptcy loomed larger than at any other time.

"The troika is not negotiating, it's dictating," an insider said. "When you negotiate you expect both sides to move, but they're like a rock. They're basically saying it's this or default. Our sense is that they would prefer the shock of a Greek default than throwing money into a country they have come to see as a bottomless pit. The problem is the measures are so hard, so painful, that it is hard to see how all three leaders will accept them."

Syrian opposition groups dispute number of dead but residents claim new type of artillery shell is being used against restive city

Syrian forces persisted with one of the deadliest attacks of the 11-month uprising on Sunday, pounding parts of Homs even as residents combed through rubble looking for victims of a sustained barrage over the weekend that killed dozens, if not scores of people.

Homs residents said the flashpoint area of Bab al-Amr was under sustained attack throughout the afternoon, with up to six people killed. There was also a renewed bombardment of the nearby neighbourhood of Khalidiyeh, centre on Friday night of one of the most violent assaults thus far by Bashar al-Assad's forces.

Residents were still trying to come to terms with the savage firepower aimed at their district during a six-hour barrage early on Saturday.

"We counted 300 explosions, at least, in that time," said a Bab al-Amr resident, who calls himself Omar Shakir. "There was nothing we could do for the people there, there are two regime checkpoints between us and them. And today it was our turn."

Mortars fired from an elevated area around a mile and a half away accounted for almost all of Friday nights casualties. The numbers of dead are disputed. A hospital in Homs and two Syrian opposition groups say 250-300 may have died. A third group, the Local Co-ordination Council said the toll may be 50-60. Either way, with many civilians caught up in the onslaught, including women and children, it was an offensive that marked a grim low point in the confrontation between Assad's forces and the protesters and armed deserters now ranged against him.

Residents said a new weapon was being used – possibly artillery shells, which have a distinctive whine as they approach their target. "They are very unusual sounds, the explosions," said Shakir.

"We have not heard them before in Bab al-Amr. And we have heard a lot of explosions here."

A Khalidiyeh resident, Fadi, said local people had been able to leave their homes to bury the dead and look for survivors.

"There was random shooting into civilian areas. It was indiscriminate and it went on for six hours. The smell in the streets is completely awful," he said. "The blood is everywhere and it is difficult to find all the parts of the people."

Videos posted on the internet purported to show men digging makeshift graves in which to bury unclaimed body parts.

"We were not expecting that the Syrian army would attack in this way," said Fadi of the mounting horror as Friday night's bombardment intensified. "We thought it was some kind of exaggeration that would be over soon, but the explosions kept coming and coming."

By daybreak, the small neighbourhood, which had been closed off to regime forces by the Free Syrian Army lay in partial ruins, with the roofs of numerous buildings pancaked onto the floors below. Dozens of people are still believed to be trapped, with residents having no equipment other than shovels with which to rescue them.

A hospital in a rebel-held area of Homs was also reported to have been hit with at least one mortar round , causing extensive damage to part of a ward.

The Syrian government has denied bombarding Homs and says "terrorist gangs" are responsible for the deaths. Syrian officials say some of the bodies had been kidnapped by opposition elements who had killed them in an attempt to persuade Syria's allies, Russia and China, to move against them in the UN security council.

"They are stupid to suggest that we have mortars like that," said the brother of one man linked to the Free Syria Army, which is comprised mainly of defectors carrying light weapons they used while serving in the regular military.

"Anyone who knows anything about military operations knows that mortars are fired from a fixed position (and are) easy to track by radar, or even through lenses. They can be destroyed by artillery, or helicopters within minutes. This went on for six hours."