Chavez Suffers New Setback After Cancer Op

Hugo Chavez has suffered "new complications" following his cancer surgery in Cuba and his condition is "delicate", Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro has said.

In a televised address from Havana, Mr Maduro said: "We have been informed of new complications that arose as a consequence of the respiratory infection we already knew about.

"President Chavez's condition is still delicate," Mr Maduro added, warning that the unspecified complications "are being treated in a process that is not without its risks".

Mr Maduro, who said he had spoken with Mr Chavez, added that the 58-year-old president was facing a "tough situation".

The vice president said he would stay in Havana in the coming hours "with El Comandante and his family, closely following his condition and its evolution".

"We trust that the global outpouring of love for Chavez will help him heal", said Mr Maduro, with Rosa Virgina Chavez, one of the president's daughters, Science and Technology Minister Jorge Arreaza, and top prosecutor Cilia Flores.

The vice president gave his address alongside Mr Chavez's eldest daughter, Rosa, and son-in-law Jorge Arreaza, as well as Attorney General Cilia Flores.

A supporter of Mr Chavez writes a message for him in Caracas

The Venezuelan leader, who has been the face of the Latin American left for more than a decade, has not been seen or heard from since undergoing his fourth cancer-related surgery on December 11.

Mr Chavez, who has been in power since 1999, won another six-year term in October's presidential election.

He is scheduled to be sworn in on January 10, but his health has raised concerns over the future of his leftist movement and whether he will even be well enough to attend the inauguration.

On Monday, the Venezuelan government said there had been a "slight improvement" in his condition as he recovers from the post-operative respiratory infection.

Officials have never disclosed the type or severity of Mr Chavez's cancer, first diagnosed in June 2011, and he only designated a political successor - Mr Maduro - earlier this month.

The Venezuelan leader had, in fact, asserted before embarking on his arduous re-election campaign earlier this year that he was cancer-free - but he was later forced to admit he had suffered a relapse.

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Newtown Gunman's Body Claimed For Burial

The body of the man who killed 26 people at a Connecticut school has been claimed for burial.

Connecticut medical examiner Wayne Carver told the Hartford Courant that Adam Lanza's remains were taken several days ago by someone who wanted to remain anonymous.

His office was unable to release further details about the current whereabouts of the 20-year-old gunman's body.

Lanza shot dead 20 young children and six staff members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14.

He also killed his mother in their Newtown home before going on the rampage.

He finally took his own life at the school.

The coroner ruled his death a suicide, but is awaiting results of toxicology tests before completing the case.

Nancy Lanza was killed at the home she shared with her son

A private funeral was held earlier this month in New Hampshire for his mother, Nancy Lanza.

Mr Carver would not comment on whether the same funeral home would be handling her son's burial.

His father, Peter Lanza, who lives in Stamford, had little contact with him in the past two years.

Adam Lanza also had an older brother Ryan, aged 24. 

Before removal, samples were taken from the killer's body by geneticists who were asked to study his DNA.

The University of Connecticut scientists are looking for abnormalities or mutations in Lanza's genome that could have increased the risk of aggressive or violent behaviour.

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Auckland Kicks Off The New Year Knees Up

The countdown to 2013 has begun with a spectacular fireworks display in Auckland, New Zealand.

Crowds packed the city centre to watch the annual event at the city's Sky Tower, ensuring the new year was seen in with a bang.

There had been concerns that poor weather might hinder the pyrotechnic display but conditions held up and revellers were treated to a dazzling display of lights.

In London, the night sky is set to be illuminated with pyrotechnics to round-off a momentous year in the capital city.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who has organised the event, said: "Our New Year's Eve fireworks will cap a triumphant year for London.

"As we welcomed the world to the magnificent celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the glorious success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, London was at its very best.

Last year's London celebrations saw Big Ben lit up

"From the thrilling sporting action to the breathtaking cultural celebrations, it has been an unforgettable year and I am immensely proud o the contribution that our Ambassadors made to that success.

"As we go into 2013 with a spectacular fireworks display I hope we can build on that energy and enthusiasm to make ours the best big city in the world."

Up to 250,000 people are expected to crowd on to the banks of the Thames to watch the display, with millions more seeing it on television.

Following their hard work during the London 2012 Games, more than 150 of the mayor's 'Team London Ambassadors' will volunteer at the event to help ensure it is a success.

They will be giving out maps, helping direct people to the viewing areas, and providing guidance and advice on getting home safely.

Scots rockers Simple Minds will be headlining the Hogmanay concert and street party in Edinburgh.

The View, Bwani Junction, Reverend and the Makers and The OK Social Club will also be playing to an anticipated crowd of 80,000, and fireworks will be set off to mark the start of 2013.

Sydney's fireworks are expected to be bigger than last year

Celebrations got under way in the city last night with a torchlight procession. A record crowd estimated at 35,000, including 7,000 torch carriers, were led by the massed pipes and drums and the Up Helly Aa' Vikings from Shetland.

The procession made its way through the city streets to the burning of the effigy of a Viking boat and a spectacular Son et Lumiere display on Calton Hill.

The central Pacific Ocean island of Kiritimati (Christmas Island) and the eastern-most island in the island nation of Kiribati were the first to usher in the new year at 1000 GMT.

Sydney will be the first major world city to see in the new year at 1300 GMT, with some 1.5 million people expected to attend the city's events.

As one of the largest new year events in the world, the traditional firework show on the Sydney Harbour Bridge will display more than 100,000 firework patterns, costing 6.5m Australian dollars (£4.2m).

American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the US in the southern Pacific Ocean, will be the last place on Earth to herald in the new year on Tuesday at 1100 GMT.

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Russia Plane Crash: Video Of Moment Of Impact

Video footage shows the moment a passenger aircraft crashed into a motorway in Russia after it overshot the runway.

The footage, captured from a vehicle on the motorway, shows luggage and other debris flying from the aircraft and hitting other cars on the road as the plane smashed into the ground.

Louds bangs can also be heard as the plane impacted with the ground and the cars were hit by the wreckage.

Four people - the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and a flight steward - were killed in the crash and another four seriously injured after the aircraft overshot a runway at Moscow's Vnukovo airport.

The Red Wing Airlines aircraft burst through a perimeter fence on to the motorway at Russia's third busiest airport.

Officials said the Tu-204 plane - travelling from the Czech Republic - was carrying eight crew members and no passengers. It broke into pieces and caught fire after crashing.

The passenger plane was sheared in two

The cockpit of the aircraft was sheared off from the fuselage and a large chunk gashed out near the tail during the impact.

Witnesses told state channel Rossiya-24 they saw a man thrown from the plane as it rammed into the barrier of the motorway and described pulling other people from the wreckage.

The airport was closed after the crash and flights were routed to Moscow's other airports, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo.

Prior to Saturday's crash, there had been no fatal accidents reported for Tu-204s, which entered commercial service in 1995.

The plane is a twin-engine mid-range jet with room to carry about  210 passengers.

Investigators said preliminary findings pointed to pilot error as the cause of the crash.

Vnukovo is Russia's third biggest airport

The billionaire owner of Red Wing Airlines, Alexander Lebedev, said the pilot was experienced, with 14,500 hours of flying time.

The state news agency RIA Novosti cited an unidentified official at the Russian Aviation Agency as saying another Tu-204 had gone off the runway at the international airport in Novosibirsk, Siberia, on December 20.

The agency said that incident, in which no one was injured, was due to the failure of the plane's engines to go into reverse upon landing and that its brake system malfunctioned.

Russia and other former Soviet republics have some of the world's worst air traffic safety records - with a total accident rate three times the world average, according to the International Air Transport Association.

In April, 31 people were killed after a passenger jet crashed after takeoff in Siberia.

Another 44 people, including the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team, were killed when their aircraft smashed into a riverbank in September 2011.

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Gang Rape Victim Cremated In New Delhi

The body of a woman who was gang raped on a bus in New Delhi has been cremated at a private ceremony held amid tight security.

The 23-year-old medical student was savagely beaten and raped for almost an hour before being thrown out of the moving vehicle.

She was transferred to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for specialist treatment, but later died from severe organ failure.

Her body was flown back to India from Changi Airport with her parents, who were at her bedside when she was pronounced dead.

At the brief cremation ceremony in the southwestern Dwarka district of the city, the funeral pyre was lit after relatives and friends said their final prayers.

According to several mourners, the student was due in February to marry her boyfriend, who was injured in the same attack.

Mourner Meena Rai (L) says the victim was planning to get married

"They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi," Meena Rai, who had been shopping with the victim for wedding outfits, was reported as saying.

The funeral took place just hours after police said the six accused of murdering the student could face the death penalty if convicted.

Sky's India Correspondent Alex Rossi said: "The general thinking behind it as far as the prosecution service is concerned is that the way she was treated on that bus, the manner in which she was subjected to such a brutal attack, the fact that she was thrown from the bus whilst it was still moving and was unconscious suggests that they're fairly confident now that there was pre-meditation in the attack."

Thousands take part in a candlelight vigil for the victim in New Delhi

Her uncle has called for those responsible to be given the "strictest possible sentence".

"This is a very sad day, and a very very sad happening," he said. "My condolences are with my niece's family."

Sonia Ghandi, the president of India's National Congress, has promised to fight for change.

She said: "(The death) strengthens our resolve to fight with all our might, and all the powers of our laws and our administration, for the safety and protection of all women of our country, and to ensure swift and fitting punishment for the perpetrators of such brutal acts."

Police had braced for violent protests, but most passed of peacefully

More than 1,000 protesters gathered in New Delhi city centre for a sit-in, demanding political change to protect women from violence.

Thousands more took part in a candlelight vigil.

The area is home to the president's palace, the prime minister's office and key defence, foreign affairs and home ministries.

Authorities feared a repeat of demonstrations a week ago, where police fired tear gas and water cannon at activists after violence broke out.

Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said: "We have booked all six accused under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

The horrific crime has sparked an angry debate over women's safety in India

"It is a non-bailable offence which carries the death sentence."

Formal charges are expected to be filed by January 3.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was deeply saddened by the woman's death and described the reaction to the case as "perfectly understandable from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change".

"It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channel these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action," he added.

After boarding a bus on December 16, the student was attacked by the men who took turns raping her and assaulted her with an iron bar before they threw her off the moving vehicle.

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'US Can Learn From Australia's Gun Laws'

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

When Martin Bryant massacred 35 people with semi-automatic weapons at a tourist spot in Tasmania in 1996, then-Australian prime minister John Howard reacted swiftly by pushing for tough new national gun laws.

Just 12 days after the shootings at Port Arthur, legislation was agreed which banned most people from owning rapid fire rifles and shotguns.

In a government buyback scheme more than 600,000 weapons were handed in and destroyed.

There have been no mass killings since.

Neil Noye was the local Mayor at the time. Speaking to Channel 9 about the recent US killings he said: "It's devastating and my thoughts and prayers go out to those families because I know exactly what they are going through.

"John Howard brought the gun laws in. Some people hated him and some people loved him, but I think that was a good thing."

Now US President Barack Obama is facing the same dilemma after the Newtown school massacre in Connecticut that killed 20 children and six adults.

The 1996 massacre in Tasmania sparked anti-gun protests

While the gun lobby is far more powerful in the US and gun ownership culturally embedded through the constitution, the conservative Mr Howard says now is the time to tackle the politically sensitive issue.

"It will be difficult but it can be done," Mr Howard, who had only been in the job two months when the Port Arthur killings happened, told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

Speaking earlier this year after another US gun massacre, Mr Howard noted: "If I hadn't done something I would have been squandering the moral authority I had as a newly-elected prime minister."

Australian MP Andrew Leigh has studied and written about the effects of the legislation.

"One in three American households has a gun, and that has terrible consequences when a teenager gets depressed or a family dispute gets out of control," he said.

"There are Australians who wouldn't be walking the streets if it wasn't for the gun buyback. It saved about 200 lives a year it continues to make Australia a safer place today."

The guesthouse frrom where Martin Bryant killed 35 people

The politician believes America can learn a great deal from the Australian experience and says the US "can recognise that you can have both - you can have that culture of sport shooting that Americans prize so dearly but without the tragic gun violence that plagues so many American lives every year".

In 2009 in Australia there were 0.1 gun murders per 100,000 people compared to 3.2 per 100,000 in the US, according to the most recent data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Philip Alpers, an analyst on gun violence at the University of Sydney who worked on weapons control in the US for four years, admits drawing parallels between Australia and US is difficult.

"Culturally we are very different. The automatic Australian reaction after Port Arthur was that we need to pull back on gun ownership -  fewer guns are better. Howard had a groundswell of public support on his side," he said.

"In the US, reaction over the past few years has increasingly been, more guns make us safer. Guns are confused with freedom and opinion is so polarised that it might be impossible for Obama to do anything."

Not everyone in Australia has been convinced by the legislation.

The Australian government bought back guns and destroyed them

Colourful independent MP in rural Queensland, Bob Katter, said: "You can ban all the guns in the world but those sort of people find some other way of doing it.

"You create a morbid fascination when you ban them and I think that has a lot to do with some of these terrible incidents that are occurring."

The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, which lobbied against the Howard laws, says gun death rates were falling anyway.

It points to an independent report by the Melbourne Institute in 2008 which contradicts claims that fewer guns mean fewer homicides and suicides.

"There is little evidence to suggest that it had any significant effects on firearm homicides and suicides," the Melbourne study concluded, referring to the National Firearms Agreement.

Australia still has gun crime of course, especially amongst Sydney's biker gangs, but since Port Arthur no Australian shooting has made global headlines.

Unlike in America guns aren't entwined in Australia's culture, but changing gun laws was still a brave move, as politicians in Washington know all too well.

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Gang-Rape In India: Teen Victim Kills Herself

A 17-year-old Indian girl who was allegedly gang-raped killed herself after police pressured her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers, police and a relative said on Thursday.

It comes as the 23-year-old Indian medical student who was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi arrived at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment.

A hospital spokesperson said the patient is in an "extremely critical condition" after the attack on December 16.

She was transferred overseas for better treatment.

The latest case, in the Patiala region in the Punjab, has again shone the spotlight on the police's handling of sex crimes.

One police officer has been sacked and another suspended over their conduct after the assault during the festival of Diwali on November 13, according to officials.

The teenager was found dead on Wednesday night after swallowing poison.

Her death came as it emerged that the names, addresses and photographs of convicted rapists will be posted online by police in India to publicly shame them for their crimes.

Inspector General Paramjit Singh Gill said that the teenager had been "running from pillar to post to get her case registered" but officers failed to open a formal inquiry.

"One of the officers tried to convince her to withdraw the case," Gill, the police chief for the area, told AFP.

Before her death, there had been no arrests, although three people were detained on Thursday. Two of them were her alleged male attackers and the third was a suspected woman accomplice.

The victim's sister told Indian television that the teenager had been urged to either accept cash or marry one of her attackers.

"The police started pressuring her to either reach a financial settlement with her attackers or marry one of them," her sister told the NDTV network.

Meanwhile, the Press Trust of India reported that a police officer has been suspended for allegedly refusing to register a rape complaint in the northern state of Chhattisgar.

The woman and her husband later brought the case to the attention of a more senior officer and a hunt has now been launched for her attacker, an auto rickshaw driver.

Official figures show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded last year in India were against women.

The real figure is thought to be much higher as so many women are reluctant to report attacks to the police.

During an address to the chief ministers of India's states on Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged to bring in new laws to cover attacks on women.

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Fiscal Cliff: Obama 'Optimistic' After Talks

Mr Burns Explains The Fiscal Cliff

Updated: 3:03pm UK, Friday 07 December 2012

The Simpsons character Mr Burns has managed to explain the "fiscal cliff" with a pithy cartoon.

It may be a complex and political concept, but with the use of a simple graph and a man in a car, the unpopular nuclear plant CEO succeeds in explaining the predicament facing the US economy.

Admittedly it may have a certain Republican spin to it, but given that the explanation is made in the Burns mansion where Mitt Romney presidential campaign posters are peeling from the wall, that is no surprise.

According to Mr Burns the "fiscal cliff" is defined simply as this: "Think of the economy as a car and the rich man as the driver. If you don't give the driver all the money he will drive you over a cliff.

"It's just common sense."

He goes on to tell his right-hand man Smithers: "Furthermore, rich people feel things more than the common man."

The fiscal cliff is the $607bn (£378bn) of cuts and taxes that will kick in on January 1 if the Republicans and the Democrats in Congress cannot agree on how to run the US economy.

While the Democrats favour raising taxes for the rich, the Republicans want to retain the tax cuts brought in by George W Bush and say it is government spending that must be curtailed.

Because they failed to agree they made a deal on a package of tax rises and spending cuts, including defence and welfare, that will come into action in the new year unless a solution is found.

Economists have warned that if this happens then it could throw the US back into recession and damage the global financial recovery.

Some financial experts have said that the fiscal cliff is the biggest threat to global recovery, as the rest of the world is looking to the US to lead them out of recession.

Congress is now working to try to find a solution before the December 31 deadline.

If it does not, then Smithers will be driving Mr Burns' car to the top of the graph and over the cliff.

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India Rape Death: Six Charged With Murder

Indian police have charged six men with murder, hours after a woman who was gang raped on a bus in New Delhi died in hospital.

The men could face the death penalty if convicted, in a case that has triggered protests across India.

The 23-year-old victim was savagely beaten and raped for almost an hour before being thrown out of the moving vehicle.

She was flown to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for specialist treatment, but later died from severe organ failure.

The victim's body has arrived back in India from Singapore

Sky's India Correspondent Alex Rossi said: "The general thinking behind it as far as the prosecution service is concerned is that the way she was treated on that bus, the manner in which she was subjected to such a brutal attack, the fact that she was thrown from the bus whilst it was still moving and was unconscious suggests that they're fairly confident now that there was pre-meditation in the attack."

Her uncle has called for those responsible to be given the "strictest possible sentence".

"This is a very sad day, and a very very sad happening," he said. "My condolences are with my niece's family."

Indian police are braced for more protests

Crowds of protesters have gathered in New Delhi city centre for a sit-in, demanding political change to protect women from violence.

The area is home to the president's palace, the prime minister's office and key defence, foreign affairs and home ministries.

Authorities fear a repeat of demonstrations a week ago, where police fired tear gas and water cannon at activists after violence broke out.

Activists light candles in memory of the rape victim

But Daily Telegraph journalist Rahul Bedi, who is in New Delhi, said protesters were likely to remain peaceful to "avoid giving the politicians a tool" to criticise them.

"I think there's a conscious decision on the part of the protesters in the land of Gandhi to protest in a non-violent way," he added.

"These sit-ins are going to continue for a long time. This crime has shocked the country, rape is something this country has been dancing around for the last 30 or 40 years."

Police have closed-off parts of New Delhi with metal barriers

A chartered aircraft has flown the victim's body back to India, along with members of her family.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was deeply saddened by the woman's death and described the reaction to the case as "perfectly understandable from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change".

"It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channel these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action," he added.

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General Norman Schwarzkopf Dies Aged 78

General Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the US-led coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War, has died.

The 78-year-old died on Thursday at his home in Tampa, Florida, where he retired after his last military posting as commander-in-chief of US Central Command.

His sister Ruth Barenbaum said he passed away following complications from pneumonia.

Gen. Schwarzkopf was known as Stormin' Norman for his explosive temper

A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Gen. Schwarzkopf was known popularly as Stormin' Norman for a notoriously explosive temper.

Former president George HW Bush, himself sick in intensive care in Texas, was the first to issue a statement mourning the loss of the man he chose to lead the war that came to define both of their careers.

"Barbara and I mourn the loss of a true American patriot and one of the great military leaders of his generation," his statement said.

The General salutes an Iraqi general to set Gulf War cease-fire terms

"A distinguished member of that Long Gray Line hailing from West Point, General Norm Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomised the 'duty, service, country' creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises.

"More than that, he was a good and decent man - and a dear friend. Barbara and I send our condolences to his wife Brenda and his wonderful family."

During the 1991 Gulf War, he became the public face of the coalition troops who ousted Hussein's forces from Kuwait.

After retiring from the Army in 1992, Gen. Schwarzkopf wrote a best-selling autobiography It Doesn't Take A Hero.

He was knighted by the Queen and honoured with decorations from France, Britain, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

At the peak of his post-war national celebrity Gen. Schwarzkopf - a self-proclaimed political independent - rejected attempts to persuade him to run for high office.

The General receiving the medal of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour

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Gang-Raped Indian Teenager Kills Herself

A 17-year-old Indian girl who was gang-raped killed herself after police pressured her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers, police and a relative said on Thursday.

It comes as the 23-year-old Indian medical student who was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi arrived at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment.

A hospital spokesperson said the patient is in an "extremely critical condition" after the attack on December 16.

She was transferred overseas for better treatment.

The latest case, in the Patiala region in the Punjab, has again shone the spotlight on the police's handling of sex crimes.

One police officer has been sacked and another suspended over their conduct after the assault during the festival of Diwali on November 13, according to officials.

The teenager was found dead on Wednesday night after swallowing poison.

Her death came as it emerged that the names, addresses and photographs of convicted rapists will be posted online by police in India to publicly shame them for their crimes.

Inspector General Paramjit Singh Gill said that the teenager had been "running from pillar to post to get her case registered" but officers failed to open a formal inquiry.

"One of the officers tried to convince her to withdraw the case," Gill, the police chief for the area, told AFP.

Before her death, there had been no arrests over her case although three people were detained on Thursday. Two of them were her alleged male attackers and the third was a suspected woman accomplice.

The victim's sister told Indian television that the teenager had been urged to either accept cash or marry one of her attackers.

"The police started pressuring her to either reach a financial settlement with her attackers or marry one of them," her sister told the NDTV network.

Meanwhile, the Press Trust of India reported that a police officer has been suspended for allegedly refusing to register a rape complaint in the northern state of Chhattisgar.

The woman and her husband later brought the case to the attention of a more senior officer and a hunt has now been launched for her attacker, an auto rickshaw driver.

Official figures show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded last year in India were against women.

The real figure is thought to be much higher as so many women are reluctant to report attacks to the police.

During an address to the chief ministers of India's states on Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged to bring in new laws to cover attacks on women.

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India Gang-Rape Victim 'Struggling Against Odds'

An Indian woman who was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi suffered "significant" brain damage and is fighting for her life.

The 23-year-old woman was flown to Singapore for treatment at Mount Elizabeth hospital on Thursday.

The unnamed victim had already undergone three abdominal operations and suffered a cardiac arrest in India prior to her flight.

Hospital chief executive Dr Kelvin Loh said she also has an infection of the lungs and abdomen and "is currently struggling against the odds".

"She continues to remain in an extremely critical condition and is still receiving treatment at the hospital's intensive care unit," he added. 

The announcement comes 10 days after she was brutally attacked by six men on December 16.

The rape has triggered widespread outrage and riots across India.

Official figures show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded last year in India were against women.

The real figure is thought to be much higher as so many women are reluctant to report attacks to the police.

During an address to the chief ministers of India's states on Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged to bring in new laws to cover attacks on women.

In a separate incident, a 17-year-old Indian girl who was gang-raped killed herself after police pressured her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers.

One police officer has been sacked and another suspended over their conduct after the assault during the festival of Diwali on November 13, according to officials.

The teenager was found dead on Wednesday night after swallowing poison.

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George HW Bush: Condition Worsens In Hospital

The health of former US President George HW Bush has worsened and he is in intensive care with a "stubborn fever".

Mr Bush was admitted to the intensive care unit on Sunday and has been put on a liquids-only diet.

He has been battling bronchitis for the last month and has been in and out of hospital.

Spokesman Jim McGrath: "It's an elevated fever, so it's actually gone up in the last day or two. It's a stubborn fever that won't go away.

"He's had a series of setbacks now that have landed him in guarded condition in the intensive care unit."

Mr Bush had been making a good recovery early last week, he added.

Mr Bush, a Republican, served a single term in the White House from 1989 to 1993, despite sending US forces to victory in Iraq in the first Gulf War, expelling Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait.

He had previously served as Vice President to Ronald Reagan, from 1981 to 1989. His son George W Bush became president of the United States in 2001, serving two terms.

Mr Bush Snr was first admitted to Methodist Hospital in Houston on November 7 for bronchitis treatment and released on November 19.

The 88-year-old was readmitted on November 23 after his cough flared up once more.

Doctors had initially hoped to be able to send the elder statesman home for Christmas, but instead he spent the holiday in hospital, where he was joined by his wife Barbara, son Neil and grandson Pierce.

Mr McGrath said: "I wouldn't say he was able to celebrate it in the traditional sense.

"His family was with him, and he's conscious and he's able to engage in humorous banter with his doctor."

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US Snow Storm Heads East After Hitting Midwest

A severe US snow storm is threatening more devastation as it heads east after pounding the Midwest, killing six people.

Up to 18 inches of snow is forecast inland on Thursday, from western New York to Maine, before tapering off into a mix of rain and snow closer to the coast.

It follows snowy gusts of 30mph and an outbreak of 34 tornadoes on Tuesday in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama – causing travel chaos and power cuts.

More than 1,600 flights were cancelled or delayed on Wednesday while scores of motorists got stuck on icy roads or slid into drifts. The storms left more than 100,000 in the region without power.

The storm has blanketed the Midwest

The major storm system, which spawned Gulf Coast region tornadoes on Christmas Day and an historic amount of snow in Arkansas, pushed through the Upper Ohio Valley and moved into the Northeast.

By Wednesday night, The National Weather Service said spotters had reported up to a foot of snow in some Pennsylvania counties.

And a mix of snow, sleet and rain accompanied by high winds had arrived in western Massachusetts.

"The way I've been describing it is as a low-end blizzard, but that's sort of like saying a small Tyrannosaurus rex," said John Kwiatkowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

Snow and rain is expected to hit New York City

Two passengers in a car on a slippery Arkansas road died when the vehicle crossed the centre line and struck a sport utility vehicle.

In Oklahoma, a 76-year-old woman died when a truck crossed into oncoming traffic and hit the car she was in. A 28-year-old woman was killed in another crash.

The storm's winds were also blamed for toppling a tree onto a truck in Texas, killing the driver, and a tree onto a house in Louisiana, killing a man.

Cameras captured the approach of the large funnel cloud in Mobile, Alabama, the biggest city hit by numerous twisters.

A large section of the roof on the city's Trinity Episcopal Church was missing, said Scott Rye, a senior warden at the church.

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Netflix Blames Amazon For Xmas Eve Outage

The online film streaming service Netflix is blaming Amazon after millions of people were unable to access its service on Christmas Eve.

Netflix says a problem at Amazon Web Services (AWS), which rents out computing power in data centres in the internet "cloud", left more than 27 million of its members unable to get the films they wanted.

The Netflix issue began in California on Monday afternoon and lasted late into the night, according to the company.

No problems were reported with viewing offerings at Amazon's rival online film service.

In a message on Twitter, Netflix referred to the problem as "terrible timing". It noted that users in Europe were not affected.

"We are happy that people opening gifts of Netflix or Netflix capable devices on Christmas morning could watch TV shows or movies and apologise for any inconvenience caused Christmas Eve," the company said in a separate statement.

"We are investigating the cause and will do what we can to prevent reoccurrence."

Netflix allows customers to access films online

Amazon told the AFP news agency that the Netflix outage was due to "issues with the Elastic Load Balancing service" that affected some AWS customers in the United States.

Reports in the US suggest the problem stretched from Brazil to Canada.

AWS began recovering late on Christmas Eve and was back in proper working order on Christmas Day, according to Amazon.

The outage exposed a risk inherent in the trend towards depending on "cloud" servers for services ranging from web-based email to digital news publications and business tasks which have traditionally been the responsibility of on-site IT departments.

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Firefighter Ambush Shooting: Killer Left Note

The gunman who ambushed two firefighters as they approached his burning house left a note saying he wanted to torch the neighbourhood and "do what I like doing best, killing people".

Gerald Pickering, police chief in Webster, New York state, said 62-year-old William Spengler armed himself with three weapons and set his house on fire to lure emergency services into a death trap.

Spengler killed two volunteer firefighters - Mike Chiapperini, 43, and 19-year-old Tomasz Kaczowka - and shot two others before taking his own life in the small town on Monday morning.

Police believe human remains found in the burnt-out home are those of the gunman's 67-year-old sister, Cheryl, who has been missing since the blaze. The remains will be examined before identity is confirmed.

The full contents of the two-page, typed note - which police said does not reveal a motive - have not been published, but Mr Pickering said it clearly shows the killer's "intent".

Victims: Michael Chapperini (left) and Tomasz Kaczowka

One of the guns used was a semi-automatic Bushmaster rifle, the same type of gun used in the December 14 school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Mr Pickering said Spengler was "equipped to go to war".

Mr Chiapperini's full-time job was as a public information officer with the Webster police department. He was named firefighter of the year for 2012.

Mr Kaczowka worked as an emergency call dispatcher and Mr Pickering described him as "a tremendous young man".

The two injured volunteer firefighters, Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino, remain in hospital. They are said to be awake and alert and are expected to recover despite suffering "significant" injuries.

Webster is northwest of New York City

Spengler was released from prison in 1998 after serving 17 years for beating his 92-year-old grandmother to death with a hammer in 1980.

Authorities have said he lived a quiet life and had done nothing to bring himself to police attention since his parole.

Spengler's mother Arline, who had lived with her two children, died in October, leaving Spengler on his own with his sister whom he "couldn't stand", according to neighbour Roger Vercruysse.

Spengler "stayed on one side of the house and [Cheryl] stayed on the other," Mr Vercruysse said.

Dozens of people turned out on Monday night for an impromptu vigil to mourn the firefighters, leaving bouquets and messages of condolence at the local fire station.

One man left a crate of beer, the local newspaper told Sky News.

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Government Bombing In Northern Syria Kills 20

Shelling in Syria's northern Raqqa Province has killed some 20 people, with at least eight children among the dead, activists say.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has published a video of the aftermath of the bombing.

The video shows rows of blood-stained bodies laid out on blankets, and the sound of crying relatives can be heard in the background.

The shelling hit the village of al-Qahtania in Raqq Province. It remains unclear when the attack happened.

More follows...

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Tornadoes Hit US As Christmas Storms Kill Three

At least three people have died after a major winter storm system swept through the southern US, triggering tornadoes and heavy snowfall.

A driver was killed when a high winds knocked down a tree, crushing his pickup truck and a 53-year-old Louisiana man died after a tree fell on his house.

A 28-year-old woman died after crashing her car on a snowy highway.

The National Weather Service said a tornado struck Mobile, Alabama, a city with a population of about 200,000. Homes were damaged and power lines and trees were toppled.

Firefighters carried out door-to-door checks in the affected areas but did not find any serious casualties.

Storm clouds head towards the East Coast

A large section of a church roof was missing and the front wall of the parish wall was gone, said Scott Rye, a senior warden at the church in the Midtown section of the city.

Another apparent tornado caused damage in the west Alabama town of Grove Hill, about 80 miles (130km) north of Mobile.

Near McNeill, Mississippi, a likely tornado damaged a dozen homes and sent eight people to the hospital, none with life-threatening injuries, said Pearl River County emergency management agency director Danny Manley.

At least three tornadoes were reported in Texas, although only one building was damaged, according to the National Weather Service.

The storms also contributed to a 21-vehicle pile-up that shut down a major highway in Oklahoma and caused thousands of power cuts.

A man is put in an ambulance after a tornado in Mobile

More than 400 flights nationwide were cancelled by Tuesday evening, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. More than half of those were either in or out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which saw several inches of snow.

The snowstorm pushed out of Oklahoma as Christmas Day ended, carrying with it blizzard warnings for parts of northeast Arkansas, where 10 inches (25cm) of snow was forecast.

Freezing rain clung to trees and utility lines in Arkansas and winds gusts up to 30 mph (48kph) whipped them around, causing about 71,000 customers to lose electricity.

Blizzard conditions were also possible for parts of Illinois, Indiana and western Kentucky with predictions of four to seven inches (10 to 17.5cm) of snow.

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Pope Benedict Celebrates Christmas Mass

The Pope has marked Christmas with a Mass in the Vatican and asked if people still have room for children, the poor and God in their technology-driven lives.

The pontiff also prayed that Israelis and Palestinians live in peace and freedom, and asked the faithful to pray for strife-torn Syria as well as Lebanon and Iraq.

The ceremony began at 10pm local time on Christmas Eve with the blare of trumpets, meant to symbolise Christian joy over the news of Christ's birth in Bethlehem.

As midnight neared, church bells tolled throughout Rome, while inside the basilica, the voices of the Vatican boys' choir resounded joyously.

Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican traditionally began at midnight, but the start time was brought forward years ago to give the 85-year-old pontiff more time to rest before his Christmas Day speech.

A smiling Benedict, dressed in gold vestments, waved to applauding church-goers as he glided up the St Peter's Basilica aisle toward the ornate main altar on a wheeled platform guided by white-gloved aides.

In his homily, Benedict urged people to reflect upon what they find time for in their busy lives.

He said: "The great moral question of our attitude toward the homeless, toward refugees and migrants takes on a deeper dimension. Do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him?

"The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have.  And God? The question of God never seems urgent."

He continued: "Let us pray that Israelis and Palestinians be able to live their lives in the peace of the one God and in freedom."

Benedict also mentioned his hope for progress in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

Hours before the basilica Mass, Benedict lit a Christmas peace candle at his studio window overlooking St Peter's Square to mark the end of a service for the unveiling of the Vatican's crib.

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Manila Christmas Eve Fires Tear Through Slum

At least eight people have been killed and thousands more left homeless after two fires broke out in Manila in the Philippines.

One of the blazes sparked a riot in a slum with emergency workers being showered with rocks as they drove in to help people.

Fire marshall Santiago Laguna said the clashes left one man dead and two suspected rioters were arrested.

"They (residents) started grabbing hoses from our firefighters, who could not do anything as they feared for their own safety," Mr Laguna said.

He said a man was beaten up and later died from his injuries as the blaze consumed the shantytown in the San Juan district. Arson is believed to be the cause of the blaze.

Mr Laguna said residents were apparently angered by the delayed arrival of firefighters. The emergency workers could not get their fire trucks through narrow streets jammed with parked vehicles.

The shantytown blaze left some 2,000 families homeless, Mr Laguna said, adding that equated to around 8,000 people without a roof over their heads at Christmas.

In the separate fire seven charred bodies, all believed to be from one household, were recovered after one of the fires ripped through a row of old apartments in northern Manila.

"They are all believed to be from a family that owned the apartment row and lived in one of the units where the fire was suspected to have started," fire officer Francisco Mabunga added.

The cause of that blaze, which broke out as the metropolis of 14 million people held Christmas Eve parties that lasted until dawn, is under investigation, officials said.

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Mandela In Hospital: 'Looking Much Better'

South African President Jacob Zuma has visited Nelson Mandela in hospital and says the 94-year-old is "looking much better".

Mr Zuma said the ex-president was in good spirits on Christmas morning.

Family members, including his wife Graca Machel, are spending the day with Mr Mandela at his bedside.

According to Mr Zuma, doctors are "happy" with Mr Mandela's progress.

The anti-apartheid icon was admitted to hospital on December 8 with a lung infection.

Since then he has also undergone surgery to remove gallstones.

Officials have previously said Mr Mandela was improving, but note that doctors are taking extraordinary care because of his age.

On Monday, Mr Zuma's office, which is tasked with issuing updates on Mr Mandela's condition, said doctors had confirmed that he will not be home for Christmas.

But there was no indication of when he might be discharged.

His grandson Mandla Mandela earlier told eNCA television that the family was saddened by his absence from home this Christmas.

"We are greatly saddened by his absence ... we didn't anticipate that he would be away for so long," he said from Mvezo village, where he is the local chief.

He said the family was hopeful that the much loved elderly statesman will be home soon, adding that his presence was enjoyed by the family and the community of Qunu, the rural village where he grew up and later retired to.

Before his retirement in 2004, Mr Mandela used to host a Christmas feast for impoverished children in Qunu, which was a highlight for many.

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Protests: Indian PM Urges Calm Over Gang-Rape

The Indian Prime Minister has appealed for calm and vowed to protect women as police struggle to quell outrage over sex crimes following the gang-rape of a student.

As authorities shut down roads in the heart of India's capital, Manmohan Singh said he understood the public anger at the "monstrous crime" but added that "violence will serve no purpose".

"There is genuine and justified anger and anguish at this ghastly incident," he said in a televised address.

"I feel deeply sad at the turn of events leading to clashes between protesters and police forces. I assure you that we will make all possible efforts to ensure security and safety to all women in this country.

"As a father of three daughters myself, I feel as strongly as you. We will ensure justice is delivered," he added.

His pleas for calm were echoed by the victim's father.

"Please pray for my daughter and do not resort to any violent activity. She needs your support and your prayers," the father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the Hindi-language News 24 network.

"My daughter is fighting for her life, but she is very strong and has a strong will to live."

Protests have been taking place across India over the last week to denounce the police and government over the gang-rape of the 23-year-old student in the capital and the surge of violence against women.

Official figures show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded last year were against women, with the number of rapes in the capital rising 17 per cent to 661 this year.

The biggest protests were in New Delhi on Saturday, prompting police to cordon off areas around government buildings.

However, fresh clashes erupted on Sunday and police said more than 100 people were injured including 60 policemen.

The clampdown was further tightened on Monday, with commuters having to make lengthy detours to get to work.

Thousands of armed police and paramilitary troops blocked roads in central New Delhi to prevent protesters from marching to the presidential palace. 

A small group of demonstrators gathered at a venue less than a mile away from India's parliament to press the government to ensure the security of women in the city.

The city ground to a halt as commuters found themselves caught in massive traffic jams after most roads in central Delhi were barricaded by police.

A television journalist was shot dead in the Indian town of Imphal on Sunday by police trying to control a protest over the attempted rape of an actress whose attacker remains at large.

Five police have been suspended over the shooting, the Press Trust of India reported.

Police have said some of the Delhi protesters have been intent on causing trouble and the demonstrations have been "hijacked by hooligans".

While many of the protesters have been women carrying placards, the crowds have drawn increasing numbers of young men who have been hurling stones at security forces.

The government has been on the defensive not only over the levels of crimes against women but also over the notoriously slow criminal legal system.

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Afghan Policewoman Kills US Adviser In Kabul

An Afghan policewoman has shot dead an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul.

The circumstances of the killing were not immediately clear, however the shooting could be another insider attack by Afghans against their foreign allies.

A NATO command spokesman, US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Lester T. Carroll, said the shooter was taken into Afghan custody shortly after the incident.

"We can confirm that a civilian police adviser was shot and killed this morning by a suspected member of the Afghan uniform. The suspected shooter is in Afghan custody," Mr Carroll said.

The slain adviser was a contractor but the name and nationality of the deceased were being withheld.

Kabul's Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Daoud Amin said an investigation is under way to determine whether the killing was intentional or accidental.

It is not known whether the victim was a military or civilian adviser.

The adviser died at the Kabul police headquarters in the Afghan capital

The killing came just hours after an Afghan policeman shot five of his colleagues at a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan late on Monday.

The attacker then stole his colleague's weapons and fled to join the Taliban, said deputy provincial governor in Jawzjan province, Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani.

More than 60 international allies, including troops and civilian advisers, have been killed by Afghan soldiers or police this year, and a number of other assaults are still under investigation.

NATO forces, due to withdraw from the country by 2014, have speeded up efforts to train and advise Afghan military and police units before the pullout.

But the surge in insider attacks is throwing doubt on the capability of the Afghan security forces to take over from international troops and has further undermined public support for the 11-year war in NATO countries.

More than 50 Afghan members of the government's security forces have also died this year in attacks by their own colleagues.

Taliban militants claim such attacks reflect a growing popular opposition to both foreign military presence and the Kabul government.

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Syria Bakery Airstrike 'Killed Dozens'

Activists say more than 60 people were killed in a government airstrike on a bakery in a rebel-held town in central Syria.

The strike on the town of Halfaya on Sunday left scattered bodies and debris up and down a street, and more than a dozen dead and wounded were trapped in tangled heaps of dirt and rubble.

The attack appeared to be the government's response to a newly announced rebel offensive seeking to drive the Syrian army from towns north of the central city of Hama.

Halfaya was the first of the area's towns to be "liberated" by rebel fighters, and activists saw Sunday's attack as payback.

"Halfaya was the first and biggest victory in the Hama countryside," said Hama activist Mousab Alhamadee via Skype. "That's why the regime is punishing them in this way."

The exact total number of dead remained unclear, but the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 60 people were killed.

That number is expected to rise, it said, because some 50 of those wounded in the strike are in critical condition.

For the past week, rebels have been launching attacks in the area, most notably in the nearby village of Morek, where they hope to seize control of the country's main north-south highway.

The bakery attack coincided with the start of a two-day visit by Lakhdar Brahimi, who represents the UN and the Arab League, to meet with top Syrian officials.

Mr Brahimi said he held talks with Syrian President Bashar al Assad on Monday.

"I had the honour to meet the president and as usual we exchanged views on the many steps to be taken in the future," he told reporters at his hotel in Damascus.

Meanwhile, Russia said on Monday that it would be "political suicide" for the Syrian government to use chemical weapons against the armed opposition.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview released by the state television channel RT that Mr Assad had given Moscow repeated assurances he had no plans to order such an attack.

"I do not believe Syria would use chemical weapons," Mr Lavrov said in comments translated by the channel into English. "It would be a political suicide for the government if it does."

Anti-regime activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed since Syria's crisis began in March 2011.

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Kabul Fire Rips Through Cloth Market

A huge fire has swept through a market in Kabul, destroying hundreds of shops.

The early morning blaze burned through a cloth market in the Afghan capital and forced the evacuation of the nearby money exchange.

A fire department official told the AFP news agency that an electrical short circuit was probably to blame.

The fire was so severe that Nato and Afghan army fire squads were called in to help but no-one was injured.

A Kabul police official said the currency exchange, which is the largest in the country, had to be emptied as the fire neared its walls.

"Police helped the money market evacuate and remove their money from the market to safe places," the official said.

Traders reportedly took hundreds of thousands of dollars into police vans and gold was apparently also moved out.

The Afghan capital, home to around five million people, has a poor fire safety reputation.

This is despite the fire department being upgraded with international help following the allied invasion in late 2001 and after the fall of the Taliban regime.

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Saudi Arabian Blogger Could Face Death Penalty

A Saudi Arabian blogger is set to go on trial charged with renouncing Islam and could face the death penalty.

Raif Badawi, who started the Free Saudi Liberals website to discuss the role of religion in the country, was arrested in June.

He was initially charged with the less serious offence of insulting Islam through electronic channels, but at his latest hearing a judge referred him to a more senior court.

The judge recommended that Mr Badawi be tried for apostasy - or the abandonment of religion - which carries an automatic death sentence in the country.

King Abdullah has pushed for reforms to the country's legal system

The details of the hearing on December 17 have only just emerged, through the Human Rights Watch organisation.

Mr Badawi's website has now been removed, but included articles that were critical of senior religious figures, the monitoring group said.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry was not available to comment.

The world's top oil exporter follows the strict Wahhabi school of Islam and applies Islamic law, or Sharia.

Judges base their decisions on their own interpretation of religious law rather than on a written legal code or on precedent.

King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's ruler, has pushed for reforms to the legal system including improved training for judges and the introduction of precedent to standardise verdicts and make courts more transparent.

However, Saudi lawyers say that conservatives in the Justice Ministry and the judiciary have resisted implementing many of the changes that he announced in 2007.

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India Rape Protests: Reporter 'Shot Dead'

A journalist has been killed in violent demonstrations against sex attacks in India as police failed to contain fresh violence.

A television reporter, 36, was reportedly shot dead when officers opened fire on a protest in Imphal, the capital of Manipur state, over an attack on a film actress.

The star, known as Momoko, was dragged from stage in full public view last week by an armed militant who tried to rape her. She managed to fight him off and fled.

Momoko, also a popular model, has waived her right to anonymity to make a public appeal for her attacker's arrest.

Crowds in Manipur pelted police with stones on Saturday, prompting a curfew to be imposed for parts of the state.

This was relaxed on Sunday but soon a huge crowd assembled again to confront police who opened fire in retaliation, according to police spokesman A. Singh.

The death of the reporter, who worked for the Doordarshan network, came as separate angry protests over the brutal rape of a young woman were staged in New Delhi for a second day.

Water cannon was used on crowds in New Delhi

Police had tried to ban demonstrations in certain parts of the city after violence on Saturday but their efforts failed.

Water cannon and baton rounds were used again on Sunday as people took to the streets to demand tougher action for offenders.

The case of a 23-year-old student who was gang-raped by six drunk men last Sunday has sparked a public outcry.

Promises by the Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to consider demands for the six suspects to face the death penalty failed to quell the anger.

Mr Shinde had also vowed on Saturday night that the government would take further steps to keep women safe.

The rape of a young woman has sparked a public outcry

A group of protesters met Sonia Gandhi, the governing Congress party chief, on Sunday to demand a speedy trial of the suspects.

The meeting came after thousands gathered at the India Gate monument to call for increased protection for women.

The 23-year-old woman, a physiotherapy student, was attacked by six drunk men when she was travelling on a bus with a male friend.

They took it in turns to rape her and attack her with an iron rod, causing serious internal injuries. She is still fighting for her life in hospital.

Her case has caught the public mood amid dismay at a massive rise in the number of sexual attacks in India.

Government figures show a woman is now raped in the country every 20 minutes after a major rise in assaults.

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Music School Helping Soweto Children At Risk

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent

A South African music school set up by a British woman to help the poorest children in Soweto is in danger of closing down because of lack of funds.

Buskaid, a charity, has helped thousands of poor children discover classically focused music in the former township.

Some have gone on to win scholarships at some of Britain's finest music institutions, such as the Royal Academy of Music.

A British viola player named Rosemary Nalden started Buskaid in the 90s. Its aim was to give disadvantaged young people in Soweto a better life through music.

Cecilia Manyama is now one of their leading lights. She has been at the school for 12 years and is now one of their leading violin players and singers.

For Cecilia, it meant a way out of poverty and a glimpse of a life she could only dream of before. She played to international audiences and now has a solid job playing in the Buskaid Ensemble and teaching other young students.

Life is still tough for many in the former South Africa township

Ms Nalden said: "I want to show them they can actually have a life through music, that they can earn a living as well as enjoy it."

Soweto has come a long way from the apartheid years when racial segregation meant the township was a by-word for poverty and crime.

But life is still tough for youngsters in a country where one in four South Africans is out of work. Pule Lekarapa was headed for a life of crime before Buskaid took him on.

He said: "I have no idea where I would be without Buskaid. I would be doing something terrible, that's for certain."

Instead though, at the relatively old age of 16 he turned up on the doorstep of Buskaid wanting to learn a musical instrument.

He now plays and teaches the double bass.

He added: "I love it, I really do and I am so grateful to Rosemary for giving me this chance to do this and have this life."

It gives the young people a purpose, a focus and a direction which they would not otherwise have.

The charity gives people a chance of a better life through music

We followed 10-year-old Solly home to his house around the corner from the Academy, which is in Deipkloof.

"He's here day in and day out," said Ms Nalden. "[He's] absolutely fanatical about his playing and determined to do something with his life."

Solly walks past groups of children skipping on the street or sitting on doorsteps, his violin case firmly in his hand.

He is going home to practise after spending most of the day at the Academy. His grandmother looks on proudly as he puts the violin through its paces.

But Solly's future and that of Buskaid is seriously under threat  because of lack of funds.

Ms Nalden said: "In a nutshell, we risk going under before the end of next year unless someone or people come forward to help us."

The charity not only pays for the children to receive lessons and the upkeep of the music school but it also funds two or three students to travel to England every year to study music.

And that involves even paying the £18,000 tuition fees if they feel the student is talented enough.

In a country with startling statistics like more than 70% of black South African children live in low-income households, Buskaid has been their hope, a chance of a future.

And that, Ms Nalden, insists, has got to be worth fighting for.

:: Find out more about Buskaid and make a donation

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School Shooting: Tributes To British Victim

The family of a six-year-old British boy killed in the Sandy Hook shootings have paid tribute to their "joyous" son at his funeral.

Dylan Hockley was one of 20 children shot dead by gunman Adam Lanza at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, last Friday.

The little boy died in the arms of his favourite teacher Anne Marie Murphy, who was also killed in the shooting.

Mother Nicole Hockley told the congregation at Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, Connecticut, that Dylan - who had a form of autism that hindered his language development - would flap his arms when he got excited.

When she asked him why, he replied: "Because I am a beautiful butterfly."

Hundreds of family and friends filled the church to commemorate Dylan's life.

Purple and white balloons were released at the end of the funeral to symbolise the 20 children and six adults killed at Sandy Hook school. Purple was Dylan's favourite colour.

He was born in Hampshire to a British father and American mother - Ian and Nicole Hockley - and the family moved to Newtown two years ago.

They praised staff at the school including headteacher Dawn Hochsprung and teacher Vicki Soto, who have been hailed as heroes as they tried to protect pupils from the gunman. Both women died in the attack.

A statement from the family after his death read: "Everyone who met Dylan fell in love with him. His beaming smile would light up any room and his laugh was the sweetest music.

"There are no words that can express our feeling of loss. We will always be a family of four, as though Dylan is no longer physically with us, he is forever in our hearts and minds.

"We love you Mister D, our special gorgeous angel."

It comes after America's leading gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, called for armed guards to be placed in schools to prevent shootings.

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Egypt: Polls Open In Vote On New Constitution

Egyptians have begun voting in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution.

Supporters of President Mohamed Morsi say the constitution is vital to restoring stability and moving the country towards democracy two years after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in a popular uprising.

Critics say the document is divisive as it favours Mr Morsi's Islamist allies and ignores the rights of Christians and women.

Egypt has been in turmoil for about four weeks, with protests over the president's powers and the draft constitution.

The latest street violence took place on Friday, when supporters and opponents of the president clashed in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.

Dozens were hurt.

The vote is taking place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces with about 25 million eligible voters.

The clashes Friday in Alexandria were the latest in four weeks of turmoil

The first phase on December 15 produced a "yes" majority of about 56% with a turnout of some 32%, according to unofficial results.

The opposition has alleged abuses, and called for a re-vote of the first stage.

But the committee overseeing the referendum said their investigation had turned up no major irregularities.

Polling stations close at 7 pm (1700 GMT) but, with long queues forming at some stations, voting could be extended, as it was last week.

Unofficial tallies are likely to emerge within hours of the close, but the referendum committee may not declare an official result for the two rounds until Monday, after hearing appeals.

If the constitution is adopted, a parliamentary election will be held in about two months.

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Sandy Hook Survivors: Date For New School Term

The survivors from Sandy Hook Elementary are to return to school immediately after the New Year's holiday.

Nearly 600 students from kindergarten to the fourth grade will start attending the former Chalk Hill Middle School in neighbouring Monroe, Connecticut, on January 3, Danbury's The News-Times reports.

Sandy Hook in Newtown has been closed indefinitely after last Friday's shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead.

The surviving students - aged five to 10 - will be given classrooms at Chalk Hill equipped with desks, chairs and other items from  Sandy Hook.

Their families will be allowed to inspect Chalk Hill on January 2, according to The News-Times.

Officials have been working around the clock to prepare the old middle school, which is seven miles (11 km) south of Sandy Hook.

Volunteers helped fire marshals and building inspectors get the building compliant with state safety codes. The school - built in the 1960s - has been mainly used as a parks and recreation facility since closing its doors to students in 2011.

Sandy Hook Elementary has been closed indefinitely

Representatives from both the Newtown and Monroe school districts hope to make the transition to the new school as seamless as possible for the young students.

A retired former principal from Sandy Hook Elementary, Donna Page, has agreed to reprise her role once the students start at Chalk Hill, her husband told the Hartford Courant.

Meanwhile, funerals for the victims continued on Thursday as five more children were laid to rest, along with teacher Anne Marie Murphy.

A memorial service was also held for teacher Lauren Rousseau.

In Washington, Vice President Joe Biden reiterated on Thursday the White House's commitment to taking action to prevent future gun violence in the US, saying something has to get done "even if we could only save one life".

Barack Obama has commissioned Mr Biden to oversee a panel tasked with creating proposals to curb gun violence. Mr Biden met with cabinet officials on Thursday, including Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

The massacre's far-reaching impact was underscored by an Associated Press poll conducted this week that named the mass shooting as 2012's top news story.

The annual survey of editors and news directors ranked the US election second and Superstorm Sandy third.

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Nancy Lanza: Private Funeral For Killer's Mum

A private funeral has been held for the woman whose son shot her dead at their Connecticut home and then drove to an elementary school and killed 20 children.

Kingston police Chief Donald Briggs said around 25 family members attended the ceremony at an undisclosed location in the town, where Ms Lanza once lived.

She was killed in her bed by her 20-year-old son, Adam Lanza, at their home in Newtown last week.

Adam Lanza then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he killed 20 children and six school employees before shooting himself.

The Newtown massacre is the second-worst shooting in US history after the 2007 Virginia Tech rampage, which left 33 people dead.

Lanza used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle owned by his mother during his rampage - which has led to fresh calls for more restrictive gun laws.

President Barack Obama commissioned a panel to create proposals designed to curb gun violence in the US.

It comes as the National Rifle Association (NRA) was set to stage a news conference on Friday at a hotel opposite the White House in Washington DC.

Support has grown for a ban on assault weapons

NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre and President David Keene will then appear on separate Sunday television talk shows for their first interviews since the murders last Friday.

The group kept quiet in the days after the shootings, but broke its silence on Tuesday to say it wanted to contribute to the gun control debate.

A school district in Boise, Idaho, cancelled planned assemblies at a number of its 50 schools after receiving threats that "something bad" would happen on Friday.

Authorities in Phoenix also arrested a 16-year-old girl on Thursday after she made threats on YouTube to kill herself and other students at a suburban high school.

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Apocalypse? Not Now, As World Survives

An ancient prediction that the world would end this morning has failed to come true.

As the clock counted down to - and then passed - 11.11am, people around the world used the moment as an excuse for a party.

December 21 marks the end of the 5,125-year Mayan calendar, which some said represents the end of the world.

But the claim was dismissed by everyone from Nasa and the US government to the Vatican.

The tiny French village of Bugarach drew global attention

People who paid just under £1,000 to take refuge in the underground bunker of former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin now stand to qualify for a 50% refund.

In the tiny French village of Bugarach in the Pyrenees, UFO watchers were left disappointed when aliens said to inhabit a jagged mountain failed to board a spacecraft and flee the Earth.

In Serbia, the place to be was Mount Rtanj, a pyramid-shaped peak, where local legend has it that the mountain once swallowed an evil sorcerer who will be released on doomsday in a ball of fire.

The end is nigh! How some were counting down the seconds

Old coal mineshafts were opened up as safe rooms for the dozens who arrived early.

Sirince, a small Turkish village known for its wines, was also being touted as a safe haven, thought to be because it is close to an area where the Virgin Mary is believed to have lived her final days.

In China, the authorities have been detaining more than 500 members of a fringe Christian group, Almighty God, who got into trouble after spreading rumours about the world's impending end, with leaflets, CDs, books and other material all seized.

A man in China made tsunami-proof survival pods

Closer to home, hundreds of people converged on Stonehenge for an End of the World party that coincided with the winter solstice.

In London, themed events included a Last Supper club.

Many scientists and historians argue that the Mayans had a cyclical sense of time, so that the end of a calendar simply signifies the end of one period and the beginning of another.

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Oz Customs Staff Held Over Drug Smuggling

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

An alleged major drug smuggling operation involving a network of customs officials has been uncovered at Australia's biggest airport.

Eight people have been arrested - with more expected - after police swooped on Sydney Airport following a two-year corruption probe.

It is claimed that large quantities of drugs were smuggled through the airport in backpacks and suitcases, with corrupt officials using their knowledge of security systems to allow the narcotics to pass through the international terminal undetected.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said one customs officer, one quarantine officer and two members of the public were arrested this week.

The other four were arrested in August and October.

"There is no place for corruption in our law enforcement agencies," he said. "Where it exists we have to weed it out."

Local media reported that customs officers at Sydney Airport had allegedly been working with organised crime figures to import drugs.

Up to 20 officials are suspected of being involved in either serious misconduct or corrupt dealings, ranging from criminal association to leaking information, drug trafficking and bribery.

They are suspected of importing pseudoephedrine, cocaine, steroids and possibly even weapons.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus said alleged couriers were sent overseas to collect drugs before returning through customs with the help of people in trusted positions.

It is understood more arrests are possible.

Mr Clare said the majority of law enforcement officers were good, honest, hard-working people.

"But we can't be naive," he said, adding there would always be people who would be tempted.

"There will always be the risk that our law enforcement officers could end up working for the crooks."

Mr Clare said the thousands of customs officers heading to work on Thursday morning would be disgusted by the reports of corruption.

"My message to them is this: you can expect more stings, you can expect more arrests and you can expect more reform," he said. "If you're corrupt we'll hunt you down and lock you up."

The Australian Government will now establish a Customs Reform Board to provide advice and recommendations to ministers on how to bolster integrity in the agency.

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service acting chief, Michael Pezzullo, said his job now was to drive further integrity reforms.

"I'm not so naive as to think that criminal elements will not attempt to penetrate this service, its systems and its staff," he said. "We're going to root out these cells."

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Knife Attacks: Pupils Taught To Combat Threat

Chinese schools are teaching young students how to fight off knife-wielding attackers following a string of stabbings aimed at children.

Twenty-seven people have been killed and more than 80 injured since March in a spate of knife attacks that have alarmed the public.

The most recent school attack, on Friday, saw Min Yongjun stab and slash 22 students at a primary school in the central Chinese province of Henan. 

No-one died in Friday's violence but the official news agency Xinhua said eight of the children were taken to hospital for surgery for facial wounds.

The previous day, a man wielding a knife injured 15 students and a teacher at a primary school in southern China.

One of the children hurt in Friday's attack talks to her mum on the phone

And on Sunday, a man injured six women with a cleaver in southern China before killing himself by jumping from a building.

With much of the violence taking place on school grounds, there have long been calls for stronger protection for students.

The deaths of children strike an especially deep chord in a country where most urban families are allowed to have only one child, said Yang Dongping, an education expert at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

The attacks also fuelled concerns about the social malaise underneath China's rapid economic growth, as some attackers - usually young men - had recently lost jobs or felt left out of the country's economic boom.

There are also calls for the government to offer more psychological consultations across the country.

Earlier this week police released surveillance footage of Friday's school attack showing the attacker pursuing a group of children through a school gate.

Students stand behind a policeman as they learn to defend themselves

Panicked children stream out of the school gates to escape Min, before adults appear holding straw brooms and chase him out.

Authorities said that Min, 36, had been "influenced by rumours of the end of the world", which some people believe is due to occur on December 21, in line with supposed Mayan prophecies.

The attack happened on the same day that 20 children were shot dead at a US primary school in Connecticut.

Chinese social media users complained that while the US massacre received ample coverage, the Henan attack barely registered with official state media.

"The headlines are still dominated by the American attack, I haven't seen reports about the attack in Henan which happened on the same day," wrote one user of Sina Weibo - a website similar to Twitter.

"Aren't Chinese children's lives also important? It's a tragedy."

Another user said: "On the same day as the US shooting, 22 children were slashed at the school in Henan, but mainstream media were virtually mute on this. Are the lives of Chinese children worthless to them?"

According to instructions obtained by the China Digital Times - a website following social and political developments in China and run by the University of California -  the government's central propaganda department told Chinese media to play down the Henan attack.

It quoted officials as telling media not to put the news on the front page or lure readers to it, and not to produce reports or comment on it other than those provided by Xinhua.

Criticism of official media coverage follows the installation last month of a new Communist Party chief, Xi Jinping, who has told the media not to shy away from focusing on genuine news.

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India Elections: Modi Inches Closer To Top Job

By Alex Rossi, India Correspondent

Early election results in the Indian state of Gujarat suggest the controversial Hindu nationalist leader Narendra Modi will win a fourth successive term by a landslide - sealing his status as a frontrunner in the 2014 national polls.

According to the latest polling data, Mr Modi's BJP party is on course for an overwhelming victory.

He has won at least 60 seats and should win a further 56 in the 182-seat assembly.

The massive win will only enhance Mr Modi's standing as a potential future prime minister of the country - he has long been tipped for the top job.

The next national elections are due by 2014.

Mr Modi addresses his supporters during an election rally in Dokar

But Mr Modi is seen as an extremely divisive figure in a country with a sizeable minority non-Hindu population.

He was chief minister during the Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002 in which more than a 1,000 people were killed - most of them were Muslims.

Mr Modi stands accused of not doing enough to stop the unrest.

It is a charge though that he vehemently denies and this election result will be a huge boost for him and his party.

It is also a sign that he is a real contender for the top office.

Internationally, there are signs of acceptance as well.

In October, the British Government decided to end a 10-year diplomatic boycott of Mr Modi.

After the 2002 violence, the UK, the US and some European nations imposed a travel ban on Mr Modi.

But that has now been lifted by Britain - much to the anger of many Indian human rights campaigners.

The UK has been accused of cosying up to Mr Modi because of the possibility that he may one day lead India.

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School Shooting: NRA 'Shocked And Saddened'

The National Rifle Association has broken its silence over the Sandy Hook school massacre, saying its members were "shocked and saddened" by the murders.

After a self-imposed media blackout, the powerful gun rights organisation made its first public statement on Friday's gun rampage by 20-year-old Adam Lanza.

He killed 20 pupils, aged six and seven, as well as six female members of staff after opening fire at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Lanza earlier shot dead his mother Nancy at the home they shared, and then killed himself at the school as police closed in.

The NRA said its members were "shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders".

Protesters demonstrated outside the NRA's headquarters in Washington DC

The group also said it wanted to give families time to mourn before making its first public statement.

It pledged "to help to make sure this never happens again" and has scheduled a news conference for Friday.

The massacre has re-ignited the debate over gun control in the US, with some calling for a clampdown on firearms.

President Barack Obama backs a new bill to reintroduce a ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Mr Obama is "actively supportive" of an attempt by Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein to write the bill early next year.

Adam Lanza killed his mother before shooting dead 20 children and six staff

The president has also telephoned pro-gun senator Joe Manchin, who has shifted his position on firearms laws since Friday's carnage in Connecticut.

Mr Manchin, along with fellow democrat Mark Warner, who have so-called "A" ratings from the NRA, said the Newtown massacre has convinced them the time for reform has come.

West Virginia's Senator Manchin told MSNBC it was time to "move beyond rhetoric" on gun control. He said: "I don't know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle. It's common sense."

Senator Warner said "the status quo isn't acceptable" and in a later interview called for "rational gun control".

On Monday, 75 activists demonstrated outside the NRA's headquarters in Washington DC. They chanted: "Shame on the NRA," and demanded the organisation drop its hardline stance and make way for new gun control laws.

"More than anyone else, the NRA is responsible for the more than 12,000 people murdered by guns every year in this country," said Josh Nelson, the campaign manager for the progressive Credo Action group that organised the protest.

"We call on the NRA's lobbyists to stand down and allow Congress to pass common-sense gun laws."

:: Watch USA: The Gun Debate on Sky News on Wednesday at 8.30pm.

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US Benghazi Report Slams 'Inadequate' Security

An inquiry into the September 11 attack in Libya that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans has said security arrangements were "grossly inadequate".

The independent panel blamed systematic management and leadership failures at the State Department for the attack on the mission in Benghazi.

The report singled out the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Near East Affairs for criticism.

It said there appeared to have been a lack of co-operation and confusion over protection at the mission in a country that had been left relatively lawless after the revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

The report found the number of Diplomatic Security staff in Benghazi before and on the day of the attack "was inadequate despite repeated requests ... for additional staffing".

Despite those failures, the Accountability Review Board said no individual officials ignored or violated their duties and recommended no immediate disciplinary action.

But it also said poor performance by senior managers should be grounds for disciplinary recommendations in the future.

Christopher Steven's murder was the first of a US ambassador since 1988

The two most senior members of the panel - Retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering and a former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen - are set to testify behind closed doors before the House and Senate foreign affairs on Wednesday.

Their testimony will set the stage for open hearings the next day with Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who is in charge of policy, and Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides, who is in charge of management.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to have appeared at Thursday's hearing but cancelled after fainting and sustaining a concussion last week while recovering from a stomach virus that dehydrated her.

The report appeared to break little new ground about the timeline of the Benghazi attack, during which Libyan Ambassador Christopher Stevens, information specialist Sean Smith and former Navy Seals Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were killed.

But it confirmed that, contrary to initial accounts, there was no protest outside the consulate and said responsibility for the incident rested entirely with the terrorists who attacked the mission.

In the immediate aftermath, administration officials linked the attack to the spreading protests over an anti-Islamic film made in the US that had begun in Cairo, Egypt, earlier that day.

The review board found there had been no immediate, specific tactical warning of a potential attack on the 11th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

However, the report said there had been several incidents of concern in the run-up to the attack that should have set off warning bells.

The report made 29 recommendations to improve embassy security, particularly at high-threat posts.

Mrs Clinton said she accepted all the recommendations.

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