Bluefin Tuna Auctioned For Record $1.7m

A bluefin tuna has sold for a record $1.76m (£1.1m) at a Tokyo auction - nearly three times the previous high.

In the year's first auction at Tokyo's sprawling Tsukiji fish market, the 222kg (489lb) tuna caught off north eastern Japan sold for 155.4m yen.

The fish's tender pink and red meat is prized for sushi and sashimi. The best slices of fatty bluefin - called "o-toro" - can sell for 2,000 yen ($24) per piece at upmarket Tokyo sushi bars.

The Japanese eat 80% of all bluefin tuna caught worldwide, and much of the global catch is shipped to Japan for consumption.

The auction took place at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market

The winning bidder, Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Co., which operates the Sushi-Zanmai restaurant chain, said "the price was a bit high," but that he wanted to "encourage Japan".

He went on to serve the fish to customers on Saturday.

However environmentalists have warned that stocks of the fish are being depleted worldwide amid strong demand for sushi.

"Everything we're hearing is that there's no good news for the Pacific bluefin," said Amanda Nickson, the director of the Washington-based Pew Environmental Group's global tuna conservation campaign.

The tuna was later served to diners at Mr Kimura's restaurant

"We're seeing a very high value fish continue to be overfished."

Stocks of bluefin caught in the Atlantic and Mediterranean plunged by 60% between 1997 and 2007 due to rampant, often illegal, overfishing and lax quotas.

Although there has been some improvement in recent years, experts say the outlook for the species is still fragile.

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Australia Bushfires Rage Across Tasmania

Australia's prime minister has promised help to dozens of people who have been made homeless by a series of bushfires sweeping the south of the country.

Hundreds of residents have been forced to leave their homes in the island state of Tasmania, with fires breaking out across the region amid blistering temperatures and high winds.

Around 80 buildings have been destroyed in and around the small town of Dunalley, east of the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, including the town's school, police station and bakery.

Officials are investigating reports that one person has been killed in the blaze, but there have been no confirmed deaths or injuries from the fire.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said: "For those who have lost their homes - a devastating experience, and we will be working with them, as will the state government to support people through.

"There are media reports that a life has been lost - I'm not in a position to confirm that, but bushfires are very dangerous things," she added.

The heatwave sent the temperature in Hobart soaring to a record high of nearly 42C on Friday.

Conditions had eased across much of the region on Saturday, but fire officials warned that the danger from some of the fires remained high.

"We reached catastrophic fire danger ratings at times," Tasmania fire service chief officer Mike Brown said.

Bushfires are common seasonal hazard during the Australian summer.

In February 2009, hundreds of fires across the state of Victoria killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.

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Six Tourists Killed In Snowmobile Crash

By Nick Pisa, Sky Reporter

A mother and her daughter were among six Russians killed after their snowmobile crashed through a safety barrier and fell 300ft in the Italian Alps.

Two others were seriously injured in the late night tragedy, which police have blamed on excessive speed and icy conditions on the Mount Cermis in north east Italy.

Officials said the run is usually lit at night but it had closed early because of the icy conditions, and was shrouded in darkness when the accident happened on Friday night.

The group were on black run known as Olimpia 2, and were returning to their two separate hotels after a night out.

Members of the Italian Alpine rescue team took part in the rescue operation

Police said that some of the group were thrown from a trailer – not intended for passenger use - which was being towed by the snowmobile.

The snowmobile itself also had too many people on it.

A police spokesman added that the force of the impact threw the group from the trailer and snowmobile and into an area of rocks and thick forest.

A helicopter was called in to airlift the dead and injured from the mountain and one of those hurt was taken to the nearby hospital at Cavalese, while the other was flown to nearby Trento.

Local officials said the accident was caused by an "irresponsible act"

The dead - two women and four men - were named by police as Larissa Pshenichnaya, 51, the manager of the Sporting Hotel in Cermis and Liudmila Iudina, 48, who was killed along with her daughter Julia, 25, while her 17-year-old son Boris was seriously hurt.

The other victims were named as Irina Kravchenko, 45, Denis Kravchenko, Viacheslav Sleptsov, 52, while the other seriously injured man was are Azat Agafarov 47.

Those hurt do not have "life threatening injuries".

Police said that all of the group apart from Pshenichnaya and Agafarov were tourists from Krasnodar in southern Russia.

The group were in Italy to celebrate the Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 6 and the area is popular with Russian tourists who flock to the mountains every year.

Alcohol tests will be carried out on the two survivors.

Cermis mayor Silvano Welponer said: "I'm very sad that six people have lost their lives but at the same time this was an irresponsible act - they were on a closed black run at night, when they should not have been there. They chose to be there. It was not a mistake."

Witness Cesare Perini said: "We were coming down Olimpia 3, a run which was open and lit when all of a sudden a police snowmobile came racing up the slope with its lights flashing and siren on.

"When we got down to the bottom a policeman told us to get off the piste. The ski lift operator said the run was closing because there had been fatalities up the mountain."

In 1998, a US Marine jet, flying low on a training run from a nearby air base, accidentally sliced a ski gondola's cable on Mount Cermis, sending the cable car crashing to the ground and claiming 20 lives.

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India Gang Rape Victim's Friend Speaks Of Attack

The male friend of the Indian gang rape victim has spoken for the first time of how he tried to save her and begged her attackers to stop the "cruelty that should never be seen".

He broke his silence as New Delhi district magistrate Namrita Aggarwal confirmed that the five men charged with the victim's rape and murder will appear before her for the first time on Monday.

The victim's 28-year-old male companion said getting on to a private bus that night, because they could not find a rickshaw to take them home, was "the biggest mistake I made".

Speaking in public for the first time, he hit out at the hospital treatment his 23-year-old friend received, the police and at passers-by for failing to help after they were thrown naked from the bus following the two-and-a-half-hour ordeal.

A hearse carrying the body of the 23-year-old rape victim

The software firm employee said that the woman was left naked and bleeding in the street for nearly an hour before a police van arrived to help.

He said: "What can I say? The cruelty I saw should not be seen ever. I tried to fight against the men but later I begged them again and again to leave her."

The man, who suffered a fractured leg and other injuries in the attack, recounted the savagery of the night of December 16 after he and his friend, who died from her injuries on December 29, had been to see a film in New Delhi.

He told the Hindi-language cable channel Zee News: "I was not very confident about getting into the bus but my friend was running late, so we got into it.

"This was the biggest mistake I made and after that everything went out of control."

The medical student's attack has sparked massive protests

He said: "The occupants of the bus, which had tinted windows and curtains, had laid a trap for us. They were probably involved in crimes before also. They beat us up, hit us with an iron rod, snatched our clothes and belongings and threw us off the bus on a deserted stretch.

"The bus occupants had everything planned. Apart from the driver and the helper, others behaved like they were passengers. We even paid 20 (rupees) as fare. They then started teasing my friend and it led to a brawl. I beat three of them up but then the rest of them brought an iron rod and hit me. Before I fell unconscious, they took my friend away."

"From where we boarded the bus, they moved around for nearly two and a half hours. We were shouting, trying to make people hear us. But they switched off the lights of the bus. We tried to resist them. Even my friend fought with them, she tried to save me. She tried to dial the police control room number 100, but the accused snatched her mobile away," he said.

After that the "driver and the other men raped my friend and hit her in the worst possible ways in the most private parts of her body."

"I cannot tell you what I feel when I think of it. I shiver in pain," he said.

The attackers also violated her with an iron bar, causing the immense internal damage that lead to her death, before throwing them from the bus.

Police have used water cannons and tear gas to dispel protesters

The friend said: "There were a few people who had gathered round but nobody helped. Before the police came I screamed for help but the auto rickshaws, cars and others passing by did not stop."

He said when police arrived: "We kept shouting at the police, 'please give us some clothes' but they were busy deciding which police station our case should be registered at."

"It took an hour and a half for us to be taken to hospital," he added.

The police have arrested six suspects - five men and a juvenile believed to be aged 17 - who were formally charged with murder, rape and kidnapping on Thursday.

The case has sparked massive protests across India, where statistics show a woman is raped every 20 minutes.

Protesters have called for all rape suspects to be hanged and want a better deal for women so the streets are safer and men who rape women are put on trial.

National crime records show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded in India last year were against women and rape cases more than doubled between 1990 and 2008.

Police in Delhi have filed charges against Zee News under laws which protect the anonymity of victims of offences such as rape. In India, the criminal justice system defines rape as a crime against the state, and it the responsibility of the state to defend the victim.

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Chavez Suffering From 'Breathing Deficiency'

Venezuela's government has said President Hugo Chavez is being treated for "respiratory deficiency" after complications from a severe lung infection.

Information Minister Ernesto Villegas provided the update on Mr Chavez's condition days after officials admitted the left-wing leader's condition was "delicate".

He read from a statement saying that the politician's lung infection had led to "respiratory deficiency" and required strict compliance with his medical treatment.

The government expressed confidence in Mr Chavez's medical team and condemned what it called a " campaign of psychological warfare" in international media surrounding the president's condition.

Dr Michael Pishvaian, an oncologist at Georgetown University's Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, said such respiratory infections range from "a mild infection requiring antibiotics and supplemental oxygen to life threatening respiratory complications".

"It could be a very ominous sign," he said.

Graffiti in Caracas reads: "Admit it, Chavez is dead."

Officials have urged Venezuelans not to heed rumours about their cancer-stricken president's health.

The 58-year-old has not been seen or heard from since an operation in Cuba on December 11.

Venezuela's opposition has demanded more specific information from the government about his health.

Mr Chavez has undergone four cancer-related operations since June 2011 for an undisclosed type of pelvic cancer.

He has also had chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

He was re-elected in October to another six year term, announcing two months later that the cancer had come back.

Mr Chavez is due to be sworn in on January 10 but his closest allies still aren't saying what they plan to do if the ailing leader is unable to return from a Cuban hospital to take the oath of office.

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Falklands Row: Sun's Argentina Ad Warns Kirchner

A British tabloid has published a full page newspaper advert in Argentina, warning its president to keep her "hands off" the Falklands.

The Sun was responding to an open letter from Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in which she called for the islands to come under Argentine sovereignty.

A referendum on the islands' status is to take place in March.

Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted that residents of the Falkland Islands must decide their own future.

The Sun's message to Ms Kirchner - printed in English language paper, The Buenos Aires Herald - raises the issue of Argentina's 1982 invasion of the islands.

It mentions the 649 Argentine and 255 British servicemen who lost their lives and says the invasion was in "direct conflict" with the UN principle of self-determination.

The ad in the paper - read by some 50,000 people - disputes Argentina's claim to the islands and points out that British sovereignty dates back to 1765.

It concludes: "Until the people of the Falkland Islands choose to become Argentinian, they remain resolutely British.

David Cameron insists the islanders must decide their own future

"In the name of our millions of readers and to put it another way: 'HANDS OFF!'"

Ms Kirchner's open letter was published in The Guardian and Independent and called for the UK to give up the Falklands - known as The Malvinas in Argentina.

She urged Mr Cameron to abide by a 1965 UN resolution to "negotiate a solution" to the dispute.

But the PM told the leader that she should "listen" to the result of the March referendum.

And he vowed that Falklands residents would have his full backing if they choose to remain British.

"The future of the Falkland Islands should be determined by the Falkland Islanders themselves, the people who live there," he said.

"Whenever they have been asked their opinion, they say they want to maintain their current status with the United Kingdom.

"They're holding a referendum this year and I hope the president of Argentina will listen to that referendum and recognise it is for the Falkland Islanders to choose their future.

"As long as they choose to stay with the United Kingdom they have my 100% backing."

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Australia Heatwave Leads To Bushfire Alert

Australians are sweltering through one of the worst heatwaves for years, with temperatures well above 40C in some places.

Much of the country will be on alert for bushfires this weekend as temperatures reach record levels.

Adelaide in southern Australia registered a top temperature of 45C (113 Fahrenheit) on Friday, its fourth-hottest day on record.

Around 80% of the country has been affected by the mass of hot air spreading east from Western Australia.

Australians are braced for more bushfires

Emergency services warned of the risk of bushfires that could threaten homes and farms and health officials are urging people to drink plenty of water and stay out of the heat.

Experts say the last time such large areas of the country experienced similar heat was in 2001.

John Nairn, of The Bureau of Meteorology, said that while heatwaves are a normal part of the Australian summer, the current blast is unusual for the large area it is covering.

Among the hottest parts of the country on Friday were Wudinna, on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, which hit 48.2C. Hobart reached a record 41.8C - one degree hotter than the record set in 1976.

Tasmania Fire Service chief officer Mike Brown told a news conference they reached "catastrophic fire danger ratings" at times during Friday afternoon, with up to 40 fires burning around the state.

The bureau of meteorology told The Australian that the scorching heat bearing down across many states will continue "unabated" well into next week.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called on people to be careful.

"Take care and stay safe as we face extreme heat around our nation. Listen to warnings on the high bushfire risk. JG," she tweeted.

Police have also warned that leaving children, elderly people or pets unattended in cars could prove fatal in the hot weather.

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Syria: How Activist Vanished Into 'Black Hole'

Zed always knew the Syrian secret police would come for him, he just did not know the date. It was December 15, 2012.

Zed, committed to peaceful change in Syria, has been one of the bravest and most outspoken activists in the opposition movement, and one of the few prepared to show his face on the foreign media.

Last year he told me: "I know eventually they will bring me in, but what can I do, we have to change this system by peaceful means."

And then last month he stopped responding to emails, and calls to his mobile went unanswered.

When I was in Damascus in December I called a few times. To my shame I did not follow up on his unexplained silence and have found out later than I should that he has vanished into the secret police system.

Zed is the nickname of 38-year-old Dr Zaidoun al Zoabi, a dean at the European College in Damascus.

It is thought he is being held in the notorious "Building 215" in Damascus along with his 22-year-old brother Souhaib al Zoabi who is a medical student.

Their families are unsure of exactly what has happened to them.

This Christmas was the first he had spent away from his family.

His wife has told their children that he is "travelling". His daughter wrote him a Christmas letter saying how much she misses him.

The Christmas letter written to Dr Zaidoun al Zoabi by his daughter

We first met in a dilapidated tower block in the centre of town. He and an elderly opposition politician were in a shabby office.

The paint was peeling from the walls and the room lit by a single bare light bulb, such is the life of the political opposition.

I was there to interview the other man, Abdul Aziz al Khair, but something attracted me to this burly, humorous activist who was happy to play second fiddle to the established opposition figure.

I left Abdul with our producer Kelvin O'Shea and went off for coffee with this young sardonic firebrand.

We stayed in touch and developed a friendship which both sides kept at a distance, both of us knowing that some of our movements were monitored, but also because I did not want to get too close and thus compromise objectivity.

Zed must have become seriously worried for his safety last year when his mentor, Mr al Khair disappeared on the road to the international airport. He has not been seen since. 

The last time I saw Zed was in the early autumn in Damascus. I showed him a report we had made from the city of Homs depicting daily life in the ruined district of Khaldia.

He broke down in tears during one section and then explained he was feeling under immense pressure.

An influential relative had died, leaving him with even less protection than he had, and his wife was pleading with him to give up his activism for the sake of his children.

To my knowledge Zed never supported the violent opposition to the Assad government.

He does criticise the regime, he has participated in demonstrations, but not violence.

He is responsible for driving me around Damascus a few times, he has explained the peaceful activist's strategy, he has even told me in advance about demonstrations, but I've never known him to be involved in what the secret police might legally regard as criminal activity, and he always took great care to distance himself from the armed opposition.

One of several activist groups trying to publicise the al Zoabi's plight is the Syrian Expatriates Organisation which says: "There are serious concerns for the life and safety of Dr Zaidoun al Zoabi and Sohaib al Zoabi in detention.

"Zaidoun is a man of conviction and integrity who worked tirelessly for the cause of freedom and justice in Syria."

There is also a Facebook page publicising their detention.

Whenever Zed and I met we were always aware we were being watched.

Sometimes he would even come to our hotel, despite knowing that there is usually a government man somewhere in the lobby watching who goes in and out.

But Zed said for the first time in his life he felt free, free to speak out. No longer.

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Mullah Nazir Killed In Pakistan By US Drone

A senior Pakistani militant leader has been killed by a US drone strike in Pakistan, local officials have said.

Mullah Nazir, who had sent insurgents to fight in Afghanistan, died alongside nine other militants in Pakistan's tribal belt.

He was the main militant commander in South Waziristan, part of the tribal zone where militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda have bases.

He is one of the most high-profile drone victims in recent years.

Mullah Nazir was killed in the strike in South Waziristan

Pakistani officials said a US drone fired two missiles at his vehicle in the Sar Kanda area of Birmil in South Waziristan, and five of his loyalists including two senior deputies were also killed.

"Mullah Nazir and five associates died on the spot," one of the officials said.

The official said the attack happened at 10.35pm local time on Wednesday, but that it took time to confirm the reports from the far-flung and mountainous area along the Afghan border.

Another Pakistani official said Nazir and his fighters were targeted as they prepared to swap vehicles when their pick-up encountered a mechanical fault.

Two of his influential deputies, Atta Ullah and Rafey Khan, were among those killed, the official added.

In the neighbouring district of North Waziristan, two more missiles fired from a US drone killed four other militants on Thursday but their identities are not yet known.

Nazir was wounded in a suicide attack in South Waziristan on November 29 and had survived previous attempts on his life.

In April 2007 he gave a rare news conference at which he said he had never met Osama bin Laden but would protect him if asked.

Covert US drone strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty, but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against Islamist militants.

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Gunman Shoots Three Dead In Switzerland

A gunman has killed three people and injured two others after opening fire in a village in southern Switzerland.

The 33-year-old started shooting in Daillon near the city of Sion on Wednesday night, using a historic Swiss military rifle and a hunting rifle.

He fired around 20 shots, instantly killing three women aged 32, 54 and 79 and injuring two men aged 33 and 63, according to officials.

Terrified residents drinking in nearby bars when the shots rang out hid in the dark to avoid being caught up in the attack.

The gunman had started shooting from his apartment down onto the street and at neighbouring buildings before emerging.

Police rushed to the scene shortly after 9pm when witnesses reported several people were lying on the ground.

The man, who has not been named, was shot in the chest by police after he threatened officers. He was arrested and taken to hospital for treatment.

Police "immediately intervened and neutralised the suspect," a statement said. No officers were injured in the exchange.

Officials said the man had spent time in a psychiatric hospital in 2005, at which point his weapons had been confiscated.

He was unemployed, living off benefits and was being supervised by authorities in charge of providing services and counselling to the disabled.

Daillon is around 145 miles from the Swiss capital Bern

He was also known to police as a drug user.

"We have no words to express ourselves after an event like this," said Christophe Germanier, head of the Conthey district.

The reason for the shooting has not yet been established.

Prosecutor Catherine Seppey said the gunman knew several of the victims, but "he was not known for making threats".

They were all shot at least twice in the head and chest.

Swiss media quoted local residents as saying he had been drinking heavily before the attack.

Resident Marie-Paule Udry told news website 20Minutes.ch the man had been in a local restaurant and "had drunk a lot".

His two youngest victims, the woman aged 32 and man aged 33, are reported to be a couple with young children.

Forensic investigators are now at work in the picturesque village which has just 200 inhabitants and is perched at an altitude of 1,000m (3,280ft) surrounded by vineyards.

Cantonal police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet insisted that police had only returned fire after coming under threat.

"There was an exchange of gunfire because he was threatening police officers. He was hit and wounded," he said.

"There is bewilderment and shock in Valais. This is a man who lived in Daillon and opened fire on his neighbours."

Gun ownership is widespread in Switzerland, where the law allows any citizen aged over 18 to possess arms under certain conditions.

The defence ministry says there are some two million weapons in private hands among the country's estimated eight million inhabitants.

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Falklands Row Reopened By President's Letter

Downing Street has dismissed a call by the president of Argentina for Britain to hand back the Falkland Islands.

Cristina Kirchner demanded in an open letter that Prime Minister David Cameron abide by UN resolutions to "negotiate a solution" to the row.

But Number 10 strongly rebuffed her latest entreaty, insisting the views of Falklands residents had to be respected.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister told Sky News: "Self determination is massively important. We are giving the islanders the opportunity to say what they want.

"It is very important for people who live on the island to say their views. If they want to remain British we will do everything we can to honour that."

The Foreign Office added that the Falkland Islanders "are British and have chosen to be so".

"They remain free to choose their own futures, both politically and economically, and have a right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter," a spokesman said.

"This is a fundamental human right for all peoples. There are three parties to this debate, not just two as Argentina likes to pretend.

"The islanders can't just be written out of history. As such, there can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish."

Mr Cameron and Ms Kirchner clashed at the G20 summit

Ms Kirchner made her latest appeal in a letter published in The Guardian and Independent newspapers.

It claimed Argentina had been "forcibly stripped" of the islands her country calls Las Malvinas in a "blatant exercise of 19th-century colonialism".

"The Argentines on the Islands were expelled by the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom subsequently began a population implantation process similar to that applied to other territories under colonial rule," she said.

"Since then, Britain, the colonial power, has refused to return the territories to the Argentine Republic, thus preventing it from restoring its territorial integrity.

"The Question of the Malvinas Islands is also a cause embraced by Latin America and by a vast majority of peoples and governments around the world that reject colonialism."

Ms Kirchner first made calls for the return of the islands during last year's 30th anniversary of the two countries going to war.

She and Mr Cameron also clashed over the issue when they came face-to-face at the G20 summit in Mexico last June.

The Prime Minister rejected her call for negotiations about sovereignty and said she should respect the results of a referendum due in March.

The Falklanders will vote then on whether they wish to retain their ties with Britain.

The Argentine president tried again to push the issue when she appeared at the United Nations, appearing at the annual meeting of the little-known UN Decolonisation Committee on the 30th anniversary of the British victory.

She used the occasion to reiterate Argentina's opposition to any more wars and to criticise the Prime Minister's decision to mark the day by flying the Falklands flag over Number 10.

In December, Argentina protested at Britain's decision to name a vast swathe of Antarctica Queen Elizabeth Land. Its foreign ministry handed a formal protest note to British ambassador John Freeman in Buenos Aires.

The area, which makes up around a third of the British Antarctic Territory, is also claimed by the South American country.

Barry Elsby, a member of the Islands' Legislative Assembly, said: "We understand that the Argentine government has put out a letter that both calls our home a colony and claims that the United Kingdom is ignoring United Nations General Assembly resolutions.

"We are not a colony; our relationship with the United Kingdom is by choice. Unlike the government of Argentina, the United Kingdom respects the right of our people to determine our own affairs, a right that is enshrined in the UN Charter and which is ignored by Argentina."

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India Murder-Rape Suspects Could Face Death

By Alex Rossi, India Correspondent

Five men have been formally charged with the murder, kidnap and gang rape of a medical student in Delhi in India.

The 23-year-old - who has not been named - died at the weekend in a hospital in Singapore where she was being treated for major internal injuries.

If the five men are convicted of murder they could face the death penalty.

A sixth suspect is believed to be under the age of 18.

Indian women hold placards during the Women Dignity march in Delhi

Investigators have ordered bone tests to establish his exact age, as juveniles cannot face murder charges.

The men are in custody at Delhi's Tihar prison.

According to the police the charge sheet is more than 1,000 pages long and it is expected when the trial gets under way that more than 30 witnesses will be called.

The document also contains a statement given by the victim to two different judges while she was being treated in hospital.

Investigators allege that members of the gang were drunk and joyriding in a bus when they picked up the woman and her male companion, who were on their way back from the cinema in South Delhi.

They then beat up the couple with an iron bar before gang-raping the woman.

It is claimed they then threw the pair from the moving bus and tried to run over the victim.

Delhi's Bar Association has stated none of its members will act for the men on "moral grounds", and the accused have no legal representation.

The rape has caused national outrage in India since it happened three weeks ago.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets on a daily basis to demand tougher penalties for rapists and fast track courts.

Rape and violence against women is all too common crime in India with the latest figures suggesting that the problem is worst in Delhi.

Last year there were 635 reported cases of rape in the capital but there was only one conviction.

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US Fiscal Cliff Averted As Bill Approved

A "fiscal cliff" of massive tax hikes and drastic spending cuts in the US has been avoided at the 11th hour.

The House of Representatives voted to approve a bill which averts tax increases for the middle classes - and the possibility of sending the country into recession.

The bill - which also stops massive spending cuts - was approved by 257 votes to 167 after being supported earlier by the Senate.

President Barack Obama welcomed the deal and said it was just one step in a broader effort to strengthen the economy.

He said: "Thanks to the votes of Republicans and Democrats in Congress I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans while preventing tax hikes that could have sent the economy back into recession."

The vote came just hours before financial markets reopen following the New Year holiday. In early trading on Wednesday Asian  markets were up over 2%.

Some House Republicans had wanted to amend the bill to incorporate more spending cuts, but they dropped the idea.

In the end, 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted in favour of the bill.

The lights of the Capitol burned late into the night

It marks a political triumph for President Obama, less than two months after he secured re-election while campaigning for higher taxes on the wealthy.

The legislation cleared the Senate hours after Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, veteran negotiators, sealed a deal.

The spending cuts and drastic tax increases which made up the so-called "fiscal cliff" were due to come into effect at midnight on Monday when George Bush-era tax cuts expired.

The deadline would have triggered tax increases of $536bn (£328bn) and spending cuts of $109bn (£67bn) from domestic and military programmes.

The compromise Senate deal extends the tax cuts for Americans earning under $400,000 (£246,000) - up from the $250,000 (£153,000) level that Democrats had originally sought.

However, the overall Federal tax liability for millions of middle and lower income families will still go up, despite the deal.

A two percentage point temporary cut in the Social Security payroll tax expired with the end of 2012, with neither President Obama nor the Republicans making a significant effort to extend it.

Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One

Within minutes of speaking at the White House, President Obama headed back to Hawaii to rejoin his family on holiday.

But his break from the political manoeuvring will be brief.

Another standoff is likely to arrive as early as February, when the new Congress will be asked to agree to raise the $16.4trn federal borrowing limit, so the government can keep paying its bills.

House Republicans are unlikely to agree to raise the debt limit without pushing spending cuts that Democrats and Mr Obama are sure to resist.

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US: Paparazzo Killed Taking Pics Of Bieber's Car

A paparazzo has been killed moments after taking photos of singer Justin Bieber's Ferrari in California.

The photographer, who has not yet been identified, died in hospital shortly after the crash in Los Angeles on January 1.

Mr Bieber was not in the Ferrari, which was parked on the side of Sepulveda Boulevard near Getty Centre Drive.

Police cordon off the Los Angeles road on which the paparazzo was killed

The sports car had been pulled over by the California Highway Patrol, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The photographer was struck by a vehicle as he walked across the boulevard.

But a spokesman for Los Angeles Police Department, said no charges are likely to be filed against the driver who hit him.

A spokesman for Mr Bieber, 18, whose hits include Baby and Boyfriend, was not available for comment.

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Indian Gang Rapists 'Tried To Run Over Victim'

A gang of rapists who assaulted and murdered a woman on a bus in New Delhi tried to run her over afterwards, according to reports.

The woman's boyfriend, who was beaten up and thrown off the bus after she had been repeatedly raped, managed to pull her to safety just in time, police will allege in court on Thursday.

The claims have been made by newspapers in India which say they have seen extracts of the 1,000-page charge sheet.

The 23-year-old medical student, whose ordeal triggered widespread protests about sex crime in India, bit three of her attackers as she attempted to fight them off, the papers claim.

The suspects' injuries, forensic evidence including blood, semen and hair samples and the testimony of the injured boyfriend are expected to form the main evidence against the accused.

Five men have been arrested and will formally face murder and rape charges on Thursday in a fast-track court set up to try them.

Indian holy women perform a prayer ritual in memory of a gang rape victim

A sixth suspect is aged 17 and is expected to be tried in a court for juveniles.

"The woman and her friend were stripped and thrown out of the bus," The Indian Express reported. "Her friend pulled her away when he saw the bus reversing to run her over."

The Times of India newspaper said one of the charges against the accused relates to the destruction of evidence, since the driver had tried to wash the bus and burned the clothes that were snatched from the victim.

The woman died at the weekend after a 13-day struggle to keep her alive in which she underwent three major operations and suffered a cardiac arrest.

Lawyers have refused to defend the men accused of the attack.

Displays and tributes to the victim are still in place across Delhi

"We have decided that no lawyer will stand up to defend the rape accused as it would be immoral to defend the case," said Sanjay Kumar, a lawyer and a member of the Saket District Bar Council.

Mr Kumar said the 2,500 advocates registered at the court have decided to "stay away" to ensure "speedy justice", meaning the government would have to appoint lawyers for the defendants.

In 2008, Indian lawyers also refused to defend a gunman who took part in attacks on Mumbai which killed 166 people, leaving him with a government-appointed lawyer. He was executed in November last year.

Meanwhile, India's top court says it will decide whether to suspend politicians facing sexual assault charges.

The move came as thousands of women gathered at the Ghandi memorial to demand stronger protection from attackers.

Chief Justice Altamas Kabir agreed to hear a petition from retired government administrator Promilla Shanker asking the Supreme Court to suspend those sitting on national and state legislatures who face prosecution for crimes against women.

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Angola Stampede: 16 Killed At New Year Vigil

At least 16 people, including four children, have been killed in a stampede during a religious gathering at a stadium in the Angolan capital.

Angop, the Angolan news agency, cited officials as saying that 120 people were hurt in the crush in the southern African nation's capital, Luanda.

It came as Ivory Coast, in western Africa, began three days of national mourning after a stampede among crowds gathered for New Year's Eve fireworks left at least 60 people dead and hundreds injured.

The deadly crush in Angola also happened on New Year's Eve, when panic spread amongst the tens of thousands of people gathered at the stadium for the evangelical vigil.

One of the young children hurt in the crush in Luanda

Paulo Gaspar de Almeida, deputy commander-general of the Angolan police, said the victims were killed "due to asphyxia, shoving and trampling of faithful at the entrance of Cidadela stadium".

The event was organised by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an evangelical group founded in Brazil in 1977.

"We were expecting 70,000 people but far more turned up," Ferner Batalha, a bishop of the church, was quoted as saying.

The Ivory Coast government said 60 people had died in the crush in Abidjan and the average age of those killed was 18.

Earlier, the head of military rescue workers, Lieutenant Colonel Issa Sako, told journalists that 61 had died.

Witnesses said the stampede had broken out after the fireworks ended, though the cause remained unclear.

Abandoned shoes and clothing after the Ivory Coast crush

It erupted near the stadium's main entrance, where security had set up tree trunks as crowd control barriers.

Two survivors, who were in hospital, said some barricades that were set up unofficially created the crush.

They said that after the fireworks display people were prevented from moving along the Boulevard de la Republic by the wooden barricades.

According to a police source, the crush occurred when two streams of spectators going in opposite directions crossed paths.

Lieutenant Colonel Sako said the flow of people at the stadium had caused a "very large crush" and that "in the crush, people were walked over and suffocated by the crowd".

The Ivory Coast has started three days of mourning

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has ordered an immediate investigation into the causes of the stampede.

He said the government would open a crisis centre to help families find missing people and to take testimony from witnesses.

After the crush, piles of abandoned shoes and clothing were scattered near the stadium, where around 50,000 people had gathered for the fireworks.

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New Year Knees Up Around The World

Major cities, including Sydney, Shanghai, Dubai and Berlin have marked the start of 2013 with large fireworks displays.

Among the most spectacular celebrations were ones in Sydney, which centred on the harbour bridge, and Dubai, where the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, formed the centrepiece.

Some 1.5 million people are estimated to have turned out to watch the event in the Australian city with more than 100,000 firework patterns, costing £4.2m.

One of the country's most famous singers, Kylie Minogue, was creative ambassador and she picked the colours and the music.

The pop star pressed the button that set off seven tons of fireworks.

Shanghai ushers in the New Year

The Dubai show had three elements - light, water and fire - and projections on a 210-metre long screen.

Moscow had the Kremlin as its backdrop, while Jakarta marked 2013 with a massive four-mile street party.

Sixteen large stages were built along the normally busy, eight-lane motorway which runs through the heart of the Indonesian capital.

There was a fireworks display at the Kremlin in Moscow

Couples kissed in New York's Times Square as ticker tape and fireworks welcomed in 2013 in style.

Thousands packed the iconic square in Manhattan as singers belted out the Frank Sinatra classic New York, New York.

The countdown was the first in decades without television host Dick Clark, who died in April.

North Korea put on a pyrotechnic display in Pyongyang

There were also celebrations on a grand scale in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

This year's fireworks display, which cost about £1m, was said to be the biggest ever in the southern Chinese city.

Meanwhile, North Korea welcomed 2013 with reportedly the first ever New Year's fireworks display the country has held as Tokyo reverberated to the sound of the city's Watch-Night Bell.

The bells were struck 108 times at temples all over Japan to symbolise the beginning of a prosperous New Year.

Auckland began the countdown to 2013

Burma rang in the New Year with its first public countdown and a fireworks display, a celebration unprecedented in the former military-ruled country.

Around 90,000 people gathered at the countdown venue - a large field in Rangoon - for a chance to do what much of the world does every year at this time.

"This is very exciting and also our first experience in celebrating the New Year at a big countdown gathering. We feel like we are in a different world," said Yu Thawda, a university student who joined the party.

The atmosphere of celebration was muted in some places.

British troops at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan see in the New Year

Many European nations planned scaled-back festivities and street parties for 2013 which is projected to be a sixth straight year of recession amid Greece's worst economic crisis.

Hotels, clubs and other venues in New Delhi cancelled festivities after the death of a gang rape victim which has led to days of protests and mourning.

The first major city to see in 2013 was Auckland, New Zealand, which had a spectacular fireworks display.

Crowds packed the city centre to watch the annual event at the city's Sky Tower, which stands more than 1,000ft tall.

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.

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

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Delhi Gang Rape Suspect To Undergo Bone Tests

One of six suspects held over the gang rape and murder of a student in India is to undergo bone tests to determine whether he is old enough to answer for the crime.

Murder convictions carry the death penalty in India. However, only those aged 18 or over can be put on trial.

If the suspect is found to be under age, it is unclear whether he could still be tried for rape, which carries a life sentence.

Protesters light candles around a mannequin representing the rape victim

The six men are jointly accused of raping and killing an unnamed 23-year-old woman on a bus in Delhi on December 16.

The victim was airlifted to Singapore for emergency treatment, but died on Saturday.

She was cremated in New Delhi the next day. Her ashes were set to be submerged in the holy river Ganges near her home town in the northern Uttar Pradesh state, in accordance with Hindu customs.

Police have clashed with protesters since the December 16 attack

Indians have been demanding the death penalty for those responsible, holding demonstrations almost every day since the attack.

Protesters and politicians from across the spectrum called for a special session of Parliament to pass new laws to increase punishments for rapists - including possible chemical castration - and to set up fast-track courts to deal with rape cases within 90 days.

Thousands of people have lit candles, held prayer meetings and marched through various cities and towns to express their grief, and to demand stronger protection for women and the death penalty for rape.

Activists are calling for politicians to pass tough new laws

The protests continued on Tuesday, ahead of the first court appearance for the six suspects on Thursday.

Details of the charges run to more than 1,000 pages, according to reports, and some 30 witnesses are named in the prosecution's documents.

On Monday, the Indian army and navy cancelled their New Year's celebrations, as did Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party.

Several hotels and clubs across the capital also decided not to hold their usual parties.

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Seven Die In Gun Ambush In Northern Pakistan

Gunmen have ambushed and shot dead six female aid workers and a male doctor who were travelling in a van in northern Pakistan.

The group's vehicle was raked with gunfire as they returned home from a children's community centre run by the Pakistani charity Ujala, according to district police officer Abdur Rashid Khan. 

The driver of the vehicle was seriously wounded in the attack.

The ambush occurred on the outskirts of the town of Swabi, in northern Pakistan.

Doctors at the Shah Mansoor Medical Complex in Swabi have confirmed that they received the seven bodies.

Militants in the conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province - where the attack took place - oppose female education and have attacked female students and blown up their schools.

Last month, gunmen killed nine health workers taking part in a national polio vaccination drive in a series of attacks.

Aid workers have frequently been kidnapped or killed in Pakistan, which is struggling to contain a Taliban insurgency and plagued by corruption and violent crime.

No group has claimed responsibility for today's attack.

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Ivory Coast Stadium Stampede Kills 60

Around 60 people have died and dozens been injured in a New Year's Eve stampede at a stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

It happened after crowds gathered to watch a fireworks display.

Rescue official Lieutenant Colonel Issa Sako said: "There are around 60 dead and about 200 injured, this is a provisional estimate."

Another official told reporters that 61 people had died and 48 were hurt.

Many of those injured are believed to be children.

Lt Col Sako said the number of people trying to get into the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium to watch the fireworks had caused the accident.

He said: "In the crush people were walked over and suffocated by the crowd."

One local woman, Assetou Toure, said her children had been at the event and she did not know if they had survived.

"My two children came here yesterday. I told them not to come but they didn't listen," she said.

"They came when I was sleeping. What will I do?"

A Reuters correspondent said there were bloodstains and abandoned shoes outside the stadium on Tuesday morning and that rescue workers and government officials were still on the scene.

More follows...

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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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Parents Appeal For Couple Missing In Afghanistan

The family of a pregnant woman who vanished in Afghanistan with her husband have appealed for the couple's safe return.

Caitlan Coleman, 27, is due to give birth in January and needs urgent medical attention for a liver condition, according to her father James.

He and his wife Lyn last heard from their son-in-law Josh on October 8 when he made contact from an internet cafe in Afghanistan.

Caitlan, who is American, and Josh, from Canada, embarked on their trip last July - travelling to Russia, then Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and then finally to Afghanistan.

Since their disappearance, no one has claimed they are holding the couple - who met online and married in 2011 - and no ransom demand has been made.

It is not known if they are still alive or how and why they entered Afghanistan. There is also no information about what they were doing there before they vanished.

Afghan officials say their trail has gone dead.

The families have kept quiet about the mystery since October but have now broken their silence in the hope it could lead to a breakthrough.

Mr Coleman, from Pennsylvania, said: "Our goal is to get them back safely and healthy. I don't know what kind of care they're getting or not getting,

"We're just an average family and we don't have connections with anybody and we don't have a lot of money."

Afghan officials say the couple were kidnapped in Wardak Province (above)

He made a similar appeal in a video posted on YouTube earlier this month.

"We appeal to whoever is caring for her to show compassion and allow Caity, Josh and our unborn grandbaby to come home," he said.

He suggested that his daughter and her husband may have been trying to help Afghans by joining an aid group after touring the region.

He described his daughter as "naive" and "adventuresome" with a humanitarian bent.

In his last email in October, Josh did not give their exact location but said they were not in a safe place.

The last withdrawals from the couple's account were made on October 8 and 9 in Kabul but there has been no activity since then.                                   

"He just said they were heading into the mountains - wherever that was, I don't know," Mr Coleman said. "They're both kind of naive, always have been in my view.

"Why they actually went to Afghanistan, I'm not sure. I assume it was more of the same, getting to know the local people, if they could find an NGO (non-governmental organisation) or someone they could work with in a little way."

The US State Department and Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry are both looking into the disappearance.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Chrystiane Roy called it a "possible kidnap" and said it was "pursuing all appropriate channels".

It was not known whether the silence over the case by US and Canadian officials and, until now, by the Coleman family was because of on-going negotiations to seek their release.

Information blackouts have kept some similar past cases quiet in an attempt to not further endanger those missing.

According to Hazrat Janan, the head of the provincial council in Afghanistan's Wardak province, the two were abducted in Wardak in an area about 25 miles (40 km) west of the capital Kabul.

They were passing through Wardak while travelling from Ghazni province south of Kabul to the capital.

Wardak province, despite its proximity to Kabul, is a rugged, mountainous haven for the Taliban and dangerous for foreigners travelling without military escorts.

Mr Janan said it was suspected that the kidnappers were Taliban because criminal gangs would have likely asked for a ransom.

His information cannot be independently verified, and US and Canadian officials still do not say for certain that the couple were abducted.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the Associated Press two months ago that no one from the group was involved.

"We do not know about these two foreigners," he said in a telephone interview.

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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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Sydney Welcomes In The New Year With A Bang

Sydney is the second major city to welcome 2013, with one of the most impressive fireworks displays.

Some 1.5 million people were expected to turn out to watch the event centred on the Sydney Harbour Bridge with more than 100,000 firework patterns, costing 6.5m Australian dollars (£4.2m).

The countdown to 2013 began 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.

Last year's London celebrations saw Big Ben lit up

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.

"From the thrilling sporting action to the breathtaking cultural celebrations, it has been an unforgettable year and I am immensely proud of 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.

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.

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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Ice Lake Rescue Drama Captured On Video

What should have been a day of sledging thrills turned into a string of near-disasters in California after one person fell into an icy lake.

As they overshot the edge of the ice and fell into the bitterly-cold water, flailing and waving their arms in panic, pals to rushed to their aid.

But it begs the question: How many people does it take to rescue a man who falls into an icy lake?

And the answer? Well, if this video is anything to go by ... lots.

The situation in Wrightwood, California, rapidly became a mass rescue attempt, involving ropes, rubber rings and plastic sledges.

But as dozens of people joined in, several more crashed though ice.

One witness captured the amazing drama on video and posted it on The Tubez website.

Another could be heard saying: "That's seriously not funny ... he can't swim", while a companion screamed: "Call 911!"

Some of the victims remained in the water for up to nine minutes before they were eventually pulled out.

No one was seriously hurt.

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