Twitter Hacked: Up To 250,000 Passwords Taken

Around 250,000 Twitter users may have had their accounts compromised by computer hackers.

The social networking site said usernames, email addresses and encrypted passwords may have been taken during an "extremely sophisticated" attack on its systems.

It said one attack was shut down moments after it was detected, adding that the passwords of users who may have been affected had been reset.

In a blog, Bob Lord, director of information security at Twitter, said there had been "a recent uptick in large-scale security attacks aimed at US technology and media companies", with the New York Times among those targeted.

He said: "Our investigation has indicated the attackers may have had access to limited user information - usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted versions of passwords - for approximately 250,000 users.

"As a precautionary security measure, we have reset passwords and revoked session tokens for these accounts.

"This attack was not the work of amateurs and we do not believe it was an isolated incident.

"The attackers were extremely sophisticated and we believe other companies and organisations have also been recently similarly attacked."

One expert said the hackers may have gained access through an employee's home or work computer by exploiting vulnerabilities in Java, a widely-used computing language.

Ashkan Soltani, an independent privacy and security researcher, said such a move would give attackers "a toehold" in Twitter's internal network, potentially allowing them to track user information as it travelled across the company's systems or break into specific areas, such as the authentication servers that process users' passwords.

Although the hackers are unlikely to have gained any confidential information, Mr Soltani said the stolen credentials could be used to access other services for which a person has signed up using the same username and password.

Mr Lord said that although "only a very small percentage" of users were potentially affected, everyone who uses the site should ensure their password is secure.

He said passwords should be at least 10 characters long, contain upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols, and be different to passwords used for other online accounts.

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Egypt: Police Beat Protester Outside Palace

Bloody Scenes Expected In Port Said

Updated: 11:11pm UK, Thursday 31 January 2013

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in Port Said

This city has always prided itself on resistance to invaders.

The people of Port Said believe they saw off the British in the 1950s and the Israelis in the 1960s.

Now they're rolling up their sleeves to take on Egypt's president, Mohammed Morsi, promising a second round of bloodletting in as many weeks.

A beach resort city that guards the Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal, Port Said, was torn by violence last weekend.

Thirty people and two policemen were killed in running street battles.

Locals deny that any of them shot at the police. But there are bullet holes in the walls of the partly burned officers club on the sea front that say otherwise.

Still, there is no hiding the violence that the city met when protestors attacked the prison.

Dozens of market stalls and tiny homes were razed during the fighting – local businesses were riddled with bullets.

The prison was attacked because it housed 21 men condemned to death for their parts in the killing of 74 football fans during a riot on February 1 last year.

Some 59 others, among them nine police, are still waiting for their verdicts in the jail.

The killings last week have fuelled what was already going to be an incendiary brew on the day marking the first anniversary of the riot in which supporters of the Cairo team Al Ahly were beaten and crushed to death.

Ansaf Mousa's son Osama el Sherbiri, 23, an IT graduate was killed last week during the demonstrations.

"Morsi has blood on his hands. Osama el Sherbini exploded the whole world. His death will fuel an explosion.

"There will be a protest against Morsi like none before. This will be the nuclear explosion that blows up the whole place."

Her anger is shared by families across the city.

The bullet that killed Osama wounded his friend Mohammed.

"The youth will be on the streets (on February 1), they have to be to take revenge for Osama and all the others. This isn't going to end here."

A state of emergency was declared in Port Suez, Ismailia and Port Said last week. Curfews imposed for most of the night hours have since been cut back to a token regulation of the small hours of the morning as they were entirely ignored anyway.

General Abdel Fatteh al Sisi, the commander of the Egyptian armed forces, has warned that he fears the nation may fall apart .

He singled out the Suez City as especially troubling – promising to ensure the security of the canal as his top priority.

The region, though prosperous and benefiting from tax free zones and $5.2bn (£3.3bn) in revenues to Egypt for transit fees for shipping, is not associated with the secular middle class that had driven so much of the revolution in Cairo.

Osama's family are deeply religious. Many of the men have callused foreheads from years of prayer.

Yet they object to the Muslim Brotherhood's domination of Egypt's constitutional process and presidency.

"The Muslim Brotherhood are not Muslims – they are just after power," said Osama's mother.

That, in Port Said, seems to be the dominant view.

In a downtown coffee house clattering with domino players El Badry Farghali, a veteran MP who has opposed the military governments which were swept away two years ago and the new Muslim Brotherhood regime ever since, held court to a new generation of young protestors.

"The Muslim Brotherhood will not give up power. They will only manoeuvre. They are backward. They do not have the capacity to run the country on their own. And they will not make concessions. But the Egyptian people will force them to back down," he said.

Port Said has chosen the anniversary of the football chaos to drive home a political message. The odds are that it will be written in blood.

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Pakistan Army Checkpoint Attack: 23 Killed

Militants have attacked an army checkpoint in Pakistan's northwest, killing at least 23 people - including 10 members of one family.

The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the attack on the isolated post at Lakki Marwat was in response to a US drone strike in neighbouring North Waziristan last month, which killed two commanders.

Officials said nine soldiers and four members of the Frontier Constabulary that polices the area died during the initial assault and subsequent crossfire.

Ten civilians - including three women and three children - were killed in a rocket attack on a house next to the camp. Twelve militants also died.

Friday's mosque attack

"Pakistan has been co-operating with the US in its drone strikes that killed our two senior commanders, Faisal Khan and Toofani, and the attack on military camp was the revenge of their killing," a Taliban spokesman said.

He said four suicide bombers targeted the camp in the town of Serai Naurang in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and blew themselves up. More than a dozen soldiers were killed, he added.

The raid followed a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque in the northwest on Friday that killed 24 people.

It was the latest in a rising number of sectarian attacks in the country.

Since 2009, the military and pro-government militias have regained territory from the Taliban, who once controlled land a few hours' drive from the capital Islamabad.

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India Gang Rape Accused Plead Not Guilty

Five men accused of the brutal murder and gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student on a Delhi bus have denied the allegations.

They pleaded not guilty after being indicted on 13 charges in a special fast-track court in the capital.

The defendants are due back in court on February 5, when the prosecution will call three witnesses to the formal start of the trial.

The accused, who have been named as Ram Singh, Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta, could face the death penalty if convicted.

They reportedly filed into the courtroom with their faces covered.

Demonstrators have called for tougher punishments for sex crimes in India

A sixth 17-year-old suspect will be tried separately in a juvenile court where the maximum sentence is three years in a reform facility.

The victim was repeatedly raped and assaulted with a metal bar during the attack on December 16.

Her male companion was beaten up, before they were both thrown off a moving bus and dumped naked on the roadside.

The young woman died from her internal injuries two weeks later in a hospital in Singapore.

Her death has triggered nationwide protests about violence against women, and sparked debate about their treatment in India and the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them.

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Mexico: Pemex Oil Company HQ Blast Kills 25

Twenty-five people are dead and at least 100 injured after an explosion at the headquarters of Mexican oil company Pemex.

Some 46 people remain in hospital following the blast at the state-owned firm which blew out windows and damaged three floors of the 52-storey skyscraper in Mexico City's commercial centre.

Authorities said 17 women and eight men were killed in the blast which occurred in the basement of an administrative building next to the tower, where thousands of people work.

Ana Vargas Palacio was distraught as she searched for her missing husband, Daniel Garcia Garcia, 36, who works in the building. She last heard from him at 1pm.

"I called his phone many times, but a young man answered and told me he found the phone in the debris," she said.

The two have an 11-year-old daughter. His mother, Gloria Garcia Castaneda, collapsed on a friend's arm, crying, "My son. My son."

Television images showed people being carried out of the building on office chairs. Most of them showed injuries likely to have been caused by falling debris.

More than 500 firefighters, soldiers and rescue workers dug through chunks of concrete with dogs, trucks and a crane.

The blast happened in a busy central district of Mexico City

Pemex - full name Petroleos Mexicanos - said in a tweet that several workers were injured in the blast but no one answered at its offices.

There was no immediate cause given for the blast, but in an earlier tweet, the company said it had evacuated the building because of problems with the electricity.

"It was an explosion, a shock, the lights went out and suddenly there was a lot of debris," employee Cristian Obele told Milenio television, adding that he had been injured in the leg.

President Enrique Pena Nieto urged people not to speculate.

"We have no conclusive report on the reason," he said, pledging a probe "to get to the bottom" of the blast.

The main floor and the mezzanine of the auxiliary building, where the explosion occurred, were heavily damaged, along with windows as far as three floors up.

Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong said it was uncertain if any of the 10,000 people who work in the five-building headquarters were still trapped, but that the search would continue.

Maria Concepcion Andrade, 42, who lives on the block of Pemex building, said: "We were talking and all of sudden we heard an explosion with white smoke and glass falling from the windows.

"People started running from the building covered in dust. A lot of pieces were flying."

Police landed four rescue helicopters to remove the dead or injured. About a dozen tow trucks were furiously moving cars to make more landing room for the helicopters.

Streets surrounding the building were closed as evacuees wandered around.

Shortly before the explosion, Pemex operations director Carlos Murrieta said on Twitter that the company had reduced its accident rate in recent years. Most Pemex accidents have occurred at pipeline and refinery installations.

A fire at a pipeline metering centre in northeast Mexico near the Texas border killed 30 workers in September, the largest-single toll in at least a decade for the company.

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Royal Hoax Call DJs Will Not Face Charges

The Australian DJs who made a prank call to the hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge will not be prosecuted.

No charges will be brought against Mel Greig and Michael Christian over the hoax, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Details of the Duchess' rare form of morning sickness were revealed on air on December 4, 2012, when the pair made the prank call to King Edward VII's Hospital in central London, posing as the Queen and Prince Charles.

Nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who transferred them to a colleague, who then described Kate Middleton's condition in detail, was found hanged three days later in her living quarters at the hospital, sparking a backlash against the 2Day FM DJs.

Malcolm McHaffie, deputy head of special crime at the CPS, said there was no evidence to support a manslaughter charge and any potential prosecution would not be in the public interest.

Mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha and her husband Ben Barboza

Scotland Yard provided the CPS with a file of evidence on December 19 and asked advice on whether a prosecution should be brought.

Mr McHaffie said the CPS had taken into account, among other matters, that it is not possible to extradite people from Australia on the potential offences in question.

He also said it considered that "however misguided, the telephone call was intended as a harmless prank".

"The consequences in this case were very sad. We send our sincere condolences to Jacintha Saldanha's family," he added.

The funeral of mother-of-two Ms Saldanha was held in the Catholic parish church Our Lady of Health in Shirva, near Mangalore, in India.

Memorial services were also held at the hospital where Ms Saldanha worked and in Bristol where her husband and children live.

John Lofthouse, chief executive at King Edward VII's Hospital, said it would not be commenting on the matter.

He added: "The consequences of that hoax call are well-known, and tragic. We will continue to support the family of our much-loved nurse Jacintha Saldanha during what continues to be a very sad time."

Earlier this week, Southern Cross Austereo, the parent company of the radio station 2Day FM, announced the DJs would be keeping their jobs and returning to the air soon "in roles that make full use of their talents".

The DJs apologised and expressed their regrets in emotional television interviews after Ms Saldanha's death, saying they never expected their call would be put through.

Hot 30 - the show they hosted, was taken off air and later cancelled.

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Turkey: 'Deadly' Bombing Outside US Embassy

A guard has reportedly been killed after a suicide bomb attack at an entrance to the US embassy in the Turkish capital.

The bomber's device went off as he was going though an X-ray machine at a security gatehouse, Sky sources said.

The embassy is on red alert and staff have gone into shelters, sources added.

Several other people were reportedly hurt in the attack in the city of Ankara.

An Associated Press journalist reported seeing a body in the street in front of a side entrance of the embassy.

A Reuters witness reported seeing one wounded person being lifted into an ambulance.

Police cordoned off the area following the explosion, which sent smoke and debris flying into the street.

TV footage showed a door blown out and masonry from the wall around it scattered, although there did not appear to be any more significant structural damage.

Damage can be seen at a side entrance of the embassy

Another journalist Ilnur Cevik told Sky News: "There was a huge bang which really shook everywhere."

He was in his car about 400 metres away from the US embassy when the blast happened.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but Kurdish rebels and Islamic militants are active in Turkey.

Kurdish rebels, who are fighting for autonomy in the Kurdish-dominated southeast, have dramatically stepped up attacks in Turkey over the last year.

Also, homegrown Islamic militants tied to al Qaeda have carried out suicide bombings in Istanbul, killing 58, in 2003.

The targets were the British consulate, a British bank and two synagogues.

In 2008, an assault blamed on al Qaeda-affiliated militants outside the US Consulate in Istanbul left three attackers and three policemen dead.

More follows...

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Fireworks Truck Explodes Killing Nine In China

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

Nine people have been killed after an explosion on a truck carrying fireworks caused a road bridge to collapse in central China.

Rescue crews search for survivors

The blast happened on the Yichang Bridge in Henan Province, injuring another 13 people, according to state media.

Photographs posted on social media just after the accident at 8.50am local time showed a large truck lying on its side way below the highway. 

Another photograph showed what appears to be a remarkable escape for other drivers with at least one vehicle seen balancing on the edge of the bridge.

Earlier, the state news agency had reported that as many as 26 people were killed. No reason was given for the discrepancy.

A truck teeters on the edge of the collapsed bridge

Up to 25 vehicles fell from the 30 metre bridge - six of which have been recovered - suggesting that the death toll could have been worse.

Details of exactly what happened are not clear but witnesses say they saw the truck explode and "about 10" cars blown off the bridge by the blast.

Six people are known to have died instantly in the accident. Others died of their injuries in nearby hospitals.

Witnesses say they saw the truck explode and cars blown off the bridge

The Yichang Bridge forms part of a busy multi-lane highway in central China. Local media reports claim that the south side of the bridge collapsed completely and cracks have appeared on the northern carriageway.

If the details of the cause are confirmed to be correct, then the incident combines two tragically common themes in China: badly constructed bridges and an abundance of badly regulated fireworks.

Annually, fireworks form a central part of Chinese New Year which this year falls next weekend.

Up to 25 vehicles fell from the bridge - six of which have been recovered.

To a far greater extent than in Europe or America, revellers use fireworks to celebrate, sometimes paying little attention to safety.

A spate of accidents over many years has promoted the authorities to impose better controls on the manufacture, transport, sale and use of fireworks.

On January 18, a firework explosion destroyed a two-storey home in Hebei Province killing three people and injuring eleven.

For a period, the transport and use of fireworks was banned in the Chinese capital Beijing but regular appeals from the public forced officials to relent.

In 2009, the newly-built China Central Television Building in Beijing was gutted by fire. The cause was confirmed to be fireworks set off inside the building.

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David Beckham 'To Sign For Paris St Germain'

David Beckham's Career Timeline

Updated: 12:20pm UK, Thursday 31 January 2013

David Beckham was born in Leytonstone in east London on May 2, 1975. Sixteen years later he joined Manchester United as a trainee.

1992: Makes debut against Brighton in the League Cup on September 23. Wins FA Youth Cup.

1993: Signs professional contract at Old Trafford.

1996: Helps United to Premier League and FA Cup double.

Scores goal of the season on opening day at Wimbledon, lobbing Neil Sullivan from the halfway line.
Makes his England debut in the 3-0 win in Moldova.

1997: Collects another championship winners' medal, voted PFA Young Player of the Year.

1998: Scores first England goal, a free-kick against Colombia in Lens on June26. Sent off in second-round penalty shoot-out defeat against Argentina.

1999: Helps United win the Premier League, FA Cup and European Cup after comingfrom behind to beat Bayern Munich with two late goals.Runner-up in World Player of the Year awards, behind Rivaldo.

2000: May - Collects fourth championship winner's medal as United win title by a record 18 points.

November - Named England captain for the November friendly with Italy in Turin by stand-in boss Peter Taylor.

2001: May - Collects another Premier League title with United.

October - Curls in a 25-yard last-minute free-kick against Greece at Old Trafford to earn England a 2-2 draw and send them into World Cup finals.

2002: May 11 - Signs new three-year contract reported to be worth between £90,000 and £100,000 a week.

2003: February - Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson accidentally kicks a boot into Beckham's face in frustration at United's FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.

June 14 - Awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to football.

June 17 - United announce they have accepted a £25m bid from Real Madrid for Beckham, who agrees personal terms.

2004: June 24 - Misses a penalty as England lose to Portugal in a shoot-out in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals in Lisbon.

2005: November: Captains England for 50th time in friendly against Argentina in Geneva.

July 2 - Stands down as England captain.

August 11 - Dropped from squad for friendly against Greece, Steve McClaren's first match as manager.

2007: January 11 - Beckham announces he will leave Real Madrid and join Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy on a five-year contract in August.

January 13 - Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello says Beckham will never play for the club again.

May 26 - McClaren hands Beckham a shock England recall for matches against Brazil and Estonia.

June - Wins the La Liga title with Madrid, having won back his place in the team.

August 16 - Beckham scores his first goal for Galaxy on his full debut in the SuperLiga semi-final meeting with DC United with a trademark free-kick.

2008: March 26 - Wins 100th cap in the friendly against France.

October 30 - Milan announce Beckham will join them on loan on January 7, 2009.

2009: January 11 - Makes shock first start for Milan in 2-2 Serie A draw at Roma.

March 9 - AC Milan announce that under a unique "timeshare" agreement, Beckham will stay with them in Italy until the end of the season, return to the Galaxy from July to October and then rejoin the Serie A club for the rest of the 2009-10 campaign.

March 28 - Comes on as a half-time substitute against Slovakia at Wembley towin his 109th cap and break Bobby Moore's record for an outfield player.

July 20, 27 - Twice confronts fans who gave him a hostile reception in his first home games after returning to the Galaxy.

2010: March 14 - Tears his Achilles tendon in AC Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo - an injury that rules him out of the World Cup.

August 11 - England career appears to be at an end when Capello tells ITV: "Probably he is a little bit old."

2011: November 20  - Wins the MLS Cup as the Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo 1-0 in the final.

December 31 - Five-year deal at the Galaxy expires.

2012: January 19 - Re-signs with the Galaxy.

June 28 - Announces he has not been included in Team GB's squad for the Olympic Games.

November 20 - Confirms he is to leave the Galaxy after MLS Cup on December 1.

December 1 - LA Galaxy wins 3-1 over Houston Dynamo in Beckham's final game in Major League Soccer. It is the team's second successive MLS Cup.

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South Africa Train Crash Injures 300

At least 300 people have been injured in a collision between two passenger trains in South Africa during the peak morning commute.

Dozens of school children were among those injured in the crash, which left the driver of one of the engines needing to be rescued from his cab.

The accident happened just before 8am when a train collided with a stationary locomotive near Attridgeville, a suburb west of Pretoria.

"Many are walking wounded and already left. There are 20 people in serious condition and one, the driver of the second train, is in a critical condition," local emergency services spokesman Johan Pieterse said.

|The train collided with a stationary locomotive

"Both of the trains were full of commuters and between them were lots of school children on the way to school. We counted about 50 plus children," he added.

At least three people were said to be in a "critical" condition according to Chris Botha, a spokesman for emergency services provider Netcare.

At least one person was airlifted to the nearby Milpark Hospital, others were taken by ambulance and many were treated at the scene.

The accident happened west of Pretoria

Rescue workers struggled to cut away the tangled wreckage of the trains to free the passengers. One of the train drivers was freed from the carriage where he was trapped for two hours. He was among those critically injured.

The trains were on the same line toward the capital Pretoria when one train hit the other from behind.

The cause of the accident is unknown.

The trains were operated by Metrorail, the country's rail system in cities.

It is just the latest serious rail accident to hit South Africa's urban rail network.

In 2011, 857 commuters were injured in Johannesburg's Soweto township when a passenger train smashed into a stationary train during the peak rush hour period.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South, has itself described its passengers as "travelling like cattle." 

Over 90 percent of commuter trains in South Africa date back to more than fifty years, the most recent dating from 1986.

The network is currently undergoing a major revamp to upgrade its fleet, spending 123 billion rand ($14 billion, 10 billion euros) over 20 years.

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Child Held Hostage After School Bus Shooting

A gunman who shot and killed a school bus driver before taking a five-year-old boy hostage on Tuesday remains holed up in a bunker at his home in Alabama.

Armed officers and police negotiators have surrounded the property in Midland City.

The suspect has been named locally as 65-year-old lorry driver Jimmy Lee Dykes.

Local people described him as a survivalist, who hates the government and the authorities.

He had been scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday morning to answer charges he shot at his neighbours last month in a dispute over a speed bump.

The stand-off entered a third day on Thursday

The stand-off began on Tuesday afternoon when a gunman boarded a stationary school bus filled with children.

Sheriff Wally Olson said the man shot the bus driver when he refused to hand over the boy. The gunman then took the child away.

"As far as we know there is no relation at all. He just wanted a child for a hostage situation," said Michael Senn, a pastor who helped comfort the other children after the attack.

Bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr, 66, has been described by locals as a hero who gave his life to protect 21 students.

Mr Olson said negotiators are continuing to talk to the suspect and "at this time we have no reason to believe that the child has been harmed".

The school bus was dropping children off at home

Mike and Patricia Smith's two children were also on the bus.

The mother told how their son ran inside his house shouting: "The crazy man across the street shot the bus driver and Mr Poland won't wake up."

The couple said their youngsters had a run-in with the neighbour about 10 months ago.

"My bulldogs got loose and went over there," Patricia Smith said.

"The children went to get them. He threatened to shoot them if they came back."

"He's very paranoid," her husband said. "He goes around in his yard at night with a flashlight and shotgun."

A sheriff's deputy mans a roadblock near the property

Nearby homes were evacuated after authorities found what was believed to be a bomb at the property.

State Representative Steve Clouse described the standoff as a "static situation" and "a waiting game".

Authorities told him that the bunker on the suspect's property has electricity, food and a TV.

Police have not said whether the suspect has made any demands.

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Ryanair Loses EU Fight Over Ash Cloud Row

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

A court has ruled Ryanair flouted EU law by refusing to pay out cash to a customer left stranded by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud three years ago.

Denise McDonagh, from Ireland, was due to fly back to Dublin from Faro on April 17, 2010, but was trapped in Portugal for a week after the eruption closed down much of European airspace for nine days.

She ran up hotel, meal and refreshment bills of 1,130 euro (£940), and submitted them to the airline when she returned to Ireland.

But the company refused to reimburse her, claiming the consequences of the eruption were so unexpected they could not count as 'extraordinary circumstances'.

Ms McDonagh pursued her claim through the Irish courts, which then sent the case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which is the highest court in the EU for interpreting and enforcing EU laws.

Last March the Advocate General Yves Bot ruled in the plaintiff's favour, which has now been upheld by the court.

And its judges have ordered Ryanair to cover the costs she incurred.

Their decision could also have an impact on prices in the budget airline market.

Ryanair had refused to reimburse Denise McDonagh

The court ruling said: "EU law does not recognise a separate category of 'particularly extraordinary' events, beyond 'extraordinary circumstances', which would lead to the air carrier being exempted from all its obligations under the regulation."

The court also ruled that the regulation did not set a monetary limit on the care airlines based in the EU should give to passengers in such cases.

The ruling continued: "It is precisely in situations where the waiting period occasioned by the cancellation of a flight is particularly lengthy that it is necessary to ensure that an air passenger can have access to essential goods and services throughout that period."

However, the court did give some relief to the airlines, by stating that they "may pass on the costs incurred as a result of that obligation to airline ticket prices".

After the judgment Ryanair released a statement and said: "Ryanair regrets the decision of the European Court which now allows passengers to claim for flight delays which are clearly and unambiguously outside of an airline's control.

"Today's decision will materially increase the cost of flying across Europe and consumer airfares will increase as airlines will be obliged to recover the cost of these claims from their customers, because the defective European regulation does not allow us to recover such costs from the governments or unions who are responsible for over 95% of flight delays in Europe."

:: More than 100,000 flights were cancelled and eight million passengers stranded after the Icelandic volcano erupted, spewing a massive cloud of ash that caused the world's biggest airspace shutdown since the Second World War.

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Syria Is Being Destroyed, Says UN Envoy

The war in Syria has reached "unprecedented levels of horror" after evidence emerged of the massacre of dozens of men, the UN envoy for the country has said.

Lakhdar Brahimi told the divided UN Security Council it must act now to prevent further atrocities like the apparent execution of at least 65 men found dumped in a river in Aleppo.

Syrian rebels blamed president Bashar al Assad's government for the killings, but state media said an Islamist opposition faction was to blame.

"Syria is breaking up before everyone's eyes. Only the international community can help, and first and foremost the Security Council," Mr Brahimi told the council's 15 ambassadors.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for more aid and an end to the violence. He said the situation was "catastrophic and getting worse. Every day, Syrians face unrelenting horrors".

More than 60,000 people have been killed in 22 months of conflict, according to the UN, which will seek £950m in humanitarian funding for beleaguered Syrians at a conference in Kuwait.

Fighting has devastated Aleppo since summer 2012

Mr Brahimi said Mr Assad's government's legitimacy has been "irreparably damaged" but warned that it could still cling to power as both state and rebel forces commit "equally atrocious crimes".

After briefing the Security Council, Mr Brahimi told reporters: "Syria is being destroyed bit by bit.

"And in destroying Syria, the region is being pushed into a situation that is extremely bad and extremely important for the entire world."

He warned of growing conflict "contamination" in neighbouring countries.

The Council has been paralysed on Syria for more than a year. Russia and China have vetoed three western-drafted resolutions which would simply have threatened sanctions.

Russia accuses the West of seeking regime change through force and insists it cannot make Mr Assad stand down. The US and its allies back the opposition stance that there can be no talks with the president.

Aleppo - Syria's most populous city - is far from Assad's Damascus base

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights opposition group said the Aleppo victims were found with their hands bound and a single bullet wound to the head - and that the death toll could climb to 80.

Hundreds of distressed people watched as muddied corpses were dredged from the Quweiq river.

"The regime threw them into the river so that they would arrive in an area under our control, so the people would think we killed them," rebel fighter Abu Seif said.

A government security official blamed "terrorists" - the regime term for the rebels - for the carnage.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the official SANA news agency said the jihadist Al Nusra Front carried out the executions.

Al Nusra, which has gained notoriety for its suicide bombings, has become a key fighting force, leading rebel attacks throughout the embattled country.

Its suspected affiliation to the al Qaeda offshoot in Iraq have seen it added to the US list of terrorist organisations.

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Spain GDP Shrinks For Sixth Straight Quarter

Spain has sunk even deeper into recession, according to latest figures.

The struggling eurozone country saw its gross domestic product (GDP) shrink by 0.7% in the fourth quarter.

The contraction was worse than expected and means Spain has now suffered six straight quarters of negative growth.

Spain's economy contracted by a total of 1.37% in 2012 and year-on-year GDP has contracted for five quarters.

Statistics showed Spain's economy shrank at the fastest pace in a year, as budget cutbacks and increasing unemployment prompted households to slash spending even more.

On Tuesday it was revealed that Spanish retail sales over the Christmas period were down more than 10% on the year before.

The National Statistics Institute (NSI) said the latest GDP estimate would be finalised on February 28 when the official figure is released.

Last week the NSI said the jobless rate for the last three months of 2012, for those aged 16 to 24, had soared to 55.13%.

The unemployment figure for young people was up from 52.34% in the previous quarter.

Overall, Spain's unemployment rate has risen to its highest level since measurements began in the 1970s, as a prolonged recession and deep spending cuts have left almost six million people out of work at the end of last year.

The nationwide jobless total rose 1% to 26.02% in the fourth quarter of 2012, or 5.97 million people, according to the NSI.

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South Korea's First Satellite Blasts Off

South Korea has launched a satellite into space from its own soil for the first time - just weeks after arch-rival North Korea accomplished a similar feat.

The rocket blasted off from a launch pad in the southwestern coastal village of Goheung.

Officials told cheering spectators minutes later that the rocket delivered an observational satellite into orbit.

It is unclear whether the satellite is operating as intended.

The launch is a culmination of years of efforts by South Korea - Asia's fourth-largest economy - to advance its space programme and cement its standing as a technology leader.

Crowds gather in a railway station in Seoul to watch the launch

North Korea's long-range rocket program has generated international fears that it is getting closer to developing nuclear missiles capable of striking enemies.

It has threatened to explode its third nuclear device, after tough new international sanctions were imposed over its December 12 rocket launch.

The rocket left from Goheung Space Centre

Washington and Seoul said North Korea's launch was a cover for a test of Pyongyang's banned ballistic missile technology.

South Korea tried and failed to launch satellites in 2009 and 2010, and more recent launch attempts were aborted at the last minute.

The satellite launched by Seoul is designed to analyse weather data, measure radiation in space, gauge distances on earth and test how effectively South Korean-made devices installed on the satellite operate in space.

South Korean officials say it will help them develop more sophisticated satellites in the future.

US experts say the North's satellite is tumbling through space and that it does not appear to be functioning, though Pyongyang has said it is working.

The South Korean rocket launched on Wednesday was partially designed and built by Russian experts under a contract between the two governments.

North Korea built its rocket almost entirely on its own.

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Israel Strikes Convoy On Syria-Lebanon Border

Israel has struck a weapons convoy on border of Syria and Lebanon, according to security sources.

Israeli jets carried out the strike overnight on the convoy which was said to be coming from Syria, and was in the area of the Lebanon-Syria border.

An unnamed secuity source told the AFP news wire: "The Israeli air force blew up a convoy which had just crossed the border from Syria into Lebanon."

The source did not give a precise location for the attack or saying what the convoy was carrying.

An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.

More follows...

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Iraqis Seek UK Troop Abuse Public Inquiry

Scores of lawyers representing Iraqis are going to the High Court seeking an "independent" public inquiry into allegations that British interrogators were guilty of the systemic abuse of civilians in Iraq.

Lawyers for the Iraqis allege there were a number of unlawful killings as well as incidents of torture from March 2003 to December 2008 in British-controlled detention facilities.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond plans to investigate the claims through the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), which includes members of the Royal Navy Police (RNP).

Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), who are acting on behalf of 192 Iraqis, are seeking judicial review on the grounds that the RNP lack sufficient independence as numerous Royal Navy officers were involved in interrogations with the UK Joint Forward Interrogation Team (JFIT).

PIL said a number of unlawful killings and cases of inhuman and degrading treatment were linked to JFIT's activities as interrogators sought to extract information.

They argue justice requires a fully independent public inquiry.

Two judges sitting in London will hear accusations that civilians were subjected to a number of techniques to disorientate and debilitate them, including deprivation of sleep, food and water.

Sir John Thomas (President of the Queen's Bench Division) and Mr Justice Silber will be told there was also hooding, forced nudity, sexual humiliation and repeated and lengthy interrogations.

The three-day application is the second legal challenge in a case in which PIL say there was systemic abuse, as opposed to ill treatment by "a few bad apples".

Ministry of Defence lawyers are opposing the application, saying any acts that have been proven were in isolation.

British soldier Corporal Donald Payne was jailed in 2006 after he was filmed shouting at detainees who were hooded and being held in stress positions. 

An MoD spokesman recently said: "The IHAT is the most effective way of investigating these unproven allegations rather than a costly public inquiry."

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Kazakhstan: 20 Feared Dead In Plane Crash

A plane reported to be carrying 20 passengers and crew has crashed near Almaty, Kazakhstan.

All 20 people - 15 passengers and five crew - on board were killed, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, quoting SCAT airlines.

The accident reportedly happened near Almaty, the financial capital of the Central Asian country, close to the border with neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.

The plane had been en route from the city of Kokshetau in northern Kazakhstan to the southeast city when it crashed near the village of Kyzyl Tu, Interfax said.

There was thick fog in the area.

"There was no fire, no explosion. The plane just plunged to the earth," said Yuri Ilyin, deputy head of the city's emergency department.

SCAT is based in Kazakhstan and operates extensive domestic services and some international flights.

The type of plane involved in the crash is not yet known; SCAT flies Boeing 757s and 737s, along with the Yak-42 and the An-24, according to reports.

It was the second plane crash in the former Soviet republic in just a over a month.

A military transport airplane crashed in bad weather near the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent on December 25, killing all 27 people on board.

Prosecutors have said that a fatal combination of technical problems, bad weather and human errors caused that accident.

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Egypt Crisis 'Could Lead To State's Collapse'

The political crisis in Egypt could lead to the state's collapse, the head of the country's armed forces has warned.

 Failure to resolve the situation "could lead to grave repercussions if the political forces do not act" to tackle it, General al Sisi said on the official army Facebook page, as he promised to protect the country's vital infrastructure, particularly the Suez Canal.

"The continuing conflict between political forces and their differences concerning the management of the country could lead to a collapse of the state and threaten future generations," he said in extracts of a speech to students at a military academy.

The general also warned that the political, economic, social and security problems facing Egypt constituted "a threat to the country's security and stability".

General al Sisi with President Morsi in Cairo last year

"The attempts to undermine the stability of state institutions is a dangerous thing that harms national security and the future of the country," he said, adding: "The army will remain strong... as a pillar of the state's foundations."

Fifty-two people have died in five days of violence that started on Thursday night, as the country marked the second anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

A curfew has been imposed in three provinces - Port Said, Ismailiya and Suez.

The bloodiest clashes and most of the deaths have occurred in Port Said, Rioting broke out on Saturday after 21 supporters of a local football club were sentenced to death for their roles in a deadly football riot last year.

Egypt has already deployed troops to Port Said and Suez provinces, which lie at each end of the vital Suez Canal.

"The deployment of the army in Port Said and Suez aims to protect strategic infrastructure, especially the Suez Canal, which we will not allow to be harmed," General al Sisi said, adding that the army was to assist interior ministry forces.

But, he said, the army's task was difficult. One the one hand it "did not want to confront Egyptian citizens who have a right to protest" but, on the other, it "has to protect vital institutions."

"That is why protests must be peaceful."

Analysts say it is unlikely that the army wants to take back the power it held, in effect, for six decades since the end of the colonial period and in the interim period after the overthrow of former general Hosni Mubarak two years ago.

But, they say, it sends a powerful message that Egypt's biggest institution, with a huge economic as well as security role and a recipient of enormous US subsidies, is worried about the fate of the nation after five days of turmoil in major cities.

 

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French Jogger Murder: British Man Is Arrested

A British man has been arrested in France over the murder of a mother who was killed while out jogging.

The woman's body was discovered on a track in Nimes last week.

The man, who has not yet been named, is being questioned by police.

According to reports, he is 32 and originally from Chatham in Kent.

He is understood to have been living in the region, in southwest France, with his mother.

The woman's body was discovered in Nimes

The dead woman - understood to be a 33-year-old mother-of-three - was reportedly found lying near a cemetery, a few hundred metres from the local police academy, last Thursday afternoon.

Traces of blood were found on two stones, and a blade was discovered close to her body, according to regional newspaper La Depeche.

She appeared to have been badly beaten, with blows to the face and neck.

A post-mortem examination revealed she also suffered knife wounds in the attack.

Nimes prosecutor Laure Beccuau told the paper: "A knife was seized, among other things."

A local police spokesman said: "A British man has been arrested. The matter is now being handled by police in Montpellier."

The dead woman was reported missing by her partner after he was contacted by the children's school when she failed to pick them up at the end of the day, La Depeche reported.

The housewife, of Tunisian origin, was said to go jogging regularly in the quiet Courbessac area where she lived.

She would go out for around 20 minutes before collecting her children.

Police mounted a search following her disappearance on Thursday and her body was found shortly after 10pm.

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Australia Floods Threaten To Wash Homes Away

By Katie Cassidy, in Brisbane

Hundreds of homes are at risk of being washed away by fast-flowing floodwaters in the Australian state of Queensland.

Mass evacuations have been carried out in the city of Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, where waters in the Burnett River continued to rise above the record level of nine metres.

Up to 2,000 properties have been flooded and the state's premier, Campbell Newman, told reporters the emergency was widespread.

"These are record floods and we are in unchartered territory," he said.

"The water is flowing extremely fast. Some estimates have put it at 40 knots, which makes the rescue of people extremely hazardous or downright impossible, particularly with debris in the river system.

"We are also very concerned that the velocity of the river and the rise in water levels means that literally, houses, particularly in north Bundaberg, could be swept away. This is a very real prospect."

Wild weather conditions generated by the former cyclone Oswald have pounded Queensland's southeast over the past several days, leaving at least three dead and thousands of homes either damaged or destroyed.

A number of people have already needed rescuing from floodwaters, including a 14-year-old boy who was pulled from a swollen river in a heart-stopping operation caught on camera.

A surge of ocean foam appears in Snapper Rocks, Queensland

Strong winds, and in some areas small-scale tornadoes, brought down power lines, ripped roofs off homes and uprooted trees.

On Monday, more than 220,000 properties in southeast Queensland were without electricity and residents in several towns were urged to leave their homes as rivers in the region broke their banks.

While the most serious situation on Monday was in Bundaberg, the state capital Brisbane has been told to expect flooding this week.

Parts of the country's third largest city are due to be inundated for a second time in two years - in January 2011 more than 15,000 properties were affected by Brisbane's worst flooding in more than a century.

By Tuesday, around 3,500 homes and 1,500 business have been told to expect flooding as high tides are swollen by the high levels of rainfall in the region.

The city of Ipswich, west of Brisbane, which also experienced widespread devastation in January 2011, is also due to flood again as the Bremer River peaked at 15 metres.

On Monday, the Brisbane River had already broken its banks in parts of the city centre, flooding parks and bike paths.

The expected peak of 2.6 metres is almost two metres lower than in 2011, and the authorities have been keen to stress the crisis in the city of 1.2 million people is not as severe.

But after dozens of suburbs were inundated only two years ago, emotions in Brisbane and Ipswich are still raw.

Earlier this month a law firm announced it was putting together a class action on behalf of flood victims who accuse authorities of mismanaging the release of water from Wivenhoe Dam.

The dam was built after the devastating 1974 flooding of Brisbane, which left vast areas of the city under water.

Two years ago authorities had no choice but to release an extraordinary amount of water from the dam to save the structure from giving way.

But Mr Newman, who was mayor of Brisbane in January 2011, said the circumstances of this year's flooding event are different.

"Running a dam is quite a complex operation. The best way I can explain to people, the operation of a dam like a shock-absorber in your car. It's designed to take the impacts. Take the bumps out of the road," he said.

"What the people running the dam are doing is everything they can to take the shock out of the system and to ensure we have the lowest possible water levels in the Brisbane River.

"But there is flooding in the Lockyer (Valley), there's flooding in the Bremer River, and those watercourses go in to the Brisbane River downstream from Wivenhoe Dam. They cannot be controlled.

"Those flows cannot be controlled by anybody."

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Missing Mexican Band: Bodies Found In Well

At least eight bodies have been pulled from a well near the site where members of a Mexican band went missing after a performance.

A total of 20 people disappeared on Friday following Colombian-style group Kombo Kolombia's show in Monterrey the previous night, including 16 musicians and crew.

An official from the Nuevo Leon State Investigative Agency said the number of bodies found at a vacant car park in the nearby town of Mina could increase.

But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the case, could not confirm whether the bodies were those of the band and their crew.

Hidalgo and Mina are near northern Mexican city Monterrey

People living near the bar in Hidalgo municipality north of Monterrey - where the band had played a private show - reported hearing gunshots at around 4am on Friday, followed by the sound of vehicles speeding away,

The official added that gunfire is common in the area, and that investigators found spent bullets nearby.

Relatives filed an official report about their missing loved ones on Friday, after they lost mobile telephone contact with them following the Thursday night performance.

When family members went to the bar to investigate, they found the band members' vehicles still parked outside.

For three years, Kombo Kolombia has played a Colombian style of music known as vallenato, which is popular in Nuevo Leon state.

Most of the group's musicians were from the area, and have held large concerts in addition to bar performances.

State officials said one of those missing is a Colombian citizen with Mexican residency.

Members of other musical bands, usually groups that performed 'narcocorridos' celebrating the exploits of drug traffickers, have been killed in Mexico in recent years.

But Kombo Kolombia did not play that type of music and its lyrics did not deal with violence or drug trafficking.

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Brazil Nightclub Fire: Security 'Blocked Exit'

Security guards tried to block people from leaving a nightclub in Brazil where more than 230 people were killed in a fire, survivors and rescuers have said.

A preliminary investigation also found that the club's single exit was blocked by the bodies of those already dead.

The fast-spreading blaze raged through the crowded Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, with a cloud of toxic smoke setting off panic as party-goers gasping for air rushed to the exit.

Witnesses said a flare or firework lit by members of a band onstage started the fire.

Men try to break through a wall to help the victims

Police inspector Marcelo Arigony confirmed survivors' accounts that security guards initially tried to block people from exiting the club.

Brazilian bars routinely make patrons pay their entire tab at the end of the night before they are allowed to leave.

But Mr Arigony said the guards did not appear to block fleeing patrons for long.

"It was chaotic and it doesn't seem to have been done in bad faith because several security guards also died," he said.

Officials say 233 people died, and around 117 others were injured.

The blaze broke out while the band, called Gurizada Fandangueira, was performing in the club, which was overcrowded with some 1,500 people.

Some of those who escaped the building tried to smash a hole in the wall to allow other trapped people out.

Fire chief Guido de Melo said there was panic after the fire started and many revellers were trampled. He said the main cause of death was asphyxiation.

Mr Melo said firefighters had a hard time getting inside the club because "there was a barrier of bodies blocking the entrance".

"Security guards blocked their exit and did not allow them to leave quickly. That caused panic," he said.

Within hours, the bodies of the victims were lined up in a community gym, partially covered with black plastic as desperate family members identified their relatives.

Many of those who died were under 20 years old, including some children.

The packed club had only one exit

The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

Mr Melo said the club was authorised to be open, though its permit was in the process of being renewed.

But he pointed to possible safety violations - from the flare that went off during the show to the locked door that kept people from getting out.

"The problem was the use of pyrotechnics, which is not permitted," Mr Melo said.

Police inspector Sandro Meinerz told the Agencia Estado news agency the band was to blame for a pyrotechnics show and that manslaughter charges could be filed.

The club's management said in a statement that its staff were trained and prepared to deal with any emergency. It said it would help authorities with their investigation.

Television images showed black smoke billowing out of the nightclub as shirtless young men who had attended a university party joined firefighters using axes and sledgehammers to pound at windows and pink exterior walls to free those trapped inside.

Bodies of the dead and injured were strewn in the street and panicked screams filled the air as medics tried to help.

"There was so much smoke and fire, it was complete panic, and it took a long time for people to get out, there were so many dead," survivor Luana Santos Silva told the Globo TV network.

The fire took place in Santa Maria

Another survivor, Michele Pereira, told the Folha de S Paulo newspaper she was near the stage when members of the band lit flares that started the fire.

"The band that was onstage began to use flares and, suddenly, they stopped the show and pointed them upward," she said.

"At that point, the ceiling caught fire. It was really weak, but in a matter of seconds it spread."

Guitarist Rodrigo Martins told Radio Gaucha that the band had started playing at 2.15am.

"We had played around five songs when I looked up and noticed the roof was burning," he said.

"It might have happened because of the Sputnik, the machine we use to create a luminous effect with sparks. It's harmless, we never had any trouble with it.

"When the fire started, a guard passed us a fire extinguisher, the singer tried to use it but it wasn't working."

He confirmed that accordion player Danilo Jacques, 28, had died, while the five other members made it out safely.

Mr Martin told Radio Gaucha that the band was already seeing hostile messages.

"People on the social networks are saying we have to pay for what happened," he said. "I'm afraid there could be retaliation."

Brazil President Dilma Rousseff arrived to visit the injured after cutting short her trip to a Latin American-European summit in Chile.

"It is a tragedy for all of us," Ms Rousseff said.

Britain's Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said he was "deeply saddened" by "tragic accident" and sent his condolences.

The blaze was the deadliest in Brazil since at least 1961, when a fire that swept through a circus killed 503 people in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro.

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Iran Space Monkey: Primate 'Sent Into Orbit'

Iran has successfully flown a monkey into space and back, according to the country's state TV channel.

In what was described as another step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight, the report said the primate was sent up in a Pishtam, or Explorer, rocket to a height of 72 miles.

A monkey in an Iranian Kavoshgar-4 rocket, in 2011

It gave no other details on the timing or location of the launch, but said the monkey returned safely.

Iran has said it wants to send an astronaut into space as part of its ambitious aerospace program. In 2010, Iran said it launched a rocket into space carrying a mouse, turtle and worms.

The US and its allies worry that technology from the space program could also be used to develop long-range missiles that could potentially be armed with nuclear warheads.

If confirmed, the monkey would be the latest in a long line of astronaut primates.

The first was a Rhesus monkey called Albert, who died of suffocation after flying to a height of 39 miles in a United States V2 rocket in 1948.

Albert II became the first to reach space - by flying past the 100km (62 mile) 'Karman line' - but died upon his return to earth when his parachute failed.

Squirrel monkeys Able and Miss Baker became the first primates to successfully return to earth following a space flight, when they travelled on the US' Jupiter AM-18 rocket in 1958.

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Mali: US Offers Refuelling Services To France

US military aircraft will be used to refuel French warplanes fighting Islamist militants in Mali, the Pentagon has confirmed.

The offer of assistance to the French-led effort to push al Qaeda-linked fighters out of the north of country came as the 16-day offensive enjoyed its biggest success, recapturing the city of Gao.

In an overnight assault backed by French warplanes and helicopters, French special forces seized the town's airport and a key bridge over the River Niger while, killing a number of Islamist fighters without suffering any casualties, the French army said.

"The Malian army and the French control Gao today," Malian army spokesman Lieutenant Diaran Kone said.

Fighting was, however, reported to be continuing in the city, which was seized by a mixture of al Qaeda-linked fighters over nine months ago, into the night.

Sky's special correspondent Alex Crawford, travelling with French troops, said the latest offensive was the biggest push into jihadist-held territory since the operation began.

"There are at least five militant groups waiting for them in and around this desert region.

"Clearly the militants have spotted this huge convoy coming. It is not hard to spot, there are nearly 100 vehicles in the convoy and it takes up more than 1km of space in this pretty barren landscape."

French troops and fighting alongside the Malian army

Malian army officers said the Islamist insurgents were pulling back to avoid French air strikes.

"They are all hiding. They are leaving on foot and on motorcycles," Malian Army Captain Faran Keita said in Konna, about 310 miles southeast of Gao.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed the US would offer its support to the operation "to deny terrorists a safe haven in Mali" after speaking to French Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said: "Secretary Panetta informed Minister Le Drian that US Africa Command will support the French military by conducting aerial refuelling missions as operations in Mali continue."

They also discussed plans for the US to transport troops from African nations, including Chad and Togo, to support the international effort in Mali, he added.

A total of 7,700 African troops are expected to be sent to Mali under a UN mandate, according to regional army chiefs.

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Kumbh Mela: Millions Gather For Hindu Festival

By Alex Rossi, India Correspondent

The authorities in the city of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh in India have estimated that as many as 80 million people will attend this year's Kumbh Mela religious festival during its six-week lifecycle.

The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years and its exact timing is decided by the zodiac. Smaller melas, which is the Hindi word for fair, are held every three years.

Hindu pilgrims from across the country have been arriving at Allahabad since January 14.

Most stay in a tented city which pops up on the flood plains of the River Ganges at its confluence with the River Yamuna.

In Hindu mythology both rivers are holy and the pilgrims believe bathing in the waters cleanses them of sin by eradicating "Karmic debt".

Most pilgrims stay in a vast tent city on the flood plains

The ritual helps bring the devotee closer to the end of the cycle of reincarnation or "Moksha".

Akhilesh Singh and his wife Munju travelled from the capital city of Delhi to take part;

"Basically my wife wanted to come here to get blessings for our son studying in California. This is a worship to give him a good brain to study out there and we want peace and harmony in our family," he said.

The Kumbh Mela is by far the biggest religious festival in the world.

Its sheer scale has captured the attention of academics.

Devotees believe bathing in the rivers cleanses them of sin

Assistant Professor of Public health, Greg Greenhough, from Harvard University says the possibilities for study are endless.

"This is a group that comes from all over the world certainly all over India and they bring with them their customs and their ways of living and their own reasons for being here and in that chaotic cacophony they have an experience - that doesn't happen anywhere else in the world," he said.

It is thought the Kumbh Mela started before historical records began. In modern India the pilgrims of today are still coming for the same reasons as their forebears: spititual guidance and enlightenment.

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Mexico: Police Hunt For 20 Missing Musicians

Police are searching for 20 members of a Mexican band who have gone missing after playing a gig.

Relatives said Kombo Kolombia's 12 musicians and eight crew were scheduled to play in Hidalgo in the northeast Mexican state of Nuevo Leon on Thursday night.

But the group, who play Colombian vallenato music, seem to have vanished.

"They were not answering their mobile phones, but we just thought it was because they were in a remote place," said family member Jose Ruiz.

"We started to look for them, and we found their cars open and empty, and neither they nor their instruments were at the farm where they were scheduled to play."

Nuevo Leon security spokesman Jorge Domene confirmed the disappearance, saying that the group had not been heard from since Thursday.

Nuevo Leon, like many Mexican states, has suffered a growing wave of violence as criminal gangs engaged in kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking battle with members of opposing cartels and with police.

President Enrique Pena Nieto is trying to tackle organised crime in Mexico

According to official figures, more than 70,000 people died in Mexico from drug-related violence under former president Felipe Calderon, whose six-year term ended in 2012.

Drug gangs have killed a number of Mexican musicians in recent years.

In 2007 Sergio Gomez, singer of the band K-Paz de la Sierra, was kidnapped and later found strangled after a concert in the western state of Michoacan.

And Sergio Vega, known as El Shaka, was shot dead in 2010 by gunmen who attacked as he was driving his Cadillac in Sinaloa state, also in western Mexico.

Most victims have played narcocorridos - songs celebrating the lives of drug barons - while Kombo Kolombia specialise in Colombian pop music.

President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December 2012, has announced the creation of a new police task force to tackle Mexico's drug gang violence.

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Brazil Nightclub Fire Tragedy: 180 Killed

At least 180 people have died after a fire swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil.

Around 200 others were injured after the blaze broke out at the Kiss club in the city of Santa Maria while a band was performing.

Fire chief Guido de Melo said there was panic after the fire started and many revellers were trampled on.

He said the main cause of death was asphyxiation.

A security guard reportedly said the venue was at its maximum capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000, and partygoers were pushing and shoving to escape.

Members of the Red Cross pictured at the site

The blaze is reported to have begun at 2am (local time) and officials said the cause was not yet known.

The sound proofing of the building apparently caught fire and smoke from this then asphyxiated victims.

The blaze spread quickly and produced a thick black smoke.

It is thought the venue only had one emergency exit and firefighters made a hole in the wall to help people escape.

The band reportedly used pyrotechnics as part of its show.

Civil Police and regional government spokesman Marcelo Arigoni told Radio Gaucha a truck carrying 70 bodies had arrived at the Municipal Sports Centre, which was being used as an improvised morgue.

Police believe there are about 20 bodies still inside the club.

Santa Maria is a major university city with a population of around a quarter of a million.

More follows...

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