Maduro Sworn In As Venezuela's President

Venezuela Says Farewell To Chavez

Updated: 6:16am UK, Saturday 09 March 2013

A state funeral has taken place for Venezuela's left-wing president Hugo Chavez at a military academy where his body has been lying in state since Wednesday.

Most Latin American leaders attended the service, including Chilean president Sebastian Pinera and Cuba's Raul Castro, as well as Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus.

Mr Ahmadinejad and Mr Lukashenko sat next to each other, reportedly wiping away tears as a band played one of Mr Chavez's favourite sentimental songs.

The Iranian leader earlier said: "It is a great pain for us because we have lost a friend. I feel like I have lost myself, but I am sure that he still lives.

"Chavez will never die. His spirit and soul live on in each of our hearts."

Venezuelan conductor and Los Angeles Philharmonic maestro Gustavo Dudamel led an orchestra's rendition of the national anthem to open the ceremony.

Mr Chavez's political heir, vice president Nicolas Maduro, placed a replica of the golden sword of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar on his mentor's wooden coffin as more than 30 heads of state applauded. 

Several Latin American leaders, including Mr Castro, were invited to stand around the coffin, which was closed and covered in the yellow, blue and red colours of Venezuela, in an honour guard.

Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat congressman, and ex-congressman William Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts, represented the United States, which Mr Chavez often portrayed as a great global evil even as he sent the country billions of dollars in oil each year.

Hollywood actor Sean Penn was also among those who attended the funeral.

An estimated two million people have filed past Mr Chavez's coffin to say goodbye to the man worshipped by the country's poor, who he championed.

He was dressed in olive green military fatigues, a black tie and the iconic red beret that became a symbol of his 14-year socialist rule.

People blew kisses, made the sign of the cross or gave military salutes as they walked by, with just seconds to see him. Outside the academy, the line to see the body stretched for more than a mile.

His mother, Elena Frias, was pictured weeping ahead of the funeral in the capital Caracas.

Mr Chavez, a former paratrooper who died on Tuesday aged 58 after a long battle with cancer, had not been seen in public since a fourth round of surgery in Cuba in December last year.

He will lie in state for another week to allow everybody to see him, and he will then be embalmed "like Ho Chi Minh, Lenin and Mao" and kept in a glass coffin "for eternity," Mr Maduro said.

His remains will be displayed at the Museum of the Revolution, close to the Presidential Palace where he ruled, so that "his people will always have him", Mr Maduro said.

Mr Chavez used the former military barracks to plot a failed coup against President Carlos Andres Perez in 1992. His arrest turned him into a hero, leading to his 1998 election victory.

Mr Maduro suggested that Mr Chavez may one day be moved elsewhere, a nod to popular pressure for him to be taken to the national pantheon to lie alongside Simon Bolivar.

In a country divided by Mr Chavez's populist style, opinions of his legacy vary, with opposition supporters in better-off areas angry at the high murder and inflation rate.

Under Mr Chavez, Venezuela's oil wealth underwrote the Castro brothers' communist rule in Cuba, and he repeatedly courted confrontation with Washington by cosying up to anti-western governments in Russia, Syria and Iran.

General Jose Ornella, who said he was with Mr Chavez in his final moments, said he had suffered a massive heart attack.

"He couldn't speak but he said it with his lips, 'I don't want to die. Please don't let me die,' because he loved his country, he sacrificed himself for his country."

Although Mr Maduro is acting president, elections are expected to be called within 30 days.

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Afghanistan Blasts: 'Eight Kids Among Dead'

Seventeen civilians, reportedly including eight children, have been killed in two separate suicide bomb attacks in Afghanistan.

The first attack took place in the eastern city of Khost, where unconfirmed reports have suggested eight children and one policeman were killed. The target of the attack was said to be Afghan and international forces.

"A suicide attacker blew up his explosives on a road beside a joint patrol of Afghan police and international forces in the city of Khost," the provincial governor of Khost said in a statement.

A policeman reportedly spotted the bomber who was on foot and 'hugged' him to himself in an attempt to take most of the blast, Khost deputy police chief Mohammad Yaqub Mandozay said.

Hagel flies over Kabul - the Defence Secretary was unhurt in the blast

However several boys aged 12 to 14 who were nearby were caught in the explosion.

The second attack was carried out in Kabul during a visit by US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel.

The bomber rode up to the defence ministry on a bicycle before detonating the blast 30 metres from the front gate.

Mr Hagel was in a briefing room some distance away and was not hurt, though he was moved to a more secure location after the explosion.

Kabul: Afghan National Army soldiers carried the injured from the scene

An Afghan soldier found at the scene covered in blood said he had helped carry five people away from the scene.

The Taliban said they carried out the Kabul attack, which they said was "a kind of message" for Mr Hagel, who is on his first trip abroad in his new role.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, said: "This was not a direct attack to target him but we want to send a message that we are always capable of hitting Kabul - even when the top US defence official is there."

The blast underscored the security challenges facing Afghanistan as US-led Nato forces prepare to leave the country by the end of 2014.

Mr Hagel is in Kabul to make an assessment of America's longest war as it enters its final stretch.

The Vietnam veteran's advice could help shape Barack Obama's decisions on Afghanistan, notably how large a remaining force to keep there after 2014 when most foreign forces will leave.

"We have a lot of big issues and challenges ahead as we prepare for a responsible transition," he told reporters on his plane before he arrived.

"That transition has to be done right; it has to be done in partnership with the Afghans (and) with our allies."

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Kenya Election: Kenyatta Clinches Narrow Win

By Sara Mojtehedzadeh in Nairobi, Kenya

Uhuru Kenyatta, who faces trial for alleged crimes against humanity, has clinched victory in a tightly fought race for Kenya's presidency, the electoral commission has confirmed.

The son of the country's founding father, Jomo Kenyatta, needed over 50% of the national vote to avoid a run-off.

He received 50.07% but the victory is being disputed by his main rival, prime minister Raila Odinga, who has now unsuccessfully sought the presidency three times.

Deputy prime minister Mr Kenyatta is a controversial figure as he is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity from his alleged role in the country's bloody 2007-2008 election.

Mr Kenyatta's ICC trial is set to begin in July and could take years, meaning he may have to rule Kenya from The Hague in the Netherlands for much of his five-year term.

Kenya would become the second African country after Sudan to have a sitting president indicted by the ICC.

By early morning, Nairobi's streets were dotted with the candidate's rejoicing supporters.

"I'm already celebrating. We have been in the streets since the morning at three. We are very happy" said Lucy Rugi, a Kenyatta backer who works in downtown Nairobi.

Franklin Bett, the chairman of Mr Odinga's party called the results "doctored" and told Sky News that the Odinga team would challenge the results in court.

"If you commit a crime, the crime has got to be caught out. Where there is smoke, there is fire" he said, as the results tilted in Mr Kenyatta's favour.

Tensions rose in the heartlands of Mr Odinga. His supporters chanted "No Raila, no peace," as security forces stood by in Kisumu, a city where violence flared in 2007.

But the Odinga camp promised to pursue any disputes in the courts not the streets.

It was Mr Odinga's contention that the previous election was unfairly stolen from him that led to violent clashes between his followers and supporters of the outgoing president Mwai Kibaki.

The Odinga team said they would challenge the results in court

The conflict, which pitted members of rival tribes against each other, led to over 1,100 deaths.

So far, Nairobi has remained peaceful as Mr Odinga's supporters waited for him to address them.

"What we wanted was no fighting" said Alex Onyango, an Odinga voter from a Nairobi slum that was shattered by violence in the 07-08 conflict.

"It's OK because there is peace. Uhuru won on the ground. There was no rigging. He just won peacefully."

But Mr Kenyatta's win will take the country into uncharted diplomatic territory.

Western countries, including, the United Kingdom, have an essential contact only policy with indictees of the international criminal court.

It is not yet clear how that policy will translate into practice.

Kenya is the most strategically important country in the region, and is Britain's key counter terrorism partner in the region - crucial to containing the threat of militant Islam posed by neighbouring Somalia.

The UK also does around £1bn of trade with Kenya, and sends thousands of soldiers to train at its army base there every year.

As Kenya nervously awaited the final results in an election plagued by delays in vote counting and technological failure, Mr Kenyatta's team hit out at the British High Commissioner Christian Turner, accusing him of "shadowy, suspicious" meddling in the election.

The Foreign Office denounced the claims as "entirely false and misleading".

But the widespread perception that Mr Kenyatta was unfairly targeted by the West helped build his campaign's momentum in the weeks leading up to the election.

"The (International Criminal Court) will know that the Kenyan people are right. They have decided" said one Kenyatta supporter, Joseph Mwangi, 24.

Speaking to Sky News at a campaign rally ahead of the March 4 election, Mr Kenyatta insisted he would co-operate with International Criminal Court, despite criticism that the demands of the trial would compromise his ability to govern.

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Egypt: Rival Football Fans Angry Over Verdicts

A hardcore element of Cairo's Al Ahly fan base have stormed and set fire to Egypt's football headquarters after a court aquitted seven out of nine police officials on trial for their alleged role in a deadly stadium riot.

A nearby police club in the Egyptian capital was also set ablaze - and the mob, known as the Ultras, was said to be heading towards the interior ministry as well, according to state television.

The fire rages at the football headquarters

The fires sent plumes of thick black smoke billowing out over the city skyline.

Hundreds of the club's supporters took to the streets in celebration after a court earlier on Saturday upheld death sentences on 21 Port Said football fans for their role in the stadium riot last year.

Some 74 people were killed and around 1,000 injured at the end of a match between Cairo's Al Ahly and Al Masry, the local side, on February 1, 2012.

Spectators were crushed when panicked fans tried to get out the stadium after a pitch invasion by Port Said supporters.

In a live televised ruling, judge Sobhi Abdel-Maguid confirmed "the death penalty by hanging".

Al Ahly fans had warned police they would retaliate if the defendants, including nine policemen, were exonerated.

Al Ahly fans take to the streets of Cairo after the verdicts are announced

The city's former security chief, Major General Essam Samak, was jailed for 15 years along with several others including Brigadier General Mohammed Saad, who during the riot had the keys to the stadium gates, which were locked.

A further five people were also sentenced to life imprisonment for the riot, while 28 others - including seven police officers - were acquitted.

The rest of the 73 defendants involved received shorter prison sentences.

In Port Said, crowds gathered by the Suez Canal to protest against the verdicts.

A military helicopter hovered overhead and army checkpoints were set up on main streets as protesters tried to disrupt shipping on the canal.

"Today's verdict is unfair - we are demanding a fair verdict. This judge is unjust," said Mohamed Al Sayed.

The stadium deaths occurred on February 1, 2012

The death sentences - originally handed down in January - have previously provoked deadly clashes in Port Said and Cairo.

The riot - the worst case of football violence in the country and the deadliest worldwide since 1996 - erupted after the home team Al Masry beat Egypt's top club Al Ahly in the league fixture.

Subsequent widespread violence and protests have sparked fresh concerns about Egypt's stability.

Political turmoil is sweeping across the country with demonstrators demanding concessions from Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, while others want him removed altogether, saying his Muslim Brotherhood is monopolising power.

His government is struggling to halt the slide in law and order, hampered by a strike by some protesting police.

At least eight people have been killed in Port Said this week, including three police officers.

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Knives On Planes: Backlash Grows In US

The backlash is growing against a plan to remove small knives, golf clubs and other sports equipment from the list of items banned from US aircraft.

Flight attendants, pilots, federal air marshals and even insurance companies have joined the opposition to the Transportation Security Administration's new policy.

The Flight Attendants Union Coalition, which representing nearly 90,000 flight attendants, said it is coordinating a nationwide legislative and public education campaign to reverse the policy announced by TSA Administrator John Pistole this week.

A petition posted on the White House's We The People website has already garnered more than 9,000 signatures.

"The continued ban on dangerous objects is an integral layer in aviation security and must remain in place," the coalition said.

A TSA employee beckons passengers forward to be searched

Jon Adler, who represents the interests of federal air marshals, complained that he and other "stakeholders" were not consulted by the TSA before the "countersafety policy" was announced.

His Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association plans to ask Congress to block the policy change.

Pilots also oppose allowing knives of any kind in airliner cabins.

"We believe the threat is still real and the removal of any layer of security will put crew members and the flying public unnecessarily in harm's way," said Mike Karn from the Coalition of Airline Pilot Associations.

The plan has aviation insurers concerned as well.

"We think this move is a bad idea, and isn't in the interests of the travelling public or flight crews in the aviation industry," said Joe Strickland from Allianz.

The new policy, which is due to go into effect on April 25, permits folding knives with blades that are 6cm (2.36in) or less in length and are less than 1.3cm (1/2in) wide.

The policy is aimed at allowing passengers to carry pen knives, corkscrews with small blades and other small knives.

Items like box cutters - used in the 9/11 attacks - and razor blades will still be prohibited.

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North Korea Leader Ready For 'All-Out War'

Who Is Kim Jong-Un?

Updated: 9:50am UK, Friday 08 March 2013

Kim Jong-Un is the world's youngest head of state. But very little is known about the supreme leader of North Korea, the most secretive nation on Earth.

Believed to have been born in Pyongyang around 1983, he was named North Korea's "great successor" following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, in December 2011.

The younger Kim is the leader of the ruling communist Workers' Party of Korea. He also holds the rank of Wonsu - the highest rank in the Korean military.

Reports in some Japanese newspapers claim he was educated in Switzerland at an English-language international school near Bern from the age of 10 to 17 where - according to a classmate - he developed a keen interest in basketball.

In 2012 he was voted the sexiest man alive in a spoof article by satirist website The Onion. China's Communist Party newspaper later ran a glowing report of the article, unaware it was a parody.

Quoting from the spoof report, The People's Daily wrote: "With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heart-throb is every woman's dream come true."

In 2012 he made several public appearances with a mystery lady, initially believed to be Hyon Song-Wol, a North Korean singer famous for the smash hit A Girl In The Saddle Of A Steed, often mis-translated as Excellent Horse-Like Lady.

But North Korean media later identified the woman as Ri Sol-Ju and claimed she was Mr Kim's wife. Unconfirmed reports have suggested the couple were married in 2009 and that she gave birth to a child in 2010.

But less is known about her than her husband. Conflicting reports have suggested she was born between 1985 and 1989 and that some of her family are involved in North Korean politics.

Her mother reportedly works in the gynaecology unit at a local hospital and her father as a university professor.

Mr Kim's interest in basketball is understood to have led to American NBA star Dennis Rodman paying the supreme leader a surprise visit in March 2013.

"He wants Obama to do one thing: Call him," Rodman later said. "He said, 'If you can, Dennis - I don't want (to) do war. I don't want to do war.' He said that to me."

A United Nations report on human rights in North Korea has urged for an inquiry to document the accountability of Mr Kim and the North Korean government for alleged crimes against humanity.

The UN has claimed that out of the total population of 25 million in the country, "16 million people continue to suffer varying degrees of chronic food insecurity and high malnutrition".

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SA Taxi Driver Suffered Extensive Injuries

Nine South African police officers charged with the murder of a Mozambique taxi driver have appeared in court for a bail hearing.

The death of Mido Macia caused outrage around the world after video footage was published appearing to show him being handcuffed and dragged behind a police vehicle.

Mr Macia was later found dead by another officer in a police cell in Daveyton, Johannesburg.

Police have claimed they put 27-year-old Mr Macia in a police van to take him to a police station. Officers have said they cannot explain how he died, though other inmates have claimed he was beaten to death.

Video of Mr Macia dragged behind a police van was shown around the world

The court heard he suffered extensive injuries culminating in hypoxia - a lack of oxygen to the body - which caused his death.

According to a report by pathologist Reggie Perumal, Mr Macia had extensive abrasions on his face, limbs and body, deep cuts on his forearms and wrists and "almost full thickness lacerations of the head."

He also had bruising to his ribs, back, testicles and lips and bite marks on his tongue, as well as bleeding and water on the brain.

Several dozen protesters gathered outside Benoni Magistrate's Court in Johannesburg as the nine officers - aged between 25 and 57 - sat together in court, some dressed in suits, others in casual clothes.

Mr Macia's parents arrive at the court in east Johannesburg

Eight officers were originally arrested in connection over Mr Macia's death while a ninth who was on duty that day turned himself in. All have been refused bail.

South Africa's police watchdog, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, said Mr Macia suffered head injuries and internal bleeding after officers tried to arrest him for allegedly obstructing traffic.

Police in South Africa are known for heavy handedness when dealing with the public, and the police watchdog is handling numerous cases of police brutality.

In the 12 months before March 2010, according to Amnesty International, there were 920 complaints of serious assault and 294 deaths in custody.

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Bunga Bunga Trial Halted: Berlusconi In Hospital

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter, in Rome

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been admitted to hospital - just as his Bunga Bunga sex trial enters its closing stages.

Prosecutors had been due to wrap up the case against billionaire media tycoon Berlusconi, 76, who is accused of having sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of office, today.

But instead his lawyers filed a request for an adjournment, revealing he had been admitted to hospital with conjunctivitis.

They said his doctor had advised him to stay away from "bright lights" for a week.

Prosecutor Ilda Boccassini told the court it was simply another attempt to stall the trial, which has been going on for almost two years - pointing out that a request for a delay on medical grounds had been filed initially earlier this week.

Ms Boccassini explained the first one suggested treatment at home and then it was replaced with a second which suggested hospital therapy and she added: "I'm no doctor but the serious consequences of such an illness would have been apparent straight away to a doctor.

"This escalation in medical notes is simply another attempt to slow the legal process down and have the hearing adjourned."

Karima El Mahroug is at the centre of the "Bunga Bunga" trial

She urged the three woman panel of judges at the court in Milan to reject the request, telling them his illness was "not a lawful impediment" to stay away from the hearing at which she was expected to formally request a 12-year jail term against him.

Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini told the court his client was admitted to Milan's San Raffaelle hospital and said: "I have spoken to Berlusconi's security team and they have confirmed he is receiving treatment and they have asked for a medical certificate.

"This certificate will explain that he has been admitted to hospital because the treatment could not be carried out at home where he was ill during the night."

Mr Ghedini explained that the eye complaint had been troubling Berlusconi for several days and it had also led to him cancelling meetings with Italian president Giorgio Napolitano and senior figures from his People of Freedom Party.

He said his personal physician had advised him to "rest completely for seven days and avoid exposure to bright lights".

Judge Giulia Turri said she would adjourn the case until she had received a fax from the hospital confirming he had been admitted.

Berlusconi in front of a portrait of his ex-wife Veronica Lario

Berlusconi is on trial for allegedly paying former belly dancer Karima El Mahroug for sex when she was just 17 years old at the Bunga Bunga parties which he threw at his villa near Milan.

The court has heard how Miss El Mahroug, who is now 19, was showered with cash and gifts by Berlusconi, along with several other show girls and starlets who were invited to the parties.

He is also accused of using his power as then prime minister in 2010 to secure Miss El Mahroug's release from custody when she was arrested for theft by wrongly telling police she was related to then Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. 

The Moroccan-born teenager, who also goes by the stage name Ruby the Heartstealer, and Berlusconi have both denied anything untoward took place and he insists the meetings were merely "convivial dinners" with "evenings of food, dance and song".

Earlier this week, Berlusconi was sentenced to one year in jail for publishing in one of his newspapers part of a classified investigation into the role of the Democratic party (PD) in the acquisition of BNL bank by Unipol – an insurance company close to the PD – in 2005.

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North Korea Threatens US With Nuclear Strike

North Korea has threatened to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States.

An unidentified spokesman for Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry says the North will exercise its right for "pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the headquarters of the aggressors".

The spokesman claims Washington is pushing to start a nuclear war against North Korea.

The threat comes hours ahead of a vote by UN diplomats on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.

Inflammatory rhetoric is common from North Korea, however it has become more regular in recent days.

The North has been angered by the possible sanctions and over upcoming US-South Korean military drills.

The UN Security Council is set to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Pyongyang in a fresh attempt to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the current council president, said the council will vote on the draft sanctions resolution on Thursday morning.

The resolution was drafted by the United States and China, North Korea's closest ally.

The council's agreement to put the resolution to a vote just 48 hours later signalled that it would almost certainly have the support of all 15 council members.

Although North Korea boasts of nuclear bombs and pre-emptive strikes, the country is not thought to have mastered the ability to produce a warhead small enough to put on a missile capable of reaching the US.

It is believed to have enough nuclear fuel, however, for several crude nuclear devices.

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Aussie Doctor Jailed Over Hep C Infections

A former Australian doctor has been jailed for up to 14 years after he infected 55 women with Hepatitis C.

James Latham Peters was working as an anaesthetist at a Melbourne abortion clinic when he transferred the disease to patients.

The Australian newspaper reported that 63-year-old Peters passed on the disease by injecting himself with syringes of fentanyl before administering the drug to the patients. 

Peters had an addiction to fentanyl, which was used in procedures at the abortion clinic. 

Peters was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 1997, the same year he was suspended for drug abuse, although he was later allowed to return to work.

He was supposed to be under supervision while he worked.

Victoria's Supreme Court Justice Terry Forrest sentenced Peters to 14 years in prison.

He will serve a minimum of 10 years before becoming eligible for parole.

Justice Forrest described his behaviour as "truly reprehensible".

"The physical damage caused by your conduct and the associated emotional harm cannot adequately be described by me in words," he said.

Speaking after Peters' sentencing, Detective Paul Robotham said: "The sentence handed down today should serve as a warning to all, especially those in the health industry that any abuse of community trust will be thoroughly investigated."

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