Gang Rape Victim Cremated In New Delhi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thousands more took part in a candlelight vigil.

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

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

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

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

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

Formal charges are expected to be filed by January 3.

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

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

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

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Meatball The Bear Saved By Online Campaign

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

A 500lb black bear, whose repeated visits to a Los Angeles neighbourhood earned him celebrity status, will be allowed to live thanks to an online campaign to save him.

Meatball, named because of his habit of taking frozen meatballs from garage freezers, has been moved to a wild animal sanctuary in the mountains of southern California.

He became a fixture on American television screens through the summer, rummaging through bins and clambering over garden fences.

Officials from the California Department of Fish and Game captured him a number of times and returned him to his home in the Angeles National Forest but Meatball kept coming back.

He may have travelled up to 200 miles to reach the same neighbourhood. Usually a bear that demonstrates such an interest in residential areas would be put down.

But the publicity around Meatball's story has saved his life: a massive online campaign, led by a Twitter account in his name, has prompted a fundraising drive to build his new home.

Bobbi Brink, founder of the Lions, Tigers and Bears sanctuary near San Diego which Meatball now calls home, said they have already raised half of the $250,000 (£155,000) needed to craft a new six-acre habitat.

She said: "It is heart-warming that people care about animals as much as we do. He is a very loved bear, a very special bear. He's beautiful.

"He's got a great sense of humour, he's funny and smart and I can't wait to get him out into the habitat because he wants out now."

Meatball now enjoys a diet including grapes and, his particular favourite, peanut butter sandwiches.

Although black bears are generally considered to be less of a threat to humans, experts regularly issue advice to people living near bear habitats on what to do in the event of an encounter with the animal.

Their appearances in Los Angeles neighbourhoods have become more frequent as bears seek out regular sources of food.

Some in the suburb of Glendale believed Meatball had worked out which day rubbish bins were put out for collection.

Meatball will share his home with one male and three female bears in a sanctuary which also houses big cats rescued from private collections or abuse.

Wildlife experts say it would be impractical to re-home more wild bears - Meatball is the lucky one.

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'US Can Learn From Australia's Gun Laws'

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

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

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

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

There have been no mass killings since.

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

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

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

The 1996 massacre in Tasmania sparked anti-gun protests

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

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

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

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

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

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

The guesthouse frrom where Martin Bryant killed 35 people

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

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

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

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

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

Not everyone in Australia has been convinced by the legislation.

The Australian government bought back guns and destroyed them

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tributes Paid To Shot New York Firefighters

Hundreds of emergency workers have paid tribute to the two upstate New York firefighters who were fatally shot on Christmas Eve in Webster.

Firefighters and other first responders from across the northeast US and Canada lined up with thousands of mourners on Friday and Saturday to pay their respects to Michael Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka.

Police say the 43- and 19-year-olds were gunned down by William Spengler who had set a massive fire to lure firefighters with the express intention of killing them.

Michael Chiapperini (L) and Tomasz Kaczowka

Two firefighters who also responded and were wounded by 62-year-old Spengler attended a wake at a local high school.

Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino arrived in an ambulance.

They later returned to hospital, where they are listed as being in a satisfactory condition.

A funeral service for Mr Chiapperini was planned for Sunday, and a mass for Mr Kaczowka was due to be held on Monday.

Hundreds of emergency personnel queued for hours to pay their respects

 Police said 62-year-old William Spengler, who served 17 years in prison for manslaughter, set his house on fire before dawn on Monday, then took a a revolver, a shotgun and a semiautomatic rifle and sprayed bullets at the first responders. He then killed himself as seven houses burned on a sliver of land along Lake Ontario. Spengler, who had served 17 years in prison for manslaughter, set his house on fire before dawn on Monday last week, then used a handgun, a shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle to spray bullets at the first responders.

He then killed himself as seven houses burned alongside Lake Ontario. 

A 24-year-old neighbour Dawn Nguyen is charged with buying the guns on Spengler's behalf. 

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Ice Lake Rescue Drama Captured On Video

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No one was seriously hurt.

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New Galaxies: Hopes To Find 700,000 In 2013

Scientists are hoping the huge radio telescope facility in Western Australia officially opened earlier this year will help them uncover 700,000 new galaxies in 2013.

Two surveys named Wallaby and Dingo will scour vast regions of space to help provide new clues about galaxy evolution.

The £65m Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (Askap) consists of 36 identical 12 metre-wide dishes that work together as a single antenna.

Located in a remote desert region, 196 miles from the port of Geraldton, Askap will also help astronomers investigate one of the greatest mysteries of the universe: dark energy.

This is the anti-gravity force which appears to be causing galaxies to fly apart at an accelerating rate.

Although no one is sure what dark energy is, it accounts for 73% of all the mass-energy in the universe.

Scientists were able to predict Askap's capabilities by combining its specifications with computer simulations.

Dr Alan Duffy, a member of the Askap team from the University of Western Australia, said: "Askap is a highly capable telescope.

Askap is located in a remote desert region

"Its surveys will find more galaxies, further away and be able to study them in more detail than any other radio telescope in the world.

"We predict that Wallaby will find an amazing 600,000 new galaxies and Dingo 100,000, spread over trillions of cubic light years of space."

The telescope will examine galactic hydrogen gas - the fuel that forms stars - to see how galaxies have changed in the last four billion years.

Askap is itself a curtain raiser for an even more ambitious project, the Square Kilometre Array (Ska).

Speaking at the official opening, chief scientist Brian Boyle said the Australian telescope will eventually be linked to similar facilities in South Africa and New Zealand, joining 3,000 dishes.

Due to begin operating in 2019, it will be 50 times more powerful than current radio telescopes and will explore exploding stars, black holes, dark energy and traces of the universe's origins some 14 billion years ago.

He said the Askap telescope would see more than 350 researchers from over 130 institutions undertaking 10 survey science projects.

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Fiscal Cliff: Countdown Begins For Congress

Politicians in Washington are back at work as they attempt to strike a last-minute deal to avoid huge tax hikes and spending cuts set for January 1.

Economists warn the $500bn in fiscal pain due to hit in the New Year could send the country back into recession, and destabilise the global economy in the process.

Aides to both leaders in the Democrat-controlled Senate worked feverishly behind closed doors on Saturday to fashion a deal palatable to both sides.

The Senate convenes Sunday at 1pm (6pm GMT) while the House goes into session an hour later, with no votes expected before 8.30pm ET (11.30pm GMT).

Both chambers would have little time to debate and then pass a deal that has eluded the White House and Congress for weeks.

Barack Obama, who called congressional leaders to the White House on Friday, addressed the crisis once more as he appeared on NBC's Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press.

The president said Republicans were unwilling to see tax rates raised for the richest taxpayers.

"They say that their biggest priority is making sure that we deal with the deficit in a serious way," Mr Obama said.

"But the way they're behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are protected.

"That seems to be their only overriding, unifying theme," he added.

Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid still heading in different directions

Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid and Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell are reported to have set a deadline of about 3pm ET (8pm GMT) for a deal.

The parties will then decide whether to put it to the vote on New Year's Eve in the Senate and then the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

President Obama has pressed lawmakers to clinch a deal, even if they must reach a compromise that lacks the significant deficit-reduction measures both sides had sought.

"I was modestly optimistic yesterday, but we don't yet see an agreement," the president told NBC in the interview recorded on Saturday. "And now the pressure's on Congress to produce."

At least one senior Republican is optimistic of a deal, and a "political victory" for Mr Obama.

Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News that the odds are "exceedingly good" a deal can get done.

"I don't think people want to go over the cliff," he said.

The US is facing the fiscal cliff because tax rate cuts dating back to George W Bush's presidency expire at the end of the year.

Mr Obama originally insisted on letting the tax cuts expire on households earning more than $250k (£154k) but later upped that threshold to $400k (£246k).

The pending reductions in spending, which will hit everything from social programmes to the military, were put in place last year as an incentive to both parties to find ways to cut America's soaring deficit.

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'Seven Die' In Traffic Officer Fitness Test

Seven people are believed to have died while undergoing a fitness test used to select prospective candidates for traffic officer jobs in South Africa.

The victims were among tens of thousands of applicants competing for 90 provincial traffic officer posts in Pietermaritzburg, in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, according to a report by the state-owned South African Broadcasting Corporation.

More than 35,000 job seekers reportedly applied for the 90 jobs that were up for grabs and around 15,000 people are believed to have taken the physical tests late last week.

The applicants were required to run 2.5miles (4km) in temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius.

Some collapsed from dehydration and heat exhaustion and a number received hospital treatment, it was claimed.

The chief transport official for KwaZulu-Natal province, Willies Mchunu, said the tests have now been suspended.

"We will have to check whether adequate medical attention was provided, including medical advice to those who were going to run the four kilometres, which would also include the adequate supply of water," he told the SABC.

South Africa's unemployment rate rose to 25.5% in the third quarter of 2012.

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Subway Murder Suspect To Be Mentally Assessed

A woman charged with murdering an Indian immigrant by pushing him off a New York City subway platform has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Erika Menendez was arraigned on Saturday night on a charge of murder as a hate crime.

The judge ordered the 31-year-old to be held without bail and to be given a mental health exam.

Menendez, from the Bronx, told detectives she was motivated by hatred of Muslims and Hindus.

An NYPD spokesman said she "made statements implicating herself" in the killing, which happened on Thursday night.

Detectives claimed she told them: "I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims. Ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers, I've been beating them up."

Menendez faces from 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The victim, 46-year-old Sunando Sen, ran a printing shop and lived in Queens.

Sunando Sen (L) and an artist's impression of the suspect

He was born in India and raised a Hindu, according to The New York Times.

He died on the number 7 line in Queens after he was suddenly knocked onto the tracks as a train entered the station.

Police had released security camera video showing a suspect running from the station.

She was described as Hispanic, aged in her 20s and stocky.

Mr Sen was partly identified through his smartphone and a prescription pill bottle, as his body was in such a bad condition.

It was the second time this month a person has been killed after being shoved on to subway tracks.

On December 3, Ki-Suck Han, 58, was pushed in front of a train in Times Square.

Homeless 30-year-old Naeem Davis was charged with murder over Mr Han's death and was ordered to be detained without bail.

Davis has pleaded not guilty and said Mr Han attacked him first. The two men had not met before.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has urged New Yorkers to keep the incidents in perspective.

"It's a very tragic case, but what we want to focus on today is the overall safety in New York," Mr Bloomberg said.

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Russia Air Crash: Faulty Brakes Likely Cause

Faulty brakes may be to blame for a Russian airliner sliding off the runway and crashing into a motorway, an investigator has said, as the death toll rose to five.

"After landing the pilot uses all the available brake systems on the plane, but for some reason the machine did not stop," a member of the investigation team told Russia's Interfax news agency.

"Most likely it was faulty reverse engines or brakes."

Amateur footage captured the moment the Tu-204 plane smashed onto the road after it overshot a runway at Moscow's Vnukovo airport.

The footage, taken from a vehicle on the motorway, shows luggage and other debris flying from the aircraft and hitting other cars on the road.

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

The passenger plane was sheared in two

Five people - the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and two flight stewards - were killed in the crash and another three seriously injured

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

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

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

Investigators are examining flight recorders and other evidence to try to determine the cause of the accident.

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

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

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

Vnukovo is Russia's third biggest airport

The Tu-204 plane is a twin-engine mid-range jet with room to carry about  210 passengers.

The billionaire owner of Red Wing Airlines, Alexander Lebedev, has said the pilot of the aircraft that crashed on Saturday was experienced, with 14,500 hours of flying time.

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

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

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

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

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

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Oldest Gorilla Celebrates Her 56th Birthday

The first gorilla born in a zoo has proved you are never too old to party, as she celebrated her 56th birthday.

Colo, a western lowland gorilla, opened a pile of presents at her home in Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Ohio, where she was born in 1956.

Guests sang Happy Birthday to the primate, as she munched through a cake prepared by zookeepers and a helping of her favourite food - tomatoes.

Colo tucked into a special birthday cake and some tomatoes

Colo, named after the city in which she lives, is a mother of three and has more than two dozen descendants living at zoos across the United States.

Western lowland gorillas are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resource's Red List as a critically endangered species.

Children at the zoo help the 56-year-old primate celebrate

Scientists estimate that their population will have decreased by more than 80% between 1980 and 2046, with poaching and loss of habitat partly to blame.

In the wild, the gorillas can be found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Nigeria.

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Saudi Arabian Blogger Could Face Death Penalty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Egypt's Constitution Gets 'Yes' Majority

Initial results show Egypt's controversial new constitution has received a 'yes' majority in the second and final round of voting.

The results, posted on the Muslim Brotherhood's website, show that eight of the 25 million Egyptians eligible to vote - a turnout of about 30% - cast their ballots on Saturday.

The referendum was held over two days, on December 15 and 22.

In the first round, about 56% said "yes" to the charter. The turnout then was about 32%

The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to power, has accurately predicted election results in the past by tallying results provided by its representatives at polling centres.

Mohammed Morsi came to power in June

Official results are not expected to be announced for several days, but when they are, Mr Morsi is expected to call for a parliamentary election to be held in about two months.

The low turnout in both rounds is likely to feed a perception of illegitimacy for the constitution, which Islamists say will lay the foundation for a democratic state and the protection of human rights.

But the opposition claims that it places restrictions on liberties and gives clerics a say over legislation.

The referendum on the constitution has left Egypt divided into two camps: the president, his Brotherhood and ultraconservative Islamists known as Salafis in one, and liberals, moderate Muslims and Christians in the other.

The two sides brought hundreds of thousands of supporters to the streets over the past month in rival rallies.

Clashes between both sides have left at least 10 people dead and hundreds wounded.

Mahmud Mekki said he wanted to quit last month

Hours earlier, Mr Morsi's vice president, Mahmud Mekki, whose post is not mentioned in the new charter, announced he was resigning.

"Political work does not suit my professional character," he said in a statement, referring to his past role as a respected judge.

Mr Mekki said he wanted to quit last month but stayed on to help Mr Morsi tackle a crisis that blew up when the leader assumed sweeping wide powers.

State television reported that Central Bank governor Faruq el Okda had also resigned, but this was followed by strong denials from Egypt's cabinet.

Both the former governor and Mr Morsi's deputy helped steer the central bank during last year's uprising that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak and worked to keep the Egyptian currency relatively stable despite the political turmoil.

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School Shooting: Donations And Gifts Pour In

Donations of nearly $3m (£1.85m) and tens of thousands of gifts have been sent to help those affected by the massacre at a school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Earlier this month, 20 children and six staff were shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School by Adam Lanza, who also killed his mother before taking his own life.

The families of the victims and survivors of the massacre have been inundated with items including 60,000 teddy bears, Barbie dolls, footballs and board games.

Gifts are examined by bomb-sniffing dogs before being placed on tables for children to choose whatever they want.

Cards, flowers and toys adorn memorials to the Newtown victims

Tom Mahoney, who is responsible for handling gifts at Edmond Town Hall, said: "There's so much stuff coming in. To be honest, it's a bit overwhelming; you just want to close the doors and turn the phone off."

The United Way of Western Connecticut said $2.8m (£1.7m) had been donated to the official support fund in the days since the shooting.

A private fund set up by Sandy Hook alumni has collected nearly $150,000 (£92,800) for the school, while Rabbi Shaul Praver of Congregation Adath Israel, which is raising money to build a memorial to the victims, said one man wrote a cheque for $52,000 for the project.

Several colleges have set up scholarship funds to pay for students at Sandy Hook and the relatives of the victims to continue their education.

Postmaster Cathy Zieff sorts through some of the parcels ent to Newtown

Isabel Almeida, a spokesman for United Way, encouraged well-wishers not to send gifts to the people of Newtown but to donate money instead.

"Send those teddy bears to a school in your community or an organisation that serves low-income children who are in need this holiday season," she said.

A horse-drawn carriage brought Anna Marquez-Greene's coffin to the church

Meanwhile, the US Postal Service said it had seen a six-fold increase in mail to Newtown, including parcels decorated with rainbows and hearts drawn by schoolchildren.

Some letters arrived in packs of 26 identical envelopes - one for each family of the children and staff killed - or addressed simply to the First Responders or The People of Newtown.

"This is just the proof of the love that's in this country," postmaster Cathy Zieff said.

Funerals for three more victims were held on Saturday, including a service for six-year-old Ana Marquez-Greene, whose miniature coffin was brought to The First Cathedral church in Bloomfield, Connecticut, by horse-drawn carriage.

In Ogden, Utah, people tied pink ribbons around trees and utility poles in memory of Emilie Parker, six, while in Newtown, dozens of emergency workers paid their respects at the start of a service for Josephine Gay, seven.

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North Korean Missile 'Could Have Reached US'

The long-range rocket fired by North Korea could have reached the US and eastern Europe, according to the South Korean defence ministry.

The launch was effectively the test of a ballistic missile capable of flying more than 10,000km (6,200) miles with a half-tonne payload, according to their scientists' analysis of the rocket's wreckage.

Its range covers the whole of Asia, eastern Europe, western Africa, Alaska and a large part of the US west coast including San Fransisco.

The estimates have been based on analysis of a container recovered from the rocket's first-stage splashdown site.

"Based on our analysis and simulation, the missile is capable of flying more than 10,000km with a warhead of 500-600 kilograms," a defence ministry official said.

Rocket debris recovered by the South Korean defence ministry

However, without any debris from the second and third stages to analyse, the official said it could not be determined if the rocket had re-entry capability, which is a key element of inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology.

North Korea maintains the launch of the Unha-3 was not a missile test but simply designed to put the country's first satellite in space.

However, most of the rest of the world saw the launch as a disguised ballistic missile test in contravention of the UN resolutions imposed after Pyongyang conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

South Korea is now analysing further wreckage from the rocket, including a fuel tank, a combustion chamber and an engine connection rod.

Kim Jong-un speaks to officials at mission control after the launch

"As additional pieces have been salvaged, we will be able to look deeper into the function and structure of North Korea's long-range rocket," said the defence ministry official.

The read-out from the South Koreans comes after North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un made his first explicit call for the advancement of his country's long-range rocket programme.

On Friday, he gathered his rocket scientists together for a banquet in Pyongyang to urge them to build more powerful rockets.

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Spuds Help Improve Boeing's In-Flight Wi-Fi

Boeing engineers have been using an unusual mix of high-tech and low-tech to improve the wireless internet connection on flights.

Sacks of the humble potato were used as stand-ins for passengers while the aircraft maker's experts worked to eliminate weak spots in in-flight wireless signals.

The Chicago-based engineers needed full planes to get accurate results during signal testing, but they could not ask people to sit motionless for days while data was gathered.

"That's where potatoes come into the picture," says Boeing's Adam Tischler.

Researchers dubbed the project Synthetic Personnel Using Dialectic Substitution, or SPUDS.

But there was a serious purpose to their work as in-flight Wi-Fi on many flights can have patchy signal strength.

Airlines and aircraft makers have been striving to improve this with the growing use of wireless devices 35,000 feet (10,700m) up.

It turns out that potatoes - because of their water content and chemistry - absorb and reflect radio wave signals much the same way as the human body does, making them suitable substitutes for airline passengers.

"It's a testament to the ingenuity of these engineers. They didn't go in with potatoes as the plan," Mr Tischler said.

A member of the research team stumbled across an article in the Journal of Food Science describing research in which 15 vegetables and fruits were evaluated for their dielectric properties, or the way they transmit electric force without conduction.

Its conclusions led the Boeing researchers to wonder if potatoes might serve just as well as humans during their own signal testing, said Mr Tischler.

Despite some doubts, they ended up buying 20,000lbs (9,000kg) of them.

Video and photos of the work, which started in 2006, show a decommissioned plane loaded with row upon row of potato sacks that look like large, lumpy passengers.

The sacks sit eerily still in the seats as the engineers collect data on the strength of wireless signals in various spots.

The Boeing engineers added some complicated statistical analysis and the result was a proprietary system for fine tuning Internet signals so they would be strong and reliable wherever a laptop was used on a plane.

Boeing says the system also ensures Wi-Fi signals won't interfere with the plane's sensitive navigation and communications equipment.

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India Rape Protests: Reporter 'Shot Dead'

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

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

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

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

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

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

A women's rights activist Bala Bedi said: "We want a strong message to be sent that perpetrators of such crimes have no place in our society."

Water cannon were fired on the crowds

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

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

On Sunday, all the routes leading to landmark government buildings were cordoned off and metro stations in the vicinity were closed to the public.

But several hundred protesters managed to breach the cordon around India Gate and braved tear gas and water cannons for the second day in a row.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Campaigners want tougher sentences for sex attackers

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

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

National crime records show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded last year were against women.

Delhi has been dubbed the rape capital of India with government figures showing the number of rapes in the city rising 17% to 661 this year.

One of Delhi's most senior police officers has pleaded for an end to the unrest, saying the protests were being "hijacked by hooligans" and insisting that the case against the six suspects was being fast-tracked.

"We have met all the demands of the protesters," Special Commissioner Dharmendra Kumar said.

Sushma Swaraj, a leader of the main opposition Bhartiya Janata Party, called for an all-party meeting to end the violence between protesters and the police.

"Please do not resort to violence. That is not the solution," she wrote on Twitter.

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Kabul Fire Rips Through Cloth Market

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Blackjack Worker At Bellagio Casino Injured

A female blackjack worker has allegedly been stabbed by her colleague at a luxury resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

Officials say the victim, who has not yet been named, was taken to hospital for treatment to deep facial cuts suffered in the attack at the Bellagio hotel and casino complex.

A woman in her 50s has been charged with battery with a deadly weapon and causing mayhem with substantial bodily harm, local television channel KSNV-TV reported.

It quoted a spokesman for MGM Resorts International, which owns the Bellagio, who said there was an altercation in one of the blackjack pits that resulted in one of the women being struck in the face with a sharp object.

A spokesman for Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was unable to confirm whether the two women were working at the time.

The incident comes a week after a man shot dead his ex-girlfriend in the lobby of the nearby Excalibur resort, also run by MGM, before killing himself.

The Bellagio, which has nearly 4,000 guest rooms and suites, has featured in several films, including Ocean's Eleven and The Hangover.

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Syria: Deadly Air Strike On Civilian Bakery

Dozens of people have been killed in an air strike on a bakery in Syria's Hama province, according to activists.

Activist Samer al Hamawi said: "There is no way to really know yet how many people were killed. When I got there, I could see piles of bodies all over the ground.

"There were women and children. There are also dozens of wounded people"

Hamawi, who spoke via Skype, uploaded a video of the scene in Halfaya to YouTube, which showed dozens of dust-coated bodies lined up near a pile of rubble by a concrete building, its walls blackened.

The sounds of people screaming could be heard in the video, as some men rushed to the scene on motorcycles and other residents limped away from the area.

Rami Abdelrahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said: "It is still very unclear what the casualties are. From looking at the videos I expect the death toll to be around or above 50, and not higher than 100. 

Activist video showed injured women and children taken away from the scene

"But for now I am keeping my estimate at dozens killed until we have more information."

The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified. 

Halfaya was seized by rebels last week as part of a campaign to push into new territories in the 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar al Assad,

Another activist said residents picking through the bodies were still determining which were wounded and which were dead.

Shortages of fuel and flour have made bread production erratic across the country, and people often wait for hours to buy bread.

New York based Human Rights Watch condemned army air strikes on bakeries earlier this year, arguing that in some incidents the military was not using enough precision to target rebel sites and in other instances may have intentionally hit civilians.

More follows...

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Mandela Recovering As ANC Chooses New Leader

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in Johnnesburg

Nelson Mandela is spending his ninth day in hospital, recovering from a lung infection and gallstones, while the party he once headed meets amid widespread squabbling over who should be their next head.

There is heavy security around the conference in Bloemfontein which meets every five years. It has drawn more than 4,000 delegates to the city, which is also known by its African name, Mangaung.

Whoever wins the election as African National Congress (ANC) leader is almost certainly going to be the next president of the country.

Eighteen years after their first democratic election, the ANC is still overwhelmingly dominant in South African politics.

The sitting president, Jacob Zuma, who is known to dance and sing in public, faces a challenge from his quiet, unassuming deputy Kgalema Motlanthe. His challenge is seen as evidence of very obvious discontent right at the heart of the ANC hierarchy.

The run-up to Mangaung has seen shootings and threats towards local ANC officials and a flurry of accusations that the voting figures were being manipulated in Mr Zuma's favour.

The 70-year-old president remains the hot favourite and commands a lot of influence amongst the Zulu population - the largest ethnic group in the country.

But there is huge discontent and unease over his leadership, and the party in general, elsewhere in the country.

South Africa's ruling ANC still dominates politics

A week before the conference, a group of the country's most influential religious leaders wrote a letter to the party accusing it of "moral decay".

Much of the South African media has been exorcised over reports that Mr Zuma has spent more than 200m rand (about £15m) on upgrading his homestead in Kwazulu Natal.

At the same time, his government was bulldozing homes in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, which had been apparently illegally built.

This at a time when South Africa has seen his credit rating downgraded and there is still much industrial unrest over poor wages and conditions.

For many black people, life post-apartheid may have meant getting the vote, but very little access to the country's wealth.

American civil rights activist Rev Jesse Jackson told me at the ANC's centenary celebrations in Bloemfontein at the start of the year he believed most people in South Africa were enduring an "economic apartheid".

Although there is a growing black middle class, the gap between rich and poor in the country is widening too - to such an extent that South Africa is considered one of the most unequal societies in the world.

Mr Zuma is the man who is drawing most of the ire about this inequality. He is a man with little or no formal education and apparently taught himself to write while cattle herding as a boy.

President Zuma has been blamed for his handling of the Marikana massacre

He has sterling ANC credentials having served time in prison during the fight against the country's racial segregation laws known as apartheid.

He rose through the party ranks and, apart from heading the party's intelligence branch, he went on to be deputy president but was fired by the then president, Thabo Mbeki, after being implicated in a corruption scandal involving an arms deal.

He is a polygamist who has been married six times and currently has four wives. He has 21 children but admitted in 2010 that he had fathered a child out of wedlock.

He stood trial accused of raping a family friend and told the court before being acquitted in 2006 that he had unprotected sex with the woman who was HIV-positive but had taken a shower believing it would protect him from Aids.

It was Mr Zuma and his poor stewardship of the government and industry which was largely blamed by the public, at the time at least, for the mining massacre at Marikana in August this year when police gunned down 34 striking miners outside the Lonmin plant.

It was the ANC and Mr Zuma as its head who was largely seen as responsible for causing so much discontent. The handling of the tragedy led to a number of other strikes across different sectors as workers fought for better wages and conditions.

It is in this atmosphere that the ANC elective conference is taking place - and despite the expectation that Mr Zuma will be re-elected, his return to leadership is not expected to see the dissolution of the mountain of problems the country is facing.

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Royal Hoax: Nurse's Body Flown To India

The body of the nurse who apparently took her own life after being duped by a prank call has been flown to India for her funeral.

Mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found dead in her nurses' quarters at London's King Edward VII's Hospital by a colleague and a security guard on December 7.

The Order of Service for the Westminster mass

Three days earlier the Indian-born nurse transferred a call from two Australian DJs, believing they were the Queen and Prince of Wales, to her co-worker.

The second nurse then explained the condition of the Duchess of Cambridge, who was staying in the hospital for pregnancy-related sickness.

Ms Saldanha's funeral will take place on Monday at Our Lady of Health Church near Mangalore in Shirva, the hometown of her husband Benedict Barboza.

Residents will be able to pay final respects to the body before the mass and the burial ceremony.

The family with Keith Vaz (right) following Saturday's mass

Ms Saldanha's frail mother lives with her other daughter and a son in Mangalore, in the western state of Karnataka.

Mr Barboza accompanied her body on Sunday's flight to India along with their two children.

On Saturday Junal and Lisha, described the "unfillable void" left in their lives by their mother's death as a mass was held at Westminster Cathedral.

Following the service, Mr Barboza paid an emotional tribute: "My wife, you were the light in my darkness, who always showed me the way forward.

"From the day we met, you always stood by me in times of hardship and happiness. I feel a part of me has been ripped out.

"Without your beautiful smile and sparkling personality, the house is an empty place to live.

Ms Saldanha's widower arrives in India

"Nineteen years of togetherness with a strong bond of affection and understanding will be cherished forever in my life."

Ms Saldanha's daughter said: "We will miss your laughter, the loving memories and the good times we had together.

"The house is an empty dwelling without your presence. We are shattered and there's an unfillable void in our lives."

Her son said: "Our mother, kind hearted, generous and a well respected woman in both of our lives. You were the core of the family who kept us together.

Ms Saldanha worked at the hospital where the Duchess was treated

"Your priority for us was a good education and a bright future. You taught us right from wrong which we appreciate.

"You worked tirelessly to give us everything that we have today. When we achieved good grades and merit, your pat on our backs encouraged us more."

Standing outside the cathedral alongside their local MP Charlotte Leslie and MP Keith Vaz, who has been campaigning on behalf of the family, Mr Barboza said the family "could not have foreseen the unprecedented tragedy that has unfolded in our lives".

He thanked the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prime Minister David Cameron for their condolences.

Memorial services have already been held at the hospital where Ms Saldanha worked and in Bristol where her husband and children live.

Ms Saldanha left two notes in her room and also had marks on her wrist when her body was discovered, Westminster Coroner's Court in London heard on Thursday.

A provisional date of March 26 has been set for the next inquest hearing.

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Peter Ndlovu Injured In Zimbabwe Car Crash

Former Sheffield United, Coventry City and Birmingham City striker Peter Ndlovu has been critically injured in a car accident in his native Zimbabwe.

His older brother Adam, 42, died in the crash at Victoria Falls on Sunday morning.

"I understand that efforts are being made to airlift Peter Ndlovu from Victoria Falls to Bulawayo," tweeted David Coltart, the country's sports minister.

"My prayers are with you Peter, be strong."

An as-yet unidentified woman who was travelling with the Ndlovu brothers was also killed, Zimbabwe's NewsDay reported.

The newspaper said Adam was at the wheel of Peter's BMW X5, when a tyre burst and the vehicle veered off the road, hitting several trees before rolling.

Peter, 39, made more than 100 appearances for the three English league teams, scoring 91 goals. He also spent a short period on loan to Huddersfield Town.

Sheffield United tweeted: "Our thoughts are with former player Peter Ndlovu, who has been critically injured in a car accident in his native Zimbabwe."

A statement from Birmingham City read: "The thoughts of everyone associated with Birmingham City Football Club are with Peter Ndlovu and his family following news of a serious car crash in Zimbabwe.

"Peter was a very popular player during his time at St Andrew's and we hope he pulls through this difficult time."

Former Coventry team mate Darren Huckerby wrote: "Terrible news about Peter Ndlovu and his brother, hope he pulls through."

Peter has been working as a coach for the Zimbabwe Young Warriors Under 23 team.

His brother Adam was also a professional footballer, carving out a career in Switzerland, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

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Japan Election: Ex-PM Set For Return To Power

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

Japan has made a political lurch to the right with exit polls in the country's general election indicating a strong win for the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Exit polls by several local TV broadcasters suggest the conservative-leaning LDP, led by Shinzo Abe, has won nearly 300 out of the 480 seats in the country's lower house.

The result means Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party will be ousted after just three years in power.

Mr Abe, 58 - who has already served as Prime Minister for a year between 2006 and 2007 - is seen as having a hawkish foreign policy and a radical economic agenda.

The win by his LDP Party is widely expected to produce a government with a hardline stance to tackle the ongoing territorial dispute with China.

Mr Abe has said he wants Japan to play a bigger role in global security. He has pledged to change the country's pacifist constitution signed after World War Two.

A new right-leaning government combined with changes to the constitution and growing nationalist movement within Japan could significantly increase tensions in East Asia.

China and Japan, who have a historically hostile relationship, both claim a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Beijing calls them the Diaoyu Islands and Tokyo refers to them as the Senkaku Islands.

China's claim had been dormant until the Japanese Government bought the islands from an individual who owned them earlier this year.

Last week, Japan scrambled fighter jets to the skies above the islands after a Chinese surveillance plane was spotted in air-space deemed by Tokyo to be Japanese.

Fixing Japan's economy will be the biggest domestic challenge for the incoming government. Mr Abe's policy is for 'unlimited' monetary easing and big spending on public projects.

Japan could be about to enter its fourth recession since 2000 and has a public debt twice the size of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Some of Japan's most famous brands like Sony and Sharp are struggling in the face of competition from rivals in China and South Korea. Their woes are compounded by a strong yen, which has forced the price of their products in foreign markets up considerably.

Mr Abe's party also has a pro-nuclear energy policy despite last year's disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power station.

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Egypt Constitution: Islamists Claim First Win

Islamists backing a new constitution for Egypt have claimed victory in an initial phase of a two-stage referendum.

But the opposition has alleged polling violations and said it would await the final results due in a week's time.

The two sides' positions drew out the deep uncertainty and division seen in Egypt over the past three weeks, a period marked by mass protests and deadly clashes.

A small majority of 56.5% voted for the draft charter put to half of Egypt's 51 million voters on Saturday, according to the Freedom and Justice Party, the political branch of President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Morsi casts his vote

Egyptian media reported roughly the same figure, which fell short of the landslide the Brotherhood had been hoping for to quiet the restive opposition.

But the opposition National Salvation Front coalition said in a statement that it "will not recognise any unofficial result," and will wait for the formal tally after next Saturday's second round of voting.

Mr Morsi and his backers say the constitution is vital to move Egypt's democratic transition forward.

But opponents say the basic law is too Islamist and tramples on minority rights, including those of Christians who make up 10% of the population.

Violence between the charter's supporters and opponents flared in Egypt's two largest cities, Cairo and Alexandria, before and after the referendum.

Demonstrations erupted when Mr Morsi awarded himself extra powers on November 22 and then fast-tracked the constitution through an assembly dominated by his Islamist allies.

Violence erupted in Alexandria over the vote

However, the vote passed off calmly, with long queues in Cairo and several other places, although unofficial tallies indicated turnout was around one-third of the 26 million people eligible to vote this time.

The vote was staggered because many of the judges needed to oversee polling staged a boycott in protest.

International watchdogs, the UN human rights chief, the US and the EU have all expressed reservations about the draft because of loopholes that could be used to weaken human rights.

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Adam Lanza: School Gunman 'Socially Awkward'

School Shooting: The Victims

Updated: 3:12pm UK, Sunday 16 December 2012

The Sandy Hook victims have been described as "beautiful", "sweet" and "angels", most of them just six or seven when they were gunned down.

As police released a list of the names of the 20 children and seven adults killed by gunman Adam Lanza, friends and relatives have paid their tributes to those who died.

:: Olivia Engel, 6

Olivia had been due to play an angel in the nativity play at her local church. "Now she's an angel up in heaven," Monsignor Robert Weiss said.

Dan Merton, a long-time family friend, described Olivia as a "teacher's pet" and said that she had "perfect manners".

"Her only crime," he said, "is being a wiggly, smiley six-year-old".

:: Emilie Parker, 6

Emilie was studying Portuguese with her father, Robert, before school on the morning she died. He had left after hearing her say "good morning" in the language.

He said: "She was beautiful. She was blond. She was always smiling" and that "I'm so blessed to be her dad".

He said he would now struggle to explain to her two siblings, aged three and four, what had happened.

:: Dylan Hockley, 6

Dylan was born in Hampshire but had been living in Newtown since 2011 with his mother Nicole, father Ian and older brother, Jake.

The family lives in a house opposite the home in which Adam Lanza, the killer, lived with his mother Nancy.

Mrs Hockley, an American, had recently told the local newspaper that she was happy with life in the community and said: "Newtown is a wonderful place to live."

Family friend, Theresa Moretti, said: "Dylan was a lovely boy. He had dimples and blue eyes and a mischievous grin."

:: Charlotte Bacon, 6

When she went to school on Friday, Charlotte had begged her mother to wear a new pink dress and boots that were supposed to be for Christmas.

It was the first and last time she would wear the outfit.

Her parents, JoAnn and Joel, had lived in Newton for around five years with Charlotte and her older brother, Guy, who also attended Sandy Hook but was not injured in the shooting.

Charlotte's uncle said that she could "light up the room for anyone."

:: Ana Marquez-Greene, 6

Ana had only been at the school for a few months after her family moved to the area so her father, the Canadian jazz musician, Jimmy Greene, could take up a job as a music professor.

Described by a family friend as "vivacious and affectionate" Ana had been the subject of a song on her father's 2009 album Mission Statement, called Ana Grace.

Ana attended the school with her older brother, who was not hurt in the shooting.

:: Noah Pozner, 6

Noah Pozner attended Sandy Hook school with his twin sister. He was killed, she survived the attack, as did his older sister.

Their mother, a nurse at the local hospital, completely broke down when she learned the news of her son's death.

Rabbi Shaul Praver, of Congregation Adath Israel, told MSNBC: "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and his little body could not endure so many bullets like that."

:: Grace McDonnell, 7

Described by her babysitter as a "beautiful, sweet girl", Grace lived so close to her killer Adam Lanza's house the family can nearly see it from their windows.

Neighbours say Grace, whose mother Lynn, 45, is a housewife, and father Christopher, 49, is a business executive, was "utterly adorable".

She has an 11-year-old brother, Jack.

:: Chase Kowalski, 7

Chase was looking forward to Christmas, he told a neighbour he was hoping to get his two front teeth back.

The first-grade student, who has two older sisters, loved being outside and playing on a slide or in the family's swimming pool.

He had completed and won his first mini-triathlon. His neighbour, Kevin Grimes, said: "You couldn't think of a better child."

:: Catherine Hubbard, 6

Catherine's parents, Jennifer and Matthew, released a statement and a picture of their daughter.

In it they said: "We are greatly saddened by the loss of our beautiful daughter, Catherine Violet and our thoughts and prayers are with the other families who have been affected by this tragedy.

"We ask that you continue to pray for us and the other families who have experienced loss in this tragedy."

:: Jesse Lewis, 6

Jesse was supposed to be making gingerbread houses and his father Neil Heslin had been planning to go to Sandy Hook School to watch.

Mr Heslin told The New York Post that his son, who was in Victoria Soto's class, was happy when he dropped him off at the school gates. "That was the last I saw of him", he said.

He was keen on horse riding and had a collection of animals he enjoyed playing with.

:: James Mattioloi, 6

James is the son of Cindy Mattioli from the upstate New York town of Sherrill.

The mayor, William Vineall said: "Everybody will be there for them, and our thoughts and prayers are there for them."

:: Daniel Barden, 7

Daniel was a budding athlete who was on the swim team and enjoyed playing soccer.

He was described by a family friend as "a sweet boy".

:: Josephine Guy, 7

Josephine had celebrated her seventh birthday just three days before she was gunned down by Adam Lanza.

:: Victoria Soto, 27, teacher

The teacher died a hero, putting herself between the children in her class and the gunman.

She had always wanted to be a teacher, it was her one goal. "She put those children first. That's all she ever talked about," said her friend Andrea Crowell.

Described by pupils as "really nice and funny", they fondly recalled how Miss Soto had a habit of chewing gum in class.

:: Lauren Rousseau, 30, teacher

Miss Rousseau wanted to be a teacher when she was in primary school and was thrilled to finally realise her dream when she because a full-time teacher at Sandy Hook.

She has been described as gentle but spirited and active. She planned to watch The Hobbit with her boyfriend on Friday and had baked cupcakes for a party they were to attend afterwards.

Her mother, Teresa Rousseau, said: "Lauren wanted to be a teacher from before she even went to kindergarten. We will miss her terribly and will take comfort knowing that she had achieved that dream."

:: Dawn Hochsprung, 47, principal

The head teacher was fiercely proud of her school and fiercely protective of it too.

So much so she died after lunging at the gunman Adam Lanza as he launched his attack.

She had led the 700-pupil elementary school for two years and implemented the latest teaching techniques.

Mrs Hochsprung, who had two daughters and three step daughters, also installed new safety measures there, with the mantra "safety first".

:: Mary Sherlach, 56, school psychologist

Mrs Sherlach was preparing for her retirement after 18 years at Sandy Hook School.

Married for 31 years, with two daughters, aged 25 and 28, she loved her job and was dedicated to the education of young children.

Her son-in-law, Eric Schwartz, said that she had planned to leave work early on Friday but never got the chance. She had died, he added, doing what she loved.

He said: "Mary felt like she was doing God's work, working with the children."

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Victoria Soto Shot Dead After Saving Pupils

Gunman's Family Release Statements

Updated: 4:22am UK, Sunday 16 December 2012

The father of and uncle of dead gunman Adam Lanza have released statements, as America comes to terms with its most deadly school massacre.

Peter Lanza, who has been interviewed by police, said: "Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones and to all those who were injured.

"Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. No words can truly express how heartbroken we are.

Mr Lanza, who is an executive with General Electric, added: "We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We too are asking why.

"We have cooperated fully with law enforcement and will continue to do so.

"Like so many of you, we are saddened, but struggling to make sense of what has transpired."

Meanwhile, Ms Lanza's brother has also released a statement for the families struggling to cope in the aftermath of the shooting spree.

James Champion, an ex-policeman who lives in Kingston in New Hampshire, said: "On behalf of Nancy's mother and siblings, we reach out to the community of Newtown to express our heartfelt sorrow for the incomprehensible loss of innocence that has affected so many."

According to the New York Times, Mr Champion confirmed that FBI agents questioned family members about Adam Lanza on Friday night.

Mr Champion declined to reveal what the FBI was told about his nephew, or if the gunman suffered from developmental disorders or mental illness.

He added that his sister had not working recently however she was previously a stockbroker.

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Baha Mousa Death: Doctor 'Acted Dishonestly'

By Mike McCarthy, North Of England correspondent

A former army doctor has been found guilty of misleading and dishonest conduct following the death of an Iraqi detainee in 2003.

A tribunal of medical watchdogs found Dr Derek Keilloh failed to carry out a proper examination of Baha Mousa.

He was also held responsible for failing to assess the health of other detainees.

Dr Keilloh had been on duty as a regimental medical officer in September 2003 and was about to end his shift when he was called to treat Mr Mousa, a hotel receptionist who had been arrested by British soldiers in Basra 36 hours earlier.

He had been hooded for almost 24 hours, handcuffed and violently assaulted.

He had extensive injuries including a broken nose, fractures ribs and severe bruising to his face and neck.

Mr Mousa suffered 93 separate injuries at the hands of the soldiers.

Dr Keilloh tried to resuscitate him but was unable to save the Iraqi.

Baha Mousa pictured with his family

The medic subsequently said he identified only a small amount of dried blood around the nose and repeatedly denied any knowledge of other injuries.

It is claimed he insisted under oath that he had seen nothing untoward.

He has been accused at the 'fitness to practice' tribunal in Manchester that he failed to act with 'openness and honesty'.

Mr Mousa, 26, had been arrested by soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Queen's Lancashire Regiment.

A public inquiry concluded the injuries, heat, exhaustion, hooding and stress positions had contributed to the detainee's death.

Dr Keilloh, a 28-year-old captain at the time of the incident, had only been his job as regimental medical officer for eight weeks.

Ahmed al Matairi, who was detained in Basra, told the medical tribunal he had heard Mr Mousa cry:  "I am innocent. I am not a Baathist. My wife died six months ago. Blood! Blood! I am going to die."

His 22-year-old wife had died of cancer prior to his detention.

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Syria: Air Strike Hits Palestinian Refugee Camp

At least 25 people have been killed after Syrian fighter jets bombed a Palestinian refugee camp in the capital Damascus, according to opposition activists.

The attack on the Yarmouk camp was part of a campaign by President Bashar al Assad's military to force back rebel forces from a swathe of territory that runs from the east to the southwest of the city.

Opposition activists said the victims had been sheltering in a mosque when it was hit by a rocket fired by a Syrian fighter jet.

The deadly air strike came as rebel fighters in the northern city of Aleppo claimed they had taken an army infantry base, the latest in a series of military installations to fall into the hands of the opposition.

A commander of the Islamist Tawheed Brigade said his men helped take the building after five days of fighting.

"At least 100 soldiers have been taken prisoners and 150 decided to join us. The soldiers were all hungry because of the siege," he said.

The complex, known as Hanano Barracks, includes an army base, a recruiting centre and a military school.

Rebels took the army base near Aleppo after several days of fighting

Syria is home to more than 500,000 Palestinian refugees, most living in Yarmouk, and both Assad's government and the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels have enlisted and also armed Palestinians as the uprising has spread.

Heavy fighting broke out 12 days ago between Palestinians loyal to Assad and Syrian rebels, together with a brigade of Palestinian fighters known as Liwaa al Asifah (Storm Brigade).

Clashes flared again after the air strike as Palestinians from the pro-Assad Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) fought Syrian rebels and other Palestinians, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group.

Meanwhile, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement said there was no way the rebels would emerge victorious from the conflict.

"The situation in Syria is getting more complicated (but) anyone who thinks the armed opposition can settle the situation on the ground is very very very mistaken," Hassan Nasrallah said.

The Shia Muslim movement is a close ally of the Assad regime and has been accused of sending fighters to Syria to help battle the rebels.

About 40,000 Syrians have been killed since the uprising against Mr Assad's rule began 21 months ago.

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US Shooting: Gunman Blasted Way Into School

The gunman in America's worst school shooting blasted his way through a locked glass door, climbed through and carried out the massacre, the Connecticut governor said.

Adam Lanza, 20, opened fire with a high-powered rifle inside Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday morning, killing 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children, all aged six or seven, including British boy Dylan Hockley.

Governor Dan Malloy revealed that the gunman committed suicide as the first responders closed in.

"He shot his way into the building. He penetrated the building by literally shooting an entrance into the building. That's what an assault weapon can do for you," he said.

"He discharged to make an opening and then went through it, went to the first classroom ... went to the second classroom.

"We surmise that it was during the second classroom episode that he heard responders coming and apparently at that, decided to take his own life."

The shooting has plunged Newtown into mourning

Police had said Lanza forced his way into the school -  which had just installed a new security door where visitors could be viewed by video camera and buzzed in - in the picturesque town of Newtown, but it was not clear he used a gun to do so.

Before arriving at the school, Lanza shot dead his mother, Nancy Lanza, at the home they shared, then drove to Sandy Hook in her car with at least three of her guns.

Initial reports suggested Lanza used two handguns in his spree, but officials revealed that his main weapon was a .223 calibre Bushmaster.

Mr Malloy said there was still little clue to Lanza's motivation, but that a picture of his mental state would eventually emerge. So far, police have not said whether they found a suicide note or any other documents.

"Clearly he was troubled. You have to be deranged to carry out this kind of crime," Mr Malloy said.

"This was a troubled individual ... I'm sure we'll come to know more about him, his problems, his family."

Later Sunday, US President Barack Obama was due to arrive in the leafy town to address an interfaith vigil. The White House said Mr Obama would also meet with families of victims and first responders who were sent to the carnage.

Adam Lanza killed himself as police closed in

All the victims at the school were shot with a rifle, at least some of them up close, and all were apparently shot more than once, Chief Medical Examiner Dr H Wayne Carver said. There were as many as 11 shots on the bodies he examined.

All six adults killed at the school were women. Of the 20 children, eight were boys and 12 were girls.

After police released the names of the gunman's 27 victims, one father paid an emotional tribute to his murdered six-year-old daughter.

Robbie Parker said his final conversation with Emilie was in Portuguese, the language he was helping to teach her.

"She told me 'good morning' and asked how I was doing, and I said that I was doing well," he told reporters.

"She said that she loved me, and I gave her a kiss and I was out the door."

Headteacher Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach both died as they tried to confront the gunman.

The shooting happened shortly after school had happened

Ms Hochsprung is also believed to have switched on a loudspeaker system in the school to alert students and staff to the danger.

"She was just an amazing woman ... the kids loved her. It's a huge loss for our school and our town," said assistant librarian Maryanne Jacobs.

Another hero was said to be first-grade teacher Vicki Leigh Soto, 27, described by police as someone who "put herself between the kids and the gunman's bullets".

Her body was found huddled with the students in a classroom closet, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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Egypt: President Morsi Backs Down On Powers

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has annulled a decree he issued last month expanding his powers, an official has said.

But a referendum on a draft constitution would still go ahead as planned on December 15, Islamist politician Selim al Awa added.

He explained that constitutionally President Morsi was unable to change the date, as Mr al Awa spoke to reporters after talks between the President and political leaders.

The two issues -  the decree and the referendum - have been at the heart of anti-Morsi protests that have rocked Egypt in the past two weeks.

But the initial signs are that Mr Morsi's concession will not satisfy an increasingly fierce opposition which is calling for the vote on the new constitution to be cancelled as well.

Overnight, protesters continued to gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which has become a focal point for anti-Morsi activists, and news of the annulled decree sparked no celebrations.

"This will change nothing," said Mohamed Shakir, 50.

"Even if they offered us honey, it would not be enough," added Hisham Ezzat.

Over the past seven days, the demonstrations have left seven people dead and hundreds injured.

Mohamed Morsi is abolishing an unpopular decree

The main opposition bloc, the National Salvation Front, has said it is ready for "serious and objective dialogue" as soon as Mr Morsi met its demands to scrap both the decree and the referendum.

It had rebuffed his offer on Thursday to open talks because he failed to give way on those two points.

On Saturday the Front spoke of the possibility of organising a general strike in protest.

However Islamist groups supportive of Mr Morsi have categorically refused to consider even delaying the constitutional referendum.

Egypt's military has said it will not allow violence and has called on rival political groups in the country to talk.

The controversial decree, issued on November 22, had put the president's decisions beyond judicial review - a measure fiercely denounced as dictatorial by the opposition.

Opposition leaders demanded it be rescinded and the referendum be scrapped before they entered into any dialogue with Mr Morsi to calm a crisis which led to street clashes this week that left seven people dead and hundreds injured.

Egypt's powerful military warned Mr Morsi and the opposition to sit down for talks, otherwise it would take steps to prevent a "disastrous" degradation of the situation.

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Syria: Rebel Prisoners On Their Religious War

Interviewing people who, under different circumstances, might kill you is a strange experience.

To the soundtrack of multiple rocket launchers and small arms fire, I met six men who the Syrian authorities told us were jihadist rebel fighters captured by the army.

We were in a Ministry of Interior prison near Damascus in an area now close to the front lines.

The men, four Syrian, an Iraqi, and a Turk, said they had indeed been in the jihadist movement fighting President Assad's forces, but now renounced the armed struggle even though they continued to espouse Salafist ideology. All are awaiting court appearances.

Jamil Us Turk, Ahmed al Rabido, Hamid Hassan al Attar, Bahar al Bashah, Ali Hussein and Mahmoud al Ahab said they were happy to be interviewed and had not been badly treated.

At one point I asked the guards to leave, spoke with the men alone and checked them for obvious signs of mistreatment, which were not apparent. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both accuse the Syrian regime of routinely torturing prisoners.

As far as I could ascertain, the men were who they said they were. The Turkish man spoke Turkish, the Iraqi had an Iraqi accent, they displayed religious knowledge of the sort taught to those with a Salafist mindset.

The captured fighters are from Turkey, Iraq and Syria

Most of the rebel militias are not radical jihadists, but in the last few months there appears to have been a sharp increase in the number of foreign fighters coming to Syria.

The Syrian authorities are keen to promote the view that they are fighting an al Qaeda type force which partially explains why, after much pushing, we were allowed rare access into the jail.

Mahmoud al Ahab, who described himself as a Palestinian Syrian, told me he was in the al Nusra Front which he said was an al Qaeda group. He had sworn an oath of allegiance to al Nursa but now felt this was a mistake.

Ahmed al Rabido, a 48-year-old Syrian, said he was a religious leader, a Mufti, in the Free Syrian Army.

"I joined because I wanted to demolish the secular state... I don't believe in this anymore because the country is being ruined," he said.

Bahar al Basah, 35, another Palestinian Syrian, told me he was influenced by the writings of Abu Qatada, the radical cleric currently under house arrest in the UK.

The men only became animated when I showed a little knowledge of Salafist ideology and brought up the works of Islamists such as the Egyptian Sayyid Qutb.

Sky's Tim Marshall interviewed the men awaiting trial

This led to a question about the future of Syria's minorities such as the Christians. Ahmed, Basah, and Hamid Hassan all agreed - Christians could only live there if they either converted, or paid the 'Jizyah' - a special tax levied on non-Muslims in previous centuries in the Middle East. If not said Bahar, they could be killed.

When asked why, the answer was, to them, quite simple - because the Prophet Mohammed said so. I was then invited to become a Muslim.

The conversation verged on the surreal. There we were talking in a quite friendly manner, with the occasional joke, about killing people because they wouldn't pay the Jizyah, which critics regard as effectively obtaining money through menaces.

The interview ended with Ahmed volunteering that eventually Muslims must reclaim Andalucia in Spain for the Islamic Caliphate.

His logic, that it was justified because Spain used to be under Islam, was somewhat undermined when he went on to say that Islam should move on to bring the UK under its control and indeed, eventually, the whole world.

Rebel fighters want an end to President Assad's regime

This was a rare first-hand glimpse into the jihadi mindset.

The men are not representative of the FSA, indeed many militia units are deeply suspicious of the jihadists' aims.

However, it appears that a lot of the best weapons are reaching the jihadist groups, and they are using these to gain influence and territory. 

Even if the rebels overthrow the government, they won't just have a problem dealing with militia from the minority groups, they will have problems with each other.

As the men left to go back to their cells, we shook hands.

Two of them were still trying to convert me, asking me, with a smile, to say the Shahada 'La ilaha il Allah' - there is no God but Allah.

Men like this scare Syria's Christians, Allawites, Shia, Druze, and Kurds, indeed they frighten many of the countries Sunnis, but the war here is now so steeped in blood that compromise seems almost impossible to achieve, and there are now people on both sides who reject compromise out of hand.

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Naeem Davis: 'On Drugs, Heard Voices In Head'

A homeless man accused of pushing another man in front of an oncoming subway train has reportedly said he was high on drugs and fighting voices in his head at the time of the incident.

Naeem Davis, 30, was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday and ordered to be held without bail following the death of 58-year-old Ki Suk Han in New York City.

In an interview in prison with the New York Post, Davis said Mr Han had grabbed and threatened him, and that the voices in his head coaxed him into pushing Mr Han.

Davis said he did not mean to kill Mr Han.

"From the depths of my heart, I didn't mean to kill him", Davis said.

He said he had no time to pull Mr Han off the tracks because "it happened so fast". He also said he was "under the influence".

Davis is due back in court on Tuesday.

Earlier in the week, Davis told reporters he was attacked first.

Davis told reporters he was attacked first

Prosecutor James Lin told the judge at Davis' court hearing that Davis saw the train strike Mr Han before leaving the Times Square station on Monday.

"The defendant never once offered any aid to the victim as the train approached the platform and in fact, this defendant watched the train hit the victim," Mr Lin said.

But Davis' legal aid lawyer, Stephen Pokart, said his client reportedly "was involved in an incident with a man who was drunk and angry".

A witness, Leigh Weingus, told The New York Times that Mr Han appeared to be aggressive toward Davis.

"The victim kept saying 'Hey! Hey!' at the suspect, getting closer and closer to him," she said. "At first Davis appeared calm, saying 'I don't know you, you don't know me, get out of my face'."

Mr Han's wife had said she had argued with her husband that morning and that he had been drinking.

Mr Han's death got widespread attention not only for its horrific nature, but because he was photographed a split-second before the train trapped him and seemingly no one attempted to come to his aid.

A freelance photographer for the New York Post was waiting for a train when he said he saw a man approach Mr Han at the station, get into an altercation with him and push him into the train's path.

A Post photo showed Mr Han with his head turned toward the train, his arms reaching up but unable to climb off the tracks in time.

The photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, said he was trying to alert the driver to what was going on by flashing his camera, adding that he was shocked that people nearer to the victim did not try to help.

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