Shot Schoolgirl Malala Yusufzai Leaves Hospital

Pakistani teenager Malala Yusufzai has been discharged from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

The 15-year-old was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan in October and later flown to Britain for specialist treatment.

She will continue her rehabilitation at her family's temporary home in the West Midlands before having cranial reconstructive surgery in the next month, her doctors say.

Dr Dave Rosser, medical director at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Malala is a strong young woman and has worked hard with the people caring for her to make excellent progress in her recovery.

"Following discussions with Malala and her medical team, we decided that she would benefit from being at home with her parents and two brothers.

"She will return to the hospital as an outpatient and our therapies team will continue to work with her at home to supervise her onward care."

Over the past couple of weeks she has been leaving the hospital on a regular basis on "home leave" to spend time with her father Ziauddin, mother Toorpekai and younger brothers, Khushal and Atul.

Malala was shot on a school bus in the Swat Valley area for campaigning for women's rights and their right to an education.

The bullet entered just above her left eye and ran along her jaw, "grazing" her brain. It was later removed by surgeons in Pakistan before she was flown to the UK.

She is now likely to secure permanent residence in the UK after her father was granted a job with the Pakistani consulate in Birmingham.

Mr Yusufzai has been appointed education attache for three years, with the option of an extension for a further two years afterwards.

Both he and his daughter have had threats made against their lives by the Taliban since the shooting.

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Major Surge In Ivory Smuggling In China

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

Authorities in Hong Kong have seized more than a tonne of ivory worth $1.4m (£870,000).

According to the city's customs department, the 779 separate tusks represent their third biggest seizure in just three months.

The haul was discovered very well hidden inside a shipping container which had arrived at Hong Kong's port from Kenya via Malaysia.

The ivory was only discovered after officials X-rayed the container which had been declared as carrying archaeological stones.

Hidden underneath rocks and inside five wooden crates were 40 bags containing the ivory.

Speaking at a news conference in Hong Kong, the Group Head of Ports and Maritime Command, Wong Sui-hang, said: "Hong Kong is an important seaport and a dynamic logistic hub.

"Smugglers might think that they can make use of this to smuggle goods into Hong Kong. But Hong Kong Customs will use a multi-prong approach to give the smugglers detection in the smuggling cases."

On October 20, the same customs department discovered nearly four tonnes in two shipments worth $3.4m. It represented the city's biggest single seizure.

Ivory is a highly valuable commodity

The following month, the authorities found a shipment roughly the same size as this latest seizure.

On the Asian market, ivory is an highly sought-after commodity. It is not only used in jewellery but more commonly to make ornamental items especially for the Thai and Chinese markets.

China's increasing dominance in Africa has, according to environmental groups, made the problem much worse.

"The trade in ivory across Africa is deeply linked to armed militias, the Janjaweed, the Lord's Resistance Army, but also with people who are buying and commissioning ivory from Asia, from China and Japan.

"We are very concerned about the fact that this is becoming a very valuable commodity," Robbie Marsland, the UK Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) told Sky News.

"China and Japan are two key markets leading to more and more deaths of more elephants and remember that elephants are a social animal and there are evidence that the poachers will kill one animal, wait for the elephants to come and investigate and possibly mourn the death of that animal and then kill the ones that come and investigate," he said.

In 2011, Sky News carried out an undercover investigation into the trade

In 2011, a Sky News investigation revealed how China is driving demand for smuggled ivory from Africa, leading to a surge in the slaughter of endangered elephants.

An undercover Sky News team arranged a meeting with a man in Beijing who revealed his family runs an international ivory trafficking operation.

He showed off three pairs of recently arrived tusks with a price tag of £40,000 and explained that his uncle works in West Africa.

Worryingly, he suggested that smuggling through sea ports was only one method of getting the ivory into China. His operation involves using contacts to smuggle the tusks into China through airports in their luggage.

Asked if he could supply more, he replied: "Don't worry about that. If we can do a deal today, then next time I have some good ivory I'll call you."

A worldwide ban on the sale of ivory is in place, but environmental groups say there has been a surge in the slaughter of elephants in Africa.

Last summer, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) said that elephant poaching levels were the worst in a decade and recorded ivory seizures are at their highest levels since 1989.

"We need to enhance our collective efforts ... to reverse the current disturbing trends. Enforcement efforts to stop wildlife crime must not just result in seizures - they must result in prosecutions, convictions and strong penalties to stop the flow of contraband. The whole 'enforcement chain' must work together."

The Hong Kong authorities have not yet arrested anyone as a result of this latest seizure.

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India Gang Rape Victim's Friend Speaks Of Attack

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The medical student's attack has sparked massive protests

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

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

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

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

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

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

Police have used water cannons and tear gas to dispel protesters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Deepwater Rig Explosion Settlement Reached

The US Justice Department has reached a $1.4bn settlement with the owner of the drilling rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The proposed settlement resolves the department's civil and criminal probes of Transocean's role in the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster.

It requires the Switzerland-based company to pay $1bn (£615m) in civil penalties and $400m (£246m) in criminal penalties and plead guilty to a misdemeanour charge of violating the Clean Water Act, according to a court filing.

The deal, which is subject to a federal judge's approval, also calls for Transocean to implement a series of operational safety and emergency response improvements on its rigs.

"This resolution of criminal allegations and civil claims against Transocean brings us one significant step closer to justice for the human, environmental and economic devastation wrought by the Deepwater Horizon disaster," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

Transocean said it believes the settlement is in the best interest of its shareholders and employees and eliminates "much of the uncertainty associated with the accident".

"This is a positive step forward, but it is also a time to reflect on the 11 men who lost their lives aboard the Deepwater Horizon," the company said in a statement. "Their families continue to be in the thoughts and prayers of all of us at Transocean."

Much of the $1.4bn will fund environmental restoration projects and spill-prevention research and training.

The company has two years to pay the $1bn civil penalty. Congress approved legislation that dedicates 80% of the civil penalty for environmental and economic recovery projects in the Gulf states.

British oil giant BP, which leased the rig from Transocean, already has agreed to pay a record $4.5bn in penalties and plead guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges related to the spill.

The deal with BP does not resolve the federal government's civil claims against the London-based oil company.

Transocean previously announced it had reserved $2bn for paying claims related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The Justice Department says Transocean crew members on the rig, acting at the direction of BP supervisors, failed to fully investigate clear signs that the well was not secure and that oil and gas were flowing into the well.

The rig burned for about 36 hours before sinking.

As engineers made repeated attempts to halt the flow of oil from BP's burst well, millions of gallons (litres) of crude flowed out. Marshes, beaches and fishing grounds across the northern Gulf were fouled by the oil.

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Falklands Row: Sun's Argentina Ad Warns Kirchner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Cameron insists the islanders must decide their own future

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Chavez Suffering From 'Breathing Deficiency'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He has also had chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

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

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

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India Murder-Rape Suspects Could Face Death

By Alex Rossi, India Correspondent

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

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

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

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

Indian women hold placards during the Women Dignity march in Delhi

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

The men, who are in custody at Delhi's Tihar prison, did not attend the hearing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Falklands Row Reopened By President's Letter

The president of Argentina has written an open letter to David Cameron calling once again for him to relinquish British control of the Falkland Islands.

The letter by Cristina Kirchner has appeared as an advertisement in The Guardian newspaper and says Argentina was forcibly stripped of the islands her country calls Las Malvinas in a "blatant exercise of 19th-century colonialism".

The 59-year-old president urged the Prime Minister to abide by United Nations resolutions she says back the Argentinian cause.

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

"One hundred and eighty years ago on the same date, January 3, in a blatant exercise of 19th-century colonialism, Argentina was forcibly stripped of the Malvinas Islands, which are situated 14,000km (8700 miles) away from London," she said in the letter, copied to United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon.

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

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

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

Mr Cameron and Ms Kirchner clashed over the Falklands when the pair came face-to-face at the G20 summit in Mexico last June.

Mr Cameron and Ms Kirchner clashed at the G20 summit

He rejected her demand for negotiations over the sovereignty of the islands and told her that she should respect the result of a referendum due to be held in March, when the Falklanders will vote on whether they wish to retain their ties with Britain.

The Argentine president had earlier taken her demands to the United Nations, appearing at the annual meeting of the little-known UN Decolonisation Committee on the 30th anniversary of Britain's ousting of an Argentinian invasion force from the Falklands.

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

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

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

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the Falkland Islanders "are British and have chosen to be so".

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

"This is a fundamental human right for all peoples.

"There are three parties to this debate, not just two as Argentina likes to pretend.

"The islanders can't just be written out of history.

"As such, there can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish."

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Gunman Shoots Three Dead In Switzerland

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

The man had reportedly been drinking heavily before the attack on Wednesday night and was armed with an assault rifle.

Police at the scene of the shooting in the village of Daillon exchanged fire with the man and wounded him before he was arrested.

The suspect was taken to hospital but none of the officers were hurt.

Daillon is around 145 miles from the Swiss capital Bern

"Three victims died at the scene. Two other people were wounded and hospitalised," said police in the canton of Valais, which borders Italy and France.

Journalist Helena Humphrey, from World Radio Switzerland, told Sky News the man, in his 30s, is a resident of the village and is thought to have opened fire from his balcony.

Police did not identify the attacker and his motives were not immediately clear.

Many men in Switzerland keep assault rifles at home because they are part of the country's militia army.

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Ivory Coast Stadium Stampede Kills 61

More than 60 people, most of them children aged between eight and 15, have died in a New Year's Eve stampede at a stadium in Ivory Coast.

It happened in Abidjan at around 2am local time after crowds gathered to watch a fireworks display.

Officials said 61 people had died and around 50 were injured, although some estimates of the number hurt were much higher.

Rescue co-ordinator Lieutenant Colonel Issa Sako said the number of people trying to get into the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium to watch the fireworks had caused the accident.

Abidjan is Ivory Coast's largest city

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

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

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

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

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

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US Fiscal Cliff Averted As Bill Approved

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

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

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

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

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

The vote came just hours before financial markets reopen following the New Year holiday.

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

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

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

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

The lights of the Capitol burned late into the night

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

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

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

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

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

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

But his break from the political manoeuvring will be brief.

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

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

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Thailand Killing: Family Travel To Identify Victim

The family of a British tourist shot dead at a New Year's Eve party in Thailand are travelling to the country to identify his body and make arrangements for repatriation.

Stephen Ashton, 22, was hit by a stray bullet after getting caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival gangs on the island of Koh Phangan.

Mr Ashton was shot with a homemade gun (Photo: Facebook)

His family members will meet the UK's ambassador to Thailand, Mark Kent, on Thursday.

He warned of risks to Western tourists, and urged people to read the travel advice on the Foreign Office website.

"Most people have a very enjoyable holiday, a very trouble-free holiday," he told Sky News. "But there are risks and we've set these out in our travel advice which you can access on the Foreign Office website.

"In particular we do mention that there have been incidents involving Western tourists in Koh Phangan, so there are risks in going anywhere and I think Thailand is certainly not completely trouble free."

Police Colonel Kittakarn Kramomthong, chief of police at the island's station, said officers have arrested a 26-year-old Thai man and confiscated a gun.

The man is expected to be charged with manslaughter, he said.

Koh Phangan is in the south of Thailand

Sky producer Sarah Yuen, who is on the island, said the suspect's first court appearance is likely to be delayed until Thursday while Mr Ashton's body is formally identified.

She added that while Thailand is generally safe, there is an "undercurrent of violence" in parts of the country.

Thai police said Mr Ashton was with a group of friends and 300 other tourists celebrating the countdown to 2013 at a pub and restaurant called the Zoom Bar at Haad Rin beach when he was shot with a homemade gun shortly after 4am on Tuesday.

The Bangkok Post said he was visiting the island with four or five friends and was staying at Pink Bungalow on Haad Rin.

Friends paid tribute to Mr Ashton (Photo: Facebook)

Confirming the identity of the victim, a Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Thailand on New Year's Eve and we are providing consular assistance to the family."

Friends expressed their shock at Mr Ashton's death and paid tribute to him on social networking sites.

Robbie-Cameron Gray took to Mr Ashton's Facebook page to express his grief and posted a photograph of the two of them as young boys.

He said: "Don't want to believe it. Still got photos of us on my wall from football and school. Will miss you mate."

Aaron Kelly wrote on Facebook: "Horrible news. Be good up there mate."

Neighbour Dawn Mason, 48, described Mr Ashton as a "very normal, likeable young man".

His family moved to the upmarket area of Purley, south London, about three years ago, she said.

"They've always been very nice neighbours.

"If Stephen or his sister Emily had parties, they'd always be at the house with their parents so they knew where they were. I went to the house today and the family just seem in complete shock."

The tropical island of Koh Phangan, situated north of tourist haven Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand, is a popular destination for backpackers and students on gap years.

One of the attractions of the island is its monthly full moon party at Haad Rin Beach, and many people know it as the setting for Alex Garland's novel The Beach, which was made into a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

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Chavez Suffers New Setback After Cancer Op

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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New Year Knees Up Around The World

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

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

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

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

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

Shanghai ushers in the New Year

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

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

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

There was a fireworks display at the Kremlin in Moscow

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

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

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

North Korea put on a pyrotechnic display in Pyongyang

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

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

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

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

Auckland began the countdown to 2013

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

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

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

The atmosphere of celebration was muted in some places.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Mexican Olympic Silver Medallist Shot In Head

A Mexican race walker who won silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics has lost his left eye after being shot in the head in a bar, according to reports.

Noe Hernandez, 34, was in a serious but stable condition after being shot at the Queen of Kings nightclub in Mexico state.

Three gunmen burst into the club and opened fire on revellers, killing two people and seriously injuring two more.

Hernandez, who works as sports secretary for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party in the state, has undergone three surgeries after he was hit by a 9mm bullet.

Surgeon Carlos Castillo Rangel said: "The surgeries were successful, without any complications.

"We must wait and see his progress in intensive care."

Bars are often raided by drug cartel members in Mexico. More than 60,000 people have died in the country in the last six years as a result of the drug war.

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Chavez Suffers New Setback After Cancer Op

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Appeal For Couple Who Vanished In Afghanistan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Afghan officials say their trail has gone dead.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Bus Veers Off Icy Oregon Road: Nine Killed

A tour bus has crashed through a barrier on an icy road in Oregon and fallen several hundred feet into a ravine, leaving nine people dead and at least 26 others injured.

The driver apparently lost control on a snow and ice covered section of Interstate 84 that winds down a hill.

After hitting the bottom of the embankment it landed upright, with little debris visible around the crash site.

More than a dozen rescue workers used ropes to help pull people from the wreckage in freezing weather.

The bus is thought to have been carrying about 40 people. The driver was among the survivors, but has not yet spoken to police because of the severity of the injuries he has suffered.

The names and nationalities of the victims and other passengers were not immediately released but many "are believed to be out of country residents", according to police.

Lt Greg Hastings said the bus crashed along the west end of the Blue Mountains and west of an area called Deadman Pass.

About 40 people are thought to have been onboard

The area is so dangerous the state transportation department published specific warnings for lorry drivers, advising it had "some of the most changeable and severe weather conditions in the Northwest" and can lead to poor conditions and visibility.

The bus was en route from Las Vegas to Vancouver and was owned by Mi Joo travel in Vancouver.

A bus safety website run by the US Department of Transportation said Mi Joo travel has six buses, none of which have been involved in any accidents in at least the past two years.

The bus crash was the second fatal accident on the same highway in Oregon on Sunday. A 69-year-old man died in a rollover accident about 30 miles (48kms) west of the area where the bus crashed.

A spokesman for the American Bus Association said buses carry more than 700 million passengers a year in the US.

"The industry as a whole is a very safe industry," said Dan Ronan, of the Washington DC based group.

"There are only a handful of accidents every year. Comparatively speaking, we're the safest form of surface transportation."

The bus crash comes more than two months after another tour bus veered off a highway in northern Arizona, killing the driver and injuring dozens of passengers who were mostly tourists from Asia and Europe. Authorities said the driver may have suffered a medical episode.

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Pakistan: Kidnapped Policemen Found Dead

Twenty-one policemen believed to have been kidnapped by the Taliban have been found shot dead in Pakistan, government officials say.

Their bodies were discovered with gunshot wounds on a cricket pitch in the troubled tribal Peshawar region in the northwest.

They were among a group of 25 officers who were seized in the area on Thursday when militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons attacked two checkpoints.

Two officers were killed during the one-hour gun battle.

After the group were abducted, one wounded policeman managed to escape and alert rescue teams. Another is unaccounted for.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion has fallen on the Pakistani Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency against the Pakistani government for the past few years.

The tribal region, near the border with Afghanistan, has a large militant presence and is the main sanctuary for the Taliban in Pakistan.

Meanwhile in the southern city of Karachi, an explosion has ripped through a bus at a terminal killing six people and wounding 52 others.

A police spokesman said officers were trying to establish whether the blast, which reduced the bus to a charred skeleton, was caused by a bomb or a gas canister that exploded.

Karachi has a long history of political, ethnic and sectarian violence. It is also believed to be home to many Taliban militants who have fled US drone attacks and Pakistani army operations in the northwest.

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Russia Plane Crash: Video Of Moment Of Impact

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

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

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

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

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

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

The passenger plane was sheared in two

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vnukovo is Russia's third biggest airport

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Gang Rape Victim Cremated In New Delhi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thousands more took part in a candlelight vigil.

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

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

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

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

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

Formal charges are expected to be filed by January 3.

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

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

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

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