Maduro Sworn In As Venezuela's President

Venezuela Says Farewell To Chavez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Afghanistan Blasts: 'Eight Kids Among Dead'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Egypt: Rival Football Fans Angry Over Verdicts

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

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

The fire rages at the football headquarters

Security was beefed up and riot police deployed in the streets around the complex in central Cairo, as the twin fires sent plumes of thick black smoke billowing out over the city skyline.

A protester was killed in clashes with the police, according to a health official who said he suffocated after inhaling tear gas and died in the ambulance.

Several other people were reportedly hurt in the demonstrations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The stadium deaths occurred on February 1, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dragged Taxi Driver Mido Macia Laid To Rest

Mourners have gathered in Mozambique to bury a taxi driver who died in police custody in South Africa after officers cuffed him to their van and dragged him down a street.

Crowds gathered at a cemetery in Matola where 26-year-old Mido Macia was laid to rest at a ceremony attended by family and friends who had travelled from neighbouring South Africa to pay their respects.

Mr Macia was filmed being dragged behind a police van before he died

"We are revolted, not just angry. It was torture what happened to him," Xinguinhane Vuma, a friend, said.

Mr Macia was filmed by bystanders being manhandled, handcuffed to the back of a police van and dragged hundreds of metres in Daveyton, east of Johannesburg.

He was found dead in a police cell two hours later, having suffered severe head and internal injuries.

Nine South African police officers have been charged with his murder.

"Our feeling is very deep. We hope he rests in peace," his friend added at the graveside.

Mr Macia was described as a humble man and his death has shocked the community of Matola Rio where his father is a local leader.

A woman is consoled as Mr Macia's coffin arrives in South Africa

"Down with xenophobia," chanted a crowd of around 80 people, brandishing banners with the words "Stop humiliating Mozambicans" and "Mido Macia forever".

The officers charged with Mr Macia's murder have insisted they are innocent, though none have yet been able to explain why he was handcuffed to their van nor why he died.

The driver of the van has said he did not know he was dragging someone behind his truck.

Officers have claimed Mr Macia resisted arrest and assaulted police after he was confronted for barring the road with his taxi.

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Kenya Election: Kenyatta Clinches Narrow Win

By Sara Mojtehedzadeh in Nairobi, Kenya

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

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

He received 50.07% but the victory is being disputed by his main rival, prime minister Raila Odinga, who said he would challenge the result in the supreme court and asked supporters to avoid violence.

In his acceptance speech, deputy prime minister Mr Kenyatta said he and his team would cooperate with international institutions and that he expected the international community to respect Kenya's sovereignty.

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

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

With the 51-year-old politician in the top job, Kenya will become the second African country after Sudan to have a sitting president indicted by the ICC.

Mr Odinga, 68,  who has now unsuccessfully sought the presidency three times, said he would have conceded the latest result if the vote was fair.

He added there was "rampant illegality" in the electoral process and that "democracy was on trial in Kenya".

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

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

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

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

The Odinga team said they would challenge the results in court

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

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

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

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

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

"I urge all sides to show patience and restraint, to accept defeat or take any disputes to the courts," UK minister for Africa Mark Simmonds said of the election result.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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North Korea Leader Ready For 'All-Out War'

Who Is Kim Jong-Un?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Bunga Bunga Trial Halted: Berlusconi In Hospital

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter, in Rome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The court later accepted the request from Berlusconi's legal team and the trial was adjourned until Monday.

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Dragged Taxi Driver 'Had Extensive Injuries'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Bin Laden Son-In-Law Ghaith Pleads Not Guilty

By Sky News US Team, in New York

The son-in-law of Osama bin Laden has pleaded not guilty to plotting against Americans in his role as al Qaeda spokesman.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith entered the plea through a lawyer Friday to one count of conspiracy to kill Americans in federal court in New York.

Prosecutors say Ghaith praised the attacks of September 11, 2001, and warned there would be more.

Authorities say the Kuwaiti-born Ghaith was captured in Jordan over the last week.

President Barack Obama's administration has sought to charge senior al Qaeda suspects in US courts instead of military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Republicans in Congress, however, have fought to keep high-threat terror suspects from being brought into the country.

More follows...

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Hugo Chavez: Funeral For Venezuelan President

How Will Chavez's Body Be Embalmed?

Updated: 10:22am UK, Friday 08 March 2013

Venezuela's acting head of state has decreed that their former leader Hugo Chavez's body will be embalmed and displayed forever inside a glass tomb for anyone to visit and pay their respects.

It is nothing new. The process has been undergone by other leaders including the Russian revolutionary Lenin, Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong and the Vietnamese war president Ho Chi Minh.

Most recently, the last leader to undergo the treatment of permanently preserving their body for display was former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il after he died in 2011.

While Mr Chavez might not have been a communist in the traditional sense, he will join the ranks of other hard left leaders whose bodies have been preserved for their populations to continue loving and admiring.

The Russians were the first to perfect the permanent embalming process for display when Vladimir Lenin was preserved to go on display after his death in 1924.

While traditional embalming, using formaldehyde, is designed to preserve a body until a funeral takes place, permanent embalming requires a stronger solution to stop decay altogether.

Traditional embalming carried out by funeral parlours involves delaying decomposition, so watered down formaldehyde is used to replace drained blood.

But for permanent preservation, the process has to be considerably more thorough.

Major blood vessels and veins are opened, the blood is completely removed and the vascular system is pumped full of a solution that preserves but does not destroy the tissue.

Although the exact composition is not known, it is suspected to be a mix of concentrated alcohol, glycerol and formalin, which kills off all the bacteria inside the body and effectively 'pickles' it from the inside.

A pinkish tint is given to the formalin to give the body a realistic look and to stop it looking like other pickled products, which usually appear washed out.

Because the hair falls out, a permanent wig has to be created. Other cosmetic features may then also be added, like permanent make-up, to make the face appear more lifelike.

The atmosphere around the body has to be kept at a constant level of temperature and humidity. If it gets too hot, the alcohol used can evaporate.

The glass case that contains it has to be sealed to prevent mould and fungal spores getting at the preserved tissue and also some types of fly, which can live off embalming fluids.

It is not known whether the Venezuelans will attempt to preserve Mr Chavez's body themselves, or whether it will be sent to one of the countries where the art is already practised.

Although the Russians were pioneers, the Chinese have also become experts, preserving their own Chairman Mao and also Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh.

All those who are permanently preserved, have to go for an annual 'conditioning' session during which the fluids that stop them decaying are replaced.

Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday that Mr Chavez's body would be forever displayed inside a glass tomb at a military museum not far from the presidential palace from where he ruled for 14 years.

"We have decided to prepare the body of our 'Comandante President', to embalm it so that it remains open for all time for the people. Just like Ho Chi Minh. Just like Lenin. Just like Mao Zedong," Mr Maduro said.

Mr Maduro said Mr Chavez's body would be held in a "crystal urn" at the Museum of the Revolution, a stone's throw from Miraflores presidential palace, but that first the body would lie in state for "at least" seven days at the museum.

The announcement came after two emotional days following the leaders' death in which Mr Chavez's supporters compared him to Jesus Christ, and accused his national and international critics of subversion.

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Dublin Airport: Drama As Plane Tips On To Nose

The main runway at Dublin airport has been closed after a dramatic crash involving a small cargo plane.

The front wheel of the Bin Air aircraft buckled on landing at around 9am, causing it to tip over onto its nose.

Neither the pilot nor co-pilot - the only crew - were hurt, an airport spokeswoman said.

"It was a small aircraft, a cargo plane," she said.

"The nose wheel collapsed when the aircraft landed which meant the aircraft had disabled the main runway."

The two-man crew were said to be no worse for the experience

The plane involved, a Metroliner, could be seen on the side of the runway with its nose touching the tarmac.

A spokesman has confirmed the airport is now fully operational.

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Aussie Doctor Jailed Over Hep C Infections

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

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

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

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

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

He was supposed to be under supervision while he worked.

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

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

Justice Forrest described his behaviour as "truly reprehensible".

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

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

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Jihad Boy Wears 9/11 Bomb T-Shirt To School

A woman and her brother have appeared in a French court after a three-year-old child named Jihad was sent to school wearing a T-shirt with the words "I am a bomb" printed on it.

The principal and teachers at the school in Sorgues, southern France, notified authorities after Boucha Bagour sent her son to classes dressed in the shirt.

Le Parisien reported that the words "I am a bomb" were inscribed on the front, and the words "Jihad, born September 11" on the back.

The expression plays on the popular French saying "Je suis la bombe", which translates roughly as "I am the best".

Ms Bagour, 35, and her brother, Zeyad Bagour, 29, were summoned to appear before the court after the school and local mayor complained.

Mr Bagour gave the shirt to the boy as a gift. He told the court he "had no intention to provoke or shock".

Speaking to the court, Ms Bagour defended herself, saying: "For me, this is the name of my son and his date of birth."

She also apologised to the court, saying she thought the shirt might "make people laugh".

However, lawyer Claude Avril said: "Idiocy is often the best alibi to hide the real intentions.

"The most scandalous thing is that they've used and manipulated a three-year-old child to voluntarily convey the words of a terrorist," she added.

Ms Bagour and her brother are facing fines of €1,000 (£860) and €3,000 (£2,600) respectively if they are found guilty of any offences.

The case will be decided on April 10.

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Italy: Berlusconi Given 12-Month Prison Sentence

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to a year in prison over the publication of leaked transcripts from a police wiretap in one of his newspapers.

Mr Berlusconi, who faces two more verdicts this month for tax fraud and having sex with an underage prostitute, can appeal the conviction and so doing suspend the sentence under Italian law.

Italian sentencing guidelines indicate that people aged over 75 and with sentences of less than two years do not have to actually go to prison.

Mr Berlusconi, a billionaire media tycoon, is 76.

He stood accused of violating secrecy laws after his Il Giornale daily published transcripts in 2005 that were widely seen as an attempt to discredit a senior member of the centre-left Democratic Party ahead of elections in 2006.

The leaks were about the attempted takeover of BNL bank by insurance giant Unipol.

Mr Berlusconi's brother Paolo, editor of Il Giornale, was sentenced to two years and three months.

Despite everything Mr Berlusconi is hoping to make a political comeback

Silvio Berlusconi also faces a verdict possibly as early as March 18 in a trial in which he is accused of having sex with a then 17-year-old prostitute when he was prime minister.

He is also accused of abusing the power of his office by putting pressure on police to release her from custody.

A verdict in his appeal trial against a tax fraud conviction from last year in which he was also sentenced to a year in prison is also expected around March 23.

Italian court dates are often changed at the last minute and Mr Berlusconi's lawyers have tried to slow down all the trials, invoking "legitimate impediment" because of his duties as an MP.

The verdict will not prevent Mr Berlusconi from taking office in a new government.

His centre-right coalition finished third in recent parliamentary elections that saw no clear winner. Talks on forming a new administration are expected to begin on March 20.

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North Korea Nuclear Test: UN Sanctions Agreed

New sanctions will be imposed on North Korea for its nuclear weapons test last month, after a unanimous United Nations Security Council vote.

A resolution passed by the 15-member body added three new individuals and two entities to the UN sanctions blacklist.

It also tightened restrictions on the North's financial dealings, including "bulk cash" transfers, linked to its weapons programs.

The vote came after Pyongyang threatened to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States.

An unidentified spokesman for the country's foreign ministry said the North will exercise its right for "pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the headquarters of the aggressors".

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Syria Crisis: Refugee Figure Tops Million Mark

Syria Crisis: Inside A Refugee Camp

Updated: 11:28am UK, Wednesday 06 March 2013

By Sam Kiley, in Zaatari Camp, Jordan

They crossed in silence. A stream of humanity stumbling over pebbles in slippers and sandals. Artillery crunched into the earth in the homeland they had left.

"No lights, no lights," a Jordanian officer implored. "The regime forces (he meant the Syrian army) will see them and shoot at them."

Around 2,000 had crossed on foot before midnight that night into the desert kingdom just north of Ramtha.

They joined 300,000 other registered refugees here. People fleeing Syria into Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and on to North Africa and Europe now total, officially, a million. The truth is that the figure topped that some time back.

At least 400,000 refugees now live in Jordan, some 150,000 in the Zatari refugee Camp - the rest have been absorbed into Jordanian society.

"This puts, massive strains on us. We are short of water in this country. We are shoot of food and ave many who are already living below the poverty lone and now we have increased our population by about eight per cent.

"That means we are risking political instability - tension will rise. Competition for scarce resources can only lead in one direction," said a senior officer in Jordan's security forces.

"Contagion" is an ugly word to use in relation to human beings. But the effects of Syria's civil war are spreading into the region like a virus.

The disease is instability. It can be carried by refugees, unwilling hosts carrying the turmoil that cased them to flee their homes into neighbouring countries.

In Zatari the leader of an aid organisation said: "It's hard not to feel resentment when the Syrian problem is draining our own social funds. Our poor are worse off than the refugees."

Jordan estimates that it has spent in the region of $400m (£264m) already on humanitarian efforts. But the end of this year it expects to be hosting 600,000 people - and will need another $400 million or more.

Jordan, so far, has been spared the open conflict which has spilled from Syria into the Lebanon, which has been riven with sectarian strife.

Alawites, many of whom support President Assad, and Sunnis, often rebel supporters, have clashed in the north. Sunni and Shi'a in the south.

Border villages have been turned into bases for Sunni rebels in the north crossing into Syria. A little to the south near the Bekaa valley they are jumping off points for Hezbollah fighters joining Mr Assad's fight against the rebels.

On the Golan Heights, in Israeli occupied Syrian territory, the army of the Jewish State has boosted its defences and watches the daily skirmishes inside Syria from a few hundred yards away.

To the west, on the border with the Lebanon, Israel has installed batteries of Iron Dome and Patriot anti-missile missiles to defend against attacks from Hezbollah.

Israeli forces have already risked provoking Hezbollah with at least two sorties against Hezbollah targets, or Syrian weapon convoys supplying Hezbollah with anti-aircraft missiles.

The south Lebanese Shia movement is backed by Iran and President Assad. It knows it needs a strategic weapon to ensure its military longevity if its source of re-supply in Syria is cut off.

It has been trying to get hold of modern anti-aircraft missiles which could threaten Israeli air supremacy.

It might also like to get its hands on Syria's deadly stockpiles of VX and Sarin nerve agents which it has 'weaponised' and is capable of fitting to missiles and artillery shells.

Israel has made it clear that an attempt to give Hezbollah chemical weapons would be met with force. It would go to war to prevent its enemy getting hold of such a dangerous weapon.

Syria has indeed become contagious. The international focus is now on how to contain such a virulent outbreak of chaos, violence and grief.

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Bolshoi Acid Attack: Mastermind's Confession

A ballet star at the Bolshoi Theatre has confessed to being the mastermind of an attack on the theatre's ballet chief.

Sergei Filin, the artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet, suffered severe burns to his eyes and face on January 17 when an attacker threw sulphuric acid in his face as Mr Filin returned home late at night.

The 42-year-old former dancer is undergoing treatment in Germany.

Mr Filin after leaving hospital, right, and before the acid attack

Along with dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko, police have also detained another man who confessed to perpetrating the attack.

Dmitrichenko has danced several major parts in recent years, including Ivan the Terrible in the ballet of the same name.

Dmitrichenko as Ivan the Terrible

On Tuesday, Russia's interior ministry confirmed that they had arrested Dmitrichenko and two other men, named as driver Andrei Lipatov and 35-year-old Yury Zarutsky.

Last month, the ballet postponed its production of Stravinsky's The Rite Of Spring and in January, leading ballerina Svetlana Lunkina fled to Canada after receiving unconnected threats.

Mr Filin was attacked outside his Moscow apartment

The case has focused attention on the bitter rivalries within the ballet world.

The Bolshoi has been plagued by intrigue and infighting that has led to the departure of several artistic directors over the past few years.

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Car Thief Strangles Baby Left In Vehicle

A Chinese car thief strangled a two-month-old baby after stealing a vehicle with the infant inside, according to police.

In a crime that has sparked revulsion across the country, officers said the baby was killed and then buried in the snow.

The baby's parents had left the child alone for 10 minutes with the car doors unlocked and the engine running, according to state-run media.

Reports suggested the father had run into the shop where he worked to turn up the heat because he wanted to keep the baby warm.

Zhou Xijun, 48, stole the car in the north eastern Jilin province, triggering a major hunt involving thousands of police officers and taxi drivers.

He handed himself in a day later and confessed, according to reports.

Jilin police said in a statement that Zhou had "discovered a baby in the back seat of the stolen car, stopped at the side of a road before strangling the baby to death and burying it in the snow".

The child's body has been recovered.

The South China Morning Post reported that the child's mother had a heart attack when told of the killing and was being treated in hospital.

The case caused a storm in China, generating far more attention than the annual meeting of China's parliament which opened on Tuesday.               

Changchun citizens mourn the death of the two-month-old baby

Internet users expressed their disgust at the crime and many called for Zhou to be put to death.

"Killing him once would not be enough," one user of Sina Weibo, a website similar to Twitter, wrote.

Another added: "I would never have imagined that what people most feared would actually happen ... The killer should be severely punished."

However others entered into debates about negligent parents, calling for harsher punishments for those who fail to protect their children.

A candlelit vigil for the baby was held in Changchun on Tuesday evening. Lights were dimmed at 10.10pm and a moment of silence was observed.

The latest UN figures on the murder rate in China puts it at one per 100,000 people, among the lowest in the world.

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South Africa: Service For Police Van Victim

The wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela has attended a memorial service for a man who died in police custody after being dragged along the road by a police vehicle.

Several hundred people gathered at a stadium in Johannesburg to remember Mido Macia, a 27-year-old taxi driver from Mozambique who died last week.

The incident, in which a handcuffed Mr Macia was dragged behind a van, was filmed by onlookers, causing outrage in South Africa.

He was later found dead in a police cell with serious head and internal injuries.

Witnesses said Mr Macia drew the attention of police when he parked in a way that blocked traffic, and got into a row with officers.

Mr Macia was dragged behind a police vehicle (Pic: Daily Sun)

The memorial service was held in Daveyton township east of Johannesburg, where Mr Macia was initially detained.

Mr Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, criticised the police's conduct, saying officers are supposed to protect South Africans from violent crime.

She said South Africa was facing "big trouble".

"As a society we are bleeding, we are grieving, if you like, we are in pain and we just don't know how to deal with our pain," she said.

Eight police officers have been charged with murder over Mr Macia's death. They are to make applications for bail on Friday.

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Hugo Chavez: Coffin Paraded Through Streets

A military parade is being held to carry the remains of President Hugo Chavez through the streets of the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

The country's foreign minister, Elias Jose Jaua Milano, declared seven days of mourning for the controversial socialist leader, who died at the age of 58 after losing his battle with cancer.

His coffin left Caracas' military hospital earlier for his body to be escorted through the city.

It will then lie in state at a military academy until a public funeral on Friday.

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans filled the streets with many crying, hugging each other, or shouting slogans of support.

Clusters of women with tears streaming down their faces clung to each other and wept near the Miraflores presidential palace. Some wore T-shirts with slogans that read: "Go forward commander!"

Nearby, men pumped their arms in the air while shouting: "Long live Chavez! Long live Chavismo!"

Vice President Nicolas Maduro fought back tears as he announced the death on Tuesday night in a national television broadcast.

He said Mr Chavez, who had been in power for 14 years, died at 4.25pm local time "after battling a tough illness for nearly two years".

Emotional vice president Nicolas Maduro announced the death on national TV

Amid fears of unrest, Mr Maduro also said the army and police had been deployed "to accompany and protect our people and guarantee the peace".

Mr Jaua Milano said Mr Maduro would take over the presidency until fresh elections can take place in around 30 days.

Ideological allies across Latin America lined up to salute former paratrooper Mr Chavez, a standard bearer of the region's "anti-imperialist" left.

Cuba has declared three days of national mourning, with the government saying Mr Chavez had "stood by Fidel Castro like a true son".

Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales said he was "crushed", while Argentinian Vice President Amado Boudou said "all of Latin America" was in mourning.

President Barack Obama responded by expressing hopes for improved relations with the oil-rich state, voicing American "support for the Venezuelan people and its interest in developing a constructive relationship with the Venezuelan government".

He added: "As Venezuela begins a new chapter in its history, the United States remains committed to policies that promote democratic principles, the rule of law, and respect for human rights."

Some Venezuelans in the US say they are glad the 'dictatorship' has ended

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "saddened" by the death of a leader who had left a "lasting impression on the country and more widely".

Mr Chavez had been receiving cancer treatment in Cuba on and off since June 2011 - when he was first diagnosed with the illness.

The announcement of his death came just hours after Mr Maduro announced the government had expelled two US diplomats from the country.

He had said Mr Chavez's illness had been induced by foul play by "the historical enemies of our homeland".

People have been gathering outside the military hospital where Mr Chavez died. Soldiers in riot gear stood shoulder to shoulder guarding the complex.

"I feel such big pain I can't even speak," said Yamilina Barrios, a 39-year-old office worker weeping at a street corner. "He was the best thing the country had ... I adore him. Let's hope the country calms down and we can continue the tasks he left us."

The government announced late on Monday that Mr Chavez's condition was "very delicate" due to a "new, severe" respiratory infection.

Mr Chavez had not been seen in public or heard since undergoing a fourth round of surgery in Cuba on December 11.

Mr Chavez with daughters Rosa Virginia, right, and Maria

The government said he returned home on February 18, and had been confined to Caracas' military hospital ever since.

During his time in power, Mr Chavez routinely challenged the status quo at home and internationally.

The fiery populist leader declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against US influence, championed a leftist revival across Latin America, and over time, gradually placed all state institutions under his personal control.

His death sets up a snap presidential election after his illness prevented him from taking the oath of office when he was re-elected last year.

Under the constitution, the head of Congress, Diosdado Cabello, would assume the interim presidency.

However, Mr Maduro is Mr Chavez's self-anointed successor and has been holding the reins since the president's health worsened.

The man Mr Chavez defeated in October's presidential elections, Miranda state Governor Henrique Capriles, is expected to represent the opposition in any new national polls.

He called for unity and offered his condolences to Mr Chavez's family and supporters.

Venezuela's defence minister pledged the military would remain loyal to the constitution in the wake of Mr Chavez's death.

Sky's Dominic Waghorn said Mr Chavez "used a mixture of brute force, persuasion, passion and charisma to keep himself in power".

"Such was the adoration and devotion that mainly the poor in Venezuela felt for him that he was seen as this almost sort of religious figure, and his loss now leaves a huge void in Venezuelan politics.

"A lot of people say he is irreplaceable."

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Costa Concordia Victims' Last Moments Revealed

By Nick Pisa, Sky Reporter

Details of the final moments of the 32 people who died in the Costa Concordia cruise ship tragedy have emerged in a prosecution report.

The 60-page document makes up the official request to have captain Francesco Schettino - who was in charge at the time - sent for trial.

He is accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a disaster, failing to inform authorities of what had happened and abandoning ship while dozens of passengers were still onboard.

More than 4,000 passengers and crew were onboard the doomed Costa Concordia when it struck rocks after Schettino allegedly changed course in order to carry out a sail-by salute of a Mediterranean island to impress holidaymakers.

Victims of the Costa Concordia disaster

The 70-metre gash allowed water to pour in and the ship eventually capsized and came to rest on its side at a location known as Seagull Point, just outside the harbour on the island of Giglio in January last year, hours into a seven-day cruise.

The chaotic scenes of panic and disorganisation that gripped the ship as it started to sink are evident throughout the report.

In one part, Francecso Verusio relives the moment when the youngest victim of the disaster, five-year-old Dayana Arlotti, and her father, William, drowned.

Mr Verusio wrote that they died ''because they were unable to find any space in a lifeboat on deck four, on the left-hand side, and they were then directed to the right-hand side by crew members on the same deck but as they were crossing the inside corridor ... they fell into a hole that had been created when the ship rolled onto its right side.

"They dropped into an area that was already flooded and they died from drowning," he added.

Relatives of the victims staged a memorial last month

Other stories include that of bartender Erika Fani Soria Molinala, who fell from a lifeboat as it pulled away from the Concordia but as she was not wearing a lifejacket she was dragged underwater from the current created as the Concordia tilted on its side.

It also emerged that holidaymaker Maria D'Introno - whose body has yet to be recovered - was told to get out of a lifeboat because it was too full and the tilt of the ship made it impossible to launch safely.

She was later seen terrified by the edge of the ship, jumping into the water without a lifejacket despite not being able to swim.

The last moments of musician Giuseppe Girolamo are described in another section of the report.

It emerged he had been directed to the right-hand side of the boat to get into a lifeboat and had actually got into one when he decided to give up his place - only to later drown.

The prosecution report also details how Schettino was distracted by the ''inopportune presence of unauthorised persons'' on the bridge of the Concordia, including several crew members and passenger hostess Domnica Cemortan - who was seen enjoying dinner with the captain minutes before the ship struck the rocks.

It also details how Schettino was distracted as he was speaking on the telephone while he was ''in close proximity to the coast in a dangerous situation and with the helm under manual control".

Francesco Schettino said he "tripped and fell" into a lifeboat

It goes on to list 157 passengers who are suffering from post-traumatic stress following the disaster.

Schettino, 52, has insisted he is innocent of all charges and that the rocks were not marked on his charts. He says he should be thanked as his actions in steering the ship back towards the port at Giglio saved hundreds of lives.

However, he was ridiculed by the world's media after it emerged he had told coastguards he "tripped and fell" into a lifeboat as the Concordia began to list to one side, while recordings later emerged of him refusing orders to get back onboard and co-ordinate the rescue efforts.

Some other crew members also face charges, as do management figures from the company Costa Cruises, which owns the ship that is still lying on its side and not expected to be removed until September at the earliest.

The initial part of the trial is expected to last a week and once again will take place in a theatre in the town of Grosseto.

Prosecutors have also requested the indictment of five other crew members, including two officers Ciro Ambrosio and Silvio Coronica and the Concordia's helmsman Jacob Rusli.

In an unusual move, Mr Verusio has posted details of the case on a Facebook site in various languages and invited those who may have a claim to contact him.

It has also emerged that Costa Cruises asked for a plea-bargaining agreement, which would see them pay a fine of one million euros. They insist Schettino is solely to blame.

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Khalil Edney Wonder Shot Dedicated To Late Mum

A high school basketball player who pulled off an incredible match-winning shot just ahead of the buzzer, has dedicated his feat to his mother who died of cancer.

Khalil Edney's feet have barely touched the ground since he grabbed a loose ball for the miracle 55-footer to give New Rochelle a 61-60 victory over rival Mount Vernon in a New York sectional final.

The 17-year-old has had a ride in a limousine and a night in a Manhattan hotel, given numerous TV interviews and held a makeshift news conference since Sunday night.

Video of what has already become known as "The Shot" has become a sensation online, with high praise from the professionals.

Duke guard Seth Curry tweeted "Wow!" to go along with a YouTube link for Edney's heave, and New Rochelle alumni Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens also offered his congratulations online.

Edney knew who to thank at the news conference.

The teen - whose mother died from cervical cancer in 2006 when he was just 11 - showed off his tattoos, including "momma's boy", the date of her birth and the day she died.

Edney's father, Lewis said: "I thought his mother took it out of his hands and scored."

The winning sequence started when a New Rochelle pass was broken up and a Mount Vernon player tried to run out the clock by flipping the ball in the air.

But Edney brought it in and let fly for the win. The shot was initially waved off, but the referees eventually reversed the call.

The win sends New Rochelle to the state regional semifinals on Tuesday.

Their star player is still nursing a sprained ankle from before Sunday's game, but he is determined the buzz surrounding The Shot will not go to his head.

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Deadly Florida Sinkhole Is Finally Revealed

The deadly sinkhole that swallowed a man at his home in Florida has been uncovered by demolition teams.

The remaining walls of the house were knocked down on Monday and debris was dragged towards the street to reveal the crater in Seffner, about 15 miles east of Tampa.

The authorities estimate that it now measures 30 feet (9m) across and between 30 and 100ft (30m) deep.

It has become the final resting place of Jeff Bush, whose body was never recovered after the sinkhole opened up under his bedroom on Thursday night.

The remaining walls of the Bush family home are torn down

Five other family members who were in the house escaped unharmed.

During a brief ceremony on Monday afternoon, the 37-year-old's family placed a teddy bear, a photo, notes and flowers into the bucket of a digger which dropped them into the makeshift grave.

Then the first load of gravel to stabilise the hole was poured on top.

Jeremy Bush, 35, who tried to save his brother thanked rescuers and salvage teams, but also suggested they could have "tried harder".

Jeremy Bush said more could have been done for his brother

"I tried my hardest to get you out, brother," he said through his tears at a news conference.

"I think I'm the only one that really tried to get you out. They said the ground was too unstable to do anything, but they got all this heavy equipment on there, pulling stuff out and everyone's cheering for everything that's coming out of the house. I've had enough of the cheering."

Rescue teams had halted all recovery efforts on Saturday when the site became too unstable.

Two neighbouring houses have been evacuated and could also be condemned.

Florida is highly prone to sinkholes because there are caverns below ground of limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water.

A new smaller sinkhole opens up in Seffner. Pic: WTSP-TV

A second hole was reported about three miles away from the Bush family's home on Monday but aside from a piece of fence, there was no serious damage and nobody was hurt.

It is the loss of life that makes the Seffner case so highly unusual and tragic.

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Lamb Of God's Blythe Cleared Over Fan's Death

The frontman of US heavy metal band Lamb of God has been cleared of causing a teenage fan's death at a concert in the Czech Republic.

Randy Blythe was charged last December in Prague with causing bodily harm to another person with lethal consequences.

He was accused of pushing the 19-year-old man from the stage during a 2010 concert at the city's Abaton club.

The man fell into a coma and later died of a head injury.

Randy Blythe cools off during a gig in Sydney last year

The 41-year-old singer had pleaded not guilty. His manager said they would fight the charges vigorously.

The court spokeswoman, Marketa Puci, confirmed Tuesday's ruling by Prague's Municipal Court.

The state prosecutors, who had demanded a five-year prison term for Blythe, have appealed the verdict.

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Greece Corruption: Ex-Defence Minister Jailed

By Anthee Carassava, In Athens

A former defence minister has been jailed for eight years by a Greek court for lying on his income statements and concealing a lavish lifestyle.

The conviction of Akis Tzohatzopoulos marks the second ruling against a Greek politician in as many weeks as part of what government officials call a "crusade" to stamp out decades of corruption and cronyism.

Once a powerful socialist politician who came within reach of becoming prime minister in the 1990s, Tzohatzopoulos will serve his sentence in Korydallos - the country's maximum-security prison.

He was also fined 520,000 euros (£447,000) for failing to declare a neo-classical mansion on the foot of the Acropolis when he purchased it in 2009.

Within hours of the ruling, the townhouse was seized by the state and the politician stripped of his voting rights for four years.

Deemed by authorities to be a flight risk, the 73-year-old has been jailed since April pending trial as prosecutors probed a series of allegations linked to fraudulent wealth he acquired while serving in key government posts in the 1990s.

He faces a separate criminal trial in May for allegedly accepting and then laundering 8m euros (£6.8m) in kickbacks in a scandal-marred defence deal which has Greece paying billions for faulty submarines.

Denying wrongdoing, Tsohatzopoulos claimed he was the victim of a political ploy outside the Athens courtroom.

He said: "Unfortunately not only was democracy not served but it was covered up, as the truth and reality.

"This leads to legal failure."

The case, which has captivated Greek people who blame much of the country's financial mess on feckless and corrupt politicians, comes weeks after another court sentenced former Thessaloniki mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos to life imprisonment for embezzling millions of euros from the state coffers.

The convictions could bode badly for another politician, former finance minister George Papaconstantinou, who is accused of removing the names of his relatives from a list of alleged tax evaders.

A congressional committee has until March 29 to issue its findings, expected to be the most damning against a high-profile politician in decades.

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Japan: Family Killed As Car Is Buried In Snow

Four members of a family have been killed after their car was buried in a snowstorm in the main northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Four other deaths linked to the weekend's snowfall have been reported.

Kazuyo Miyashita and her three children died at a hospital on Saturday night of carbon-monoxide poisoning after their vehicle got buried in the snow.

Her daughters were 17 and 14, and her son was 11.

The snowstorm hit during the weekend, burying vehicles

Separately, a 23-year-old woman froze to death after leaving her car, which was stuck in the snow.

The Kyodo news service said a 53-year-old man had died after getting buried in the snow, although his nine-year-old daughter found with him was recovering.

Two other men collapsed in the snow in another part of Hokkaido and were confirmed dead.

Several vehicles were stranded and buried under snow in the island in northern Japan.

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India: Twelve Children Die In School Bus Crash

At least 12 children have been killed after their school bus collided with a truck carrying bricks in northern India.

The crash, which also killed the driver, happened on the outskirts of Jalandhar, a city nearly 250 miles (400km) north of the capital Delhi.

Police officer Harmeet Singh said seven children died at the scene and another five died from their injuries in hospital.

It has been reported the impact of the accident was so bad the roof of the minibus was torn off and the vehicle was virtually reduced to a heap of metal.

The truck was also very badly damaged

Police are looking for the truck driver, who fled after the accident.

India has the world's deadliest roads, with more than 110,000 people killed every year. Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and ageing vehicles.

The children's bags and shoes near the scene

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Pope Photo Burnt: Church Launches Probe

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Church chiefs have launched an investigation after an Italian priest set fire to a photograph of former Pope Benedict XVI in front of dozens of stunned worshippers.

Father Andrea Maggi, 67, ignited the picture during a sermon, saying that Benedict had "abandoned" the Catholic Church.

He then went on to compare him to Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino, who has been accused of fleeing his post and leaving passengers on the stranded cruise ship.

Father Andrea, a priest for more than 40 years, told the packed service at Santo Stefano church in Castelvittorio near Imperia: "I'm doing this because he has not been a Pope, he has abandoned us. A shepherd never leaves his flock."

Parishioners including children, looked on amazed as the picture of Benedict, who resigned last week after eight years as Pontiff was enveloped in flames before the priest let it drop to the ground and burn itself out.

Father Andrea is unrepentant, and said: "I'd said that I would burn his picture the day he left and that's what I did. I'm glad what I did has caused such an outcry - I don't have maize in my head. We are not in a communist state.

"I'm not interested in his reasons for leaving. The job of Pope is for life. He should not have left. He's behaved just like (Francesco) Schettino. Where is the proof of his faith?

"The Pope said this was the year of faith and he then leaves his post as head of the church."

Bishop Alberto Maria Careggio, of the diocese, said: "This was an abominable action. I'm mortified by the actions of Father Andrea who in the past has always been a very generous and sensible priest. I'm arranging a meeting with him as soon as possible."

Benedict said he made the shock decision - the first time a Pope has resigned in 600 years - because he "felt tired".

However by stepping down he has angered many Catholics and some senior Church chiefs as the job is for life.

The priest compared Pope Benedict to Captain Francesco Schettino

Locals in his parish, which nestles in a picturesque medieval hilltop village, have described him as "very strict and ultra orthodox".

Before the incident Father Maggi, who has been a priest there for five years, had been complaining bitterly about Benedict's decision.

Gianstefano Orengo, mayor of Castel Vittorio, who witnessed the incident, said: "Certainly everyone knew Father Andrea was upset and angry at Benedict's announcement.

"It was a shocking thing to see. I know it may be a difficult time for him but it was still a serious thing to do."

He pulled out a picture of the Pope and then used a nearby candle to ignite it as he started his sermon.

"It lasted a minute or so and he then said Benedict had acted in a similar fashion to (Francesco) Schettino who left his post when the Costa Concordia struck rocks and with passengers still needed to be saved.

"People were shocked and started complaining and several including myself left the service.  There was no justification at all for it even if there are mitigating circumstances."

Meanwhile cardinals in Rome have begun their discussions ahead of setting a date for the start of the conclave which will elect the next Pope, with the selection process expected to begin in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel next week.

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Al Qaeda Casts Doubt On Mr Marlboro's 'Death'

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Al Qaeda in west Africa has reportedly cast doubt on whether one of the world's most wanted men is dead.

Soldiers from Chad fighting Islamists in Mali had claimed to have killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar – said to be the mastermind behind the recent Algerian hostage crisis.

But a member of Aqim (al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) told a private Mauritanian news agency it denied claims he had been killed, saying Belmokhtar "is in the Gao region, waging the fight against the enemy".

The spokesman usually writes for jihadist websites, which are often recognised as official mouthpieces of al Qaeda.

Added to this Edouard Guillaud, the head of France's joint chiefs of staff, said he was "extremely cautious" about reports of Belmokhtar's death.

Belmokhtar, nicknamed Mr Marlboro because of his involvement in cigarette smuggling, was born in Algeria in 1972 and claimed he gained combat experience in Afghanistan before returning to his home nation.

The one-eyed gangster had also been dubbed "The Uncatchable" by French intelligence after being linked to a series of kidnappings of foreigners in north Africa over the past decade.

Malian troops in Gao

One of the world's most wanted terrorists, he had claimed responsibility for the strike on the In Amenas gas plant in which more than 60 people were killed after troops stormed the complex on January 19.

In a statement read out on Chadian television, armed forces spokesman General Zacharia Gobongue said: "Chadian armed forces operating in northern Mali completely destroyed a terrorist base … The toll included several dead terrorists, including their leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar."

But Edouard Guillaud said al Qaeda's senior field commander in the Sahara Abdelhamid Abou Zeid had 'probably' been killed in Mali. 

He said: "It is probable but only probable. We don't have any certainty for the moment but it would be good news."

Mr Guillaud said that Abou Zeid's death could not be confirmed because his body had not been recovered.

Abou Zeid is regarded as one of Aqim's most ruthless operators responsible for the kidnapping of more than 20 Western hostages since 2008.

He is believed to have killed the British hostage Edwin Dyer in 2009 and 78-year-old Frenchman Michael Germaneau in 2010.

After a seven-week campaign French, Chadian and Malian troops have pushed back al Qaeda-linked fighters who had threatened to take control of Mali back to their mountain and desert hideouts.

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Baby Born After New York Hit-And-Run Dies

A baby delivered by doctors after his parents were killed in a hit-and-run car crash in New York has died, a community spokesman has confirmed.

Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, died in the crash in Brooklyn but their baby initially survived after doctors performed an emergency caesarean section on the mother.

However, Isaac Abraham, a spokesman for the family's Orthodox Jewish community, said the child died on Monday morning.

Police are searching for the driver and passenger of a BMW who fled the scene on foot.

"This guy's a coward and he should pay his price," said Mr Abraham, adding that the community wants a murder prosecution.

The registered owner of the BMW, who was not in the car at the time of the crash, has been charged with insurance fraud.

Raizy and Nachman Glauber pictured on their wedding day

Many of the Glaubers' fellow Orthodox Jews attended the couple's funeral, which was held hours after their deaths. Jewish law calls for the burial of the dead as soon as possible.

Mr Glauber was described as "the sweetest, most charming human being, always with a smile on his face".

His cousin, Sara Glauber, added of the couple: "If one had to go, the other had to go too because they really were one soul."

The hit-and-run happened in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn, as the couple made their way to a local hospital in a cab.

Mrs Glauber, who was seven months pregnant, was sitting in the back of the car. Her body was thrown from the vehicle and landed under a parked lorry, according to witnesses.

Her husband was trapped in the vehicle and emergency workers had to cut the roof off to free him from the wreckage.

The cab driver was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.

Hundreds attended the couple's funerals on Sunday

The Glaubers were married about a year ago and had started a life together in Williamsburg, relatives said. He was studying at a rabbinical college nearby.

At their funeral, men in black hats gathered around the coffins in the middle of the street, while women in bright headscarves stood on the pavement, in accordance with the Orthodox Jewish tradition of separating the sexes at religious services.

A man could be heard sobbing as he spoke through a loudspeaker, while Yitzchok Silberstein, Mrs Glauber's father, said: "I will never forget you, my daughter."

Brooklyn is home to the largest community of ultra-Orthodox Jews outside Israel, with more than 250,000 living in the New York borough.

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Mokhtar Belmokhtar: Gas Terror Chief 'Killed'

Belmokhtar: Profile Of Mr Marlboro

Updated: 12:54am UK, Sunday 03 March 2013

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent

He was known as Mr Marlboro because of his cigarette smuggling. The French intelligence service called him "The Uncatchable".

Born in central Algeria in 1972, Mokhtar Belmokhtar grew obsessed with Jihadi ideology in his teens. At 19 he volunteered to fight alongside the mujahedeen in Afghanistan.

He missed most of the fighting there as the Soviets withdrew as he arrived but he did encounter senior members of what was to become al Qaeda - receiving training in a Jalalabad base.

In the early 1990s he returned to Algeria to join Islamic militant groups. He served them as a quartermaster - rapidly rose to dominate operations in the south of the country during the Algerian civil war.

Described by the then head of France's Territorial Surveillance Directorate (Direction de la surveillance du territoire – DST) as Algeria's link to al Qaeda, Belmokhtar maintained strong links to the movement's core in Pakistan.

But he was a vital element in the expansion of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). A franchise of the Jihadi movement AQIM was seen as the poorly performing franchise during the last decade. 

But Belmokhtar forged links with Tuareg rebels in the south Sahara from Mali to Niger and into Mauritania.

He rapidly expanded a criminal empire to fund his political and military operations from smuggling cigarettes, diamonds, drugs and people into Europe.

He further stuffed his war chest with funds from hostage taking operations. In 2003 he was implicated in the kidnapping of 32 Europeans in the Sahara.

In 2008, he took control of negotiations for the release of two Austrian hostages. And in 2009 took control of two Canadians kidnapped in Mali and released by him for allegedly £3m and freedom for several of his associates from Malian jails.

Robert Fowler was a UN special envoy in Mali when he was kidnapped and then handed on to Belmokhtar.

He described the man who has now projected himself on to the world stage from the relative obscurity of the Saharan wastes.

"He is very cold. Very business-like. I was afraid for my life all the time. I was afraid for my life when I woke up in the morning and when I went to sleep at night. He is a very serious player," Mr Fowler told ABC News in the US.

Belmokhtar's movement got a huge boost from the collapse of the Libyan regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

The Tuareg fighters he had employed from Niger, Mali and Chad, fled his service carrying with them vast stockpiles of heavy weapons and bringing many years of combat experience.

This influx of new weapons and fighters allowed for al Qaeda-related groups to capture much of northern Mali and establish closer links between groups from Mauritania to Somalia and into the Arabian Peninsula.

Some intelligence agencies believe that Belmokhtar fell out with the AQIM leader in the north of Africa, Abdulmalek Droukel.

But al Qaeda is a franchise. Its strength lies in fragmentation. A devolved series of groups are harder to infiltrate or destroy than one large organisation.

Al Qaeda expert Aaron Zelin describes this as "controlled fragmentation".

French intelligence services had been trying to kill or capture Belmokhtar for more than a decade. They believed that he had the capacity to mobilise French citizens with their roots in North Africa for terror operations inside Europe.

After France launched its war against Islamists in Mali, many of whom are connected to Belmokhtar, his organisation which calls itself "The Masked Ones", vowed to continue attacks against western targets in Africa and beyond.

Belmokhtar's attack in Algeria meant his name was heard more widely as his movement posed a strategic threat to Europe's energy supplies.

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World Cup 2022 Could Be Moved To Winter, Fifa

A senior Fifa official has admitted for the first time that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be moved to winter.

The finals were awarded by the world governing body in 2010 and are due to be held in the summer months when the temperature can reach more than 40 degrees Celsius.

European football boss Michel Platini has repeatedly said the competition needs to be held in winter, when the average is a far less intense 17 degrees.

Now Fifa's general secretary Jerome Valcke has become the first senior official to say the event could be moved if strong medical advice is received to support it.

Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said the finals could be moved

Speaking at the meeting of the International Football Association Board - which governs the laws of football - he said: "Maybe the Fifa Exco (executive committee) will say based on medical reports or whatever: 'We really have to look at playing the World Cup not in summer but in winter'."

Qatar's winning bid caused a major stir in world football with critics arguing it would be impossible to freeze football leagues for a World Cup in December or January.

However, Mr Valcke believes that the timeframe for any decision could be extended to 2015.

"I am not saying that the case is closed but what I'm saying is as long as we have not fixed the international calendar all alternatives are open," he said.

"I can tell you there is no working group within Fifa thinking and working on what it means to move the World Cup from summer to winter for the time being.

"The international calendar has been agreed for 2015 to 2018, meaning that we kept open all potential for the period 2019 to 2022. We have time."

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Assad Hits Out At UK Government In Interview

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has heavily criticised the British government, calling it "shallow and immature".

In an interview with The Sunday Times, he dismissed any suggestion that Britain could help to resolve the conflict saying: "We do not expect an arsonist to be a firefighter."

He said Britain was not trusted by many in the Middle East, saying its has been viewed as "unconstructive" in the region for centuries.

"There's no contact between Syria and Britain for a long time.

"You cannot separate the role from the credibility, and you cannot separate the credibility from the history of that country.

"To be frank, Britain has played famously in our region (an) unconstructive role in different issues, for decades, some say for centuries."

He added: "How can we expect to ask Britain to play a role while it's determined to militarise the problem?

"How can you ask them to play a role in making the situation better, more stable, how can we expect them to make the violence less when they want to send the military supply to the terrorist?

"I think they are working against us, and they are working against the interests of the UK itself.

"This Government is acting in a naïve, confused, and unrealistic manner. If they want to play a role they have to change this, they have to act in a more reasonable and responsible way."

But Foreign Secretary William Hague said the interview was "one of the most delusional" by a modern leader.

"This is a man presiding over this slaughter, and the message to him is that we, Britain, are the people sending food and shelter and blankets to the people driven from their homes and families in his name.

"We are the people sending medical supplies to try to look after people injured and abused by the soldiers working for this man, President Assad.

"And Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN envoy, who's a soft-spoken diplomat, said this week that Assad thinks and is told by his inner circle, that all this is an international conspiracy, not the actual rebellion and revolt of his own people.

"So I think this will go down as one of the most delusional interviews that any national leader has given in modern times."

He also confirmed more direct assistance would be given to the Syrian opposition.

Earlier this week the Syrian Government said it is ready for talks with its armed opponents.

However, Syrian rebel leader Selim Idris said there could be no negotiations unless Mr Assad stepped down and leaders of the army and security forces were put on the trial.

The UN estimates that around 70,000 people have been killed since fighting began in Syria almost two years ago.

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UK Explorer: Green Campaigning Has Failed

By Tom Rayner in Ushuaia, Argentina

One of Britain's leading polar explorers has told Sky News that decades of campaign efforts to get people engaged with climate change have failed.

Robert Swan, who was the first man to walk to both the North and South poles, was speaking in Argentina on the eve of the launch of his latest expedition to Antarctica - one which he hopes will help turn the tide of public apathy towards green issues.

He said: "People are really sick and tired of seeing pictures of another glacier melting, another forest dying.

"This whole approach of the doomsday scenario is not working because people switch off and they think - 'well we can't do anything'.

"It's not working, this whole showing endless pictures saying there is a problem, I think anyone in the real world knows there's a problem, what we've got to do now is say, how can we inspire people?"

Mr Swan will be leading a group of 80 young people from 28 countries across the world to the Antarctic Peninsula.

His mission is to impress upon them the importance of maintaining the current international legal frameworks that protect the frozen continent from mining and drilling for energy resources.

Mr Swan hopes the expedition members will take plans of action back to their own countries after seeing Antarctica for themselves.

"We've got 80 people coming together to get a really good story that they can take back with them. They can go to Antarctica, come back, and then inspire people with ideas about change and solutions, not doomsday scenarios."

Made up of high-flyers from industry, business, banking, politics, NGOs and education, the expedition is comprised of young people from across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa and America.

Some have had travel paid for by their companies or organisations, others have personally raised money through private sponsorship to pay for a place on the expedition.

The group, described as 'decision-makers of the future', will travel from the most southerly city in the world, the Argentinian port of Ushuaia, across the notoriously stormy sea channel known as Drake's passage, and then finally onwards to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Mr Swan's campaign is known as 2041 - a reference to the year when the international community could begin to re-evaluate the international treaty and environmental protocols which currently ban all exploitation of Antarctica's natural resources.

The continent, which is governed by an international treaty and not owned by any one state, is known to have significant reserves of minerals such as iron ore and coal, and scientists believe there are likely to be oil and natural gas reserves too, although they have not yet been identified.

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Porn: Mayor Pulls Plug On X-Rated Web Surfing

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

A fed-up Italian mayor has pulled the plug on the internet in council offices after discovering employees spent the working day trawling porn sites.

Narcisio Buffoni, 60, was furious when he discovered that several of his staff were using their work stations to watch the hardcore websites, some for as long as six hours a day.

Mr Buffoni of Montignoso, near Massa Carrara, has now ordered that all computers have web access denied, with connections limited to the council's internal system only.

Mr Buffoni said: "All I am prepared to say is that there has been an improper use of the internet within the council offices - that's why there is no access to the web.

"I am not prepared to go into the details of what the sites visited were, other than to say they were not work related and not ethical. It was restricted to a limited amount of staff, not all 74 employees.''

According to reports in the Italian media some of the employees would clock on at 8am and then spend as long as six hours surfing pornographic websites, only stopping when the town hall building closed for lunch.

As the wi-fi was also non-encrypted and had no password, locals would also gather outside the building to log on and surf the web.

Mr Buffoni, who has been in office for two years, has decided that he will take no disciplinary action against the council employees involved.

The case does no favours for the traditional view of many of Italian local government employees who have long had a reputation for laziness and being work shy - with numerous attempts by central government in Rome to try and clean up their act.

In 2008 the then public administration minister Renato Brunetta launched a clampdown which claimed to have halved the number of sick days claimed by public employees by 50%, although the initiative is said to only have had a short-term effect.

Among incidents uncovered at the time were a council worker who punched his time-card, then went boar hunting - only to get found out when he got shot in the leg and had to be rushed to hospital.

Another who went on sick leave was actually discovered to have been on a long vacation in Kenya, claiming that the sun would help speed up her recovery from a sprained back.

More recently the mayor of the southern Italian town of Bari took to exposing lazy employees by posting pictures of them on his Facebook site below the question: "Why are these people not working?"

But the slacking is not just limited to Italians - an investigation at the Vatican once revealed how dozens of civil employees there would also clock in and then leave to go out shopping or spend the day with friends and families when they should have been at their desks.

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