South Korea Rejects North's 'Bland' Message

South Korea has dismissed as "bland" a New Year message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in which he urged a lessening of tensions between the two countries.

In the first televised New Year's Day message by a North Korean leader in 19 years, Kim stressed the importance of improving his impoverished country's economy and improving relations between the two Koreas, which are technically still at war.

"An important issue in putting an end to the division of the country and achieving its reunification is to remove confrontation between the North and the South," he said.

"The past records of inter-Korean relations show that confrontation between fellow countrymen leads to nothing but war," he added.

As far as the North Korean economy was concerned, the country's leader said the people should look to the way they had handled their efforts in space to tackle their economic problems.

"The industrial revolution in the new century is, in essence, a scientific and technological revolution, and breaking through the cutting edge is a shortcut to the building of an economic giant," he said.

South Korea's unification minister Yu Woo-ik remains sceptical

"Let us bring about a radical turn in the building of an economic giant with the same spirit and mettle as were displayed in conquering space," he said.

But the South Koreans were not impressed. "The message was bland and there were no ground-breaking proposals," unification minister Yu Woo-ik told reporters.

Mr Yu said Kim's remarks may have been aimed at new or transitional leaderships in China, Japan and South Korea, and Seoul had good historical reasons for treating peace overtures warily.

Efforts to engage Pyongyang with "good intentions" in the past had made little progress, he said.

South Korean president-elect Park Geun-hye, who will take office in February, has signalled a desire for greater engagement with the North.

Commentators say Kim is trying to follow the path of his grandfather, Kim il-sung, who routinely addressed his people on New Year's Day and left them with fond memories

By contrast his father, Kim Jong-il, did not give a single TV address during his 17-year rule.

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Indian Gang Rapists 'Tried To Run Over Victim'

A gang of rapists who assaulted and murdered a woman on a bus in New Delhi tried to run her over afterwards, according to reports.

The woman's boyfriend, who was beaten up and thrown off the bus after she had been repeatedly raped, managed to pull her to safety just in time, police will allege in court on Thursday.

The claims have been made by newspapers in India which say they have seen extracts of the 1,000-page charge sheet.

The 23-year-old medical student, whose ordeal triggered widespread protests about sex crime in India, bit three of her attackers as she attempted to fight them off, the papers claim.

The suspects' injuries, forensic evidence including blood, semen and hair samples and the testimony of the injured boyfriend are expected to form the main evidence against the accused.

Five men have been arrested and will formally face murder and rape charges on Thursday in a fast-track court set up to try them.

Indian holy women perform a prayer ritual in memory of a gang rape victim

A sixth suspect is aged 17 and is expected to be tried in a court for juveniles.

"The woman and her friend were stripped and thrown out of the bus," The Indian Express reported. "Her friend pulled her away when he saw the bus reversing to run her over."

The Times of India newspaper said one of the charges against the accused relates to the destruction of evidence, since the driver had tried to wash the bus and burned the clothes that were snatched from the victim.

The woman died at the weekend after a 13-day struggle to keep her alive in which she underwent three major operations and suffered a cardiac arrest.

Lawyers have refused to defend the men accused of the attack.

Displays and tributes to the victim are still in place across Delhi

"We have decided that no lawyer will stand up to defend the rape accused as it would be immoral to defend the case," said Sanjay Kumar, a lawyer and a member of the Saket District Bar Council.

Mr Kumar said the 2,500 advocates registered at the court have decided to "stay away" to ensure "speedy justice", meaning the government would have to appoint lawyers for the defendants.

In 2008, Indian lawyers also refused to defend a gunman who took part in attacks on Mumbai which killed 166 people, leaving him with a government-appointed lawyer. He was executed in November last year.

Meanwhile, India's top court says it will decide whether to suspend politicians facing sexual assault charges.

The move came as thousands of women gathered at the Ghandi memorial to demand stronger protection from attackers.

Chief Justice Altamas Kabir agreed to hear a petition from retired government administrator Promilla Shanker asking the Supreme Court to suspend those sitting on national and state legislatures who face prosecution for crimes against women.

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Angola Stampede: 16 Killed At New Year Vigil

At least 16 people, including four children, have been killed in a stampede during a religious gathering at a stadium in the Angolan capital.

Angop, the Angolan news agency, cited officials as saying that 120 people were hurt in the crush in the southern African nation's capital, Luanda.

It came as Ivory Coast, in western Africa, began three days of national mourning after a stampede among crowds gathered for New Year's Eve fireworks left at least 60 people dead and hundreds injured.

The deadly crush in Angola also happened on New Year's Eve, when panic spread amongst the tens of thousands of people gathered at the stadium for the evangelical vigil.

One of the young children hurt in the crush in Luanda

Paulo Gaspar de Almeida, deputy commander-general of the Angolan police, said the victims were killed "due to asphyxia, shoving and trampling of faithful at the entrance of Cidadela stadium".

The event was organised by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an evangelical group founded in Brazil in 1977.

"We were expecting 70,000 people but far more turned up," Ferner Batalha, a bishop of the church, was quoted as saying.

The Ivory Coast government said 60 people had died in the crush in Abidjan and the average age of those killed was 18.

Earlier, the head of military rescue workers, Lieutenant Colonel Issa Sako, told journalists that 61 had died.

Witnesses said the stampede had broken out after the fireworks ended, though the cause remained unclear.

Abandoned shoes and clothing after the Ivory Coast crush

It erupted near the stadium's main entrance, where security had set up tree trunks as crowd control barriers.

Two survivors, who were in hospital, said some barricades that were set up unofficially created the crush.

They said that after the fireworks display people were prevented from moving along the Boulevard de la Republic by the wooden barricades.

According to a police source, the crush occurred when two streams of spectators going in opposite directions crossed paths.

Lieutenant Colonel Sako said the flow of people at the stadium had caused a "very large crush" and that "in the crush, people were walked over and suffocated by the crowd".

The Ivory Coast has started three days of mourning

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has ordered an immediate investigation into the causes of the stampede.

He said the government would open a crisis centre to help families find missing people and to take testimony from witnesses.

After the crush, piles of abandoned shoes and clothing were scattered near the stadium, where around 50,000 people had gathered for the fireworks.

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Uganda Gay Play: Producer David Cecil Freed

A Ugandan court has dropped charges against a British theatre producer accused of staging a play about gay people.

David Cecil, 34, had faced up to two years in prison on charges of "disobeying lawful orders" as the work was staged without proper authorisation.

Mr Cecil was arrested in September and briefly jailed but had since been granted bail.

His lawyer John Francis Onyango said that no evidence had been submitted to the court so his client was now free.

"The case was dismissed and David was given back his passport," Mr Onyango said.

"The prosecutor has not presented any evidence and failed to sustain the case."

A petition to drop the case against Mr Cecil was signed by more than 2,500 people including British celebrities Stephen Fry, Sandi Toksvig and Simon Callow.

The River and The Mountain was performed at several venues around Kampala in August despite an injunction by Uganda's government-run media council.

The play was directed and performed by Ugandans

The ground-breaking play examined the plight of a man coming out as a homosexual and the motivations of Uganda's vociferous anti-gay lobby.

Written by British playwright Beau Hopkins, it was directed and performed by Ugandans.

Homosexuality is a crime in Uganda and can lead to up to 14 years in prison. Proposed legislation currently before parliament would see the death penalty imposed for certain homosexual acts.

Although legislators have said the bill could be changed, in its current form, anyone caught engaging in homosexual acts for the second time, or engaging in gay sex where one partner is a minor or has HIV, would be sentenced to death.

Uganda is a deeply conservative society with many government figures, religious leaders and the tabloid press engaging in routine insults of gay people and claiming that homosexuality is a western import.

Several countries are considering withholding aid to Uganda if the bill becomes law.

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Thailand Killing: Victim's Family Speak Out

The family of Stephen Ashton, who was shot dead at a New Year's Eve party in Thailand, have said they are "completely devastated by the loss of Stephen from our lives".

The suspect has been seen with police at the beach bar

He was an innocent bystander simply enjoying New Year celebrations, they said.

Mr Ashton, 22, from Purley, South London, was caught in the crossfire during a fight between rival gangs.

He is said to have been killed by a stray bullet as he danced with friends at a beach bar on the paradise island of Koh Phangan.

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

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

The suspect has reportedly confessed to killing the Briton.

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

Mr Ashton's family have travelled to Thailand and were on the way to Koh Phangan to identify his body formally and make arrangements for his repatriation.

British ambassador to Thailand, Mark Kent, is expected to visit the scene 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."

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 when he was shot by a home-made gun at Haad Rin beach shortly after 4am on Tuesday.

Koh Phangan is in the south of Thailand

In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, the family said: "As a family we are completely devastated by the loss of Stephen from our lives.

"He has been taken away from us in such cruel and tragic circumstances in which he was an innocent bystander simply enjoying New Year celebrations.

"We are comforted in the thought that he was having a fantastic time with friends after such a difficult period following the loss of his much loved dad who passed away from a brain tumour in 2011 and the loss of his granddad a few months earlier.

Friends paid tribute to Mr Ashton (Photo: Facebook)

"We were all so proud of him; he was a much loved son, brother, grandson and nephew.

"He will be truly missed by his family but also by the many friends he made during his life. We cannot comprehend how someone can carry out such a reckless act, giving such little value to human life.

"We ask that our privacy be respected to allow us to grieve."

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."

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US: Paparazzo Killed Taking Pics Of Bieber's Car

Pop star Justin Bieber has called for new laws to protect people from the paparazzi after a photographer was killed taking pictures of his sports car.

The 18-year-old's white Ferrari attracted the attention of an unnamed paparazzo when it pulled up on the side of a street in Los Angeles.

The photographer was struck by another vehicle as he crossed Sepulveda Boulevard, close to Getty Centre Drive.

He died in hospital soon after.

Police cordon off the Los Angeles road on which the paparazzo was killed

In a statement, Mr Bieber, whose hits include Baby and Boyfriend, said: "While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim.

"Hopefully this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders and the photographers themselves."

A friend of Mr Bieber was driving the car when it was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said no charges are likely to be filed against the driver, who struck the photographer as he was returning to his car.

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Prince Harry: Afghan Warlord's Claims 'Absurd'

The Ministry of Defence has rejected claims by a warlord that Prince Harry "kills innocent Afghans while he is drunk" as "simply absurd".

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister who leads the militant group Hizb-i-Islami, also claimed that foreign forces in the country have failed.

He told the Daily Telegraph that Prince Harry, who has been serving in Afghanistan since September as an Apache helicopter co-pilot, was a "jackal" who was drunk on duty.

"The British prince comes to Afghanistan to kill innocent Afghans while he is drunk," said Hekmatyar, who has been in hiding since the mid-1990s.

"He wants to hunt down Mujahideen with his helicopter's rockets, without any shame.

"During the Mujahideen's attack on the American base the prince saw that he was the one about to be hunted and was searching for a hole in which to hide himself."

Hekmatyar is considered a terrorist by the US

The Ministry of Defence said it was "simply absurd" to suggest that the third-in-line to the throne or any other member of the British armed forces was conducting operations under the influence of alcohol.

"The consumption of alcohol by UK military personnel is not permitted under any circumstances while deployed in Afghanistan," a ministry spokesman said.

A military source also dismissed Hekmatyar's comments, saying: "The idea that highly skilled and professional Apache pilots operate drunk is patently ridiculous and completely made up.

"It is nothing more than a see-through attempt to undermine the very real progress being made in Afghanistan by UK troops and their Afghan partners."

Hekmatyar founded Hizb-i-Islami, notorious for its bloody siege of Kabul in the 1990s, and is considered a terrorist by the US.

Prince Harry has been in Afghanistan since September

In the interview, Hekmatyar also accused Britain of being dragged into the war to please its American allies and said its role in the conflict would have no significance after 2014.

"Britain dragged herself into this unjustified, useless but cruel conflict to please the White House," he said.

"The British did not gain anything, instead they lost blood and treasure. They never had a positive role in Afghan affairs and they will not have any significance after 2014.

"I don't understand how the British public accept their children being sent to certain death in order to please American generals."

The interview comes just weeks after UK Prime Minister David Cameron signalled that British troops could be withdrawn from Afghanistan even faster after better-than-expected progress by the country's own security forces.

But Hekmatyar said: "The fact is that the government has failed. The authorities have lost their credibility completely. They have fallen victims to severe internal disputes and seem hopeless and worried.

"We might have a dreadful situation after 2014 which no one could have anticipated."

The Nato coalition has been fighting the Taliban insurgency for 11 years

The MoD spokesman said: "UK troops deployed and remain in Afghanistan to protect our national security by removing what was a safe haven for international terrorism.

"Now, it is Afghan forces that now have lead security responsibility for around 75% of the population in the country and lead up to 80% of conventional partnered operations.

"It is this sort of progress that has allowed almost 60% of UK bases in Helmand to be shut or handed over and will allow us to leave a stronger more secure Afghanistan when combat operations cease by the end of 2014."

Hekmatyar's Hizb-i-Islami, which means Islamic Party, has widespread national support in Afghanistan and shares some of the Afghan Taliban's anti-foreigner, anti-government aims, and wants to oust international forces.

The US State Department has listed Hekmatyar as a "terrorist" since 2003 for supporting Taliban and al Qaeda attacks.

Hekmatyar is a fierce rival of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and became a hero to many Afghans while leading mujahideen fighters against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

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Sandy Hook Prepares To Go Back To School

A temporary school for the pupils and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown is holding an open day, ahead of the start of classes on Thursday.

The former middle school building in nearby Monroe is due to welcome those who survived the December 14 massacre when gunman Adam Lanza shot dead 26 people.

Workers and teachers have been getting the space ready, painting, moving furniture and recreating classroom spaces.

The students' desks have been taken along with backpacks and other belongings that were left behind in the chaos following the shooting.

Counsellors say it is important for the children aged between five and 10 to get back to a normal routine.

Some families have already visited the site.

The classrooms are located at the former Chalk Hill School

Teachers want to try to make it as normal a school day as possible for the children, schools superintendent Janet Robinson said.

"We want to get back to teaching and learning," she said.

"All in all, we want the kids to reconnect with their friends and classroom teachers, and I think that's going to be the healthiest thing."

Julian Ford, a psychologist who helped some of the Newtown families, recommends addressing the massacre as and when the questions come up. 

"Each of the boys and girls are going to have different reactions to different aspects of the environment, different little things that will be reminders to them," he said.

Sandy Hook's home in Newtown has become a shrine to the victims

Parents might have a harder time with fear than children, Mr Ford said.

David Connors' eight-year-old triplets will be among the children restarting classes on Thursday, and he admits he is nervous.

"It's going to be a long road back," he admitted.

"I think that they need to get back into a normal routine as quickly as possible. If you're hovering over them at all times, it almost intensifies the fear for them."

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US Fiscal Cliff: Markets Rally After Late Deal

Global markets have rallied in response to a deal in the United States to avert its so-called fiscal cliff.

The market boost came after US Democrats and Republicans finally agreed a deal that will stop hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and spending cuts that risked plunging the world's biggest economy into recession.

Stocks around the world started 2013 with hefty gains as investors welcomed the vote in the House of Representatives.

London's FTSE 100 was up 2.27% at 1pm, after earlier busting through the 6,000-point mark for the first time since July 2011.

Key European markets were up over 2% while in Asia Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shot up 2.9% at the close, its highest finish since June 1, 2011.

After the opening bell in Wall Street, the Dow Jones index rose around 200 points.

The lights of the Capitol burned late into the night as the deal went on

"Investors are trading with a sense of relief after lawmakers in Washington agreed on a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff that has been the dominant theme in equity markets since the presidential elections back in November," Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor, said.

The fiscal cliff deal is likely to remain the focus of attention in financial markets, as US institutions open for trading.

Mr Obama welcomed the agreement 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."

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

Mr Obama headed to Hawaii for a break after the deal was brokered

In the end, 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted in favour of the bill, which marks a triumph for the president 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 the deal.

The fiscal cliff 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.

But longer-term fiscal problems remain and Mr Obama will likely face more battles with the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.

"Cynics will point out that another argument has been booked in for two months' time, when the debt ceiling comes up for debate, IG market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.

"And Republicans will be looking to make progress on the spending cuts that haven't featured in the New Year deal."

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Syria: Petrol Station Strike 'Kills Dozens'

Dozens of people have been killed after an air strike on a petrol station in the capital Damascus, according to opposition activists.

Mohammed Saeed, an activist who visited the site, said "tens of people were killed or wounded" in the strike, while "body parts could be seen on the ground".

Amateur video, which cannot be verified, showed block smoke billowing from the petrol station in the eastern suburb of Mleiha and casualties fleeing the scene.

Some activists said more than 30 people died in the strike, although the exact number was not confirmed.

Mr Saeed said drivers were waiting in line for fuel when the petrol station was targeted.

The blast happened in the Syrian capital, Damascus

Syria has been facing a fuel crisis and people often queue for hours to refuel.

Meanwhile, the UN said more than 60,000 people have died in the conflict in Syria since fighting began in March 2011.

Using data from seven different sources, it said the number of fatalities rose from 1,000 a month in the summer of 2011 to 5,000 a month within one year.

In the provinces of Homs and Damascus, around three-quarters of those who were killed were male.

Navi Pillay, the UN's human rights commissioner, described the number of casualties as "truly shocking" and "much higher than we expected".

"Cities, towns and villages have been, and are continuing to be, devastated by aerial attacks, shelling, tank fire, bomb attacks and street-to-street fighting," she said.

"Unless there is a quick resolution to the conflict, I fear thousands more will die or suffer terrible injuries as a result of those who harbour the obstinate belief that something can be achieved by more bloodshed, more torture and more mindless destruction."

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