Irish Nanny Charged Over Baby Death In US

An Irish nanny living illegally in America has been charged with violently assaulting a baby who later died.

Aisling McCarthy Brady, 34, from Quincy, Massachusetts, is alleged to have been the sole carer for the girl on January 14 - her first birthday - when she suffered injuries "consistent with abusive head trauma".

The baby, Rehma Sabir, died two days later in hospital after suffering brain damage.

She was also found to have multiple healing bone fractures.

Brady is currently being held on $500,000 (£316,000) bail after pleading not guilty to assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury.

However, further charges are anticipated following the conclusion of the final report by the Chief Medical Examiner, the district attorney's office said on its website.

Brady could face further charges

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said: "This is an extremely troubling case where we allege the defendant violently assaulted a one-year-old child, causing a devastating head injury and broken bones.

"Children are our most vulnerable victims and where, as here, the offender has been entrusted with the care of a child who depends on them, the allegations are all the more egregious."

A statement on the District Attorney's website said: "It is alleged that on January 14, the child was in the care of the defendant, her nanny.

"Through their investigation, including interviews with witnesses, police determined that the defendant had sole custody of and contact with the child during the time that she sustained injuries consistent with abusive head trauma."

The hospital where Rehma was treated and later died

Rehma's injuries could have happened at any time, Brady's lawyer told the Associated Press.

Immigration authorities said Brady arrived from Ireland in 2002 with a permit to stay for 90 days.

A spokeswoman for Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said: "We are aware of the case and have been in contact with the family.

"We are ready to provide any consular assistance if it is needed."

Rehma's father reportedly comes from London and her mother from Karachi, Pakistan.

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Netanyahu Claims Win In Israel Election

By Tom Rayner, Middle East News Editor

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed victory in the country's parliamentary elections, but suffered losses to new parties on the left and right.

Mr Netanyahu told his supporters he feels a great sense of responsibility to build "the broadest possible coalition" when forming a new government.

His Likud Beitenu party won the largest number of seats in the election, meaning he can retain the position of prime minister if he can persuade enough other parties to join an alliance.

Mr Netanyahu was welcomed to a victory rally in Tel Aviv with cheers and the beating of drums by the few hundred supporters who had waited for his midnight appearance.

But the Likud Beitenu party's popularity has been significantly eroded by the rise of new parties on both the left and the right.

As he took to the stage, Mr Netanyahu outlined his priorities for the next term as preventing Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, lowering the cost of living, bringing about equality in Israeli military service and striving for peace.

"There are many possible partners for this mission," he said, confirming he had already begun the process of speaking to potential coalition partners.

Exit polls broadcast by several Israeli media outlets have predicted the Likud Beitenu party will win 31 seats, well below expectations.

In a big surprise, Yair Lapid's party came in second, exit polls show

Voter turnout was particularly high throughout the day, which is likely to have benefited the centrist and leftist parties that have performed better than expected.

The centre-left Yesh Atid party, led by former TV presenter Yair Lapid, looks to have won the second largest number of seats, with exit polls estimating a haul of 19.

On the right, the hard-line Jewish Home party, led by millionaire former commando Naftali Bennett, is also likely to pick up enough seats to push for a role in a new government.

Jewish Home look set to take 12 seats, lower than the 16 that had been predicted in some opinion polls last week, but well above the position they were in just six months ago, when most counts put them at just two seats.

Naftali Bennett's party has surged in the vote

The surprise success of Yesh Atid and the strong showing by Jewish Home mean horse-trading over their prospective roles in any future coalition government will be critical to Mr Netanyahu's hopes of building an alliance of parties to give him an overall majority.

One senior Likud adviser told Reuters: "We anticipated we would lose some votes to Lapid, but not to this extent. This was a Yesh Atid sweep."

If Mr Netanyahu fails to pull Yesh Atid into a coalition then the 17 seats expected to be won by Labour, combined with seven seats likely to go to the party of former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, could form the basis of a left-wing bloc to challenge Mr Netanyahu's right to lead a government.

The negotiating process could continue for several days, and will ultimately be approved by Israel's President Shimon Peres.

Turnout among the country's 5.6 million eligible voters stood at almost 67 per cent, the highest in a decade.

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Australia: Gary The Goat Overturns Conviction

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia correspondent

An Australian court has heard the bizarre case of a goat which destroyed a flowerbed - and has found in favour of the peckish animal.

Gary the goat was accused of eating flowers outside Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art and his owner James Dezarnaulds, was fined $440 (£295) by police.

However, the comedian, also known as Jimbo Bazoobi, contested the fine.

As he delivered his version of events to the magistrate his sidekick waited nervously outside court surrounded by reporters and photographers.

Magistrate Carolyn Barkell said the accused had been eating the flowers when police arrived.

"I accept that he did eat garden plants," she said.

However, she said there was no evidence Mr Bazoobi took Gary there with the intention of vandalising vegetation.

Jimbo Bazoobi: 'Gary taught the cops a valuable lesson today'

"He may have preferred to have an ice cream," she said.

Gary's lawyer Paul McGirr told the court police had issued the wrong infringement notice because it related to a person and not a goat.

He also said it could not be proved that Mr Bazoobi put Gary up to the act.

"We can't guess what he might have been whispered in his goat ear," he said.

Mr Bazoobi tours Australia with Gary and told reporters he bought him for a case of beer last year.

Close friends: Jimbo bought Gary for a case of beer in 2012

Speaking after the verdict Mr Bazoobi said: "Gary's name has been cleared of all this slander. He was simply eating and I want to thank everyone for coming down here.

"Gary the goat taught the cops a valuable lesson today, don't bite off more than you can chew."

Mr McGirr said: "Think about the waste of taxpayers' money that has been spent on prosecuting a person because a goat is eating some grass or some vegetation.

"I've always been an advocate that all police should be out doing real police work. I'd also like to know what other police who are working hard would think about their colleague actually writing a ticket to someone whose goat is feeding."

The magistrate dismissed Mr Bazoobi's application for the Crown to pay his legal costs but cancelled his fine.

Gary was not required to give evidence and made no comment on the verdict.

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US: Top General Cleared By Misconduct Probe

The top US commander in Afghanistan has been cleared of wrongdoing over emails with a woman tied to the sex scandal that forced CIA director David Petraeus to resign.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta was informed of the conclusion by the Pentagon's inspector general.

"The secretary was pleased to learn that allegations of professional misconduct were not substantiated by the investigation," Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

He added that Mr Panetta has "complete confidence in the continued leadership" of Gen Allen.

The matter had been referred to the Pentagon in November by the FBI during the course of its investigation of emails between Gen Petraeus and his biographer-turned-lover, Paula Broadwell.

General David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell

The FBI turned up thousands of emails between Gen Allen and Jill Kelley, who served as a social ambassador for US Central Command in Tampa, Florida.

She was said to have received threatening messages from Mrs Broadwell.

At the time, officials said 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents were in question, but none were made public.

Gen Allen remained in his post as commander of all allied forces in Afghanistan during the investigation.

But his nomination to be the next US commander of NATO forces in Europe is still on hold.

Gen Allen, who has maintained he did nothing wrong, is due to leave Kabul in February.

Jill Kelley with her surgeon husband Scott Kelley

Meanwhile, Jill Kelley has been speaking out on the loss of privacy that she says made her a prisoner in her own home after she was implicated in the scandal.

 The Tampa socialite and her husband Scott Kelley recounted in The Washington Post how their lives were upended.

The Kelleys said their story is a cautionary tale of what can happen when the "careless handling" of information can "endanger citizens' privacy."

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Kunis Stalker Told To Stay Away For 10 Years

A man accused of stalking Black Swan star Mila Kunis has been ordered to stay away from her for 10 years.

Los Angeles County prosecutors say 27-year-old Stuart Dunn pleaded 'no contest' to the charge of stalking.

Spokeswoman Jane Robison said after he entered his plea Dunn was also ordered to complete six months of residential rehab.

He was also put on probation for five years.

Dunn has repeatedly been arrested in his pursuit of 29-year-old Kunis.

In February 2012 he was arrested for breaking into her home, which was empty at the time.

The authorities arrested him again in May after he waited for her outside her gym for three days.

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher at a American football match in December

Superior Court Judge George Lomeli also gave Dunn credit for the 528 days he had spent in jail.

He was also ordered to stay away from Kunis' agents, managers and assistants.

The Ukraine-born actress had previously been the victim of a man who hacked into her emails along with those of Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and a number of other women.

Christopher Chaney, 35, was jailed for 10 years in December after he pleaded guilty to offences that included wiretapping and unauthorised access to a computer.

His arrest followed an 11-month investigation - dubbed Operation Hackerazzi - into the hacking of dozens of celebrities.

Kunis has recently been linked to Two And A Half Men's Ashton Kutcher, who co-starred with her in That '70s Show.

She has two new films due out this year - The Angriest Man In Brooklyn  and The Third Person.

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Russia Crash: Baby Thrown Into Path Of Lorry

A one-year-old girl has had an amazing escape after being involved in a road smash that saw her flung in front of oncoming traffic.

The Mitsubishi car that the child was travelling in with her parents spun out of control while trying to overtake on an icy road in Russia.

The vehicle skidded backwards and crashed into traffic on the opposite side of the road, sending the little girl flying out of the window into the middle of the carriageway.

The baby, circled in red, was lying in the path of oncoming traffic

A lorry driver coming the other way spotted the child - crawling in the middle of the road - and swerved, missing her by just a few inches.

Her parents then ran from their wrecked car and picked up their baby daughter from the road - just as another lorry was coming the other way.

The child suffered cuts and bruises to her head and was taken to a nearby hospital.

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Algeria: BP 'Fears The Worst' Over Employees

BP says it fears the worst for four employees from the Algerian hostage siege crisis who are still unaccounted for.

"The gas complex is so big that we are still in the process of looking for bodies, especially those of missing foreigners," said a BP official at the sprawling plant, 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) southeast of Algiers.

BP chief executive Bob Dudley warned that there could be little hope for the four missing employees.

"We have been gravely concerned for these colleagues and feared one or more fatalities among their number," he said.

"It is with great sadness that I now have to say that we fear the worst for them all."

A fourth British victim of the siege has been named as Sebastian John.

"Sebastian was the most amazing person. He was a fantastic husband, father, son and brother.There won't be a moment that goes by where we won't think of him," his wife, Nicola, said in a statement.

Sebastian John is among those known to have died

"We are so proud of Sebastian for all he achieved in his life. He was taken away from us too early and in the most tragic circumstances."

Another Briton reported to died in the siege is Carson Bilsland, from Perthshire.

He had reportedly worked in Algeria for around two years as a testing technician and was a former member of the British speed ski team.

Algerian authorities are still searching for five missing foreigners, and trying to identify seven charred bodies.

The British oil giant, one of three companies running the desert gas plant at In Amenas, is holding a minute's silence at offices around the world for the victims of the four-day standoff with Islamist terrorists.

The Algerian government has said 37 foreigners of eight different nationalities and an Algerian were killed by the hostage-takers in the siege. The terrorists were demanding the release of Islamist prisoners and an end to France's intervention in Mali.

The plant, a vital part of Algeria's money-spinning natural-gas industry, is being brought back on stream but questions remain about the Algerian government's handling of the crisis and the shockingly high body count.

First pictures emerged of the hostage crisis after the weekend

Canada's government hauled in the Algerian ambassador to demand proof of official claims in Algiers that two Canadians were among the 29 militants killed by security forces, who brought the standoff to a bloody end on Saturday.

The governments of Japan and Malaysia both expressed frustration at a lack of information about the fate of their nationals and pressed for more clarity from Algiers, as the repatriation of victims' bodies and survivors continued.

The Japanese public have been traumatised at the loss of at least seven nationals in the attack, the country's biggest loss of life at the hands of militants since 9/11, and the government is unable to account for three others.

The Algeria tragedy touched many countries. Six Filipino hostages are known to have died, along with three Americans, three Britons and at least seven Japanese. It was also Japan's biggest loss of life through terrorism since 9/11.

The government has said special forces had managed to free 685 Algerian and 107 foreign hostages, most of them on Thursday, during the first rescue operation.

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Huge Boulder Falls Onto House In Utah

A massive boulder has crashed into a house in southern Utah in the middle of the night, almost crushing to death a woman sleeping inside.

Wanda Denhalter was sleeping alone in the early hours of Saturday when the 12ft by 9ft rock came barrelling through the wall of her bedroom in St George.

The 63-year-old suffered a broken jaw, cracked sternum and a major gash in her leg.

She needed four hours of emergency surgery and was left in great pain - but is expected to make a full recovery and is just grateful to be alive.

Her husband, 62-year-old Scot Denhalter, said the boulder broke off from a cliff above their rented home.

He was away at his son's house at the time but has said his wife would have been killed if he had been occupying his usual spot in the bed.

"Had I been there, she would have been killed," Mr Denhalter said. "She would have been on her side of the bed."

Rockfalls are common in the area but rarely do much damage

The rock had dropped about 40ft after breaking off and then hit a slope leading to the house.

It bounced down and broke in two before ending up in the corner of the bedroom.

St George city spokesman Marc Mortensen said it is not uncommon for rocks and boulders to roll down the many hills in the area, but it is rare for them to hit homes.

"It's a rare occurrence. It was an act of nature," he said.

"Rain, wind, snow and frost all play a factor in the soil composition on hillsides. They are constantly shifting to some degree."

But that is cold comfort to the Denhalters who have decided they will not be returning to live at the house.

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Manti Te'o Admits Lying Briefly About Hoax

Manti Te'o has admitted he briefly lied after discovering his online girlfriend did not exist and was part of an elaborate hoax.

In an interview with ABC News, the Notre Dame linebacker insisted he had told the truth up until December when he realised he had been duped into believing the woman, Lennay Kekua, had died of cancer.

"I, my whole world told me that she died on September 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died on September 12," Te'o said.

"Now I get a phone call on December 6, saying that she's alive and then I'm going on national TV two days later. And asked about the same question. You know, what would you do?" he asked.

The linebacker maintains he had no part in creating the hoax

Te'o said he had been tricked by three people - who have now admitted they were behind the deception and have apologised.

However he has previously acknowledged he misled his family and the public about the exact nature of his supposed relationship with Ms Kekua - simply to hide his own embarrassment.

He talked about his doomed love in a web interview on December 8 and again in a newspaper interview published on December 10.

The death had been part of a dramatic series of events as Manti Te'o led his Notre Dame team to the national championship game.

Before a game last year, word spread that Te'o had lost his grandmother and girlfriend within hours of each other. His inspired play afterwards became a stirring storyline.

Te'o publicly referred to Ms Lennay as his girlfriend several times

Te'o's father defended his son in the ABC interview against allegations that the star used the situation for personal gain.

"People can speculate about what they think he is. I've known him 21 years of his life. And he's not a liar. He's a kid," Brian Te'o said with tears in his eyes.

On Tuesday, the woman whose photo was used as the face of the Twitter account of the supposed girlfriend said the man allegedly behind the hoax confessed to her.

Diane O'Meara told NBC that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating the fake identity.

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Larry Hagman's JR Ewing To Get Dallas Send Off

In a fitting farewell to one of soap's greatest characters, JR Ewing is set to be killed off in a whodunnit plot worthy of the 1980 Dallas cliffhanger Who Shot JR?

The unexpected death of actor Larry Hagman on November 23 left the producers of the next generation Dallas with a dilemma about how to write his character out.

Hagman had filmed five episodes of season two when he died, leaving executive producer Cynthia Cidre with the task of finding a fitting end for the ruthless Texas oilman he played.

The character's funeral will be shown in March in episode eight of the series, which begins on the US TNT channel on Monday. It will air on Channel 5 in the UK later this year.

The show's writing staff, headed by Ms Cidre, have reworked the second half of the season in the light of 81-year-old Hagman's death.

The result is a multi-episode Who Killed JR? mystery that Ms Cidre hopes will rival the wildly popular Who Shot JR? storyline.

"We all felt having JR die of natural causes would have been completely inappropriate, not only to the character, but also to Larry Hagman," Ms Cidre told the US magazine TV Guide.

Larry Hagman, top row, with fellow cast members from the original Dallas

She received the go-ahead for the plotline from JR's screen brother Patrick Duffy, who plays Bobby, as well as Hagman's son, Preston.

Ms Cidre told Entertainment Weekly: "It will be funny and appropriate to JR, but it will also be sad because his family loved him, as do the fans."

She said writing the plotline was an emotional experience, adding: "I never cried when I was writing but the next day I started to type, and I started crying so hard I couldn't even see the computer screen."

Two months after Hagman's death, cast members past and present assembled at the swanky Petroleum Club in Dallas to shoot an epic, drama-filled funeral for JR.

Among the mourners were Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval), Gary and Lucy Ewing (Ted Shackelford and Charlene Tilton), Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly), Mandy Winger (Deborah Shelton) and Cally Harper Ewing (Cathy Podewell).

It is also rumoured that Victoria Principal, Bobby's first wife Pam, will be at the funeral.

Hagman died in a Dallas hospital following complications from his long battle with cancer.

He had suffered from liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver in the 1990s after decades of drinking. He had a liver transplant in 1995.

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