Bradley Wiggins Knighted In New Year Honours

By Ian Woods, Senior News Correspondent

Britain's gold rush during the London Olympic and Paralympic Games has led to 78 athletes and coaches being named in the New Year Honours List.

Among the top honours are knighthoods for cyclist Bradley Wiggins and yachtsman Ben Ainslie, while Paralympic cyclist Sarah Storey becomes a Dame.

Dave Brailsford and David Tanner, the Performance Directors who have ensured that Britain now leads the world in cycling and rowing are also rewarded with knighthoods.

Every British athlete who won a gold medal in the Olympics or Paralympics is included in the list unless they have already been honoured in the past.

Heptathlete and face of London 2012 Jessica Ennis is awarded a CBE

So Sir Chris Hoy, who was knighted after the Beijing Games, is omitted from the list despite adding two more gold medals to his career tally of six.

Somali-born middle-distance runner Mo Farah becomes a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his stunning double gold medal performances in the 5,000m and 10,000m.

He joins four other competitors who become CBEs having previously collected the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) - rower Katherine Grainger, cyclist Victoria Pendleton, heptathlete Jessica Ennis and wheelchair athlete David Weir.

David Weir was also given a CBE after winning four gold medals in London

Sir Bradley admitted to having mixed feelings about receiving a knighthood. Born in Kilburn, he is now almost as famous for his sideburns and Mod image as his cycling exploits.

This was the year he became the first Briton to win the Tour De France, and he also won the Olympic Time Trial title and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

He told Sky News: "It's an incredible honour and it's an incredible thing to have. It's still not something that sits incredibly easily with me, I don't think it's something I'm going to use in daily life.

"(It's) an amazing thing to have in the drawer for my wife my kids and my family. It's topped the year off really."

Dame Sarah Storey first won Paralympic gold as a swimmer, and achieved even greater success when she switched to cycling.

A birth defect means she does not have a left hand, but she also competes against able-bodied cyclists and was pushing for a place in the Olympic squad.

Ben Ainslie was also knighted after winning four gold medals

"I really hope that everybody who's been connected to what I've done feels a part of what has happened," she told Sky News.

"To be honoured in this way - the top gong as you might say - you never even imagine or dream of it. It's just beyond your wildest dreams."

Her boss, Dave Brailsford, becomes Sir Dave after overseeing not just the Olympic triumphs, but the rise of Team Sky as a professional road racing team. Like Sir Bradley he is struggling to adjust to the adulation.

He said: "[It feels] very strange. On the one hand you feel proud and honoured, on the other hand it feels quite humbling really.

Swimmer Ellie Simmonds gets an OBE, while Sarah Storey becomes a dame

"It's a recognition for everything that's happened in cycling over a period of time. I'm the lucky one who gets recognised."

Jessica Ennis CBE told Sky News: "It sounds very surreal. It's such an honour.

"When you get involved in sport, and when I started, it certainly wasn't something that I ever thought of, so to now be in this position at 26 and be receiving a CBE is such an honour."

Cyclists Jason Kenny and his girlfriend Laura Trott end 2012 sharing four gold medals and two OBEs (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).

Andy Murray gets one not just for his Olympic victory, but also for winning the US Open.

Andy Murray caps his Olympic gold and US Open title with an OBE

Olympic rower Katherine Grainger, double equestrian gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin and paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds and paralympic horsewoman Sophie Christiansen add OBEs to the MBEs they collected following winning performances in the 2008 Beijing Games.

Christiansen told Sky News: "As athletes we work towards getting gold medals but this is the icing on the cake to be recognised."

Lord Coe, the mastermind of the Games, becomes a companion of honour, but one notable absentee from the list is film director Danny Boyle, the creator of the opening ceremony.

He appears to be one of the minority who for various reasons decline to be honoured.

London 2012 mastermind Lord Coe becomes a companion of honour

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Ex-England Cricket Captain Tony Greig Dies

Former England cricket captain and television commentator Tony Greig has died at the age of 66 after being diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year.

South Africa-born Greig, who played 58 Tests for England, initially developed bronchitis, with further tests showing a lesion at the base of his right lung.

He became synonymous with world cricket as a commentator for Australian television network Channel Nine following his retirement.

"Beloved Tony Greig, former England cricket captain, has passed away today at the age of 66," Channel Nine said in a statement.

"Initially diagnosed with bronchitis in May, the condition lingered and testing revealed he had lung cancer."

Greig scored 3,599 Test runs at an average of 40.43 and was also a useful bowler, claiming 141 wickets at an average of 32.20.

He finished playing for England at the age of 30 to take up a position in Kerry Packer's breakaway World Series Cricket competition, where he was one of the star recruits.

The Channel Nine statement continued: "Tony Greig is a name synonymous with Australian cricket - from his playing days as the English captain we loved to hate, to his senior role in the revolution of World Series Cricket ... and more than three decades of colourful and expert commentary.

"To his family and friends we pass on our best wishes."

Greig made his Test debut for England against Australia in 1972, and captained the national team from 1975-1977 after succeeding Mike Denness as skipper.

He lived in Sydney from the late 1970s and commentated on cricket for Channel Nine for 33 years.

Reports in Australia indicated he suffered a heart attack at home and was taken to hospital where attempts to revive him failed.

"He was rushed into St Vincent's hospital. The staff of the emergency department worked on Mr Greig to no avail," a hospital spokesman was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

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India Rape Death: Six Charged With Murder

Indian police have charged six men with murder, hours after a woman who was gang raped on a bus in New Delhi died in hospital.

The men could face the death penalty if convicted, in a case that has triggered protests across India.

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

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

The victim's body is being flown back to India from Singapore

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

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

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

Indian police are braced for more protests

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

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

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

Activists light candles in memory of the rape victim

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

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

But Daily Telegraph journalist Rahul Bedi, who is in New Delhi, said protesters were likely to remain peaceful to "avoid giving the politicians a tool" to criticise them.

Police have closed-off parts of New Delhi with metal barriers

"I think there's a conscious decision on the part of the protesters in the land of Gandhi to protest in a non-violent way," he added.

"These sit-ins are going to continue for a long time. This crime has shocked the country, rape is something this country has been dancing around for the last 30 or 40 years."

A chartered aircraft is flying the victim's body back to India, along with members of her family.

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

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

A small demonstration is also taking place near the Indian High Commission in London.

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Abducted Atiya Back With 'Overwhelmed' Mum

Atiya Anjum-Wilkinson is back with her mother in Greater Manchester three years after being abducted by her father and taken to Pakistan.

The six-year-old flew into Manchester Airport on Friday night on a Pakistan International Airlines flight from Islamabad accompanied by her uncle.

Speaking after seeing her daughter for the first time since 2009, Gemma Wilkinson said she was "absolutely overwhelmed".

She said: "We've literally gone from not knowing where Atiya is, to then finding out that we do know where Atiya is, to receiving pictures of Atiya and how she looks now, and then to Atiya's coming home and now she's here.

"It's been an absolute whirlwind. It's more than I could ever imagine or hope for."

Sky Correspondent Frazer Maude, in Manchester, said: "It is going to be a very difficult period of readjustment that could take some time.

"She has spent three years living in Pakistan with her extended family, we believe, and she will be returning here to try and relearn a Western way of life.

"These must be very difficult times for her mother as well, the uncertainty as to what reaction she is going to get from her daughter, whether her daughter will even speak the same language when she arrives."

Atiya vanished in 2009 after she was taken to Pakistan by her father

MEP Sajjad Karim, who contacted Pakistan authorities to try and track down Atiya, told Sky News he wished he had known about the case earlier.

He said: "There is nothing that I have done now, that I couldn't have done three and a half years ago."

Mr Karim added that Atiya was located on Christmas Eve and authorities were able to show up-to-date pictures of her to Ms Wilkinson on Christmas Day.

No money changed hands in getting her back, he said.

Atiya vanished in November 2009 after going to stay with her father, Razwan Ali Anjum.

The former insurance salesman said he was taking her to Southport.

Instead he took her to Lahore, Pakistan, and told Ms Wilkinson she was "never going to see Atiya again", courts have heard.

Anjum is serving a prison sentence in Britain for refusing to reveal his daughter's whereabouts despite a court order.

Ms Wilkinson's "on-off" relationship with Anjum ended in 2008.

Anjum was handed a fourth consecutive jail term by a High Court judge in April after he refused to say where his daughter was.

Mr Justice Moor imposed a 12-month sentence after he found him in contempt of a High Court order instructing him to disclose Atiya's whereabouts.

He said Anjum, in his late 20s, would not be eligible for release until he had served at least six months. He had previously been given one two-year and two 12-month sentences.

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Survivor's Family Sue Over Sandy Hook Massacre

Lawyers for a six-year-old who survived the Sandy Hook massacre are seeking permission to sue the state of Connecticut for $100m (£62m) for failing to protect its schoolchildren.

The legal notice was filed earlier this week with the claims commissioner, who will decide whether the state's usual immunity from prosecution should be waived.

It is the first apparent litigation attempt following the mass shooting two weeks ago, which killed 20 children and six members of staff.

New Haven lawyer Irving Pinsky said the girl, only identified as Jill Doe, was in her classroom at the elementary school in Newtown on December 14 when "the horrific confrontation" with gunman Adam Lanza came over the loudspeaker.

Gunman Adam Lanza shot himself after killing 20 children and six adults

Mr Pinsky said the student was traumatised by the killings of her schoolfriends, and accused the state of failing to protect students from "foreseeable harm".

"The State Board of Education, Connecticut Department of Education and State Commissioner of Education failed ... to provide a safe school setting at Sandy Hook Elementary School," the claim reads.

"As a consequence, the ... child has sustained emotional and psychological trauma and injury, the nature and extent of which are yet to be determined," the lawsuit goes on.

The lawyer told The News-Times newspaper that he took the case because, "we must stand together to protect our children. If we don't, nothing will change."

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Baroness Thatcher To Return Home After Op

Baroness Thatcher is due to leave hospital following an operation to remove a growth in her bladder.

The 87-year-old former prime minister was admitted to hospital on December 19 where she underwent "a minimal invasive operation".

Her daughter Carol was with her.

Sky News' Chief Political Correspondent Jon Craig said: "She's returning home today, she's going to convalesce at home.

"She spent Christmas in hospital after this operation.

"She is 87-years-old and there have often been concerns about her health but this appears to have gone well. She won't be spending the new year in hospital," he added.

 A spokesman said she was in "good spirits" following the operation.

The veteran politician's public appearances have been restricted in recent years due to continued ill health.

She was unable to join the Queen for a Diamond Jubilee lunch with former and serving prime ministers this summer and missed an 85th birthday party thrown for her at 10 Downing Street.

Baroness Thatcher was the first female prime minister - between 1979 and 1990 - and first female leader of the Conservative Party.

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Forecast Floods May Make 2012 Wettest Ever

Large parts of Britain have been told to prepare for more heavy rain, gales and possible flooding this weekend.

The Environment Agency (EA) said that the west of the UK is expected to take the brunt of further wet weather, with many areas still saturated with water from before Christmas, when floods forced many to flee their homes.

The Met Office forecast heavy rain on Saturday, and then for Sunday into Monday morning.

It has also issued a yellow warning for snow in much of central and northern Scotland, starting in the evening and continuing through mid-day Sunday.

In some areas, 4-6in (10-15 cm) of fresh snow is expected, while winds will be strong and ice could become a danger on some roads.

The EA has issued scores of flood warnings and over 200 flood alerts across the country, with the Midlands, the South East and South West worst affected.

Pete Fox, the EA's flood risk manager, said: "Flooding is devastating at any time of year, but particularly at Christmas. Unfortunately, more heavy rain is forecast for this weekend.

"As a result, we're urging people, particularly those in North Wales and western England, to remain vigilant to flooding.

"We're working around the clock to continue to protect homes and businesses from flooding and there are also things that people can do to protect themselves and their properties.

"If you're driving home this weekend, give yourself extra time to make your journey, check your route before travelling and avoid driving through flood water. Check the risk of flooding for your property and, if you're at risk, move valuable items to safety."

River and groundwater levels are high in many parts of the country

This year is expected to become the soggiest since records began more than a century ago.

According to the Met Office just 1.8in (46mm) of rain is needed to fall before December 31 to make 2012 the wettest on record for the UK overall.

A new record has already been set for England with 43.1in (1,095.8mm) falling between January 1 and Boxing Day.

The UK as a whole had 50.8in (1,291.2mm) of rain from January 1 to December 26. The wettest year on record for the UK is currently 2000, when 52.6in (1,337.3mm) of rain fell.

Warnings and alerts have been commonplace since the end of November when deluges flooded homes across the country, causing rivers to burst their banks and roads to become impassable.

Pockets of the UK have had to endure being cut off temporarily, with homes evacuated and residents forced to seek refuge elsewhere, while the country's public transport system has been brought to its knees.

The recent heavy rain, coupled with late-running engineering work and other problems, has meant a miserable return to work for train travellers since Thursday.

First Great Western said the main line in the South West, which has been closed since before Christmas because of flooding between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton, is expected to reopen later today.

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Thousands Pay Respects To Brothers Killed On M6

More than 2,000 people have paid their respects at the funeral of two young brothers who died in a Christmas Day crash on the M6.

Adnan Habib, 10, and Arsalaan, four, were killed when the car they were in crashed near junction 15 on Tuesday.

The brothers, described by their family as "precious jewels", died alongside their 32-year-old aunt, Bushra Tazarib.

Their funeral took place at a mosque in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

Hundreds spilled out into the street from the packed mosque and said prayers in pouring rain.

The crash closed the M6 for three hours between junctions 14 and 15

British boxing star Amir Khan was among those present.

He tweeted: "In Wycombe for the funeral of 2 young kids + aunty who died in a car crash on way to a cousins wedding last week. Condolences to the family."

Khan was at the same wedding the three crash victims were travelling to and has described how the occasion turned from joyous to "despair" as news of the tragic accident spread.

Coaches and taxis arrived with mourners from the north of the country, including Manchester, and crowds watched as the coffins, covered in embroidered drapes, were carried inside.

Floral tributes were also brought, which read "Adnan", "Arsalaan" and "sister".

A private burial took place this afternoon for the two boys. Their aunt's body is to be transported to Pakistan, police said.

An inquest into the three deaths has been opened and adjourned by North Staffordshire Coroner Ian Smith.

Two other women were travelling in the car, including the boys' mother who was driving at the time of the crash, and were taken to hospital but discharged after treatment.

All five in the car were from High Wycombe and had been travelling north on the M6 to attend a family wedding in Greater Manchester.

The incident closed the motorway in both directions for three hours from junction 14 at Stafford to junction 15 at Stoke.

The Central Motorway Police Group is continuing to investigate the cause of the crash, which is not believed to have involved any other  vehicles.

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Alan Greaves Murder: Two People Arrested

Police have arrested two men over the murder of pensioner Alan Greaves as he walked to midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

The 68-year-old from Sheffield was found with head injuries on the pavement close to his home on Greengate Lane at around 11.15pm on December 24.

The suspects, both from Sheffield, were arrested on suspicion of murder, South Yorkshire Police said. One is in his 20s and the other in his 40s.

Officers are searching properties in the area.

Mr Greaves, a retired social worker, had been an organist and lay preacher at St Saviour's Church in High Green for nine years.

He died on Thursday night surrounded by his family at the city's Northern General Hospital.

More follows...

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Russia Plane Crash: Four People Killed

Four people have died after a passenger plane overshot an airport runway and crashed into a motorway in Russia.

The Red Wing Airlines aircraft burst through a perimeter fence on to a motorway next to Moscow's Vnukovo airport - the third busiest in Russia.

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

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

The aircraft crashed while attempting to land at Vnukovo Airport

A statement from the Ministry of Healthcare said four of those on board were killed, while four others are suffering from brain injuries.

The crash took place during high winds and a snowstorm, but the cause of the accident is not yet clear.

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

The plane is a twin-engine mid-range jet with a capacity of about 210 passengers.

Vnukovo, on the southern outskirts of Moscow, is one of the Russian capital's three international airports.

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

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Kylie And Jason Reunited At Last On Stage

Former soap couple Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovon were reunited on stage for the first time in 23 years on Friday night.

The Australian pair duetted on their 1988 smash hit Especially For You to a rapturous reception from the audience at London's O2 arena.

Donovan swept the diminutive pop star - dressed in a short black dress trimmed with green leather - off her feet in a heartfelt embrace.

Globally loved for their roles as Scott and Charlene in the soap Neighbours, the single sold more than a million copies in the UK alone.

Before singing the closing notes, Minogue asked the audience: "How long have you waited for this for?"

The stars were joined by 80s and 90s pop stars Rick Astley, Bananarama and Steps among others for the Hit Factory Live - Christmas Cracker concert.

Donovan also serenaded the crowd with hits including Nothing Can Divide Us and When You Come Back To Me.

All the acts took to the stage to close the show with Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody.

Part of the proceeds from ticket sales for the event will be donated to Cancer Research UK.

The show had been due to take place in Hyde Park in the summer but was axed because of bad weather.

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Baroness Thatcher In Hospital After Surgery

Baroness Thatcher is recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery to remove a growth on her bladder.

The former Prime Minister is "absolutely fine" after the minor operation, a spokeswoman said.

The 87-year-old was admitted to hospital on Wednesday after complaining of pains. She is expected to remain there while she recovers.

Former Thatcher adviser Lord Bell said: "Following an examination in hospital on Wednesday Mrs Thatcher had a minimal invasive operation to remove a growth in her bladder.

"The operation was completely satisfactory.

"She will stay in hospital to recuperate for a few days and then she will return home. Her daughter Carol was with her in hospital.

"We will make no further comment."

Baroness Thatcher has suffered a number of health scares in recent years, including a series of minor strokes.

She was not well enough to join the Queen for a lunch with former and serving prime ministers as part of the Diamond Jubilee this summer.

And two years ago she missed an 85th birthday party thrown for her by David Cameron at 10 Downing Street.

In October she was sufficiently well, however, to mark her 87th birthday with lunch at a restaurant in London's exclusive St James's district with her son Mark and his wife.

Her health was thrust into the global spotlight this year when Meryl Streep starred in a controversial Hollywood film about her.

The Iron Lady drew criticism from Mr Cameron and others for concentrating on the dementia she has suffered after a series of small strokes. Streep won an Oscar for the role.

Baroness Thatcher was the first female prime minister - between 1979 and 1990 - and first female leader of the Conservative Party.

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India: Tear Gas Fired At Gang Rape Protesters

Indian police fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters who were demanding justice and safety for women following the brutal gang rape of a student on a bus.

Thousands of demonstrators in New Delhi surged towards the president's palace chanting "we want justice" and carrying banners reading "hang them now".

Clashes between the protesters and riot police erupted when a group tried to break through barricades and some started throwing stones.

The police responded by opening fire on the crowds with gas and water, and using batons to try to control the masses.

It is the sixth day of protests in the wake of the attack on the 23-year-old physiotherapy student and her 28-year-old male companion by six drunk men on a bus.

They took it in turns to rape her and attack her with an iron rod, causing serious intestinal injuries, before throwing her off the bus.

The men claimed it was her punishment for being out in the evening with a man.

The woman is still battling for her life in a New Delhi hospital but her story has sparked massive demonstrations in a country where rape is the fastest rising crime.

There have been six days of protests since the brutal rape of a student

The number of rape cases in New Delhi alone has risen 17% from 2011 to 661 this year, according to government figures.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, spokesman for the main national opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, said New Delhi "is becoming the rape capital" of India.

He urged the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, "to please respond to the deep sense of pain, agony and concern of the young people".

Experts say a combination of abusive sexual behaviour and a scant fear of the law because of the woefully low conviction rate, encourage such attacks in the city, which has a population of 19 million.

The government has appealed for calm and has said it will press for life sentences for the woman's six attackers, pay her medical bills and improve policing.

Junior home minister R.P.N. Singh told India's CNN-IBN television network: "The government is trying to do whatever it can to take measures and make sure that women are safe in the country."

Doctors at the hospital where the woman is being treated said in a statement she is in a critical but stable condition and had been removed from a ventilator.

Five suspects were arrested soon after the attack, which happened on Sunday, and a sixth was taken into custody on Friday.

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Gavin Mooney: British Economist Beaten To Death

An eminent British economist and his wife have been murdered at their home in Australia.

Professor Gavin Mooney, 69, and Dr Delys Weston, 62, were found at the property in Tasmania on Wednesday and are thought to have been bludgeoned to death.

The retired Briton was previously the director of the Social and Public Health Economics Research Group in Australia and held a number of senior positions at universities in the country.

He was born in Glasgow in 1943 and graduated from the University of Edinburgh before embarking on a career that saw him hold academic positions in the UK, Denmark and Australia.

He moved to Australia permanently in 1993.

Australian health minister Tanya Plibersek said the deaths were a "tragic loss for the health community, both in Australia and internationally".

She said: "Professor Mooney was a fearless advocate for social justice, and in particular the role of citizen juries, leading debates on the importance of consumers in determining how their health resources are allocated.

"Described as 'one of the founding fathers of health economics', his research was driven by real world challenge and geared towards identifying practical solutions.

"He was an inspiring teacher and supervisor, which when coupled with his extensive publication record, will ensure his legacy persists."

Australian media reports claimed Dr Weston's son has been charged in connection with the deaths and is expected to appear in court in the New Year.

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Royal Prank Call: CPS To Consider Charges

Lawyers are now deciding whether to bring charges over the prank call to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was treated.

A nurse working at the King Edward VII Hospital, where the Duchess was suffering from severe morning sickness, killed herself after being duped by the hoax by two Australian radio presenters.

Jacintha Saldanha, 46, transferred the call from the DJs pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles to the ward where the Duchess was being treated. Another nurse gave them details of her condition.

Ms Saldanha, a mother-of-two, was found dead in nurses accommodation just three days later on December 7. She had hanged herself.

Jacintha Saldanha and her husband Ben Barboza

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will now consider whether any potential criminal offences may have been committed, Scotland Yard said.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Following the death of Jacintha Saldanha, officers have liaised with the CPS as to whether any criminal offences had been committed in relation to the hoax call made to King Edward VII Hospital in the early hours of Tuesday December 4.

"On Wednesday December 19, officers submitted a file to the CPS for them to consider whether any potential offences may have been committed by making the hoax call."

About 2,000 people turned out for the funeral of Ms Saldanha earlier this week in the small Indian town of Shirva, near Mangalore, where her husband Ben Barboza was born.

Mr Barboza and the couple's two children, Lisha, 14, and Junal, 16, have said that her death has left them "shattered" and her loss has left an "unfillable void".

Ms Saldanha left three notes, the opening of an inquest into her death has heard. It has been reported that one was critical of the hospital and its treatment of her.

The Australian DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig have had death threats

However, officials at the hospital have insisted that they offered her a great deal of support during the fall-out from the hoax and did not criticise her or discipline her.

In a letter to the MP Keith Vaz, who has been supporting the family, John Lofthouse, the Chief Executive of King Edward VII Hospital, said: "Jacintha was reassured on a number of occasions by senior management that no blame was attached to her actions and that there were no disciplinary issues involved, because she had been the victim of a cruel trick."

Following the death of Ms Saldanha, the two DJ's Mel Greig and Michael Christian and other staff at the radio station 2DayFM received death threats.

As many as a dozen staff were moved to safe houses while executives at the broadcaster were given bodyguards.

Miss Greig and Mr Christian gave a television interview apologising to Ms Saldanha's family and saying they too were shattered.

They said their prank had prompted "a tragic turn of events no-one could have predicted or expected".

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), the parent company of 2Day FM, has ended the DJs' Hot 30 show and suspended prank calls across the company in the wake of Ms Saldanha's death.

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Vatican Leaks: Pope Pardons Jailed Butler

Pope Benedict XVI has granted a Christmas pardon to his former butler, who was convicted and jailed in the VatiLeaks scandal.

The Pope visited Paolo Gabriele in the Vatican police barracks to tell him personally of the pardon, the Vatican said.

Gabriele, a 46-year-old father of three, was subsequently freed and has returned to his family.

The Holy See said it "intends to offer him the possibility to serenely restart his life together with his family", but added the man would no longer live or work at the Vatican.

The Vatican spokesman described the Pontiff's meeting with his former butler as "intense" and "personal".

Gabriele was at the centre of one of the gravest Vatican security breaches in recent times.

The scandal bore all the hallmarks of a Dan Brown novel, exposing intrigue, power struggle and allegations of corruption inside the frescoed Vatican walls.

Gabriele was at the Pope's service for years

Gabriele was arrested on May 23 after Vatican police found heaps of papal documents in his Vatican City apartment.

On October 6 he was convicted by a Vatican tribunal of stealing the Pope's private papers and leaking sensitive documents that alleged corruption in the Holy See.

He had been serving his 18-month sentence in the Vatican police barracks.

Gabriele told investigators he had given the documents to a journalist because he thought that exposing the "evil and corruption" in the Vatican would put the Roman Catholic Church back on the right track.

The start of the trial in a Vatican courtroom in September

The scandal turned into a major embarrassment for Benedict's pontificate and came to be known in the media as "VatiLeaks".

The Pope also pardoned a second Vatican employee, Claudio Sciarpelletti, who was convicted of aiding Gabriele.

The papal pardon had been expected.

In 1981, the late Pope John Paul II famously pardoned Turkish hitman Ali Agca, who tried to kill him in St Peter's Square. The Pope later met Agca in prison.

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Asteroid Fears Over: Space Rock To Miss Earth

An asteroid feared to be on a collision course with Earth no longer poses a significant risk to the planet.

Experts previously said there was up to a one in 500 chance of the space rock, which is as wide as two football pitches, crashing into Earth in February 2040.

However, when astronomers made further observations to better predict the asteroid's course, they found it would pass no closer than 550,000 miles to the planet - a distance equivalent to more than two trips to the moon.

The updated trajectory was drawn up by NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office, based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

They relied on data from a team at the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, who used the eight-metre Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, to find the faint asteroid, known as 2011 AG5.

Their research greatly reduced uncertainties about the object's orbit and eliminated fears it would cross Earth's path.

Asteroid 2011 AG5 has a diameter of 140 metres and is one of more than 8,700 near-Earth objects known to scientists.

It was found by astronomers at the top of Mount Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains, near Tuscon, Arizona, in January 2011.

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Egypt: Vice President Quits As Country Votes

Egypt's Vice President has resigned as Egyptians go to the polls to vote on the country's new constitution.

Mahmoud Mekki announced his departure with just five hours of voting to go in the second phase of the referendum on the new charter.

The new constitution eliminates the post of the vice president, however, in a statement, Mr Mekki hinted his resignation was linked to the policies of the President, Mohammed Morsi.

Mr Morsi sparked widespread unrest when he assumed sweeping new powers last month in a move that put him at odds with the judiciary and much of the public.

His opponents said he was acting like the "new pharaoh" and protests soon escalated to violent clashes between Mr Morsi's supporters and his detractors.

Mahmoud Mekki shakes hands with President Mohammed Morsi on his appointment

He eventually backed down and gave up the powers but instead has persisted with his attempt to push through a hastily drawn up constitution that the opposition claims does not represent all Egyptians.

Critics say the document is divisive as it favours Mr Morsi's Islamist allies and ignores the rights of Christians and women.

In his resignation statement on state television, Mr Mekki said: "I have realised a while ago that the nature of politics don't suit my professional genesis as a judge."

Mr Mekki, 58, was a respected judge before being elevated to the post of vice president by Mr Morsi in August. He led the judicial opposition to the ousted president Hosni Mubarak but resisted calls to run for power himself.

Egypt has been in turmoil for more than four weeks and the latest violent clashes took place on Friday, when supporters and opponents of the president clashed in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Dozens were hurt.

The vote on the new constitution is taking place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces with about 25 million eligible voters.

The first phase on December 15 produced a "yes" majority of about 56% with a turnout of some 32%, according to unofficial results.

Cars and buses were set ablaze in the clashes in Alexandria

The opposition has alleged abuses, and called for a re-vote of the first stage.

But the committee overseeing the referendum said their investigation had turned up no major irregularities.

Unofficial tallies are likely to emerge within hours of the close, but the referendum committee may not declare an official result for the two rounds until Monday, after hearing appeals.

If the constitution is adopted, a parliamentary election will be held in about two months.

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Weather: Floods Bring Christmas Misery

Families preparing for Christmas have been hit by floods and travel chaos as heavy rain batters Britain.

The southwest of England has been particularly badly affected by the downpours. Three severe flood warnings - which means there is a danger to life - were issued in Devon and Cornwall.

Conditions are so bad that rail passengers have been told to avoid parts of southwest England and South Wales.

And motorists and shoppers faced difficult conditions on one of the busiest weekends of the year for travel and shopping.

Floods in Helston, Cornwall, led to homes being evacuated

The town of Braunton in north Devon has been effectively cut off, with homes and shops under water, after the River Caen burst its banks.

Liz Spear, chairwoman of Braunton Parish Council, said a river was running through the centre of the town.

"It's really bad. We had flooding seven years ago but it was nothing like this," she said.

Some residents in Helston, Cornwall, were evacuated overnight after river levels rose.

In Lostwithiel around 195 people were advised to leave their homes, and a rest area was set up in the Community Centre.

Cornwall Council spokeswoman Trisha Hewitt, said:  "As this is falling on saturated ground, this could cause further flooding."

The Environment Agency has issued 126 flood warnings - where flooding is expected - across the whole of England and Wales, and 338 flood alerts, where flooding is possible.

There was a landslide in the Cornish town of Looe

There was a heightened flood risk across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West and East Sussex, North Yorkshire, South Wales, Ceredigion and Gwynedd.

In Scotland, 17 flood warnings - mostly in Tayside - and 15 flood alerts were issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

The Met Office released amber weather warnings, which mean "be prepared", for heavy rain and strong winds across southwest England, Yorkshire and Humber, Wales, central Scotland and the Grampians until Sunday morning.

Sky News weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said heavy rain was forecast to continue across much of the country.

"We're going to continue with bits and pieces of rain over south-western parts of England for the rest of today," she said.

"That main rain from Saturday morning is moving north and eastwards - so there will be some heavy downpours in Scotland and northern England."

A man wading through Braunton, Devon

The water has already led to major issues on road and train networks, spelling trouble for Britons travelling this weekend.

The First Great Western train company advised passengers whose travel was not essential to avoid any journeys west of Taunton in Somerset because of flooding and landslips.

Arriva Trains Wales told passengers to avoid any rail travel in South Wales. Both operators were using road vehicles to transport passengers, but efforts were hampered by a lack of vehicles and flooded roads.

Meanwhile, staff shortages and signalling problems caused disruption on London Midland services. Buses replaced trains on some routes, while passengers were warned of possible cancellations at short notice.

Mark Ridge, landlord of The London Inn, Braunton, only moved into the pub seven months ago with his family and had spent £90,000 on renovation work.

"We were hoping this weekend would be our bumper weekend, to carry us through January and February trade wise, but it's just killed it now," he said.

Annette Essex, who owns a pet shop in Braunton, said: "Suddenly at 6am the banks of one of the rivers broke and the water came flooding down Caen Street and into the high street and we were under about 3ft of water in our store area.

"It was like a torrent of water. It was quite scary because you could hear the swish of the water and the whole road just turned into a river in the space of about 30-40 minutes."

In the Midlands the number of flood alerts has increased steadily throughout the day and now stands at 65 in total.

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British Boy Dies Hiking In Australian Bush

A 14-year-old Scottish boy has died from heat exhaustion after collapsing during a hike with his father in Western Australia, police said.

Police said the two were hiking in the Cape Range National Park, south of Exmouth, on Friday when the boy collapsed to the ground.

Police say the father and son were not carrying a great deal of water.

Temperatures in the region were well above 40C (104 degrees F) at the time, police said, urging tourists to carry plenty of water when hiking in such conditions.

The boy's father called emergency services, and police located the pair around 700m down a gully and not far from a car park.

The boy was treated on the track before being transferred to Exmouth Hospital, where he later died.

The boy's father is a 49-year-old man from Geraldton, in Western Australia's mid-west.

A police spokeswoman told The West Australian: "It is a known path and bush track.

"They were not lost. It is not suspicious. It is just a tragic accident."

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Norovirus: Hospitals Shut Doors To Visitors

Hospitals across the country are closing their doors to visitors because of outbreaks of the winter vomiting bug norovirus.

Birmingham City Hospital has asked visitors to stay away after closing four wards while at Maidstone Hospital in Kent three wards have closed to new admissions and visitors have been banned from all wards.

The George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton has shut one ward, partially closed three and is turning away visitors. Five hospitals in Wales are also closed to visitors.

The number of cases of the winter vomiting bug is up 72% on this time last year, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

This season 2,630 cases have been recorded - at the same time last year, just 1,533 had been noted.

However, the HPA admits that for every confirmed case there are likely to be a further 288 unreported sufferers, which means some 750,000 people could have been struck down by the bug across the country.

Norovirus is a highly contagious bug and spreads quickly in close environments such as hospitals and schools.

The symptoms include sudden vomiting and diarrhoea, which usually last for around two days.

Good hygiene is key to stopping the spread of norovirus

Professor John Oxford, a biologist at Queen Mary's College and Chairman of the International Hygiene Council, said the best way to avoid the virus is to keep away from people who have it.

He told Sky News: "We don't really know why norovirus pops up its head at this time of year. All we know is that it does with some regularity more or less at the same time as influenza.

"It could be that the winter conditions drive us indoors, we are more close together and a virus like noro depends on closeness and also lack of hygiene.

"And I must say in the United Kingdom and around Europe there is a lack of hygiene that gives the virus an opportunity to start jumping from person to person."

John Harris, an expert in norovirus at the HPA, said: "People should be vigilant in their hygiene and we would like to remind anyone who has typical symptoms suggestive of norovirus infection to avoid visiting friends or relatives in hospital or care homes."

It comes as the P&O cruise ship Azura docked in Southampton carrying 3,059 passengers after an outbreak of the virus on board.

The ship had been on an 11-night cruise of the Iberian Peninsular. P&O confirmed there had been 10 cases and those passengers had been confined to their cabins to prevent its spread.

Some 300 people on one of the company's other ships, Oriana, were hit by the virus during a cruise earlier in the week.

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Kim Wilde Singing On Train Video Goes Viral

Kim Wilde, the 1980s pop star, has become an internet sensation with a YouTube video in which she treats passengers on a train to a version of the festive favourite Rocking Around The Christmas Tree.

Wilde, wearing a pair of comedy reindeer antlers, was filmed singing to passengers - accompanied on guitar by her brother Ricky - as they went home from a Christmas party.

"Kim Wilde and Ricky Wilde serenade passengers on the train home after the MagicFM Christmas Party," Katherine Eames, who uploaded the six-minute video to YouTube, wrote on the website.

The former singer tweeted: "truly,i am overwhelmed and confused at such a huge reaction to my night out on the tiles. Making me giggle a LOT: )"

The video was courtesy of viralspiralgroup.com

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Mandela Recovering After Gallstones Removed

Nelson Mandela is recovering from a successful operation to have gallstones removed, the South African government has confirmed.

The 94-year-old former president has been in hospital with a lung infection for a week.

"The former president underwent a procedure via endoscopy to have the gallstones removed ... The procedure was successful and Madiba is recovering," the government statement said, referring to Mr Mandela by his clan name.

Mr Mandela was admitted to the 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria on December 8 for tests, which revealed the recurrence of the infection.

Doctors wanted to treat him for this first before carrying out the gallstones procedure, the government said.

Mr Mandela's latest hospital stay has caused growing concern in South Africa, which idolises him as the nation's first democratically-elected leader after the apartheid era.

He made his last public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup football tournament.

In January 2011, he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but turned out to be an acute respiratory infection.

The chaos that followed saw the South African military take charge of his care and the government control information about his health.

South African President Jacob Zuma has wished Mr Mandela a "speedy recovery".

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Shooting Victims' Parents 'May Never Recover'

Massacre Gunman Was Honours Student

Updated: 5:48pm UK, Saturday 15 December 2012

The gunman behind the Connecticut school shooting was an honours student who lived in a wealthy neighbourhood with his mother.

Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother Nancy at the home in Newtown they shared. He then drove her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where she had worked, and killed 20 children and six adults before taking his own life.

So far, authorities have not spoken publicly of any possible motive. They found no note or manifesto, and Lanza - who was armed with at least two handguns and a high powered rifle - had no criminal history. He did not speak during the shooting, witnesses say.

A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said investigators believe Lanza attended Sandy Hook Elementary School several years ago.

Lanza attended Newtown High School and several local news clippings from recent years mention his name among the school's honour roll students.

Officials have said Lanza may have suffered from a personality disorder - and the gunman's older brother, Ryan Lanza, believes Adam did as well.

Police reportedly earlier confused Adam Lanza with Ryan, whose identity card he had been carrying with him when he went into the school.

The shooter's brother had been extremely cooperative and was not under arrest or in custody, but investigators were still searching his computers and phone records.

Ryan Lanza told police officers he had not been in touch with his brother since about 2010.

Brett Wilshe, a friend of Ryan Lanza's, said he sent him a Facebook message on Friday asking what was going on and if he was OK.

According to Wilshe, Ryan Lanza's reply was something along the lines of: "It was my brother. I think my mother is dead. Oh my God."

Adam Lanza's aunt Marsha said her nephew was raised by kind, nurturing parents who would not have hesitated to seek mental help for him if he needed it.

Marsha Lanza said she was close with Nancy Lanza and sent her a Facebook message on Friday morning asking how she was doing. Nancy Lanza never responded.

She described Nancy Lanza as a good mother and kind-hearted. If her son had needed counselling, "Nancy wasn't one to deny reality," she said.

Marsha Lanza said her husband saw Adam as recently as June and recalled nothing out of the ordinary about him.

Catherine Urso, who was attending a vigil on Friday evening in Newtown, said her college-age son knew the killer and remembered him for his alternative style.

"He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the goths," she said.

Adam Lanza belonged to the school's technology club, which held LAN - short for local area network - parties, when students would gather at a member's home, hook up their computers into a small network and play games.

Joshua Milas, who graduated from Newtown High School in 2009, said Adam Lanza was generally a happy person but that he had not seen him in a few years.

"We would hang out, and he was a good kid. He was smart," Joshua Milas said.

"He was probably one of the smartest kids I know. He was probably a genius."

Lanza's parents filed for divorce in 2008, according to court records.

His father, Peter Lanza, lives in Stamford, Connecticut, according to public records, and he reportedly works as a tax director for General Electric.

An official said it was not clear that Adam Lanza had a job, and there was no indication of law enforcement interviews or search warrants at a place of business.

A neighbour in Newtown, Rhonda Cullens, said she knew Nancy Lanza from monthly get-togethers the neighbourhood women had some years ago for games of bunco, a dice game.

"She was a very nice lady," Ms Cullens said.

"She was just like all the rest of us in the neighbourhood, just a regular person."

Sandeep Kapur, who lives two doors down from the Lanza family in Newtown, said he did not know them and was unaware of any disturbances at the Lanza house in the three years that he and his family have been in the neighbourhood.

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Royal Prank Call Nurse's Family 'Shattered'

The children of the nurse found dead days after taking a prank call say they are "shattered" by their loss.

Jacintha Saldanha was discovered in a nurses' accommodation block close to King Edward VII's Hospital, London, where the Duchess of Cambridge was treated for severe morning sickness.

The 46-year-old answered a phone call from Australian radio presenters Michael Christian and Mel Greig, who pretended to be Prince Charles and the Queen and asked for an update on the duchess's health.

Jacintha Saldanha worked at the hospital where Kate was treated

A service for Ms Saldanha, a mother-of-two, was held at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday.

Outside, her daughter Lisha said: "We will miss your laughter, the loving memories and the good times we had together.

"We are shattered and there is an unfillable void in our lives.

"We love you mum. Sleep in peace and please watch over us until we meet again in heaven."

Benedict Barboza read a tribute to his wife, Jacintha Saldanha

Ms Saldanha's husband Benedict Barboza said his wife was "the light of my darkness who always showed me the way forward".

"From the day we met, you always stood by me, in times of hardship and happiness," he said.

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

Mr Barboza's son Junal added: "In times of difficulty, you showed us the way forward to happiness and success."

On Friday, John Lofthouse, chief executive of King Edward VII's Hospital, said staff had stood by Ms Saldanha and insisted the nurse was the "victim of a cruel trick".

Writing in reply to a letter sent by Keith Vaz MP, Mr Lofthouse said: "Jacintha believed that the call was genuine, and she felt it appropriate to put the call through. We stand by her judgement.

Australian DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig made the prank phone call

"Jacintha was reassured on a number of occasions by senior management that no blame was attached to her actions and that there were no disciplinary issues involved, because she had been the victim of a cruel trick."

Ms Saldanha's funeral will be held at a church in India on Monday.

An inquest into her death, which opened on Thursday, heard Ms Saldanha had hanged herself. She left two notes in her room and another among her personal possessions.

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

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US Shooting: Gunman Forced His Way Into School

US Shooting: Deadliest Massacres

Updated: 12:23pm UK, Saturday 15 December 2012

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, is among the deadliest in modern US history.

Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother before opening fire in the elementary school killing 20 children and six adults. He then turned the gun on himself.

It is the worst school shooting in America's history and second only to the Virginia Tech massacre in terms of the country's deadliest ever attacks.

Both attacks make up a grim history of mass murders using firearms in the US.

:: Aurora, Colorado, July 20, 2012:

A masked gunman burst in on the Century 16 cinema during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises throwing tear gas before opening fire.

He killed 12 and injured 58. James Eagan Holmes, 24, is the sole suspect and was arrested at the scene. He will appear in court in January.

:: Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas, November 5, 2009:

A 42-year-old US Army Major, serving as a psychiatrist, opened fire inside the US military base killing 13 and wounding 29 in an attack deemed an act of terrorism. Hasan was shot and captured and is paralysed from the waist down.

Before the killing he had been in touch with the late al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al Awlaki to ask whether he would be considered a martyr if he died shooting US soldiers.

:: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16, 2007:

Seung-Hui Cho, 23, killed 32 and injured 17 in America's deadliest shooting. He launched two separate attacks at the campus two hours apart before killing himself.

Cho had a history of mental illness and was in therapy through his school years.

:: Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, October 2, 2006:

Charles Carl Roberts shot dead five and injured five in an attack at an Amish school. The 32-year-old dish washer at a local restaurant then killed himself.

He was driven by anger at God over the death of his premature daughter.

:: Red Lake Indian Reservation, March 21, 2005:

Sixteen-year-old Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather and grandfather's companion before opening fire at Red Lake High School. He killed nine and injured seven, then took his own life.

He blamed years of school bullying for the attack.

:: Forth Worth, Sept 25, 1999:

Unemployed white supremacist Larry Gene Ashbrook opened fire on the congregation of Wedgwood Baptist Church, killing seven and wounding seven. He then turned the gun on himself.

Ashbrook, 47, was a member of a group that advocated killing minorities.

:: Atlanta, July 29, 1999:

Mark Orrin Barton, a trader, opened fire in two investment offices killing nine and wounding 12. He killed himself after a six-hour police manhunt.

The 44-year-old had been upset by big financial losses.

:: Columbine High School, Colorado, April 20, 1999:

Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire on schoolmates after bombs they had planted in the cafeteria failed to go off. They killed 13 and injured 21 before killing themselves.

The students were motivated by their anger at society. Harris had a history of depression.

:: McDonald's, San Ysidro, California, July 18 1984:

Welder James Huberty walked into a McDonald's and opened fire killing 21 people and wounding 19 before being shot by a police sniper.

The 51-year-old thought society was about to collapse. When asked where he was going as he left the house for the killing, he told his wife: "hunting humans".

:: University of Texas, Austin, August 1, 1966:

Engineering student Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, opened fire on students from the 28th floor of the main campus building. He killed 13 and wounded 32 before being shot dead by a police marksman. He also killed his wife and mother.

In a note he said he was suffering irrational thoughts and wanted to relieve his wife and mother from suffering but offered no explanation for the university attack.

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School Shooting: Calls For Stricter Gun Laws

The husband of the US politician Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in Arizona, has called for action on America's gun laws following the latest mass shooting.

As America deals with the aftermath of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Captain Mark Kelly, a Nasa astronaut, wrote on his Facebook page that tightening the gun controls could wait no longer and called on politicians to act now.

He said: "As we mourn, we must sound a call for our leaders to stand up and do what is right."

He added: "The children of Sandy Hook Elementary School and all victims of gun violence deserve leaders who have the courage to participate in a meaningful discussion about our gun laws - and how they can be reformed and better enforced to prevent gun violence and death in America. This can no longer wait."

Barack Obama wipes away a tear as he calls for "meaningful action"

His wife was one of the people shot by Jared Loughner in Arizona in 2011. She survived with serious head injuries but six others were killed in the attack.

Barack Obama hinted at the possibility of gun law reform following the shooting in Connecticut, signalling it was time to come together to take meaningful action, "regardless of the politics".

There have been 61 mass murders involving firearms since 1982.

The most recent, where Adam Lanza shot dead 27 people on Friday, ranks as the country's worst school shooting.

Of all shootings, it is second in its gravity only to the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, which claimed 32 lives.

A call for action at the White House vigil for the victims of the shooting

Already there have been protests outside the White House calling for reform of America's liberal gun laws.

Michael Moore, the director of Bowling For Columbine, a documentary which explored America's relationship with guns, tweeted: "Too soon to speak out about a gun-crazy nation? No, too late. At least THIRTY-ONE school shootings since Columbine."

He added: "The way to honour these dead children is to demand strict gun control, free mental health care, and an end to violence as public policy."

But with the right to bear arms enshrined in the second amendment to the US constitution and an increasingly strong gun lobby in the National Rifle Association, it is thought to be unlikely that will take the form of an outright ban.

Part of the problem with the US gun laws is that they vary widely between different states.

Connecticut, the state at the centre of the latest shooting, has the fourth strongest gun laws in the country, the US political commentator Charlie Wolf, told Sky News.

Yet Lanza, who it has been reported has a history of mental health, managed to amass an arsenal of at least six lethal weapons.

Two handguns and semi-automatic rifle found at the scene appeared to be legally purchased by the mother of the mass shooter.

Cho Seung-Hui killed 32 at Virginia Tech - America's most deadly shooting

Mr Wolf said the Sandy Hook shooting would not lead to an outright ban on gun ownership and that there were other issues which needed to be addressed, such as mental health.

He said: "I'm sure if this guy really wanted to he would have found guns elsewhere. It didn't stop Derrick Bird in this country (UK)."

He said that the right to bear arms was enshrined in the constitution but that it was possible the law could be strengthened to make sure people who shouldn't own guns couldn't buy them.

On top of the differences in gun laws across the states, the federal government regulates very little.

The so-called Brady law, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993, requires federal background checks on firearm purchasers in the United States.

It is intended to detect any potential red flags in an individual's criminal and mental health history.

But 40 per cent of arms sales are not affected by the law, because they take place between private individuals, through websites, or at gun show stands. These sales are not regulated by the federal government.

Loughner, who carried out the attack that wounded Ms Giffords, obtained the green light from the background check system before purchasing his guns.

He was cleared even though he was suspended from school for misconduct and had a history of drug use.

Gun ownership in the US is now at an all-time low and there is a suggestion that the public increasingly supports some gun control measures.

A recent CCN/ORC poll found a majority supported background checks and a ban on semi-automatic weapons.

Perhaps the killing of 20 children all aged under 10 will come to mark the beginning of a discussion that could lead to a rethink on America's gun laws.

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Internet Porn Filter: Automatic Block Rejected

Plans to automatically block internet pornography have been rejected by Government ministers.

Campaigners had called for an "opt in" process, requiring users to contact their internet service provider (ISP) in order to gain access to adult content.

They argued it is too easy for children to access explicit material online.

However, a joint report by the Home Office and the Department for Education found there was "little appetite" for such an automatic filter, although it was supported by around a third of parents who took part in a 10-week consultation.

Instead, the report said ISPs should "actively encourage" their customers to switch on parental controls to prevent children accessing pornographic images and videos.

Alan Wardle, head of corporate affairs at the NSPCC, said the Government's response was a "step in the right direction", although he said the charity was "concerned" that parents' views had not been heard.

"The best option to protect children is for adult content to be automatically blocked by ISPs," he said.

"Any web filtering system needs to be simple for parents to use and effective at stopping children seeing unsuitable adult content.

"Hardcore pornographic videos are just a few clicks away and a quarter of children have been sent unsolicited sexual material online.

"We must help parents to protect their children from the dangers of the internet."

The report said ministers had been guided by expert advice that default filtering could create a false sense of security.

"There are content filtering solutions that can help manage risk on the internet but on their own they are insufficient," it said.

"Typically, they work to filter out certain kinds of internet content, but they do not prevent the problems caused by other people's behaviour, such as online bullying, sharing personal sexual content using technology or online grooming."

Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, one of the groups that campaigned against default filtering, said: "This is a positive step that strikes the right balance between child safety and parental responsibility without infringing on civil liberties and freedom of speech.

"The policy recognises it is parents, not Government, who are responsible for controlling what their children see online and rightly avoids any kind of state-mandated blocking of legal content."

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Hero School Head Died 'Lunging At Gunman'

The headteacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School was killed as she lunged at the gunman, according to reports.

Town officials said Dawn Hochsprung died when attempting to tackle the gunman after he forced his way into the school.

When asked whether Ms Hochsprung is a hero, the chairman of the town's legislative council, Jeff Capeci, said, "From what we know, it's hard to classify her as anything else."

Therapist Diane Day was in a meeting with Ms Hochsprung and the school psychologist at the Newtown school on Friday morning when the gunman began shooting at around 9.30am.

"We were there for about five minutes chatting, and we heard Pop! Pop!, Pop!" Ms Day told The Wall Street Journal.

"I went under the table."

But Ms Hochsprung and the psychologist jumped out of their seats and ran out of the room, Ms Day said.

Ms Hochsprung was confirmed to be among seven adults and 20 children killed during the rampage. The school psychologist was also reported to have been killed.

"They didn't think twice about confronting or seeing what was going on,"  Ms Day said. 

A candlelit vigil was held for the victims

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

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

Fourth-grade teacher Theodore Varga said: "You could hear the hysteria that was going on.

"Whoever did that saved a lot of people. Everyone in the school was listening to the terror that was transpiring."

He added that a school caretaker also ran out warning people there was a gunman on the premises.

The masked gunman has been named as 20-year-old Adam Lanza.

Robert Licata, whose six-year-old son was in one of the classrooms when the gunman burst in and opened fire, said he told him the shooter did not say anything.

He said: "That's when my son grabbed a bunch of his friends and ran out the door.

"He was very brave. He waited for his friends."

First-grade teacher Kaitlin Roig barricaded her 15 students inside a tiny bathroom with a bookshelf and told them to be "absolutely quiet".

She told ABC News: "I said, 'there are bad guys out there now. We need to wait for the good guys'.

"They asked, 'Can we go see if anyone is out there? I just want Christmas. I don't want to die, I just want to have Christmas.'"

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Newtown Shooting: Gunman Was Honours Student

The gunman behind the Connecticut school shooting was an honours student who lived in a wealthy neighbourhood with his mother.

Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother Nancy at the home in Newtown they shared. He then drove her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where she had worked, and killed 20 children and six adults before taking his own life.

So far, authorities have not spoken publicly of any possible motive. They found no note or manifesto, and Lanza - who was armed with at least two handguns and a high powered rifle - had no criminal history. He did not speak during the shooting, witnesses say.

A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said investigators believe Lanza attended Sandy Hook Elementary School several years ago.

Lanza attended Newtown High School and several local news clippings from recent years mention his name among the school's honour roll students.

Officials have said Lanza may have suffered from a personality disorder - and the gunman's older brother, Ryan Lanza, believes Adam did as well.

Police reportedly earlier confused Adam Lanza with Ryan, whose identity card he had been carrying with him when he went into the school.

The shooter's brother had been extremely cooperative and was not under arrest or in custody, but investigators were still searching his computers and phone records.

Ryan Lanza told police officers he had not been in touch with his brother since about 2010.

Brett Wilshe, a friend of Ryan Lanza's, said he sent him a Facebook message on Friday asking what was going on and if he was OK.

Ryan Lanza, the gunman's brother, is helping police

According to Wilshe, Ryan Lanza's reply was something along the lines of: "It was my brother. I think my mother is dead. Oh my God."

Adam Lanza's aunt Marsha said her nephew was raised by kind, nurturing parents who would not have hesitated to seek mental help for him if he needed it.

Marsha Lanza said she was close with Nancy Lanza and sent her a Facebook message on Friday morning asking how she was doing. Nancy Lanza never responded.

She described Nancy Lanza as a good mother and kind-hearted. If her son had needed counselling, "Nancy wasn't one to deny reality," she said.

Marsha Lanza said her husband saw Adam as recently as June and recalled nothing out of the ordinary about him.

Catherine Urso, who was attending a vigil on Friday evening in Newtown, said her college-age son knew the killer and remembered him for his alternative style.

"He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the goths," she said.

Adam Lanza belonged to the school's technology club, which held LAN - short for local area network - parties, when students would gather at a member's home, hook up their computers into a small network and play games.

Joshua Milas, who graduated from Newtown High School in 2009, said Adam Lanza was generally a happy person but that he had not seen him in a few years.

"We would hang out, and he was a good kid. He was smart," Joshua Milas said.

"He was probably one of the smartest kids I know. He was probably a genius."

Responders gather at the scene of the school shooting

Lanza's parents filed for divorce in 2008, according to court records.

His father, Peter Lanza, lives in Stamford, Connecticut, according to public records, and he reportedly works as a tax director for General Electric.

An official said it was not clear that Adam Lanza had a job, and there was no indication of law enforcement interviews or search warrants at a place of business.

A neighbour in Newtown, Rhonda Cullens, said she knew Nancy Lanza from monthly get-togethers the neighbourhood women had some years ago for games of bunco, a dice game.

"She was a very nice lady," Ms Cullens said.

"She was just like all the rest of us in the neighbourhood, just a regular person."

Sandeep Kapur, who lives two doors down from the Lanza family in Newtown, said he did not know them and was unaware of any disturbances at the Lanza house in the three years that he and his family have been in the neighbourhood.

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Belfast Flag Violence: Police Officer Hurt

One police officer has been injured and taken to hospital during pockets of disorder in east Belfast.

It comes as a loyalist protest attended by about 2,000 people outside City Hall in the centre of Belfast passed off peacefully.

The demonstration against new restrictions on flying the Union flag at City Hall ended after about an hour with a rendition of God Save the Queen.

Up to 20 police armoured Land Rovers were lined up on either side of the building while officers in full riot gear with dogs could be seen in the courtyard.

A protest in Belfast passed off peacefully but there was violence elsewhere

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said protesters had dispersed, but there was some disorder in east Belfast and a section of the Newtownards Road was closed.

Violence erupted when councillors in Belfast voted to limit the number of days the Union flag could be flown over the City Hall to 17 days a year.

A death threat against the MP Naomi Long, whose Alliance Party tabled a compromise agreement on the issue, led to an escalation in the seriousness of the tensions.

Around 2,000 people joined the protest in Belfast city centre

Last night, eight police officers were injured and more than a dozen people arrested - including a 13-year-old boy - during clashes between loyalists and riot police.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr said loyalist paramilitaries had been orchestrating some of the violence seen in the past 24 hours.

"Violence has serious and unwanted consequences for us all and we will robustly investigate all incidents," he said.

"I am urging everyone to be calm, take a step back and think about how this violence is affecting not just their own communities but the whole of Northern Ireland."

The Christmas market in Belfast city centre had been temporarily closed but later re-opened.

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Drink-Driving: Crashed Car Shown To Clubbers

A dad whose daughter was killed in a drink-drive crash hopes that parking her wrecked car outside nightclubs will stop others getting behind the wheel while over the limit.

The man, who wants to remain anonymous, lost his eldest daughter in the crash near Fleet, Hampshire, last November.

The 23-year-old was four times over the drink-drive limit when her Vauxhall Corsa collided with a van on her way home from a night out. She died instantly.

Her father has now agreed to let police display her car in town centres in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight in the hope it will encourage others not to drink and drive.

"I wanted to tell my story, her story, because I wanted people to see what devastation they can cause by making that choice," he said.

"It's a split second decision which can have far-reaching consequences.

"To anyone else who would consider getting behind the wheel after having alcohol, I plead with you as a father, as the husband of a devastated mother, as the parent of two grieving children and on behalf of the many people who knew and loved my daughter, please don't.

"You can't imagine the pain you could leave behind, either for your family or for someone else's."

The Smashed campaign will target drivers aged between 20 and 24, who accounted for nearly a quarter of drive-drink arrests last Christmas.

Interviews with some of the emergency service personnel who attended the crash, including paramedic Kate McDougall and firefighter Craig Gregory, have been released on YouTube as part of the campaign.

Sergeant Jay Hewes, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: "We don't ever want to tell another parent, partner or child, that someone they love is gone, but chances are that before the year is out, we will have to.

"If one person, regardless of their age, sits up and takes notice, this young person will have left a legacy her parents can take some comfort from and those who knew her can be proud of."

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Syria: Rebel Prisoners On Their Religious War

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The captured fighters are from Turkey, Iraq and Syria

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sky's Tim Marshall interviewed the men awaiting trial

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

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

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

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

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

Rebel fighters want an end to President Assad's regime

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Suffolk Light Aircraft Crash: One Person Dead

One person has died after a light aircraft crashed into a tree in a Suffolk village.

Suffolk Police said the aircraft came down in Aldham, near Hadleigh, where it collided with a tree and became submerged in a pond.

At around the same time as the crash, homes in Aldham and nearby Elmsett lost power because of a fault on the 11,000-volt overhead electricity distribution network.

A spokesman for UK Power Networks said engineers were working with emergency services at the site of the plane crash to restore power "as quickly and as safely as possible", although most homes were reconnected within six hours.

Local resident Alison Gillies told Sky News she could see smoke rising from land behind her house.

"There are a huge number of emergency services in the village and our power was off for around three or four hours," she said.

Ms Gillies said it was not unusual to see light aircraft flying over Aldham as they take off from or land at Elmsett Airfield to the northwest.

Dennis Hill, who lives near the crash site, added: "The plane flew across the fields and into the tree, before falling into the pond.

"I think the pilot died on impact. There's an airfield nearby but he was way off track. It's like he was trying to land, but you've got fields and hedges in the way."

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters from Woodbridge, Hadleigh, Needham Market, Bury St Edmunds and Halstead, Essex, were called to the village, around eight miles from Ipswich.

Police and ambulance crews and a water rescue team were also sent to the scene.

An area around the crash site was cordoned off and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch were alerted.

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Cancer Boy Court Case Delayed For A Week

By Nick Martin, Sky Correspondent

The mother of a seven-year-old boy with cancer has said she does not want him to receive potentially life-saving radiotherapy because she is worried about the side effects.

Neon Roberts underwent surgery on a brain tumour in October and as a follow-up treatment doctors recommended a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

But his mother Sally Roberts said the side effects of the radiation could have a "damaging effect on his future".

Her estranged husband Ben Roberts, however, agrees with doctors who say his chances of survival would be increased if he had the treatment.

A High Court judge will rule on the matter later this month. A decision had been expected on Saturday, but a "change in the medical landscape" meant a new hearing was set for December 18 and 19.

Giving evidence to the court on Friday, Mrs Roberts said: "I wish for the best future for my son, the best quality of life. I fear radiotherapy could have damaging effects on his future."

Mrs Roberts described her son as having an "incredible sense of humour" and being "a great artist, vibrant and healthy".

She told the court that she had researched the side effects of radiotherapy and asked experts for advice.

She said she feared his IQ would be affected and that he could have a shorter life with increased chances of suffering a stroke.

Doctors said the boy's chances of surviving would be significantly reduced if he did not receive the radiotherapy and want to start the treatment next Thursday.

A doctor involved in Neon's care told the court that Ms Roberts' comments were very sensible and accepted that there could be side effects but said that without the treatment the little boy could die within a few months.

"I think it is a balance. I don't think it's a fine balance,"  said the doctor. "There is a distinct disadvantage in terms of the overall survival.

"There are side effects that occur but we must not underestimate the quality of life of patients who have these side effects."

He added: "The vast majority of parents will have concerns whether to make the decision but go with the treatment recommended."

Mr Roberts was not at the hearing because he was with Neon - but he wrote to tell the judge that he had agreed to radiotherapy because it seemed to be the"best course".

"Obviously I am concerned about side effects and slightly apprehensive about radiotherapy," said Mr Roberts' message.

"If Sally produces sufficient evidence that radiotherapy is not a necessity then I am happy to support her."

Mr Justice Bodey said the boy's condition was "the stuff of every parent's nightmare" and that he would balance the benefits of radiotherapy against the "downsides" when making his decision.

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Italy's Silvio Berlusconi Says He Will Run For PM

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has said he will run for prime minister again in a general election next year.

Speaking near the northern city of Milan, the leader of the right-wing People of Freedom party said: "I'm returning sadly to public service.

"And again, I'm doing it out of a sense of responsibility."

Mr Berlusconi, 76, stepped down in disgrace last year as Italy was on the brink of financial disaster.

His resignation paved the way for a government of unelected technocrats led by current prime minister Mario Monti.

Mr Berlusconi has since been convicted of tax fraud and now faces plunging poll numbers.

He is also on trial on charges of paying for sex with an underage prostitute - an allegation he has denied.

But the ever-combative conservative leader was not deterred. "I am running to win," he said. "The campaign is already on."

His centre-right camp has been in disarray recently, weakened by corruption scandals and infighting over who might succeed Mr Berlusconi as leader.

Karima El Mahroug is at the centre of Mr Berlusconi's sex case

Italy is to hold a general election in 2013, though the date has not been set.

Mr Berlusconi has been increasingly critical of the government's austerity measures, and this week his party pulled parliamentary support for Mr Monti's government, increasing the likelihood of a snap election.

It will be the sixth national election that Mr Berlusconi contests since he stepped into politics in the mid-1990s on the back of a business empire that includes the country's largest private broadcaster, publishing interests and a football team, AC Milan.

He has won three times and is already the longest-serving prime minister in post-war Italy.

Mr Berlusconi will be up against Pierluigi Bersani of the Democratic Party, who has just won a strong endorsement in primary votes held among centre-left voters across Italy.

Mr Bersani is widely seen as a front-runner, though Mr Berlusconi is a formidable campaigner with a history of comebacks.

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