World News joined 0008

[JohnCenaFan28]

A shop worker has died after being knocked to the ground by bargain-hunters who stormed into a superstore in New York's suburbs as it opened.

The 34-year-old man, along with several other workers and shoppers, was trampled in the rush at the Wal-Mart store in Valley Stream, Long Island.

US stores opened early and offered steep discounts on Friday.

The day after the Thanksgiving holiday is seen as the start of the Christmas shopping season.

It is regarded as an important test of how willing consumers are to spend.

Crowds of shoppers turned up at dawn at stores across the US to snare the best deals.

Wal-Mart, along with electronics retailer Best Buy and department stores Kohl's and Macy's, opened their doors at dawn.

Toys R Us offered up to 60% discounts from 0500 to 1000.

Several major retailers indicated that crowds were at least as large as last year's, but deep discounts are likely to hurt retailers' profit margins.

Many retailers have suffered as the US economy nosedives although value chains like Wal-Mart have fared better.

US retail sales recorded the biggest monthly decline since 1992 in October as consumers cut back on spending.

-BBC News

[DUKE NUKEM]

yeah that almost happen to a friend of mine at a best buy store with price cuts people act like animals

[JohnCenaFan28]

Tension is growing in the Thai capital Bangkok as thousands of anti-government protesters occupied the city's two main airports for a sixth day.

Police said they were negotiating with the group, as experts warned of soaring economic losses from the blockade.

Some 100,000 passengers remain stranded in the Thai capital. Some countries are putting on flights to bring them home.

Demonstrators want the government to step down, accusing it of being corrupt and hostile to the monarchy.

Fears of clashes between pro- and anti-government groups are growing, after a grenade attack in Bangkok.

Saturday's late-night attack on protesters occupying a government compound injured about 50 people, three of them seriously.

It is widely presumed to be retaliation for the airport occupation, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok.

And for the first time since the seizure, thousands of the government's own supporters have taken to the streets of Bangkok for a rally.

The red-shirted pro-government groups condemned the airport blockade and accused the protesters of economic sabotage.

So far the two sides have not encountered each other but there are fears of serious violence if they do, our correspondent adds.

'Avoid confrontation'

Demonstrators from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) - a loose alliance of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class - have been been occupying Bangkok's international and domestic airports for almost a week.

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has authorised police to remove them, but police say that they will not use force.

"We are in a negotiation process. We want to avoid any violent confrontation. We will not use weapons," police spokesman Pongsapat Pongcharoen said.

On Sunday, police at the domestic airport, Don Mueang, issued a fresh order to protesters to leave the terminal.

Similar orders have already been issued and ignored at both occupied airports and, say correspondents, few believe that police have the will to enforce them.

An estimated 100,000 passengers have been stranded by the seizures. Some travellers have been trying to get to smaller airports around the country, but these are being overwhelmed.

Spain's government says it will send three planes later on Sunday to evacuate its citizens. Australian airline Qantas is also putting on a special flight from the resort island of Phuket, ABC news reports.

The closures have hit Thailand's tourist industry hard, with the loss of millions of dollars of revenue. The Federation of Thai Industries estimates that the blockade is costing the country up to $85m (£55.4m) per day.

It is also expected to have a knock-on effect. Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaipravat said the number of foreign tourists arriving next year was expected to drop by half, threatening one million jobs.

More than 450 Muslim pilgrims stranded at the international airport were taken by bus on Sunday to a military base where they were to board a plane for the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

Our correspondent says there is an increasing risk of the civil conflict escalating in Thailand.

There is growing anger among pro-government supporters over the failure of the police and army to back the elected prime minister.

Mr Somchai, seen by the protesters as an ally of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has refused to resign in the face of the protests.

-BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

Swiss voters have backed a change in health policy that would provide prescription heroin to addicts.

Final results from the national referendum showed 68% of voters supported the plan.

The scheme, where addicts inject the drug under medical supervision at a clinic, began in Zurich 14 years ago before spreading across the country.

But in another referendum, the Swiss appear to have rejected the decriminalisation of cannabis.

The heroin vote was one of a series of referendums held to decide policy on illegal drugs.

Radical Swiss plan

The policy is described as one of last resort - prescribing addicts with the very drug that caused their problems in the first place - but supporters say it works, and Swiss voters appear to have agreed, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Berne says.

Switzerland would be the first country to include it in government policy.

Supporters say it has had positive results - getting long-term addicts out of Switzerland's once notorious "needle parks" and reducing drug-related crime.

Opponents say heroin prescription sends the wrong message to young people and harms the addicts themselves.

Cannabis questions

Under the scheme, addicts visit clinics up to twice a day, where they inject the drug under medical supervision. They can also be treated for other medical issues or mental health problems, out correspondent says.

On cannabis things were less clear - Swiss police regularly turn a blind eye to moderate cannabis use.

But recent studies suggesting that long-term use of the drug may be more harmful than previously thought looked likely to encourage a "No" to decriminalisation.

Early results showed only 36.8% of those voting supported decriminalising cannabis, the Associated Press (AP) news agency said.

-BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

Sporadic gunfire has been heard in the central Nigerian city of Jos, where hundreds are feared dead following two days of religious and ethnic clashes.

An eyewitness told the BBC that 10 more killings had taken place but a Red Cross spokesman said the situation was much calmer as troops kept order.

Muslims have begun burying their dead while the Christian community is still counting its casualties.

The violence was sparked by accusations that an election had been rigged.

Nigerian police and soldiers were patrolling the streets on Sunday with orders to shoot on sight any troublemakers.

Jos has seen repeated bouts of inter-communal violence, with more than 1,000 killed during riots in 2001.

At the Vatican, Roman Catholic Church leader Pope Benedict included Nigerian victims in his prayers on Sunday and urged the world to express "horror and disapproval" at the senseless violence.

Machete attacks

"The situation this morning is gradually returning to normal," army spokesman Brig Emeka Onwamaegbu told AFP news agency on Sunday.

"There's not been any cases this morning of any destruction or violence."

Violence flared up on Friday after the mostly Christian-backed governing party, the People's Democratic Party, was declared to have won the state elections in Plateau state, of which Jos is the capital city.

The result was contested by the opposition All Nigeria People's Party, which is perceived in the state as a predominantly Muslim party.

Groups of men from both the Muslim Hausa community and the other, mainly Christian ethnic groups took to the streets armed with machetes during the riots.

Houses, mosques and churches were burned and the Muslim dead were brought into the central mosque from the streets where they were killed.

The local imam said the number of dead was in the hundreds.

It is still not clear how many died among the other ethnic groups involved in the fighting whose dead were taken to the city's morgues.

While ethnic and religious violence has claimed thousands of lives in Nigeria in recent years, the real trigger for the violence is usually competition for resources, the BBC's Alex Last reports from Lagos.

And in Nigeria political office is perhaps the most powerful resource of all as it gives the holder access to some of country's huge oil revenues, our correspondent adds.

-BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

Somali pirates holding a ship full of military hardware have reached a deal with its Ukrainian owners to release it, reports say.

Gunmen seized the Kenya-bound MV Faina, carrying 33 tanks, grenade launchers and ammunition, on 24 September.

A pirate spokesman said releasing the ship was "a matter of time", but gave no details of a ransom payment.

Attacks by Somali pirates have escalated sharply in recent months, causing international concern.

Last month they seized a Saudi oil tanker, the Sirius Star, carrying oil worth more than $100m (£65m). Negotiations are currently under way for the release of the vessel and its 25-man crew.

'Technicalities'

The MV Faina, currently anchored off the pirate hub of Harardhere, has a mostly Ukrainian crew of 21. Pirates had initially demanded a ransom of $20m.

"It is just a matter of time and a few technicalities before the ship recovers its freedom," French news agency AFP quoted Sugule Ali speaking on behalf of the pirates.

"I can't tell you what the ransom is but what can I say is that an agreement has finally been reached," he added.

A Kenyan maritime official confirmed the deal and said the two sides were now "discussing the modalities of releasing the ship, crew and cargo".

Kenya says the arms are destined for its military, rejecting reports they were bound for the government of semi-autonomous southern Sudan.

Somalia has not had an effective national government for 17 years, leading to a collapse of law and order both on land and at sea.

Pirates there are currently holding more than a dozen hijacked ships.

-BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

China's President Hu Jintao has warned that the global financial crisis could weaken his country's competitiveness.

Mr Hu gave his warning at a meeting of the Politburo and his words have been made public by the state media.

As growth slows, Mr Hu said that in the coming period China would starkly confront the effects of the international financial crisis.

And he warned that the economic situation was a test of the Communist Party's ability to govern.

"External demand has obviously weakened and China's traditional competitive advantage is being gradually weakened," Mr Hu said, according to the official People's Daily newspaper.

"Whether the pressures can be turned into a driving force and the challenges turned to opportunities ... is a test of our ability to control a complex situation, and also a test of our party's governing ability," he added.

Action

Recent figures show that the government has cause to be worried.

Growth has slowed to 9% - and predictions say that it may drop to 7% or 8% next year.

These are dazzling figures for some economies, but there's a widespread belief - even a superstition - in China that growth needs to stay above 7% in order for social stability to be maintained.

China has already taken action.

This past week the central bank carried out the biggest cut in interest rates in more than a decade.

And earlier this month, the government announced a stimulus package of $586bn (£380bn).

This is enough, the Communist Party will hope, to get this country through the next year or two.

-BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

About 150 whales have died after being stranded in a remote coastal area of the Australian island of Tasmania.

Many of the long-finned pilot whales, which were discovered on Saturday, had been badly injured by jagged rocks.

Rescuers did manage to shepherd about 30 whales trapped in shallow reefs to safety using a small boat, an official said.

Whales pass Tasmania as they migrate to and from Antarctic waters and stranding is not uncommon.

Last week 11 whales were rescued after more than 60 became stranded off another part of the island.

Local residents and experts had worked to help this group of whales, stranded near Sandy Cape in north-west Tasmania, but most had been injured by rocks and reefs.

Officials moved one stranded whale that was calling to a group offshore, in a bid to prevent further deaths.

"Unfortunately, that whale died but what happened then was those 30 whales milling around seemed more willing to move on and with a boat in the water we managed to shepherd them out of the bay," Warwick Brennan, a spokesman for the department of primary industries and water, told AAP news agency.

Pilot whales are among the smaller whales, growing to about 5m (16ft) in length.

Scientists are not sure what causes whales to beach.

-BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

A man has been detained in China for throwing his mother's body into a river because he could not afford a funeral, state media said.

According to the Beijing News, the two were living together when the elderly woman died in early November.

Her son, a 28-year-old migrant worker, put her body in a bag and, with the help of a friend, threw it in a river.

He felt "like a bad son", he told the daily, because he had not been able to give her a good life or a good funeral.

The bag containing his mother's body was found two weeks later and the body traced back to him.

China's cities house millions of migrant workers, who fill the low-paid, sometimes dangerous jobs that city dwellers do not want.

-BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

Romanians are voting in the country's first parliamentary elections since joining the European Union in 2007.

Six main parties or alliances are competing for seats in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

The global economic crisis is likely to be the biggest issue for the 18 million Romanians eligible to vote.

PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu's centre-right Liberal Party has lagged in the polls with left-wing Social Democrats expected to do well, analysts say.

Polls opened at 0700 (0600 GMT) and close at 2100 (2000 GMT).

For the first time, Romanians are choosing from among individual candidates instead of party lists as they fill seats in the 452-member parliament.

But BBC Eastern Europe correspondent Nick Thorpe says the complex voting system has led some observers to express concerns about the possibility of fraud.

In the 19 years since the Romanian revolution, the left have traditionally shown more discipline, while centre-right alliances have achieved dramatic election victories, but broken up under the strains of governing, our correspondent says.

Romania's president has the power to nominate the prime minister - which can have a significant impact on the shape of the government, if the result is close.

-BBC News