World News joined 0012

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One of the 19 survivors of Wednesday's plane crash at the Barajas airport near Madrid has died, bringing the number of people killed in the crash to 154.



Maria Luisa Estevez Gonzalez died from her injuries in hospital in Madrid, according to the city's health service.

She had been badly burned when Spanair flight JK 5022, bound for the Canary Islands, crashed just after take-off.

Madrid's health service said that two other survivors remain in a very serious condition.

DNA techniques

The Spanish government has promised a full investigation into the crash, which is the country's worst air accident in 25 years.

Spain's Interior Minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, has said that 53 of the people killed in the crash had been identified using their fingerprints.

Most of the remaining victims will have to be identified using DNA techniques because they were so badly burned in the accident.

BBC News

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A passenger plane has crashed shortly after take-off from Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, killing a large number of those on board.



The head of Kyrgyzstan's civil aviation authority said that out of about 90 passengers and crew, only about 20 people have survived.

The Itek Air Boeing 737 took off bound for Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran, but turned round some 10 minutes later.

An airport spokeswoman said the crew had reported a technical problem.

The plane was returning to Bishkek airport but crashed before it could land, the spokeswoman said.

Officials from a nearby US base said they were trying to help with the rescue effort.

"At the moment rescue teams, fire brigades and medics are rushing to the crash site," a spokeswoman for the US air base located in Manas, 30km (20 miles) from Bishkek, told Russia's RIA news agency.

Uncertainty

There was confusion over the number of people on board - with reports ranging from 83 to 123.

They were understood to include a Kyrgyz school basketball team.

Prime Minister Igor Chudinov said 51 of the passengers were foreigners, including people from China, Turkey, Iran and Canada.

It was not clear what had caused the plane to crash.

The prime minister said the pilot had survived, but "it is difficult to talk to him right now".

Airport employees said the fuselage of the plane was destroyed by flames and only the tail remained intact.

Yelena Bayalinova, spokeswoman for the Kyrgyz health ministry, told the Interfax news agency that many victims of the crash had suffered burns, and that some were in critical condition.

The plane belonged to Itek Air, a Kyrgyz company, but was reportedly operated by Iran Aseman Airlines.

Itek Air is on a list of airlines banned from EU airspace because of fears over safety standards.

BBC News

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Five US aid workers are among 10 people who died in a plane crash in Guatemala on Sunday, police in the Central American state say.



The Guatemalan pilot and co-pilot were also killed when the small aircraft crashed about 90km (55 miles) east of the capital, Guatemala City.

Four other Americans injured on the plane were airlifted to hospital.

Initial reports suggest engine failure was to blame for the crash of the single-engine Cessna Caravan 208.

Victims' bodies were reportedly badly burnt, making it difficult to identify them and establish their nationalities.

'The engine just stopped'

The pilot reported engine trouble about 45 minutes after take-off and tried to make an emergency landing, Civil Aviation director Jose Carlos said.

The plane, which had been en route to El Estor close to the Caribbean coast, came down in a field of crops.

The survivors were ferried to Guatemala City by helicopter.

US citizen Sarah Jensen, 19, said her father and brother had been killed and her mother badly burned on her arms and legs.

"Ten minutes before [the crash] the engine just stopped and then we coasted," she told Reuters news agency, as she limped across the tarmac.

"We tried to land in a field but we overshot. The people on the left side of the plane were okay because there was a big door."

Ms Jensen and her family had been on a mission to build houses in a village near El Estor.

BBC News

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Rescue teams and France's interior minister say there is little hope of saving several climbers swept away by an avalanche in the Mont Blanc range.



At least eight people are thought to be trapped under the snow. They were among a party of climbers hit by a wall of snow 200m (600ft) long and 50m wide.

Eight survived the snowslide and were taken to a hospital in Chamonix.

The search for survivors, involving helicopters and rescuers with dogs, has been hindered by new avalanche threats.

Officials said the eight missing on the Mont-Blanc du Tacul mountain included five Austrians and two Swiss climbers.

Originally there were reported to be 10 people missing, but police later revised that figure to eight, the AFP news agency reported.

However France's Interior Minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, said it was impossible to know for certain how many were missing.

The minister, who flew into the area on Sunday evening, said that by then there was "no longer any chance of finding someone alive".

That echoed the opinion of a search official interviewed on LCI television, who said there was "no hope" of recovering anyone alive.

After a day in which 40 searchers, with specially trained dogs, and three helicopters failed to find any trace of the missing adventurers, the search was called off. Officials said conditions and the threat of fresh avalanches made it too dangerous to continue.

'Wall of ice'

The eight people brought to safety were reported to include five French climbers and three Italians, aged between 26 and 37 years.

One, Italian Marco Delfini, told LCI he saw "a wall of ice coming towards us and then we were carried 200 metres".

"I was not completely submerged... I managed to help the others," he said.

The avalanche is believed to have happened at about 0300 (0100 GMT), after a large block of glacier ice broke off higher up the mountain. Often climbers set out very early in the morning when attempting a major trek.

"It's probable, according to statements made to us, that the climbers roped together were on the path up the mountain, and in the place where the block of ice tumbled down," Eric Fournier, the mayor of nearby Chamonix, told AFP.

The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says it has been a lethal summer in the Alps with about 100 climbers killed since 1 June in France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland - about 20 of them have died on Mont Blanc.

BBC News

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A suicide bomber has attacked a celebratory feast in Baghdad's western Abu Ghraib district, killing at least 25 people, according to police.



About 30 people are also reported to have been injured when the attacker detonated an explosive vest.

The explosion took place at the home of a tribal sheikh, attended by police and members of the Sunni "Awakening" group, which opposes al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The guests were celebrating the release of a local man from US detention.

The attack took place at around 2030 local time (1730 GMT), according to an interior ministry official.

Abu Ghraib is a mainly Sunni district between central Baghdad and Fallujah.

Al-Qaeda has warned that it will target members of Sunni Awakening groups, which have sprung up across Iraq and which are supported and financed by the US military.

Awakening groups first appeared in the western province of Anbar in 2006 when Sunni tribal leaders started to turn against Al-Qaeda.

BBC News

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Row Over Hindley Image In Beijing


Downing Street and the London Mayor have condemned a video showing a Myra Hindley portrait after the footage was shown in Beijing.

The picture of the Moors murderer appeared in a Visit London promotional video shown at London House, where the Prime Minister, Mayor and British Olympic team celebrated the handover of the Games.

The three-minute film was supposed to highlight the capital's cultural heritage ahead of London 2012.

The notorious piece of art by Marcus Harvey was seen during a segment of the video filmed in a gallery where it was on display.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The use of this image is in extremely poor
taste and it should not have been used to promote London."

And speaking from Beijing, Sky News' chief political correspondent Jon Craig said that a senior Government source told him: "It is a total disgrace.

"This proud night for Britain has been sullied by this grotesque representation of London.

"Clearly whoever was responsible must be found and fired immediately."

A spokesman for Boris Johnson said the Mayor was "deeply disturbed".

But Visit London described the reaction as "out of proportion".

In a statement it said: "The video is not for general public use and has been used many times over the last few years to show to the tourism trade.

"There has never been a complaint made about the video up until this point.

"However, if any offence has been caused, we will withdraw it from use with immediate effect."

The painting, made from children's handprints, was vandalised while on display in the Royal Academy in 1997.

Hindley was jailed for life along with her lover Ian Brady for the murders of four children between 1963 and 1964. She died in 2002.


sky news

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Warner Bros is suing an Indian film studio over their plans to release a film called Hari Puttar

The studio believes the film, which concerns a 10-year-old Indian boy who moves to the UK, infringes on the copyright of their Harry Potter franchise.

A Warner Bros spokesperson said: "We have recently commenced proceedings against parties involved in the production and distribution of a movie entitled Hari Puttar. Warner Bros values and protects intellectual property rights. However, it is our policy not to discuss publicly the details of any ongoing litigation."

The CEO of the Indian film company responsible for the film said: "Since the case is sub-judice, we can't comment as of now. However, we registered the Hari Puttar title in 2005, and it's unfortunate.
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Source-Yahoo.com

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Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has won a landslide victory in a by-election in Penang.



A high turnout saw his People's Justice Party winning 31,195 of 47,000 votes, the Election Commission said.

The result returns Mr Anwar to parliament after a decade's absence, and comes despite sodomy charges he says are politically motivated.

The 61-year-old has been trying to make his political comeback since a ban on seeking public office expired in April.

He had been expected to win but the level of support for him was substantial - gaining almost double the votes of his opponent, reports the BBC's Robin Brant from Penang.

'Critical point'

Mr Anwar told the BBC the overwhelming by-election victory was a "key point of departure" for his coalition in its campaign to bring down the government.

"It is an endorsement of our policies and a rejection of the obsolete policies, the corrupt policies of the government," he said.

He added that Malaysia's embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi "must take heed of the sentiments and the call of Malaysians".

Mr Anwar defeated Arif Shah Omar of the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition.

Although only a single seat was at stake, the event transfixed Malaysians. While the result will not change the balance of power, it will strengthen Mr Anwar's hand in his campaign to become the next prime minister, our correspondent adds.

Thousands of rival supporters had flooded into the small area of Permatang Pauh to try to help or hinder Mr Anwar, and there was a heavy police presence in Penang as votes were cast.

"The Malaysians consider this a critical point in our history, whether we get the mandate to chart a new course for Malaysia or we should just be happy with the same corrupt establishment," Mr Anwar told reporters before the vote.

'Jihad'

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who lead the ruling party's campaign, told the BBC the vote represented a "titanic struggle".

One senior government politician even described it as a "jihad".

Observers said government-controlled newspapers had led an assault on Mr Anwar, emphasising the sodomy allegations against him.

Voting irregularities were uncovered, and several Israeli flags were also put up - in an apparent attempt by government supporters to persuade the mainly Muslim voters that the opposition leader was sympathetic to the Jewish state.

Mr Anwar was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998, and jailed for six years for sodomy and corruption - allegations he always denied.

BBC News