Women, kids crushed in deadly stampede

Indian Hindu devotees cross a bamboo bridge as they gather to pay homage to the setting sun during Chhat Puja on the banks of the Ganges River in Patna. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

AT LEAST 18 people have been killed and more than a dozen injured following the collapse of a bridge which triggered a stampede during a Hindu festival in the eastern Indian city of Patna, officials said.

"Bodies of the 18 people killed in the stampede have been sent to the hospital for autopsies," Jayant Kant, a police superintendent in Patna said.

Mr Kant said the stampede occurred when a makeshift bridge erected to help people reach the Ganges river gave way under the weight of devotees rushing to offer prayers to the setting sun as part of an annual Hindu religious ritual.

Most of the casualties are thought to be the result of the stampede and not the collapse of the low-slung bamboo-and-rope bridge designed to help worshippers cross rough terrain.

"Ten women and eight children are among those killed," the police officer said, adding the toll was likely to go up as several other Hindu devotees were reported missing at the site.

Television stations showed ambulances with sirens wailing ferry worshippers to various city hospitals, while Sanjay Kumar Singh, a city administrator, said power darkness at the site made rescue efforts more difficult.

"When the bridge collapsed, power cables strung on it snapped and lights went off and in the darkness people scrambled which triggered the stampede," Mr Singh said.

Patna is capital of the eastern Indian state of Bihar, where the annual Chhath festival dedicated to the Hindu Sun God is popular.

An estimated 400,000 Hindu devotees thronged upto 65 riverside locations specially prepared by state authorities to cater to worshippers travelling to the Ganges, which is revered by Hindus as holy.

Around 50,000 people were present at Adalat Ganj, one of the worship locations, when the makeshift bridge collapsed, officials said.

The festival is celebrated across India and the number of devotees are likely to swell at dawn today when worshippers will throng rivers to offer prayers to the rising sun.

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US stocks jump on 'fiscal cliff' hopes

US stocks have scored solid opening gains on hopes that political leaders will find a way to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts in January.

After five minutes of trade on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 108.12 points, or 0.86 per cent, at 12,696.43.

The S&P 500-stock index advanced 16.34 points, or 1.20 per cent, to 1,376.22.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite leaped 33.96 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 2,887.09.

"Markets are looking to extend Friday's gains on hopes that progress will be made surrounding the fiscal cliff," said Wells Fargo Advisors analysts.

"Investors are encouraged after President Obama said on his trip to South-East Asia that he believes a budget deal will be reached."

On Friday, stocks rebounded slightly following a rough week as the White House opened talks with congressional leaders on the cliff and the deficit, with politicians on both sides signalling readiness to compromise.

The Dow rose 0.37 per cent and the S&P 500 added 0.48 per cent.

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Syria opposition to be based in Egypt

A NEWLY formed Syrian opposition bloc that has received Arab and international backing is to be based in Egypt, its head Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib has told the official MENA news agency.

"It has been decided that the Syrian National Coalition will have its headquarters in Egypt," Khatib was quoted as saying after talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr.

Amr said Egypt was willing to "offer any assistance to the coalition in the coming phase".

The National Coalition was formed last week after extensive talks in Doha, Qatar, one of the six Gulf states that have officially recognised it as the representative of the Syrian people, along with France and Turkey.

The Arab League has recognised the alliance as "the legitimate representative of the Syrian opposition".

The coalition aims to present a united front to the international community and is lobbying for weapons and cash to help it topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But the main Islamist rebel groups in Aleppo, a key frontline in Syria's civil war, have rejected the bloc and instead called for an Islamic state.

Khatib said the coalition - which brings together 14 groups including the powerful Syrian National Council - would work to include all the holdouts.

He said the National Coalition would be holding a meeting in Cairo "within 10 days" and "we will listen to our brothers who have not joined this coalition".

"Many positive steps have been taken ... we will communicate with our brothers who have reservations for further co-operation for the sake of the Syrian people," Khatib said.

The conflict in Syria has claimed upwards of 39,000 lives since it broke out more than 20 months ago, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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Berlusconi accountant held hostage

SILVIO Berlusconi's accountant was taken hostage in his home last month by armed intruders who demanded a 35 million euro ($A43 million) ransom from the former Italian prime minister, police say.

The police have arrested three Italians and three Albanian citizens accused of taking Giuseppe Spinelli, one of Berlusconi's closest allies, and his wife Anna hostage for a night in October.

Three attackers forced their way into Spinelli's apartment on October 15, and in the early hours of the following morning forced him to call Berlusconi, demanding the ransom for the couple's release.

In exchange for the ransom, they also offered to hand over documents they claimed would overturn a guilty verdict for graft against one of the ex-prime minister's companies, according to media reports.

"Spinelli was suffering from shock. He could not say he had been taken hostage because he feared for his wife's life" during the telephone call to Berlusconi, said Niccolo Ghedini, one of the media magnate's lawyers.

"He was terrified, he was still being threatened with weapons," he said.

The three intruders, who had been tracking Spinelli's movements since June, left a few hours later, taking with them the building's video surveillance tapes.

Police said there was no evidence the ransom had been paid.

Spinelli, 71, is one of Berlusconi's closest friends. The media magnate, who is currently on trial for paying a 17-year-old call girl for sex, entrusted his accountant with giving cash presents to young girls invited to his parties.

The ex-prime minister's lawyers did not alert police to the hostage situation and extortion attempt until 30 hours later, according to media reports.

The intruders claimed the documents they had in hand would overturn a court ruling in 2011 that ordered one of Berlusconi's family companies to pay 560 million euros to a rival group as compensation for corrupt activities in a takeover battle.

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S African gunman guilty of Dewani murder

A JUDGE has found a South African man guilty of killing Swedish newlywed Anni Dewani while she was on her honeymoon in Cape Town two years ago, amid claims her husband organised the hit.

"I'm satisfied that the accused has committed the crime of murder," Judge Robert Henney told the High Court on Monday, delivering the verdict against Xolile Mngeni.

Dewani, a Swede of Indian origin, had been married for just two weeks when she was killed in November 2010, in what prosecutors said was a faked hijacking.

Henney told the High Court that Mngeni, a suspected small-time drug dealer, had plotted with two co-accused to carry out the premeditated murder for 15,000 rand (now $A1650).

Henney convicted the 25-year-old of firing the shot that killed Dewani, robbery with aggravating circumstances and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Dewani's husband Shrien Dewani is accused of orchestrating the hit, but has protested his innocence and is fighting extradition to South Africa.

The judge did not rule on Shrien's alleged culpability, focusing on the role of Mngeni.

Dewani was killed by a single gunshot while travelling in the back of the car with her British husband.

"During this incident, the deceased was shot once through the neck by the accused as a result of which, she died," said Henney, who said the co-accused had planned the murder to appear a car hijacking.

Two local men already jailed over the killing have fingered Shrien as their paymaster.

Mngeni, who has undergone surgery for a brain tumour and needed a walking frame to move to and from the dock, appeared unmoved as the verdict was handed down.

He had pleaded not guilty to killing the bride, but admitted that his palm print was on the car in which Dewani's lifeless body was found in a poor Cape Town township and had also pointed out key scenes to police.

The judge dismissed Mngeni's version of the night's events as "riddled with improbabilities, inconsistencies and untruths" and his testimony as "dishonest".

Shrien Dewani is being treated at a secure mental hospital in the English city of Bristol ahead of a court decision on his extradition.

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No need for abuse comment apology: Barnett

WEST Australian Premier Colin Barnett says the state opposition's response to his comments about the royal commission into child sex abuse was wrong and inappropriate.

Opposition child protection spokeswoman Sue Ellery called on the premier to apologise to victims of child abuse after he told ABC radio that the far-reaching national inquiry announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard last week could destroy institutions around the country.

Mr Barnett said he held grave concerns about the legacy the massive inquiry may leave on the organisations investigated and the victims involved.

The premier said he hoped the royal commission would achieve positive outcomes, "but I also fear for the negativity that could come out of it".

"I think you will see many people's lives destroyed. I think you will see many of Australia's institutions - which may have been at fault - also destroyed, and great divisions in the community," he told ABC radio.

But Ms Ellery said the premier's reservations made light of the abuse suffered by many people over many years, saying his comments showed "an appalling lack of sensitivity", and that the royal commission would be an important part of the healing process for victims.

"Most Western Australians would be appalled that the premier appears more concerned about protecting the perpetrators than providing a platform to investigate abuse claims," she said.

However, Mr Barnett said Ms Ellery's comments were wrong and inappropriate.

Mr Barnett said the WA government's concern for the victims of child sexual abuse had been illustrated by its efforts with the St Andrew's Hostel inquiry earlier this year, conducted by former Supreme Court Justice Peter Blaxell.

The inquiry initially focused on events in the 1970s and 1980s at the St Andrew's Hostel in Katanning, run by notorious pedophile brothers Dennis and Neil McKenna, and was later expanded to St Christopher's Hostel in Northam, Hardie House in South Hedland and St Michael's House in Merredin.

"The WA Government also made ex-gratia payments to more than 5000 survivors of child abuse in a scheme that closed last year," Mr Barnett said later on Monday.

"This scheme allowed victims of child abuse an opportunity to tell their story and for the first time for many to be believed.

"As I said in this (ABC radio) interview and on many other occasions, Western Australia will fully co-operate with the royal commission announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard."

AAP rlm/apm

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Speedster Clunes loses insurance gig

A STRING of speeding fines has cost British TV star Martin Clunes more than his driver's licence.

The Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly star, 50, has lost his job as the promotional face of UK insurance firm Churchill, after admitting to the company that a culmination of infringements meant he no longer had the legal right to get behind the wheel.

A statement from the insurer said advertisements featuring Clunes, in which the star was sometimes shown riding a motorcycle, have been cancelled.

"Churchill Insurance currently has no adverts with Martin Clunes on air and will be moving forward with new advertising in the New Year," the statement read.

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Intel to seek new CEO, Otellini to retire

COMPUTER chip giant Intel Corp has announced that chief executive Paul Otellini will retire in May, and that a search for a new CEO is under way.

"The board of directors will conduct the process to choose Otellini's successor and will consider internal and external candidates for the job," said a statement from the Santa Clara, California tech giant on Monday.

"Otellini's decision to retire will bring to a close a remarkable career of nearly 40 years of continuous service to the company and its stockholders."

The company said that since Otellini took over as CEO in 2005, it generated cash from operations of $US107 billion ($A104 billion) and annual revenue grew from $US38.8 billion to $US54 billion.

But the world's largest chipmaker has been hit recently by a shift away from traditional PCs to mobile devices, and by a sluggish global economy.

The semiconductor maker said last month third quarter profits fell 14 per cent from the same period a year ago to $US2.97 billion on revenues of $US13.5 billion, down five per cent, and cited "a continuing tough economic environment".

Intel remains the dominant chipmaker in the PC market but has been catching up in the field of mobile devices including smartphones and tablets.

"Paul Otellini has been a very strong leader, only the fifth CEO in the company's great 45-year history, and one who has managed the company through challenging times and market transitions," said Andy Bryant, chairman of the board, in a statement announcing Otellini's plans.

"The board is grateful for his innumerable contributions to the company and his distinguished tenure as CEO over the last eight years."

Intel also said the board has approved the promotion of three senior leaders to the position of executive vice president: Renee James, head of Intel's software business; Brian Krzanich, chief operating officer and head of worldwide manufacturing; and Stacy Smith, chief financial officer and director of corporate strategy.

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