Probe into deadly US elderly home fire

29 December 2014 Last updated at 18:07

Authorities are investigating a fire at a retirement home near San Antonio, Texas that killed five residents and hospitalised 17 more people.

Officials say that about 80 other people are unaccounted for, but are likely to be with family.

The fire broke out early Sunday morning, and required over 150 firefighters to extinguish.

The cause of the fire is not known, but appears to have started on the third floor of the 11-storey complex.

Authorities are now reaching out to the missing residents' emergency contacts in an attempt to locate those who are unaccounted for.

Castle Hills City Manager Diane Pfeil said those missing may have gone home for the Christmas holiday, and were probably not in the building when the fire started.

As the fire burned, many residents were able to leave on their own but several were unable to walk and had to be carried away.

Some were removed from the upper floors by fire ladders.

"After looking at the floors, it is amazing that we did not have more loss of life," San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told the Reuters news agency.

As the rescue operation took place, transport was organised to take some residents to a nearby school where a makeshift shelter was set up.

The facility's management company is organising accommodation for residents who have nowhere to go.

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US strike targets al-Shabab leader

29 December 2014 Last updated at 22:28

The US says it has conducted an air strike against the Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab in Somalia.

Its target was a "senior leader" in the area of Saakow, according to a statement by the US defence department.

"At this time, we do not assess there to be any civilian or bystander casualties," it said.

The US has supported the African Union (AU) force that has driven al-Shabab out of the capital Mogadishu and other towns since 2011.

In September, al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in a US air strike.

The US did not identify the leader targeted in the latest strike or say whether the strike was successful.

The statement continued: "We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information, when appropriate, as details become available."

The air strike came two days after top al-Shabab militant, Zakariya Ahmed Ismail Hersi, gave himself up.

Mr Hersi, a leading figure in the militant group's intelligence wing, surrendered to police in the Gedo region.

In June 2012, the US state department offered $3m (£1.9m; 2.5m euros) for information leading to his capture.

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George Bush Sr remains in hospital

28 December 2014 Last updated at 00:38

Former US President George Bush Sr will remain in hospital this weekend but could be discharged soon, his spokesman says.

Mr Bush, 90, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday after suffering from a shortness of breath.

His spokesman Jim McGrath said his condition had improved and doctors were "discussing dates for his discharge".

Mr Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, was visited by family on Christmas Day.

Two years ago, Mr Bush was treated in the same hospital for more than two months for a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.

He is the oldest living former US president and a World War II veteran. He can no longer use his legs, but in June celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump.

His son George W Bush served as president from 2001 to 2009.

Another son, Jeb, said this month he will "actively explore the possibility of running for president" in 2016.

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Facebook says sorry for Year in Review

Facebook was launched in 2004 and boasts 1.35 billion monthly active users

Facebook has apologised over its Year in Review feature after some users complained about the images chosen to sum up their 2014.

Eric Meyer described the feature as "jarring" and "wrong" after he logged on to discover a picture of his six-year-old daughter, who had died earlier in the year, was selected.

The photo album, which is automatically generated, includes photo uploads and wall posts that received the most "Likes" over the past 12 months.

Facebook say it is looking at ways to improve the app to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Facebook ended 2014 by creating a photo album with the most popular uploads from users

In a blog Meyer wrote: "I know, of course, that this is not a deliberate assault.

"This inadvertent algorithmic cruelty is the result of code that works in the overwhelming majority of cases.

"The Year in Review ad keeps coming up in my feed. There wasn't enough thought given to cases like mine or anyone who had a bad year.

"The design is for the ideal user, the happy, upbeat, good-life user. It doesn't take other user cases into account."

Jonathan Gheller, product manager for Facebook, told the Washington Post that the social network site had been in touch with Mr Meyer.

Gheller said: "[The Year in Review feature is] awesome for a lot of people, but clearly in this case we brought him grief rather than joy."

Facebook has also seen complaints from users after pictures of deceased pets and an urn containing human remains were selected as "highlights" of the year.

Writer, Julieanne Smolinski, uploaded one of the images automatically chosen to select her best bits of 2014, a picture of her ex's house on fire.

She wrote: "So my (beloved) ex-boyfriend's apartment caught fire this year, which was very sad, but Facebook made it worth it."

The photo album, which users could personalise before sharing also ended with the caption, "See You Next Year!"

Facebook, which boasts 1.35 billion monthly active users, was launched in 2004.

The company also owns WhatsApp and Instagram.

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Obama suggests Putin 'not so smart'

30 December 2014 Last updated at 01:44

President Barack Obama has said Vladimir Putin made a "strategic mistake" when he annexed Crimea, in a move that was "not so smart".

Those thinking his Russian counterpart was a "genius" had been proven wrong by Russia's economic crisis, he said.

International sanctions had made Russia's economy particularly vulnerable to changes in oil price, Mr Obama said.

He also refused to rule out opening a US embassy in Iran soon.

"I never say never but I think these things have to go in steps" he told NPR's Steve Inskeep in the Oval Office.

'Reliant on oil'

Mr Obama was giving a wide-ranging interview with NPR shortly before leaving for Hawaii for his annual holiday.

He criticised his political opponents who claimed he had been outdone by Russia's president.

"You'll recall that three or four months ago, everybody in Washington was convinced that President Putin was a genius and he had outmanoeuvred all of us and he had bullied and strategised his way into expanding Russian power," he said.

"Today, I'd sense that at least outside of Russia, maybe some people are thinking what Putin did wasn't so smart."

Mr Obama argued that sanctions had made the Russian economy vulnerable to "inevitable" disruptions in oil price which, when they came, led to "enormous difficulties".

"The big advantage we have with Russia is we've got a dynamic, vital economy, and they don't," he said. "They rely on oil. We rely on oil and iPads and movies and you name it."

Following a disputed referendum in Crimea, Russia unilaterally annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in March. It did so weeks after a revolution ousted Ukraine's pro-Russian President, Viktor Yanukovych.

The US, EU and other countries then implemented a series of economic sanctions against Russia.

The Russian currency has since lost half its value against the dollar and the economy has begun to contract.

Mr Obama also said that sending US troops to fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria would be counter-productive.

"If we do for others what they need to do for themselves - if we come in and send the Marines in to fight ISIL [IS], and the Iraqis have no skin in the game, then it's not going to last," he said.

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VIDEO: Police deliver baby on subway train

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Wolf 'most pirated film of 2014'

29 December 2014 Last updated at 10:26

The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese's true-life tale of corrupt New York stockbrokers, was the most illegally downloaded movie of 2014.

Disney cartoon Frozen was second on the list, said The Hollywood Reporter, quoting piracy-tracking firm Excipio.

Both films were downloaded around 30 million times by torrent users between 1 January and 23 December 2014.

The third most-pirated film was space thriller Gravity.

It was just behind Frozen with 29.357 million downloads.

The Wolf of Wall Street, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort, caused controversy when it was released in the US a year ago for its scenes of sex and drug-taking.

It was nominated for best picture at the Oscars and contained more than 500 uses of the F-word in its almost three-hour running time.

Other Oscar nominees in the most-pirated top 20 included 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle and Captain Phillips.

The Hollywood Reporter noted that the biggest-grossing film of the year, The Guardians of the Galaxy, was not on the list "perhaps because anyone interested in the film opted to see it in theaters".

And Variety reported that while the number three spot went to RoboCop, the figures included both MGM's 2014 reboot as well as the original 1987 version.

Top 20

• 1. The Wolf of Wall Street 30.035m
• 2. Frozen 29.919m
• 3. RoboCop 29.879m
• 4. Gravity 29.357m
• 5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 27.627m
• 6. Thor: The Dark World 25.749m
• 7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 25.628m
• 8. The Legend of Hercules 25.137m
• 9. X-Men: Days of Future Past 24.380m
• 10. 12 Years a Slave 23.653 million
• 11. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 23.543m
• 12. American Hustle 23.143m
• 13. 300: Rise of an Empire 23.096m
• 14. Transformers: Age of Extinction 21.65m
• 15. Godzilla 20.956m
• 16. Noah 20.334m
• 17. Divergent 20.312m
• 18. Edge of Tomorrow 20.299m
• 19. Captain Phillips 19.817m
• 20. Lone Survivor 19.130m

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US bishop admits fatal hit-and-run

29 December 2014 Last updated at 17:10

Maryland's first female Episcopal bishop was the driver in a hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist in Baltimore, the diocese says.

Bishop Suffragan Heather Cook's vehicle collided with Tom Palermo, 41 on Saturday and initially left the scene.

Diocesan Bishop Eugene Sutton told clergy members in an email that Bishop Cook returned 20 minutes later "to take responsibility for her actions".

Ms Cook, who was elected bishop in September, has been put on leave.

"Together with the Diocese of Maryland, I express my deep sorrow over the death of the cyclist and offer my condolences to the victim's family," Bishop Sutton said.

"Please pray for Mr Palermo, his family and Bishop Cook during this most difficult time."

Bishop Cook was ordained priest in 1987 and served in Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania before returning to the state.

A small makeshift memorial was created near the road where Mr Palermo was killed. The road had a designated bike lane.

Police, who did not identify Ms Cook, did not say when or if charges would be filed against the driver.

Chris Merriam said Mr Palermo, a father of two, was well-known among bicyclists in the area for his custom bike frames.

"He was a craftsman," Mr Merriam said. "He was a very talented guy, and a lot of people knew him."

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Virgin jet makes emergency landing

29 December 2014 Last updated at 20:40

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Passenger Hardeek Desai filmed inside the plane and on the runway

A Virgin Atlantic passenger plane has landed safely at London's Gatwick Airport after discovering a problem with part of its main landing gear.

Virgin flight VS43 with 447 passengers and 15 crew was travelling from Gatwick to Las Vegas when it had to return.

The Boeing 747 circled over southern England for several hours dumping fuel before making a bumpy but safe landing just before 16:00 GMT.

Gatwick's runway reopened at 19:03 GMT after being closed by the emergency.

Budget airline Easyjet said 12 of its flights due to land at Gatwick on Monday had been diverted and 32 due to depart from the airport had been cancelled.

In a statement, Gatwick Airport said: "The airport is now facilitating inbound and outbound flights but it will take some time for normal service to resume.

"We advise passengers to check with their airlines on the status of their flight. Updates will also be posted on the Gatwick website and on Twitter."

The statement said the airport was working with its airline partners to provide food, drink and welfare facilities to those affected by the delays and cancellations and volunteers were helping provide advice.

Arriving flights had been diverted to other London airports, while departing aircraft were severely delayed while the Virgin jet was being assessed on the runway.

Circled airport

The 13-year-old aircraft had left Gatwick for the US at 11:30 GMT on Monday.

After detecting the problem, the aircraft needed to fly holding patterns over Devon and then Sussex to dump fuel in order to be light enough to land.

Before the successful conclusion to the incident, Virgin announced the plane would be carrying out a "non-standard landing procedure" at Gatwick airport.

Pictures posted on Twitter of the aircraft circling over East and West Sussex showed part of the main landing gear had not fully extended.

Eyewitnesses reported the jet was flying at relatively low altitude and the pilot appeared to be trying to "shake" the landing gear down.

Nick Hughes, who was on board, said the crew made several attempts to try to free the landing gear.

"They put the thrust on quite heavily and then dipped down, I think, to try and loosen the gears but obviously nothing kind of worked.

'Some crying'

"They gave it every opportunity before they tried the emergency landing. All credit due to the crew and the staff and of course the pilots because the landing was probably one of the softest landings I've ever had."

Another passenger, Hardeek Desai, said: "The staff were trying to keep everyone calm but a few passengers were a bit panicky. One of the crew came out to the seating area to reassure everyone everything was going to be OK.

"The staff were giving out thing like drinks and water to everyone to make sure everyone's OK. Generally, the mood was pretty good at this point until we hit the brace position."

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Watch the moment the aircraft landed safely

Describing the mood on the plane as it was circling, passenger Dan Crane, 24, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, said it was "anxious, a lot were worried, some crying. The mood was quiet, just waiting for the captain's next announcement."

Mr Crane, who is with family and friends, said the crew kept everyone informed, adding: "They said it was an emergency landing and we had to brace on impact."

Sunjay Patel told the BBC: "It's been a rollercoaster. Yesterday I found out that I was going to Vegas for my 30th birthday, and not going to Vegas today it's been quite a crazy 24 hours. I can't wait to get to Vegas to enjoy it now."

He said the passengers had been taken to a hotel but they did not know when there would be a replacement flight.

'Upsetting situation'

Another passenger, Mike Kaufman, said: "This was one of the greatest emergency landings in history. It was very smooth."

He praised the pilots and the cabin crew, saying the landing had been "textbook".

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Craig Kreeger said: "I am very pleased to confirm that all customers and crew have now disembarked the VS43 flight to Las Vegas, which returned to Gatwick airport this afternoon following a problem with one of the landing gear.

"I understand that this will have been a very upsetting situation for the customers involved, and for their friends and family, and will have significantly disrupted people's holiday plans.

"We will make sure they are well looked after this evening, and will be operating a special flight tomorrow for everyone who would like to continue their journey."

Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson tweeted: "Well done @VirginAtlantic pilots & team for safe & skilful landing of #VS43. Thoughts with passengers & crew, thanks for support & patience."

A spokesman for British pilots' organisation Balpa said: "Pilots train hard for exactly this kind of situation. It goes to show that well-trained pilots are vital."

Route taken by Virgin flight VS43

Are you, or is someone you know, affected by this story? Are you in the Gatwick area? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with any information. Please leave a telephone number if you are willing to be contacted by a BBC journalist.

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LA police 'shot man in back'

30 December 2014 Last updated at 00:24

A 25-year-old black man killed by police in Los Angeles was shot three times, including in the back at close range, a post-mortem report has found.

Ezell Ford was killed in August after a struggle in which police say he tried to grab an officer's gun.

He was hit in his right side, right arm and back, where a muzzle imprint was found with the wound, the report says.

The findings come after a string of police shootings of black men generated protests nationwide.

Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, were killed by on-duty police officers who were later not charged over the deaths, sparking nationwide protests over perceived police injustices.

Many demonstrators in Los Angeles invoked the case of Ezell Ford.

Appeal for witnesses

LA's police chief, Charlie Beck, said the report backed officer accounts but he appealed for more witnesses.

"We will find out the truth about what happened that August night but we need the public's help," he told a press conference.

According to Mr Beck, police officers reported that Mr Ford had attracted their attention with suspicious actions before knocking one officer to the ground.

Mr Ford was on top of an officer and grappling for the officer's holstered weapon when another officer fired two shots and the struggling officer pulled out a back-up gun and shot Mr Ford in the back, Mr Beck said on Monday, reading out an account of the incident.

Mr Ford's parents have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in which they assert that police knew their son had a mental illness.

The coroner's report was not made public for months because police said they did not want witnesses to be influenced before they had given statements.

But with residents in South LA calling for more transparency, the city's mayor, Eric Garcetti, last month urged the police to allow the release of the coroner's findings.

Last week attention turned to the safety of police officers after two were killed sitting in their patrol cars in New York, by a gunman who cited the Garner and Brown cases before carrying out the attack.

Police were also attacked in LA on Sunday night but no one was hurt. A man is under arrest.

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St Louis shooting 'unlike Ferguson'

25 December 2014 Last updated at 05:36

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Mayor Theodore Hoskins: "The deceased pointed a gun at the officer"

The mayor of the St Louis suburb where a white police officer shot dead a black teenager has said the case cannot be compared to that of Michael Brown.

Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said surveillance footage appeared to show 18-year-old Antonio Martin pulling a gun shortly before he was shot.

That distinguished the shooting from that of Mr Brown, who was unarmed, in nearby Ferguson this summer.

Protesters clashed with police on Tuesday night in Berkeley.

On Wednesday, a smaller crowd of protesters gathered at the petrol station where Mr Martin was shot.

Berkeley is about two miles (3km) from the St Louis suburb of Ferguson, where Mr Brown, also 18, was shot dead by a white officer in August.

His death and a subsequent grand jury decision not to charge the officer triggered nationwide protests. There were further protests over the death of Eric Garner, 43, a black man who died while being held down by a white police officer in July in New York.

'Commensurate response'

"You couldn't even compare this with Ferguson or the Garner case in New York," said Mr Hoskins. "The video shows that the deceased pointed a gun... at the officer."

He also noted that the majority of police officers in Berkeley were black, unlike in Ferguson, where where there is a mostly white police force and a mostly black population.

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Police have released CCTV footage, as Aleem Maqbool reports

He added: "The mayor is black. The city manager is black. The finance director is black. The police chief is black. Our police officers are more sensitive."

Mr Hoskins said that both the city and St Louis County would hold independent investigations. "Our overall goal is to project the truth to residents," he added.

St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said a police officer was responding to a call about a theft when he saw Mr Martin and another man at a petrol station in Berkeley and approached them.

He said that after Mr Martin pointed a handgun at the officer, the officer "responded with what he thought was commensurate force at the time" by firing three shots.

"This individual [Mr Martin] could have complied with the officer; he could have run away; he could have dropped the gun. Things did not have to end with him approaching an officer with a 9mm pistol in his hand."

The officer was wearing a body camera but it was not switched on, Mr Belmar said.

A lawyer for the officer, Brian Millikan, said his client was lucky to be alive. "I don't know why the guy didn't get a shot off, whether his gun jammed or he couldn't get the safety off," he said.

The handgun said to belong to Mr Martin has been recovered by police.

On Tuesday night Mr Belmar said protesters had thrown bricks at police officers, and set off three explosive devices.

Four people had been arrested for assaulting police officers, he said.

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George Bush Sr remains in hospital

28 December 2014 Last updated at 00:38

Former US President George Bush Sr will remain in hospital this weekend but could be discharged soon, his spokesman says.

Mr Bush, 90, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday after suffering from a shortness of breath.

His spokesman Jim McGrath said his condition had improved and doctors were "discussing dates for his discharge".

Mr Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, was visited by family on Christmas Day.

Two years ago, Mr Bush was treated in the same hospital for more than two months for a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.

He is the oldest living former US president and a World War II veteran. He can no longer use his legs, but in June celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump.

His son George W Bush served as president from 2001 to 2009.

Another son, Jeb, said this month he will "actively explore the possibility of running for president" in 2016.

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Sony's Interview makes $15m online

29 December 2014 Last updated at 10:13

Controversial comedy The Interview has become film company Sony's most-downloaded title of all time, just four days after its release on 24 December.

It was downloaded more than two million times as of 27 December, making back a third of its $44m (£28m) budget.

The film, about a fictional American plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, had previously been pulled from release over security fears.

It angered North Korea and may have triggered a cyber attack on Sony.

The hack, from a group calling itself the Guardians of Peace, led to the leaking of confidential information including upcoming movie scripts, confidential emails and actors' salaries.

Sony halted the release after unspecified threats of attacks against cinemas.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later said its investigation into the hacking attack pointed the finger at North Korea. The country denied involvement, but described the hack as a "righteous deed".

Sony said in a statement on Sunday that the movie was made available in the US and Canada through Google services YouTube and Play, Microsoft's Xbox Video and its dedicated website in HD versions for 48-hour rental at $5.99 and for purchase at $14.99.

It made $15m (£9.6m) in its first three days on sale.

There was also a "strong turnout" for the movie's limited theatre release, after major US chains backed out of screening it.

Sony's move to cancel the film's release had garnered criticism in the US including from President Barack Obama, who said it meant freedom of expression was under threat.

The Interview saga

The Interview features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists granted an audience with Mr Kim. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.

• 22 November: Sony computer systems hacked, exposing embarrassing emails and personal details about stars
• 7 December: North Korea denies accusations that it is behind the cyber-attack, but praises it as a "righteous deed"
• 16 December: "Guardians of Peace" hacker group threatens 9/11-type attack on cinemas showing film; New York premiere cancelled
• 17 December: Leading US cinema groups say they will not screen film; Sony cancels Christmas Day release
• 19 December: FBI concludes North Korea orchestrated hack; President Obama calls Sony cancellation "a mistake"
• 20 December: North Korea proposes joint inquiry with US into hacks, rejected by the US
• 22 December: North Korea suffers a severe internet outage; US authorities decline to comment
• 23 December: Sony bosses appear to change their minds, saying they will now give The Interview a limited Christmas Day release
• 25 December: The Interview is shown in some US cinemas and released online

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Screech actor charged over stabbing

The actor who played Screech in US TV show Saved by the Bell has been charged with stabbing a man in a bar fight.

Dustin Diamond, 37, faces charges of felony second-degree recklessly endangering safety, disorderly conduct, and carrying a concealed weapon.

The fight is said to have happened on Thursday in Port Washington, Wisconsin, while Diamond was with his fiancee.

Crime reports say the pair had been to several bars before they got into a row with two men and another woman.

The fight took place at the Grand Avenue Saloon.

When police caught up with the couple's car near the bar, Diamond told police he had a "pen" in his hand when he grabbed one of the men, according to the criminal complaint.

Officers found a switchblade knife in the car - the point of it appeared to be covered in blood.

Reports say that Diamond later told police he accidentally stabbed the man while he was trying to defend his fiancee - 27-year-old Amanda Schutz.

She also faces a charge of disorderly conduct.

Diamond appeared in Ozaukee County court on Friday and his bail was set at $10,000 (£6,425). His next hearing is set for 29 December.

Police said the man who was stabbed was injured in the armpit but is not thought to be seriously hurt.

Representatives for Diamond have not yet commented and the actor is yet to release a formal statement.

Saved by the Bell aired during the 1990s and followed the lives of a group of high school students.

Since the show ended, Diamond has been sued a number of times for failure to pay taxes and in foreclosure proceedings following missed mortgage payments.

He has appeared on reality TV shows, made a sex tape and made a documentary called The Unauthorised Saved by the Bell Story.

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US lab worker monitored for Ebola

25 December 2014 Last updated at 02:40

A US laboratory technician is being monitored after possible exposure to the Ebola virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

It said the technician was working at the CDC in Atlanta when an Ebola sample was mistakenly moved from one laboratory to another.

The employee will be monitored for 21 days. A CDC spokeswoman said there was no risk to the public.

The CDC's director said he was "troubled" by the incident.

"I have directed that there be a full review of every aspect of the incident and that CDC take all necessary measures," said Tom Frieden.

"No risk to staff is acceptable, and our efforts to improve lab safety are essential - the safety of our employees is our highest priority."

Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It has killed more than 7,500 people in West Africa, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Monitoring the technician is at least the second time this year the CDC has had to take precautionary measures after a laboratory safety problem.

In June, more than 50 CDC workers took precautionary antibiotics after being potentially exposed to a deadly strain of anthrax.

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US city sues Petrobras for corruption

26 December 2014 Last updated at 19:54

The US city of Providence, Rhode Island is suing the Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras over investor losses due to a corruption scandal.

Unlike other class actions, some of the company's senior executives have also been named as defendants.

Providence alleges that Petrobras made false statements to investors that inflated the company's value.

Its lawyers say that when the corruption scandal broke, the city's investments plummeted.

So far, 39 people in Brazil have been indicted on charges that include corruption, money laundering and racketeering.

They have been accused of forming a cartel to drive up the prices of major Petrobras infrastructure projects and of channelling money into a kickback scheme at Petrobras to pay politicians.

The executives could face sentences of more than 20 years in jail.

The case has shaken the government of President Dilma Rousseff, who served as chair of the Petrobras board for seven years until 2010.

She has denied any knowledge of the scheme.

According to the Brazilian Federal Police the group under investigation moved more than $3.9bn (£2.5bn) in what police describe as "atypical" financial transactions.

Brazilian courts have blocked around $270m in assets belonging to various suspects. Federal agents revealed contracts worth $22bn are regarded as suspicious.

Former Petrobras director Paulo Roberto Costa, who worked at the company from 2004 to 2012, has told investigators that politicians received a 3% commission on contracts signed during this period.

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Christmas baby born on US train

26 December 2014 Last updated at 20:39

An infant dubbed the "Christmas baby" was born on a subway train in the US city of Philadelphia when his mother suddenly went into labour.

Two transit police officers were called in and helped deliver the baby after the woman's waters broke.

The mother and child were immediately taken to hospital and are doing well.

Police Sergeant Daniel Caban told NBC TV he had been hoping for a quiet day at work but the baby's arrival had been "just a blessing".

The chief executive of Philadelphia's public transport system tweeted that the baby's fare had been waived.

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VIDEO: Police deliver baby on subway train

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Huge funeral for New York policeman

27 December 2014 Last updated at 19:06

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Mia Hunt-Pierce sang the national anthem during the service as thousands of police officers watched outside

Tens of thousands of people are attending the funeral in New York of Rafael Ramos, one of the two policemen shot dead a week ago.

Vice-President Joe Biden praised the "finest police department in the world" at the service, attended by police forces from across the US and Canada.

Mr Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot after weeks of anti-police protests.

Police at the funeral again snubbed New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had appeared to back some of the protests.

Funeral details for Officer Liu have yet to be announced. Officials say it will be held when relatives arrive from China.

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Vice-President Joe Biden says Rafael Ramos "was a cop for all the right reasons"

Telling the mourners Officer Ramos had been a "hero", Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced he had promoted both officers posthumously to Detective First Grade.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also paid tribute to the dead officer as well as to the New York Police Department (NYPD).

'It affects everyone'

"I believe that this great police force of this incredibly diverse city can and will show the nation how to bridge any divide," Vice-President Biden told the congregation at the Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens.

"You've done it before and you will do it again."

Officer Ramos, 40, had been studying to become a police chaplain and was described as "a man of great faith" by a pastor who knew him.

Commissioner Bratton, his voice choking with emotion, said: "Rafael Ramos was assassinated because he represented all of us."

The two police officers had been killed by a "madman", he continued, who had only been able to see two uniforms, not the people wearing them.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told mourners he had watched recent protests and seen "people hurling insults" directly in the face of the police officers, but the police continued doing their jobs.

When the Ramos family arrived for the service, the eldest son Justin, wearing his father's NYPD jacket, was hugged by a police officer. The policeman is also survived by his younger son Jaden and his wife Maritza.

Officer Dustin Lindaman of the Waterloo Police Department had flown from Iowa to attend the funeral.

"He's one of our brothers and when this happens, it affects everyone in law enforcement - it absolutely affects everyone," he told the Associated Press news agency.

History of violence

Inside the church, Mr de Blasio's speech was met by polite applause but outside, police officers could be seen turning their backs when he appeared on a giant video screen.

The mayor had been snubbed in a similar manner by officers at the hospital where the two men were pronounced dead on 20 December.

The two police officers were shot following weeks of protests over several killings of unarmed black men by white police officers.

In New York, a grand jury decided not to press charges against a white police officer over the death of unarmed black man Eric Garner, who was placed in a chokehold while being restrained by New York police officers.

Commissioner Bratton has said he strongly rejects the notion that Mayor de Blasio increased the risk to police officers by appearing to side with protesters following the death of Mr Garner.

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Police Commissioner William Bratton: "He was a New Yorker. He was a New York City police officer. And he was - he is - a hero"

Black man Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, shot and killed officers Ramos and Liu as they were sitting in a patrol vehicle in the borough of Brooklyn. He then killed himself nearby.

Brinsley had a history of violence and mental instability and had been arrested at least 19 times in Georgia and Ohio, police said. Before attacking the police officers, he had shot and injured his girlfriend.

On the day of the shooting, he went on social media to say he was planning to kill police officers.

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Wolf 'most pirated film of 2014'

29 December 2014 Last updated at 10:26

The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese's true-life tale of corrupt New York stockbrokers, was the most illegally downloaded movie of 2014.

Disney cartoon Frozen was second on the list, said The Hollywood Reporter, quoting piracy-tracking firm Excipio.

Both films were downloaded around 30 million times by torrent users between 1 January and 23 December 2014.

The third most-pirated film was space thriller Gravity.

It was just behind Frozen with 29.357 million downloads.

The Wolf of Wall Street, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort, caused controversy when it was released in the US a year ago for its scenes of sex and drug-taking.

It was nominated for best picture at the Oscars and contained more than 500 uses of the F-word in its almost three-hour running time.

Other Oscar nominees in the most-pirated top 20 included 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle and Captain Phillips.

The Hollywood Reporter noted that the biggest-grossing film of the year, The Guardians of the Galaxy, was not on the list "perhaps because anyone interested in the film opted to see it in theaters".

And Variety reported that while the number three spot went to RoboCop, the figures included both MGM's 2014 reboot as well as the original 1987 version.

Top 20

• 1. The Wolf of Wall Street 30.035m
• 2. Frozen 29.919m
• 3. RoboCop 29.879m
• 4. Gravity 29.357m
• 5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 27.627m
• 6. Thor: The Dark World 25.749m
• 7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 25.628m
• 8. The Legend of Hercules 25.137m
• 9. X-Men: Days of Future Past 24.380m
• 10. 12 Years a Slave 23.653 million
• 11. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 23.543m
• 12. American Hustle 23.143m
• 13. 300: Rise of an Empire 23.096m
• 14. Transformers: Age of Extinction 21.65m
• 15. Godzilla 20.956m
• 16. Noah 20.334m
• 17. Divergent 20.312m
• 18. Edge of Tomorrow 20.299m
• 19. Captain Phillips 19.817m
• 20. Lone Survivor 19.130m

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US lab worker monitored for Ebola

25 December 2014 Last updated at 02:40

A US laboratory technician is being monitored after possible exposure to the Ebola virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

It said the technician was working at the CDC in Atlanta when an Ebola sample was mistakenly moved from one laboratory to another.

The employee will be monitored for 21 days. A CDC spokeswoman said there was no risk to the public.

The CDC's director said he was "troubled" by the incident.

"I have directed that there be a full review of every aspect of the incident and that CDC take all necessary measures," said Tom Frieden.

"No risk to staff is acceptable, and our efforts to improve lab safety are essential - the safety of our employees is our highest priority."

Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It has killed more than 7,500 people in West Africa, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Monitoring the technician is at least the second time this year the CDC has had to take precautionary measures after a laboratory safety problem.

In June, more than 50 CDC workers took precautionary antibiotics after being potentially exposed to a deadly strain of anthrax.

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Huge funeral for New York policeman

27 December 2014 Last updated at 19:06

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Mia Hunt-Pierce sang the national anthem during the service as thousands of police officers watched outside

Tens of thousands of people are attending the funeral in New York of Rafael Ramos, one of the two policemen shot dead a week ago.

Vice-President Joe Biden praised the "finest police department in the world" at the service, attended by police forces from across the US and Canada.

Mr Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot after weeks of anti-police protests.

Police at the funeral again snubbed New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had appeared to back some of the protests.

Funeral details for Officer Liu have yet to be announced. Officials say it will be held when relatives arrive from China.

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Vice-President Joe Biden says Rafael Ramos "was a cop for all the right reasons"

Telling the mourners Officer Ramos had been a "hero", Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced he had promoted both officers posthumously to Detective First Grade.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also paid tribute to the dead officer as well as to the New York Police Department (NYPD).

'It affects everyone'

"I believe that this great police force of this incredibly diverse city can and will show the nation how to bridge any divide," Vice-President Biden told the congregation at the Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens.

"You've done it before and you will do it again."

Officer Ramos, 40, had been studying to become a police chaplain and was described as "a man of great faith" by a pastor who knew him.

Commissioner Bratton, his voice choking with emotion, said: "Rafael Ramos was assassinated because he represented all of us."

The two police officers had been killed by a "madman", he continued, who had only been able to see two uniforms, not the people wearing them.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told mourners he had watched recent protests and seen "people hurling insults" directly in the face of the police officers, but the police continued doing their jobs.

When the Ramos family arrived for the service, the eldest son Justin, wearing his father's NYPD jacket, was hugged by a police officer. The policeman is also survived by his younger son Jaden and his wife Maritza.

Officer Dustin Lindaman of the Waterloo Police Department had flown from Iowa to attend the funeral.

"He's one of our brothers and when this happens, it affects everyone in law enforcement - it absolutely affects everyone," he told the Associated Press news agency.

History of violence

Inside the church, Mr de Blasio's speech was met by polite applause but outside, police officers could be seen turning their backs when he appeared on a giant video screen.

The mayor had been snubbed in a similar manner by officers at the hospital where the two men were pronounced dead on 20 December.

The two police officers were shot following weeks of protests over several killings of unarmed black men by white police officers.

In New York, a grand jury decided not to press charges against a white police officer over the death of unarmed black man Eric Garner, who was placed in a chokehold while being restrained by New York police officers.

Commissioner Bratton has said he strongly rejects the notion that Mayor de Blasio increased the risk to police officers by appearing to side with protesters following the death of Mr Garner.

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Police Commissioner William Bratton: "He was a New Yorker. He was a New York City police officer. And he was - he is - a hero"

Black man Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, shot and killed officers Ramos and Liu as they were sitting in a patrol vehicle in the borough of Brooklyn. He then killed himself nearby.

Brinsley had a history of violence and mental instability and had been arrested at least 19 times in Georgia and Ohio, police said. Before attacking the police officers, he had shot and injured his girlfriend.

On the day of the shooting, he went on social media to say he was planning to kill police officers.

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North Korea berates Obama over film

27 December 2014 Last updated at 15:39

North Korea has condemned US President Barack Obama over the release of the film The Interview, about a fictional plot to kill its leader Kim Jong-un.

The National Defence Commission (NDC) also accused the US of shutting down North Korea's internet - and described Mr Obama as "reckless" and "a monkey".

Another internet shut-down was observed hours later, Chinese state media said.

Sony Pictures originally pulled the film after a cyber-attack and threats - a move criticised by Mr Obama.

He joined critics who had warned that freedom of expression was under threat if the movie was shelved.

Sony later reconsidered and released The Interview on Christmas Day.

The controversial film was shown in some US cinemas and is available online, with several hundred independent cinemas coming forward and offering to screen it.

However, larger theatres decided not to show the film.

'Righteous deed'

In a statement issued on Saturday, North Korea's NDC spokesman denounced the US for screening the "dishonest and reactionary movie hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK [North Korea] and agitating terrorism".

President Obama, the statement said, "is the chief culprit who forced the Sony Pictures Entertainment to indiscriminately distribute the movie", blackmailing cinemas in the US.

It added: "Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest."

The NDC also accused also Washington of "groundlessly linking the unheard of hacking at the Sony Pictures Entertainment to the DPRK".

Analysis: Stephen Evans, BBC News, Seoul

The Interview is a classic Hollywood romp involving two lads who go to a strange place and get seduced (in several senses).

And it is very funny. That's partly because it is also a very good political satire.

It is powerful because it depicts Kim Jong-un as a vain, buffoonish despot, alternating between threats and weeping that he's been misunderstood. The people around him have all the signs of fear you might expect with a despot - they second-guess his likes and dislikes.

Maybe he - and they - were right to fear the film. North Korean defectors sometimes smuggle USB sticks with films and soaps into the closed-off country, and there is a view in the south that these are a particularly powerful means of undermining the regime in Pyongyang. If that's so, The Interview might be a good candidate for inclusion.

That fear may explain the North Korean leadership's intemperate, deeply racist language. It's not the first time, it has called President Obama a monkey.

Crude insult or satire. Which is more effective?

FBI accusation

Sony Pictures had initially pulled the film after suffering an unprecedented hacking attack at the hands of a group calling itself the Guardians of Peace.

The hackers also threatened to carry out a terrorist attack on cinemas showing the film on its scheduled release date of Christmas Day.

Last week, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said its analysis pointed the finger at North Korea.

However, many cyber-security experts have come forward to dispute this assertion.

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The Interview screened at small US cinemas

At the time, North Korea denied being behind the attack but described it as a "righteous deed".

The country subsequently suffered a severe internet outage.

On Saturday, China's state news agency Xinhua said: "At Pyongyang time 19:30 (10:30 GMT) North Korea's internet and mobile 3G network came to a standstill, and had not returned to normal as of 21:30."

Its reporters in North Korea had found the internet "very unstable" throughout the day.

Cyber security firm Dyn Research also said that North Korea suffered a "country-wide internet blackout" on Saturday.

The Interview saga

The Interview features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists who are granted an audience with Mr Kim. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.

• 22 November: Sony computer systems hacked, exposing embarrassing emails and personal details about stars
• 7 December: North Korea denies accusations that it is behind the cyber-attack, but praises it as a "righteous deed"
• 16 December: "Guardians of Peace" hacker group threatens 9/11-type attack on cinemas showing film; New York premiere cancelled
• 17 December: Leading US cinema groups say they will not screen film; Sony cancels Christmas Day release
• 19 December: FBI concludes North Korea orchestrated hack; President Obama calls Sony cancellation "a mistake"
• 20 December: North Korea proposes joint inquiry with US into hacks, rejected by the US
• 22 December: North Korea suffers a severe internet outage; US authorities decline to comment
• 23 December: Sony bosses appear to change their minds, saying they will now give The Interview a limited Christmas Day release
• 25 December: The Interview is shown in some US cinemas and released online

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Screech actor charged over stabbing

The actor who played Screech in US TV show Saved by the Bell has been charged with stabbing a man in a bar fight.

Dustin Diamond, 37, faces charges of felony second-degree recklessly endangering safety, disorderly conduct, and carrying a concealed weapon.

The fight is said to have happened on Thursday in Port Washington, Wisconsin, while Diamond was with his fiancee.

Crime reports say the pair had been to several bars before they got into a row with two men and another woman.

The fight took place at the Grand Avenue Saloon.

When police caught up with the couple's car near the bar, Diamond told police he had a "pen" in his hand when he grabbed one of the men, according to the criminal complaint.

Officers found a switchblade knife in the car - the point of it appeared to be covered in blood.

Reports say that Diamond later told police he accidentally stabbed the man while he was trying to defend his fiancee - 27-year-old Amanda Schutz.

She also faces a charge of disorderly conduct.

Diamond appeared in Ozaukee County court on Friday and his bail was set at $10,000 (£6,425). His next hearing is set for 29 December.

Police said the man who was stabbed was injured in the armpit but is not thought to be seriously hurt.

Representatives for Diamond have not yet commented and the actor is yet to release a formal statement.

Saved by the Bell aired during the 1990s and followed the lives of a group of high school students.

Since the show ended, Diamond has been sued a number of times for failure to pay taxes and in foreclosure proceedings following missed mortgage payments.

He has appeared on reality TV shows, made a sex tape and made a documentary called The Unauthorised Saved by the Bell Story.

Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

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Christmas baby born on US train

26 December 2014 Last updated at 20:39

An infant dubbed the "Christmas baby" was born on a subway train in the US city of Philadelphia when his mother suddenly went into labour.

Two transit police officers were called in and helped deliver the baby after the woman's waters broke.

The mother and child were immediately taken to hospital and are doing well.

Police Sergeant Daniel Caban told NBC TV he had been hoping for a quiet day at work but the baby's arrival had been "just a blessing".

The chief executive of Philadelphia's public transport system tweeted that the baby's fare had been waived.

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Deadly storm strikes southern US

24 December 2014 Last updated at 12:47

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"It's a pretty heartbreaking sight to see" - Haskel Burns, journalist

A severe storm bringing a tornado, heavy rain, hail and lightning has hit parts of the southern US, killing at least four people and disrupting electricity supplies, officials say.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has declared an emergency in two counties.

His office said thousands were without power around Columbia, about 130km (81 miles) south-east of Jackson.

"We've got whole roofs lying in the road, people trapped in houses, cars flipped over," a local sheriff said.

Marion county Coroner Norma Williamson said that one woman was killed in a shopping area in Columbia, a rural community of about 6,500 people, and another in a nearby trailer home.

"It's chaos over here," she said of the storm, which damaged buildings, knocked over trees, scattered debris across roads and overturned vehicles including an ambulance.

The hospital in Columbia is reported to be running on generator power and some people in Marion county were reported by the Hattiesburg American newspaper to be trapped in their homes.

Storm warnings have now been issued for large parts of the states of Alabama and Georgia with the bad weather predicted to be moving towards Atlanta and south into Florida throughout Wednesday.

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St Louis shooting 'unlike Ferguson'

25 December 2014 Last updated at 05:36

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Mayor Theodore Hoskins: "The deceased pointed a gun at the officer"

The mayor of the St Louis suburb where a white police officer shot dead a black teenager has said the case cannot be compared to that of Michael Brown.

Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said surveillance footage appeared to show 18-year-old Antonio Martin pulling a gun shortly before he was shot.

That distinguished the shooting from that of Mr Brown, who was unarmed, in nearby Ferguson this summer.

Protesters clashed with police on Tuesday night in Berkeley.

On Wednesday, a smaller crowd of protesters gathered at the petrol station where Mr Martin was shot.

Berkeley is about two miles (3km) from the St Louis suburb of Ferguson, where Mr Brown, also 18, was shot dead by a white officer in August.

His death and a subsequent grand jury decision not to charge the officer triggered nationwide protests. There were further protests over the death of Eric Garner, 43, a black man who died while being held down by a white police officer in July in New York.

'Commensurate response'

"You couldn't even compare this with Ferguson or the Garner case in New York," said Mr Hoskins. "The video shows that the deceased pointed a gun... at the officer."

He also noted that the majority of police officers in Berkeley were black, unlike in Ferguson, where where there is a mostly white police force and a mostly black population.

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Police have released CCTV footage, as Aleem Maqbool reports

He added: "The mayor is black. The city manager is black. The finance director is black. The police chief is black. Our police officers are more sensitive."

Mr Hoskins said that both the city and St Louis County would hold independent investigations. "Our overall goal is to project the truth to residents," he added.

St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said a police officer was responding to a call about a theft when he saw Mr Martin and another man at a petrol station in Berkeley and approached them.

He said that after Mr Martin pointed a handgun at the officer, the officer "responded with what he thought was commensurate force at the time" by firing three shots.

"This individual [Mr Martin] could have complied with the officer; he could have run away; he could have dropped the gun. Things did not have to end with him approaching an officer with a 9mm pistol in his hand."

The officer was wearing a body camera but it was not switched on, Mr Belmar said.

A lawyer for the officer, Brian Millikan, said his client was lucky to be alive. "I don't know why the guy didn't get a shot off, whether his gun jammed or he couldn't get the safety off," he said.

The handgun said to belong to Mr Martin has been recovered by police.

On Tuesday night Mr Belmar said protesters had thrown bricks at police officers, and set off three explosive devices.

Four people had been arrested for assaulting police officers, he said.

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US city sues Petrobras for corruption

26 December 2014 Last updated at 19:54

The US city of Providence, Rhode Island is suing the Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras over investor losses due to a corruption scandal.

Unlike other class actions, some of the company's senior executives have also been named as defendants.

Providence alleges that Petrobras made false statements to investors that inflated the company's value.

Its lawyers say that when the corruption scandal broke, the city's investments plummeted.

So far, 39 people in Brazil have been indicted on charges that include corruption, money laundering and racketeering.

They have been accused of forming a cartel to drive up the prices of major Petrobras infrastructure projects and of channelling money into a kickback scheme at Petrobras to pay politicians.

The executives could face sentences of more than 20 years in jail.

The case has shaken the government of President Dilma Rousseff, who served as chair of the Petrobras board for seven years until 2010.

She has denied any knowledge of the scheme.

According to the Brazilian Federal Police the group under investigation moved more than $3.9bn (£2.5bn) in what police describe as "atypical" financial transactions.

Brazilian courts have blocked around $270m in assets belonging to various suspects. Federal agents revealed contracts worth $22bn are regarded as suspicious.

Former Petrobras director Paulo Roberto Costa, who worked at the company from 2004 to 2012, has told investigators that politicians received a 3% commission on contracts signed during this period.

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VIDEO: Police deliver baby on subway train

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George Bush Sr remains in hospital

28 December 2014 Last updated at 00:38

Former US President George Bush Sr will remain in hospital this weekend but could be discharged soon, his spokesman says.

Mr Bush, 90, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday after suffering from a shortness of breath.

His spokesman Jim McGrath said his condition had improved and doctors were "discussing dates for his discharge".

Mr Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, was visited by family on Christmas Day.

Two years ago, Mr Bush was treated in the same hospital for more than two months for a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.

He is the oldest living former US president and a World War II veteran. He can no longer use his legs, but in June celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump.

His son George W Bush served as president from 2001 to 2009.

Another son, Jeb, said this month he will "actively explore the possibility of running for president" in 2016.

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Canada porn actor jailed for murder

23 December 2014 Last updated at 22:22

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Laura Westbrook reports: "The court's decision means the 32 year-old... will be heading to prison rather than a psychiatric hospital"

A Canadian porn actor has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder for killing and dismembering his lover in 2012.

Jurors in Montreal rejected Luka Magnotta's defence that mental illness meant he was not responsible.

Magnotta, now 32, had earlier admitted killing 33-year-old student Jun Lin before his body parts were posted to political parties and schools.

Magnotta was later arrested in a cybercafe in Berlin, Germany.

Before his arrest, French police said he had flown to Paris from Montreal.

Investigators have said a video posted online, in which a man apparently uses an ice pick to kill another man, is believed to show Jun Lin's murder.

Headless torso

Magnotta was sentenced after eight days of deliberations by the jury.

He was also convicted on four related charges of criminally harassing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of parliament, mailing obscene and indecent material, committing an indignity to a body, and publishing obscene materials.

He was impassive in court as the verdict was read and when the sentence was delivered.

The defence had said that Magnotta was a schizophrenic and therefore could not be held criminally responsible.

But the prosecution had successfully argued that the murder in May 2012 was both planned and deliberate.

Mr Lin's headless torso was found behind the block of flats where the bisexual porn actor lived.

Severed limbs, also confirmed to be the Chinese student's, were sent to political parties in Ottawa - including Mr Harper's Conservative Party - and to two schools in Vancouver.

The case sent shockwaves across Canada and gained international notoriety.

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US lab worker monitored for Ebola

25 December 2014 Last updated at 02:40

A US laboratory technician is being monitored after possible exposure to the Ebola virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

It said the technician was working at the CDC in Atlanta when an Ebola sample was mistakenly moved from one laboratory to another.

The employee will be monitored for 21 days. A CDC spokeswoman said there was no risk to the public.

The CDC's director said he was "troubled" by the incident.

"I have directed that there be a full review of every aspect of the incident and that CDC take all necessary measures," said Tom Frieden.

"No risk to staff is acceptable, and our efforts to improve lab safety are essential - the safety of our employees is our highest priority."

Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It has killed more than 7,500 people in West Africa, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Monitoring the technician is at least the second time this year the CDC has had to take precautionary measures after a laboratory safety problem.

In June, more than 50 CDC workers took precautionary antibiotics after being potentially exposed to a deadly strain of anthrax.

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Deadly storm strikes southern US

24 December 2014 Last updated at 12:47

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"It's a pretty heartbreaking sight to see" - Haskel Burns, journalist

A severe storm bringing a tornado, heavy rain, hail and lightning has hit parts of the southern US, killing at least four people and disrupting electricity supplies, officials say.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has declared an emergency in two counties.

His office said thousands were without power around Columbia, about 130km (81 miles) south-east of Jackson.

"We've got whole roofs lying in the road, people trapped in houses, cars flipped over," a local sheriff said.

Marion county Coroner Norma Williamson said that one woman was killed in a shopping area in Columbia, a rural community of about 6,500 people, and another in a nearby trailer home.

"It's chaos over here," she said of the storm, which damaged buildings, knocked over trees, scattered debris across roads and overturned vehicles including an ambulance.

The hospital in Columbia is reported to be running on generator power and some people in Marion county were reported by the Hattiesburg American newspaper to be trapped in their homes.

Storm warnings have now been issued for large parts of the states of Alabama and Georgia with the bad weather predicted to be moving towards Atlanta and south into Florida throughout Wednesday.

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St Louis shooting 'unlike Ferguson'

25 December 2014 Last updated at 05:36

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Mayor Theodore Hoskins: "The deceased pointed a gun at the officer"

The mayor of the St Louis suburb where a white police officer shot dead a black teenager has said the case cannot be compared to that of Michael Brown.

Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins said surveillance footage appeared to show 18-year-old Antonio Martin pulling a gun shortly before he was shot.

That distinguished the shooting from that of Mr Brown, who was unarmed, in nearby Ferguson this summer.

Protesters clashed with police on Tuesday night in Berkeley.

On Wednesday, a smaller crowd of protesters gathered at the petrol station where Mr Martin was shot.

Berkeley is about two miles (3km) from the St Louis suburb of Ferguson, where Mr Brown, also 18, was shot dead by a white officer in August.

His death and a subsequent grand jury decision not to charge the officer triggered nationwide protests. There were further protests over the death of Eric Garner, 43, a black man who died while being held down by a white police officer in July in New York.

'Commensurate response'

"You couldn't even compare this with Ferguson or the Garner case in New York," said Mr Hoskins. "The video shows that the deceased pointed a gun... at the officer."

He also noted that the majority of police officers in Berkeley were black, unlike in Ferguson, where where there is a mostly white police force and a mostly black population.

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Police have released CCTV footage, as Aleem Maqbool reports

He added: "The mayor is black. The city manager is black. The finance director is black. The police chief is black. Our police officers are more sensitive."

Mr Hoskins said that both the city and St Louis County would hold independent investigations. "Our overall goal is to project the truth to residents," he added.

St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said a police officer was responding to a call about a theft when he saw Mr Martin and another man at a petrol station in Berkeley and approached them.

He said that after Mr Martin pointed a handgun at the officer, the officer "responded with what he thought was commensurate force at the time" by firing three shots.

"This individual [Mr Martin] could have complied with the officer; he could have run away; he could have dropped the gun. Things did not have to end with him approaching an officer with a 9mm pistol in his hand."

The officer was wearing a body camera but it was not switched on, Mr Belmar said.

A lawyer for the officer, Brian Millikan, said his client was lucky to be alive. "I don't know why the guy didn't get a shot off, whether his gun jammed or he couldn't get the safety off," he said.

The handgun said to belong to Mr Martin has been recovered by police.

On Tuesday night Mr Belmar said protesters had thrown bricks at police officers, and set off three explosive devices.

Four people had been arrested for assaulting police officers, he said.

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VIDEO: CCTV released after St Louis shooting

There has been unrest in Missouri, after a black teenager was shot dead by police, close to where another black youth, Michael Brown, was killed in August.

A crowd of about 100 gathered at the scene in St Louis on Wednesday, after scuffles the night before.

Aleem Maqbool reports from Washington

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Gay US blood donor ban 'should end'

23 December 2014 Last updated at 19:26

Gay and bisexual men should no longer be banned from donating blood in the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended.

The ban has been in place since the HIV/Aids epidemic in the mid-1980s.

Men who have had sex with other men in the previous 12 months will still be banned, the FDA said in a statement.

The move brings the US into line with other countries such as the UK, Australia and Spain, which have also lifted outright bans in recent years.

New guidelines will be drafted in early 2015 and then a consultation period will follow.

Currently the ban excludes men who have had sex with other men at any time since 1977.

Campaigners have long argued the ban discriminates against gay and bisexual men and reinforces negative stereotypes.

And due to advances in HIV testing, the American Medical Association and other groups say the lifetime ban is no longer supported by science.

Blood donation around the world:

• UK (excluding Northern Ireland), Japan and Australia have a one-year ban on men who have had sex with another man

• Canada has a five-year ban

• No ban in Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain, but some of those countries have tougher screening questions

Why are blood donors asked their sexual history?

"Over the past several years, in collaboration with other government agencies, the FDA has carefully examined and considered the available scientific evidence relevant to its blood donor deferral policy," the statement said.

It added: "The agency will take the necessary steps to recommend a change to the blood donor deferral period for men who have sex with men from indefinite deferral to one year since the last sexual contact."

The 12-month deferral period is because it takes on average two to four weeks to pick up an HIV infection when testing blood and a couple of months to detect Hepatitis B.

But some activists are unhappy there are still any restrictions.

"While this proposed change is certainly historic, it would still mean that countless gay and bisexual men will be turned away from blood banks simply because of who they are," said the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

Men and women of any sexual orientation are not permitted to give blood for one year after having sex with someone with HIV, with a prostitute or with an intravenous drug user.

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US shares close at record level

23 December 2014 Last updated at 21:39 Continue reading the main story Continue reading the main story

The Dow Jones has closed above 18,000 for the first time after figures showed the US economy grew at its fastest rate in 11 years in the third quarter.

The Dow rose 64 points to 18,024, while the S&P 500 also climbed, ending up three points to 2,082.

But the Nasdaq lost 16 points to close at 4,765.

Official figures released earlier on Tuesday showed the economy grew at an annual rate of 5% in the quarter, up from a previous estimate of 3.9%.

Despite the strong growth figure, separate data on durable goods orders - seen as a proxy for business investment - disappointed as it showed a fall of 0.7% in November.

'Merry Christmas'

However, analysts were cheered by the pick-up in GDP.

"That is a solid number, that is really what you want to see, you want to see it in demand," Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago, told Reuters.

"That is a huge plus, a five handle on GDP is astounding to me, but I'm not going to turn it away - Merry Christmas."

The Dow Jones has gained 9% this year and set 36 record closes in the process.

Meanwhile the S&P 500 is up almost 13% and has recorded 51 record highs.

Some market-watchers are confident that the gains have further to go.

"You have to understand that US economic output is at an all-time high and corporate profits are at an all-time high,'' said Cameron Hinds, regional chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.

"Bull markets typically don't die purely of old age, they tend to die of recessions and overvaluation and perhaps policy mistakes, and we don't see any of those on the horizon," he added.

Market movers

Among individual shares, Hertz jumped more than 8% after the firm raised prices for car rentals beginning next year.

The company said the move was to compensate for the rising costs of running its fleet of cars.

Alibaba fell almost 3% after a report in the Wall Street Journal reported that an Alibaba service to help foreign brands break into China was delivering disappointing sales.

Shares in Chevron and Exxon Mobil gained more than 1% after oil prices rose.

The benchmark price for Brent Crude added $1.61 to $61.72 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate Crude rose $1.84 to $57.15 a barrel.

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