Sandy Hook Survivors Head Back To School

The children who escaped last month's shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut returned to classes on Thursday in a neighbouring town in a refurbished school now named after their old one.

Newtown Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson announced that the students' new school, the former Chalk Hill Middle School in Monroe, has been renamed Sandy Hook Elementary School.

She said the Sandy Hook staff made that decision.

"That's who they are. They're the Sandy Hook family," Ms Robinson said after a news conference at a park in Monroe a few miles from the school.

An open house was held for parents and students on Wednesday.

Parents who want to be close to their children were told they could visit and stay in classrooms or an auditorium throughout Thursday.

The classrooms are located at the former Chalk Hill School

Ms Robinson said renaming the Chalk Hill school will allow staff and students to keep "their identity and a comfort level".

Security outside of the Monroe school was tight early on Thursday.

Several police officers were guarding the entrance to the school, and were checking the IDs of parents dropping off children.

Asked about the level of security at the new school, Monroe police Lieutenant Keith White said: "I think right now it has to be the safest school in America."

Ms Robinson said Chalk Hill School has been transformed into a "cheerful" place for the surviving students to resume normal school routines. She said mental health counsellors continue to be available for anyone who needs them.

Several signs welcoming the Sandy Hook students to their new school were posted along the road leading to the school in a rural, mostly residential neighbourhood.

Signs welcoming the children are posted along the road

Teams of workers, many of them volunteers, prepared the Chalk Hill school with fresh paint and new furniture and even raised bathroom floors so the smaller elementary school students can reach the toilets.

The students' desks, backpacks and other belongings that were left behind following the shooting were taken to the new school to make them feel at home.

Ms Robinson said teachers are trying to make it as normal a school day as possible for the children.

"We want to get back to teaching and learning," she said. "We will obviously take time out from the academics for any conversations that need to take place, and there will be a lot of support there.

"All in all, we want the kids to reconnect with their friends and classroom teachers, and I think that's going to be the healthiest thing."

Sandy Hook's home in Newtown has become a shrine to the victims

The school where the shootings occurred remains closed and guarded by police.

Newtown officials have not decided yet on the building's future.

It has been nearly three weeks since the December 14 massacre, when gunman Adam Lanza killed 20 students and six educators.

Lanza also killed his mother at the home they shared in Newtown before the school shootings, which ended when Lanza fatally shot himself as police arrived.

Police have not released any details about a motive.

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Hillary Clinton Released From Hospital

Hillary Clinton has been discharged from hospital after four days of treatment for a blood clot between her brain and skull.

The US Secretary of State was admitted to a New York hospital on Sunday and treated with blood thinners to dissolve the clot in the vein behind the right ear.

Doctors found the clot during a follow-up exam after she suffered concussion in early December.

Mrs Clinton's doctors say there was no neurological damage and that she is expected to make a full recovery.

Her spokeswoman said she had been "quite active" on the phone on Wednesday with aides and reviewing paperwork while she continued her recovery.

Mrs Clinton has been working from home since returning from her last foreign trip on December 7.

Her lengthy absence from the public eye had sparked claims from critics she is trying to avoid testifying in a congressional investigation into a deadly attack on a US mission in Libya.

A smiling Hillary Clinton is driven away from the hospital

Earlier this month, the State Department said Mrs Clinton had contracted a bad stomach virus during her five-day trip to Europe. She had to cancel planned visits to North Africa and Abu Dhabi due to the illness.

A week later, Mrs Clinton's doctors said she had become severely dehydrated due to the effects of the stomach bug and had fainted, suffering a concussion.

They recommended she rest at home and avoid the high-intensity travel she had been accustomed to taking for her job.

Mrs Clinton has flown almost a million miles since taking office four years ago, visited 112 countries and spent some 400 days in a plane.

Her health kept her from giving evidence on December 20 about the attack on the US diplomatic post in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on September 11.

The assault, in which the US ambassador and three other American officials were killed, sparked a political storm in the US.

Republicans criticised Mrs Clinton's absence from the hearings, calling on her to testify in January.

Mrs Clinton, who is due to step down from her post in early 2013, was also absent from the White House last week when President Barack Obama named her replacement, veteran Senator John Kerry.

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Mullah Nazir Killed In Pakistan By US Drone

A senior Pakistani militant leader has been killed by a US drone strike in Pakistan, local officials have said.

Mullah Nazir, who had sent insurgents to fight in Afghanistan, died alongside nine other militants in Pakistan's tribal belt.

He was the main militant commander in South Waziristan, part of the tribal zone where militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda have bases.

He is one of the most high-profile drone victims in recent years.

Mullah Nazir was killed in the strike in South Waziristan

Pakistani officials said a US drone fired two missiles at his vehicle in the Sar Kanda area of Birmil in South Waziristan, and five of his loyalists including two senior deputies were also killed.

"Mullah Nazir and five associates died on the spot," one of the officials said.

The official said the attack happened at 10.35pm local time on Wednesday, but that it took time to confirm the reports from the far-flung and mountainous area along the Afghan border.

Another Pakistani official said Nazir and his fighters were targeted as they prepared to swap vehicles when their pick-up encountered a mechanical fault.

Two of his influential deputies, Atta Ullah and Rafey Khan, were among those killed, the official added.

In the neighbouring district of North Waziristan, two more missiles fired from a US drone killed four other militants on Thursday but their identities are not yet known.

Nazir was wounded in a suicide attack in South Waziristan on November 29 and had survived previous attempts on his life.

In April 2007 he gave a rare news conference at which he said he had never met Osama bin Laden but would protect him if asked.

Covert US drone strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty, but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against Islamist militants.

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Gunman Shoots Three Dead In Switzerland

A gunman has killed three people and injured two others after opening fire in a village in southern Switzerland.

The 33-year-old started shooting in Daillon near the city of Sion on Wednesday night, using a historic Swiss military rifle and a hunting rifle.

He fired around 20 shots, instantly killing three women aged 32, 54 and 79 and injuring two men aged 33 and 63, according to officials.

Terrified residents drinking in nearby bars when the shots rang out hid in the dark to avoid being caught up in the attack.

The gunman had started shooting from his apartment down onto the street and at neighbouring buildings before emerging.

Police rushed to the scene shortly after 9pm when witnesses reported several people were lying on the ground.

The man, who has not been named, was shot in the chest by police after he threatened officers. He was arrested and taken to hospital for treatment.

Police "immediately intervened and neutralised the suspect," a statement said. No officers were injured in the exchange.

Officials said the man had spent time in a psychiatric hospital in 2005, at which point his weapons had been confiscated.

He was unemployed, living off benefits and was being supervised by authorities in charge of providing services and counselling to the disabled.

Daillon is around 145 miles from the Swiss capital Bern

He was also known to police as a drug user.

"We have no words to express ourselves after an event like this," said Christophe Germanier, head of the Conthey district.

The reason for the shooting has not yet been established.

Prosecutor Catherine Seppey said the gunman knew several of the victims, but "he was not known for making threats".

They were all shot at least twice in the head and chest.

Swiss media quoted local residents as saying he had been drinking heavily before the attack.

Resident Marie-Paule Udry told news website 20Minutes.ch the man had been in a local restaurant and "had drunk a lot".

His two youngest victims, the woman aged 32 and man aged 33, are reported to be a couple with young children.

Forensic investigators are now at work in the picturesque village which has just 200 inhabitants and is perched at an altitude of 1,000m (3,280ft) surrounded by vineyards.

Cantonal police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet insisted that police had only returned fire after coming under threat.

"There was an exchange of gunfire because he was threatening police officers. He was hit and wounded," he said.

"There is bewilderment and shock in Valais. This is a man who lived in Daillon and opened fire on his neighbours."

Gun ownership is widespread in Switzerland, where the law allows any citizen aged over 18 to possess arms under certain conditions.

The defence ministry says there are some two million weapons in private hands among the country's estimated eight million inhabitants.

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Bieber Paparazzo Death: Cyrus Calls For Change

Singer and actress Miley Cyrus has branded the paparazzi "dangerous" and "fools" after a photographer was killed taking photos of Justin Bieber's Ferrari.

The 29-year-old paparazzo, named as Chris Guerra by celebrity news website TMZ, was struck by a car as he crossed Sepulveda Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.

He had been taking pictures of Mr Bieber's white Ferrari, which had been pulled over by highways officers.

The 18-year-old singer described the death as a "tragic accident" but Ms Cyrus claimed a fatality was "bound to happen".

In a series of posts to her 11m Twitter followers, she said: "Hope this paparazzi/JB accident brings on some changes in '13. Paparazzi are dangerous!"

Tweets posted by Miley Cyrus

"Wasn't Princess Di enough of a wake up call?!" the 20-year-old added, referring to the death of Princess Diana, who was being chased by photographers when she was killed in a car crash in 1997.

Ms Cyrus, who rose to fame in the Disney show Hannah Montana, went on: "It is unfair for anyone to put this on to Justin's conscious as well! This was bound to happen!

"Your mom teaches u when your a child not to play in the street!

"The chaos that comes with the paparazzi acting like fools makes it impossible for anyone to make safe choices."

She also pleaded with the media not to use photos from the paparazzi.

The paparazzo was struck by this car

In a message to Ken Baker, chief news correspondent at entertainment website E!, she wrote: "@kenbakernow you can have a big part in making that change if the photos stop being made entertainment. There's plenty of news without paps!"

Mr Bieber, who was not in the car at the time of the paparazzo's death, called for new laws to prevent similar fatalities in the future.

The teenager, whose hits include Baby and Boyfriend, said: "Hopefully this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders and the photographers themselves."

A spokesman for Los Angeles Police Department said no charges are likely to be made against the 69-year-old woman driver who struck the photographer.

She did not show "any signs of drug or alcohol impairment while at the scene of the collision", the spokesman said.

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Aurora Shootings: Cinema Offer Angers Families

Family members of people killed in the Colorado cinema shootings have rejected an invitation to attend its reopening.

The parents, grandparents, cousins and widow of nine of the 12 people who died in July during a midnight screening of the latest Batman film have released a letter sent to the theatre's owner, Cinemark.

The families said they were invited to an "evening of remembrance" followed by a movie. They said the company's timing was "awful" in sending the invitations two days after Christmas.

"Thanks for making what is a very difficult holiday season that much more difficult. Timing is everything and yours is awful," they wrote.

The Plano, Texas-based company has been renovating the Aurora cinema and plans to reopen it January 17.

The company had no immediate comment.

Meanwhile, prosecutors and defence lawyers in the case said they are ready for a crucial hearing next week in which prosecutors will outline their case against accused gunman James Holmes.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin on Monday and is expected to run through the week.

At its conclusion, District Judge William Sylvester will decide if the evidence is sufficient to put Holmes on trial.

Holmes is charged with killing 12 people and wounding 70 during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises on July 20.

Residents mourn at a memorial for the victims

The preliminary hearing will give the public its first officially sanctioned look at much of the evidence against Holmes.

The judge imposed a gag order shortly after Holmes' arrest barring attorneys and investigators from speaking publicly about the case, and many documents have been sealed.

The University of Colorado, where Holmes was a graduate student, has also been tight-lipped about the case.

Holmes was enrolled in a PhD neuroscience program at the university. Investigators said he began stockpiling firearms and ammunition while taking classes in the spring.

In June, he made threats to a professor and on June 10 filed withdrawal papers after failing a year-end exam, prosecutors said.

The next day he saw his school psychiatrist who tried to report him to a campus security committee, according to Holmes' lawyers.

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India Murder-Rape Suspects Could Face Death

By Alex Rossi, India Correspondent

Five men have been formally charged with the murder, kidnap and gang rape of a medical student in Delhi in India.

The 23-year-old - who has not been named - died at the weekend in a hospital in Singapore where she was being treated for major internal injuries.

If the five men are convicted of murder they could face the death penalty.

A sixth suspect is believed to be under the age of 18.

Indian women hold placards during the Women Dignity march in Delhi

Investigators have ordered bone tests to establish his exact age, as juveniles cannot face murder charges.

The men are in custody at Delhi's Tihar prison.

According to the police the charge sheet is more than 1,000 pages long and it is expected when the trial gets under way that more than 30 witnesses will be called.

The document also contains a statement given by the victim to two different judges while she was being treated in hospital.

Investigators allege that members of the gang were drunk and joyriding in a bus when they picked up the woman and her male companion, who were on their way back from the cinema in South Delhi.

They then beat up the couple with an iron bar before gang-raping the woman.

It is claimed they then threw the pair from the moving bus and tried to run over the victim.

Delhi's Bar Association has stated none of its members will act for the men on "moral grounds", and the accused have no legal representation.

The rape has caused national outrage in India since it happened three weeks ago.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets on a daily basis to demand tougher penalties for rapists and fast track courts.

Rape and violence against women is all too common crime in India with the latest figures suggesting that the problem is worst in Delhi.

Last year there were 635 reported cases of rape in the capital but there was only one conviction.

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China's Most Wanted: Serial Rapist Captured

China's most wanted criminal has been arrested after being on the run since last April.

Zhang Haijun was caught by a number of special police squads in Xuzhou, in the eastern China province of Jiangsu.

The 35-year-old, from Heilongjiang province in northeast China, was jailed for rape in 1999 and released in 2010.

He returned to his crimes in February last year, going on to rape and rob women in more than 10 provinces in under 40 days.

Zhang confessed that he would first find information about female landlords and property lets in newspapers and online before contacting them using the pretence of being a prospective tenant.

Once inside, he would rob the properties, rape the owners and, on occasion, stabbed them.

Zhang was first arrested in April in Qingdao in east China but absconded four days later from a hospital where he was having a check-up.

His ankle bracelets had been removed for the examination.

Further investigation into the case is under way, said the police.

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Climber Killed By Lightning On Kilimanjaro

An Irish climber has been killed after being struck by lightning while scaling Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro.

Ian McKeever, 42, from Lough Dan in County Wicklow, died as he led a group up the mountain.

It is understood a number of other climbers with him also needed medical attention.

Mr McKeever was a lecturer and broadcaster who regularly mentored hikers, including groups of Irish schoolchildren, climbing to the 5, 896m (19, 340ft) summit.

The latest expedition team set off to Tanzania from Ireland on December 28 and began its ascent the day before New Year's Eve.

Mr McKeever wrote in online updates that there had been torrential rain but he said spirits remained high among the hikers.

In his final post he wrote: "We pray for drier weather tomorrow - the big day. It's the Lava Tower." The Lava Tower is a landmark on the climb.

Mr McKeever, who was killed in a lightning storm, was known for many adventurous feats, including scaling Mount Everest.

In 2008, he helped his then 10-year-old godson Sean McSharry become the youngest person in Europe to reach the top of Kilimanjaro.

Thousands of people climb Kilimanjaro every year

Mr McKeever is the former holder of the record for scaling the seven highest peaks in the world.

Recently he had been attempting, along with his friend and African climbing guide Samuel Kinsonga, to break the record for the fastest ascent of Kilimanjaro as part of an anti-racism charity campaign.

He was the author of two books Give Me Shelter and Give Me Heroes and was working on a third book Give Me 28 Days.

On his Facebook page, a statement said: "It is with deep regret, that we, Ian's family, fiancee Anna and friends, advise of his sudden death on Kilimanjaro ... doing what he loved best."

Ireland's Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he was very saddened to hear of Mr McKeever's death.

"I had come to know him over recent years and I admired him not only for his own achievements and charity work but also for his work with young people in challenging them to achieve their full potential," he said.

"He was extremely passionate about what he did and driven in his belief that everybody can achieve their potential during their lifetime.

"Ian said to me once that there was no place he would rather be than in the mountains.

"I would like to extend my sympathies to his fiancee Anna and his family, friends and fellow adventurers."

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Falklands Row Reopened By President's Letter

David Cameron has dismissed a call by the president of Argentina for Britain to hand back the Falkland Islands.

Cristina Kirchner demanded in an open letter that the Prime Minister abide by UN resolutions to "negotiate a solution" to the row.

But Mr Cameron insisted that the future of the islands was up to the people who live there, not Argentina.

He told the leader that she should "listen" to the result of a referendum due to be held in March.

And he vowed that Falklands residents would have his full backing if they choose to remain British.

"The future of the Falkland Islands should be determined by the Falkland Islanders themselves, the people who live there," he said.

"Whenever they have been asked their opinion, they say they want to maintain their current status with the United Kingdom.

"They're holding a referendum this year and I hope the president of Argentina will listen to that referendum and recognise it is for the Falkland Islanders to choose their future.

"As long as they choose to stay with the United Kingdom they have my 100% backing."

The Foreign Office added that the Falkland Islanders "are British and have chosen to be so".

"They remain free to choose their own futures, both politically and economically, and have a right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter," a spokesman said.

"This is a fundamental human right for all peoples. There are three parties to this debate, not just two as Argentina likes to pretend.

"The islanders can't just be written out of history. As such, there can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish."

Port Stanley in the Falklands

Ms Kirchner made her latest appeal in a letter published in The Guardian and Independent newspapers.

It claimed Argentina had been "forcibly stripped" of the islands her country calls Las Malvinas in a "blatant exercise of 19th-century colonialism".

"The Argentines on the Islands were expelled by the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom subsequently began a population implantation process similar to that applied to other territories under colonial rule," she said.

"Since then, Britain, the colonial power, has refused to return the territories to the Argentine Republic, thus preventing it from restoring its territorial integrity.

"The Question of the Malvinas Islands is also a cause embraced by Latin America and by a vast majority of peoples and governments around the world that reject colonialism."

Ms Kirchner first made calls for the return of the islands during last year's 30th anniversary of the two countries going to war.

She and Mr Cameron also clashed over the issue when they came face-to-face at the G20 summit in Mexico last June.

The Prime Minister rejected her call for negotiations about sovereignty and said she should respect the results of a referendum due in March.

The Falklanders will vote then on whether they wish to retain their ties with Britain.

The Argentine president tried again to push the issue when she appeared at the United Nations, appearing at the annual meeting of the little-known UN Decolonisation Committee on the 30th anniversary of the British victory.

She used the occasion to reiterate Argentina's opposition to any more wars and to criticise the Prime Minister's decision to mark the day by flying the Falklands flag over Number 10.

In December, Argentina protested at Britain's decision to name a vast swathe of Antarctica Queen Elizabeth Land. Its foreign ministry handed a formal protest note to British ambassador John Freeman in Buenos Aires.

The area, which makes up around a third of the British Antarctic Territory, is also claimed by the South American country.

Barry Elsby, a member of the Islands' Legislative Assembly, said: "We understand that the Argentine government has put out a letter that both calls our home a colony and claims that the United Kingdom is ignoring United Nations General Assembly resolutions.

"We are not a colony; our relationship with the United Kingdom is by choice. Unlike the government of Argentina, the United Kingdom respects the right of our people to determine our own affairs, a right that is enshrined in the UN Charter and which is ignored by Argentina."

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