Search ends for missing fishing crew in Antarctic

 

 

Five of the 42-man crew died and 20 were rescued after the No 1 In Sung went down about 2,000km (1,250 miles) south of New Zealand.
It sank at about 0630 New Zealand time on Monday (1930 GMT) in calm waters.
The crew included nationals from South Korea, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia.
The 20 crew who were rescued were picked up by another fishing boat operating nearby.
Quick sinking

Richard Holbrooke, veteran US diplomat, dies

 

 

Veteran US diplomat Richard Holbrooke has died following a second round of surgery to treat a torn aorta.

He fell ill on Friday while meeting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He was President Barack Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The presidents of both nations had called to wish him well, prior to his death.
Mr Obama called the 69-year-old, who was known for bringing warring leaders to the negotiating table, a "true giant of American foreign policy".

EU and Libya condemned over treatment of migrants

 

 

Amnesty International has condemned Libya and the EU over co-operation to try to prevent African migrants crossing from North Africa to Europe.

The human rights group says Libya detains illegal migrants in inhuman conditions, subjecting them to torture and humiliation.

Voyager near Solar System's edge

Voyager is approaching the edge of the bubble of charged particles the Sun has thrown out into space

Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, has reached a new milestone in its quest to leave the Solar System.

Now 17.4bn km (10.8bn miles) from home, the veteran probe has detected a distinct change in the flow of particles that surround it.
These particles, which emanate from the Sun, are no longer travelling outwards but are moving sideways.
It means Voyager must be very close to making the jump to interstellar space - the space between the stars.
Edward Stone, the Voyager project scientist, lauded the explorer and the fascinating science it continues to return 33 years after launch.

South Korea's army chief resigns

 

The head of South Korea's army, Gen Hwang Eui-don, has resigned, officials at the defence ministry have said.

The reasons for his resignation have not been given, but he had faced criticism over capital gains he made through a Seoul property deal.
His resignation comes amid rising tensions over North Korea's shelling of a Southern island.

Murder arrest as mother and son found dead in Banbury

 

 

A mother and son have been found dead at a house in Oxfordshire with the woman's ex-partner suspected of their murders, police have said.

Police said injuries were consistent with a blunt trauma, but could not confirm reports an axe had been used.
Officers found the bodies in Mold Crescent, Banbury, at 0645 GMT and a 43-year-old man was later arrested in Swindon on suspicion of murder.
The woman's two daughters fled the house, one with serious injuries.
The eldest of the two, in her late teens, was taken to hospital while the other, aged 13, was unharmed but "extremely traumatised".
'Not random attacks' Det Insp Steve Duffy said: "As you can appreciate officers went to the address and were faced with a horrific scene.
"There were two people obviously dead or very close to death at the scene.
"All I can confirm is their injuries are consistent with blunt trauma and I can't say if an axe was used but a firearm was not used.
"The police traced a suspect to an address in Wiltshire and police went to that address and effected an arrest."
The policeman said there was a "background" to the deaths and they were not random attacks.
He added: "At this stage we can not confirm the exact nature of the injuries the man and woman sustained, but we can confirm that some kind of weapon was used during the attack.
"At this stage it has yet to be recovered."
More than 40 police officers were working on the investigation this afternoon.
The dead woman was aged in her 40s and her son was in his 20s, police said.
The end-terrace house was cordoned off, and a long stretch of the road was closed to traffic and pedestrians in both directions.
Police officers were also present at a second house in Mold Crescent, opposite the scene of the attack, which officers believe the suspect may have visited during the course of the attack.

 

Facebook: Should parents 'friend' their children?

 

 

When Facebook was entirely dominated by people under the age of 25, things were simple. But now an important social question has arisen - should you "friend" your child, or accept a parent as a "friend"?

For a generation brought up on social networks, your "friends" can range from closest confidants to someone you met at a conference.
People you've "friended" for networking purposes are afforded equal status to your sister.

Continue reading the main story

Find out more

• BBC Radio 5 live's Family Week is looking at modern family relationships

• BBC Radio 5 live Family Week survey results

Your friends on social networks might also be your 20-something son who's travelling round Thailand or your 13-year-old daughter.

These are tricky waters for a parent to navigate, unsure of security settings and wary of others on the internet. If you are on Facebook, should you be friends with your kids?
"It's hilarious to say, isn't it? That my child is or is not my 'friend'," says Susan Maushart, author of The Winter of Our Disconnect, about her family's six-month detox from technology.
As well as spending vast amounts of time on Facebook, her children weren't making eye contact or talking to each other in person. Maushart attempted to claw back some parental presence and influence by "friending" her three children.
Two rejected her outright. One daughter accepted her request, but only after introducing strict boundaries, prohibiting her mother from commenting on photos or criticising.

Fishermen missing in Antarctic as South Korea ship sinks

 

 

Seventeen fishermen are missing in icy waters following the sinking of a South Korean vessel in the Southern Ocean.

At least five of the 42-man crew died and 20 were rescued after the deep-sea trawler went down about 2,000km (1,250 miles) south of New Zealand.
Rescuers have scaled back the search, saying it was unlikely that any of those missing would survive for long.
The crew included nationals from South Korea, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia.
South Korea's foreign ministry said the 614-tonne ship, the Number One In Sung, sank at around 0430 South Korean time on Monday (1930 GMT on Sunday).
Twenty sailors were rescued by another fishing boat operating nearby, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.
New Zealand rescuers said it was not clear why the boat sank. Conditions were calm and no SOS was sent.
Survival times in the water in the area would be about 10 minutes without life-jackets or immersion suits, rescuers said after scaling back the search.
"It (is) becoming increasingly unlikely further survivors (will) be found," rescue controller Dave Wilson told AFP news agency.
Ross Henderson, a spokesperson for Maritime New Zealand, earlier said all vessels in the remote area had been told to go to the site to help search for survivors after the incident was reported.
A helicopter was also sent to the area, he said.

 

Will “The #Social Network” Get an #Oscar? Most Critics Say Yes

You cannot know for sure whether a movie will get an Oscar before it happens, but you can make an educated guess by looking at the year’s top movie lists from influential film critics’ associations. And this year, most of them point to director David Fincher’s The Social Network, which depicts the early days of Facebook, as the top candidate.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named The Social Network as best picture, also awarding the film honors for best screenplay, director and music (the latter two awards were a tie). The New York Film Critics Online gave The Social Network prizes for best picture, director and screenplay.
The Boston Society of Film Critics was also on board, giving Fincher’s movie awards for best film, direction, screenplay, score, and actor (Jesse Eisenberg). And finally, the American Film Institute placed it among the top 10 movies of the year.

Flat-dwelling children exposed to neighbours' smoke too.

Children living in flats have 45% more exposure to tobacco smoke than those in detached houses, a US study says. 

Researchers from Harvard and Rochester Universities say that is because the smoke seeps through walls and shared ventilation systems.
They tested cotinine levels in blood samples from 5,000 children across the US for the study in Pediatrics.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said there was a "strong case" for making blocks of flats smoke free.

Amazon knocked offline by 'hardware failure'

Online retailer Amazon has said its European websites were temporarily offline because of a "hardware failure".

British, French, German, Austrian and Italian sites were down for about 30 minutes on Sunday during a peak pre-Christmas shopping period.