Google: Mandela Is Year's Most-Searched Term

Nelson Mandela was the world's most searched for term on Google for 2013.

Searches for Mr Mandela were already high this year, but following his death on December 5 people all over the world used the search engine to find out more about the anti-apartheid leader and his legacy.

Deaths of celebrities featured highly on the Google Zeitgeist list of searches around the world.

Hollywood actor Paul Walker, who was killed in a car crash on November 30, was listed second, and Glee star Cory Monteith, who died on July 13 from an alcohol and heroin overdose, was the fourth most popular search.

The latest gadgets also featured prominently, reflecting the global importance of new technology, with Apple's iPhone 5s at three on the list, the Samsung Galaxy 4s at eight and the Sony PlayStation 4 at nine.

Moments of joy and great sorrow also gripped Google users around the world, with the birth of the royal baby the seventh most popular search and the Boston Marathon bombing the sixth most searched for item.

The secretive communist North Korea state also piqued interest, reaching number ten on the list.

A certain dance music video completed the top ten global searches - the Harlem Shake has been uploaded to YouTube in more than 1.7 million video versions, propelling it to number five on the global list.

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Six US Servicemen Killed In Helicopter Crash

Six US service members have been killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, according to officials.

One person on board the aircraft was injured, but survived the crash in the southern Zabul province.

A statement issued by the Nato international military coalition said the crash was under investigation and stressed there was no insurgent activity in the area at the time.

The helicopter is thought to have developed engine trouble.

Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, deputy governor of Zabul, said the helicopter came down in the remote Shajau district.

This year, 109 members of the US military have died in Afghanistan, from a total of 139 in the coalition.

The death toll has dropped significantly since the coalition handed over responsibility for security to Afghan forces last summer. Coalition troops are now training and assisting their Afghan counterparts.

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Fighting Continues In South Sudan After 'Coup'

Fierce gun battles continued in South Sudan overnight as troops loyal to the president fought rival soldiers accused of staging a coup.

Residents in the capital, Juba, barricaded themselves inside their homes as gunfire resumed in the early hours of Tuesday.

Oxfam worker Emma Jane Drew, who is working in Juba, told the AFP news agency that the atmosphere is extremely tense.

"We can still hear sporadic shooting from various locations. The situation is very tense," she said.

She said her team is holed up in their compound, unable to leave because of the fighting.

"It's continued shooting. Shooting could be heard all through the night. We don't know who is fighting who," she said.

South Sudan's president Salva Kiir (R)

Clashes began on Sunday after South Sudan's President Salva Kiir accused troops loyal to his arch-rival, former vice president Riek Machar who was sacked from the government in July, of a plot to overthrow the government.

On Monday, Mr Kiir said his troops were "in full control of the security situation in Juba" and imposed an overnight curfew.

However, the fighting resumed several hours later.

Officials said several former government ministers have been arrested over the violence, but the whereabouts of Mr Machar is unclear.

Former vice president Riek Machar

At least 26 people have been killed in the violence and 130 injured, according to South Sudan's Under-Secretary for Health Makur Korion.

Around 7,000 civilians have taken refuge at UN offices, according to UN radio.

Ms Drew told AFP there are unconfirmed reports of soldiers conducting violent house raids.

"We have heard unconfirmed reports of house-to-house military checks of civilians including the use of brutality and violence, though this is unconfirmed," she said.

South Sudan won its independence in 2011 after a vote to split from the north and form a new nation.

But the world's youngest country has struggled with ethnic violence and corruption, and political tensions have worsened in recent weeks.

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New Pipeline To Loosen Russia's Grip On Energy

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

The UK Foreign Secretary William Hague is in Azerbaijan today at a ceremony to sign a £27.6bn pipeline deal which will provide another alternative to energy supplies from Russia to Europe.

The deal will make Britain the biggest foreign investor in the country.

BP is the lead shareholder in an international consortium to bring gas from the Caspian Sea into Italy, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece.

British officials do not openly admit that part of the strategy behind the Shah Deniz 2 deal is to loosen Russia's grip on energy supplies to Europe, but Mr Hague did hint at that in a speech in the capital Baku, telling Sky News: "Energy security is a major concern to much of Europe and this new gas corridor will bring a new supply of energy and will increase competition.

"With major involvement of BP and other British companies, it will also be a major boost to British companies and jobs."

Behind the statement lies the idea that countries west of Russia could become less beholden to Moscow for energy, and that Russian gas prices may have to come down due to this new route.

One source told Sky News: "Europe is too reliant on too few sources of gas and oil, this makes it vulnerable."

Human Rights campaigners have criticised the deal claiming it will boost Azerbaijan's President lham Aliyev who is accused of human rights abuses and of rigging elections.

In October a government phone app appeared to release the results of this year's Presidential election a day before the polls opened. It gave the President a landslide victory over his rival Jamil Hasanli.

According to the country's electoral commission it was a "technical glitch" and a "misunderstanding".

The manager of the company making the app told local media that the test result was data from the previous presidential election. Not everyone believed this and pointed out that Mr Hasanli had not then been standing for President.

Mr Aliyev duly won the election by a landslide.

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N Korea Marks Anniversary Of Kim Jong-Il Death

North Korea's political and military elite have publicly pledged their loyalty to Kim Jong-Un during a large memorial in Pyongyang to mark the second anniversary of the death of his father.

The public display of support came only days after the execution of the young leader's uncle, Jang Song Thaek, considered the second most powerful man in the secretive state.

The ousting of Jang overlaps with a propaganda drive that has tied the younger Kim to his father's legacy in the weeks leading up to the anniversary.

Official television footage showed Kim Jong-Un sitting centre stage beneath a huge red mural of a flag emblazoned with a picture of his smiling father Kim Jong-Il.

A noticeable absentee on the stage was his paternal aunt Kim Kyung Hui, Kim Jong-Il's sister and Jang's wife.

She and Jang had been the "Pyongyang power couple" considered to be the real force behind the North Korean leadership.

Mr Kim, who is believed to be about 30, took over when his father died suddenly in December 2011.

In a relatively short period of time he has followed his father's programme by ordering the North's third nuclear test and successfully launching a long-range rocket in the face of increasingly tight UN sanctions.

His first two years in power have also been marked by construction, with a flagship project being the Masik Pass ski resort near Wonsan, on North Korea's east coast.

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China: Rare Tiger Mauls Keeper To Death

A keeper at Shanghai zoo has been mauled to death by an endangered species of tiger.

The news was announced on the zoo's blog which said investigators were looking into the cause of the incident. No other details were given.

State media reports named the victim as a 53-year-old man with the surname of Li.

Unidentified colleagues were quoted as saying the man had entered the tiger's enclosure to clean and was not seen again.

In other reports, witnesses said the tiger was seen suddenly jumping out and biting the keeper in the neck.

The tiger enclosure. Pic: Xinmin.cn

By the time help arrived, the man was dead.

Zoo staff had reportedly said the tiger had not been fed for more than a day.

"It must have been starving," a witness told the Shanghai Daily.

The animal involved was a highly endangered South China tiger, considered effectively extinct in the wild after decades of being hunted.

Built on a former golf course, Shanghai Zoo is one of China's largest and most popular urban animal parks.

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Syria: Missing UK Doctor 'Dies In Detention'

The Foreign Office is investigating reports that British doctor Abbas Khan has died in custody in Syria.

Dr Khan, 32, an orthopaedic surgeon from Streatham, south London, had been held in Syria for more than a year.

He was seized by government troops in the rebel-held city of Aleppo after he entered the country with a visa on a humanitarian mission.

A statement from the Foreign Office said: "We are extremely concerned by reports that Dr Khan has died in detention in Syria and are urgently seeking confirmation from the Syrian authorities.

"If these tragic reports are true, responsibility for Dr Khan's death lies with them and we will be pressing for answers about what happened.

"We have consistently sought consular access to Dr Khan and information on his detention, directly and through the Russians, Czechs and others.

"In November, minister Hugh Robertson wrote making clear our concerns about his welfare and treatment, stressing that the regime's failure to provide any information that would indicate Dr Khan's continued detention is legitimate meant his position should be reviewed immediately.

"These requests have consistently been ignored.

Dr Khan with his son. Pic: FreeAbbasKhan/Facebook

"All UK consular services in Syria were suspended some time ago and we continue to advise against all travel to Syria."

Dr Khan's brother, Afroze, told the BBC: "My brother was going to be released at the end of the week. We were given assurance by the Syrian government.

"My brother knew that. He was ready to come back home. He was happy and looking forward to being released."

He added that the family was angry at the Foreign Office for "dragging their feet" for more than a year.

A message on the Free Dr Abbas Khan Twitter feed said his life was "taken meaninglessly".

It added: "He was the best brother I could ever asked for and I know no one with a purer heart than him. His release was due to be this week."

A statement issued by Bradford West MP George Galloway said the MP "had been negotiating for months with the Syrian government over the release of Dr Khan and was due to fly out this week to bring him home".

Mr Galloway said: "I think we will have to wait for clarification on how exactly he died but this is heartbreaking and devastating news for his family who have been working so hard for so long to secure his release, particularly because his freedom had been agreed and he was due to return with me in the next few days.

"My sincere condolences go out to his family whose pain is unbearable."

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'Mafia Using Flower Power To Fund Mobsters'

Christmas flowers are at the centre of an alleged scam after four suspected mafia members were arrested by police in Italy.

Red poinsettia plants - a traditional Christmas gift in Italy - were allegedly being forcibly sold to shopkeepers around Naples in order to raise money for jailed mobsters.

According to police, mafia members were selling them at over 20 times their original price and if the owners did not buy them they faced retribution.

Business owners usually sell the flowers for around three euros but the mobsters were forcing shopkeepers to buy them for up to 100 euros (£85).

The four men are alleged to belong to the Camorra, based in Naples, and the largest of the Italian mafia organised crime groups.

A police statement said: "In some parts of Naples, the Christmas poinsettias, which should soften people's hearts, have a whiff of crime about them."

Since Christmas 2011 the investigation has been ongoing and the festive season is reportedly a peak time for mafia protection racket demands in Italy.

The Camorra is one of the four main mafia groups in Italy. Others include the Sicilian mafia, the 'Ndrangheta mafia (based in Calabria) and the Sacra Corona Unita (based in the Puglia region).

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India: US Embassy Barriers Removed Over Spat

India has launched a series of reprisals against US officials in retaliation for the arrest and alleged heavy-handed treatment of an Indian diplomat in New York.

The government ordered the return of identity cards for US consular officials that speed up travel into and through India.

Import clearances for the US embassy will also be stopped, while New Delhi police used two trucks and bulldozers to remove concrete security barricades from in front of the US embassy.

ID cards for US consular officials have also been seized

Politicians in India, including the leaders of the two main political parties and the national security adviser, refused to meet a delegation of US politicians earlier this week.

Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York was arrested while dropping her daughter at school last week, for allegedly underpaying her nanny and committing visa fraud to get her into the US.

She was also allegedly handcuffed during her arrest,  strip-searched and "confined with drug addicts" before being released on $250,000 bail and surrendering her passport. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Devyani Khobragade is India's deputy consul general in New York

National security adviser Shivshankar Menon branded the treatment "barbaric".

Foreign minister Salman Khurshid said the arrest was "completely unacceptable".

He added: "We have put in motion what we believe would be effective ways of addressing the issue but also (put) in motion such steps that need to be taken to protect her dignity."

But US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that diplomatic security staff had followed standard procedures during the arrest and then handed her over to US Marshals.

Indian TV reported the foreign ministry was considering checking the salaries paid by US embassy staff to domestic helpers and the withdrawal of certain privileges for some US diplomats and their families.

A statement issued by the public attorney for the Southern District of New York claimed Ms Khobragade had agreed with her nanny to pay just over a third of the $9.75 US law minimum rate.

India summoned the US ambassador on Friday to protest at the arrest.

Ms Khobragade faces a maximum of 15 years in jail if convicted on both counts.

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Russia And Ukraine Sign Deal Despite Protests

Russian President Vladimir Putin has slashed the cost of gas sold to Ukraine and agreed to buy billions of government bonds.

The deal comes amid massive protests in the Ukraine over the government rejecting closer ties with the European Union in favour of a new alliance with Russia.

Mr Putin agreed the deal after talks in Moscow with his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yanukovych.

Protesters have been camped on Kiev's main square for nearly a month angry at the prospect of being drawn back under the influence of its powerful neighbour.

Hundreds of thousands protested in Kiev on Sunday

Opposition leaders had warned Mr Yanukovich not to bother coming back to Ukraine if he "sells out" to Russia.

The deal sees Russian state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom cutting the price of gas deliveries from January to $268 (£165) per 1,000 cubic metres from $400 (£246) per 1,000 cubic metres.

Mr Putin also said Russia would invest $15bn ($9.2bn) in Ukraine's government bonds.

The Russian President tried to ease concerns over the deal by saying the two leaders had not discussed the idea of Kiev joining a Kremlin-led free trade bloc.

Folk singers at one of the Kiev protest camps on Tuesday

"I would like to calm everyone down, today we have not discussed the issue of Ukraine joining the Customs Union at all," Mr Putin said.

The ex-Soviet nation has been at the heart of a diplomatic tug of war between east and west since Mr Yanukovich's refusal to sign an EU trade deal last month.

The demonstrations began on November 21, but have grown in size and intensity since after unsuccessful attempts by police to clear the protest camp.

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets on Sunday in a huge rally dubbed the 'day of dignity', where they demanded the resignation of the government and called for European human rights.

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