Hollywood Hacker Jailed After Stealing Nude Pics

A man who hacked into the personal emails of Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Christina Aguilera and a number of other women, has been jailed for 10 years.

Christopher Chaney pleaded guilty to counts that included wiretapping and unauthorised access to a computer.

Prosecutors said Chaney, 35, illegally accessed the email accounts of more than 50 people in the entertainment industry between November 2010 and October 2011.

His arrest came after an 11-month investigation - dubbed Operation Hackerazzi - into the hacking of dozens of celebrities, of whom Johansson, Kunis and singer Aguilera were the highest-profile names.

The court heard a tearful videotaped statement from actress Johansson after nude photos, taken herself and meant for her then-husband Ryan Reynolds, were placed on the Internet.

Aguilera said in a statement issued days before the sentencing that although she is often in the limelight, Chaney took private moments from her.

Chaney said the hacking began 'out of curiosity'

"That feeling of security can never be given back and there is no compensation that can restore the feeling one has from such a large invasion of privacy," Aguilera said.

Chaney also targeted two women he knew, and reportedly sent naked pictures of a former colleague to her father.

Those women said their lives have been irreparably damaged by Chaney's actions and called him "creepy".

One said she has anxiety and panic attacks; the other said she is depressed and paranoid.

Explaining how the hacking began, Chaney said: "It started as curiosity and it turned to just being addictive ... Seeing the behind-the-scenes of what's going on with the people you see on the big screen."

He denied criminal intent, saying: "I wasn't saving the emails to blackmail someone."

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Colombia Bus Crash Kills 26 After 'Brake Failure'

At least 26 people have been killed after a bus swerved off a road and flipped over due to suspected brake failure.

Another 15 passengers were injured and rescue workers battled for hours to free people trapped in the mangled wreckage.

The accident happened as the vehicle carried visitors to a coffee fair in central Colombia.

The bus driver, who survived the accident, said that brake failure was to blame.

Firefighter Jorge Riobueno explained how the driver tried frantically to maintain control of the bus using the gears.

Emergency workers work to free survivors - and bodies from the wreckage

He said: "Unfortunately one of the vehicles - that was returning from a meeting and that was part of a caravan of vehicles - lost control.

"According to the versions we have, the bus's brakes failed and the driver was trying to control the vehicle using the gears.

"But unfortunately he lost control when the bus was going around a curve. The bus went off the highway and over the guardrails, killing more than 15 people.

Firefighter Jorge Riobueno tells how the driver reported brake problems

"Various people were injured and were rescued by personnel from the area."

Felipa Ruiz, who survived the accident, recounted moments of terror as the bus veered out of control.

She said: "In that moment I thought the worst and since we were practically on a slope I thought it was going to be more difficult to control. So I bent down and I started praying, nothing else.

Rescuers carry a person from the crash scene on a stretcher

"I don't remember anything else, the reactions or where we were, I don't know if we left the highway, or if we fell into an abyss, I don't know anything - I know that when I woke up I felt like something was cutting off my legs."

The bus was heading from Bogota to the city of Cali, some 500km (310 miles) to the southwest, highway police commander Francisco Patino said.

People on some of the other buses said the driver of the one that crashed had complained about the brakes on the first leg of the journey but that the bus company failed to replace the vehicle.

Survivor Felipa Ruiz tells of the moment the bus veered off the road

Earlier this month eight people died and 11 were injured when a bus flipped over in Ibague, 200km (120 miles) west of Bogota, apparently after speeding.

Approximately 5,000 people per year are killed in traffic accidents in Colombia.

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US Shooting: Obama Visits Newtown In Mourning

President Barack Obama has told relatives of the 26 people killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School that mass shooting tragedies "must end".

Speaking at a vigil in memory of the victims, the President told an emotional audience, "Newtown, you are not alone".

He struggled to maintain his composure - and there was audible sobbing throughout the packed hall - as he read the first names of each of the 20 children killed in America's worst school shooting.

He said: "God has called them home. For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on and make our country worthy of their memory."

Mr Obama told the audience: "I come to offer the love and cares of the nation. I'm very mindful that mere words can not match the depths of your sorrow.

"I can only hope it helps for you to know you're not alone in your grief - our world too has been torn apart ... we have wept with you."

The President paid tribute to the six adults who lost their lives when 20-year-old Adam Lanza went on a rampage through the school armed with an assault rifle.

The grief is too much for one woman at the moving service

He said: "We know when danger arrived the school staff did not flinch. They responded as we all hope we might respond in such terrifying circumstances. With courage and with love, giving their lives to protect the children in their care."

He hinted at changes to America's gun laws after the massacre, admitting: "We, as a nation, are left with hard questions."

Mr Obama also told the hall that the US is "not doing enough" to protect its children.

He said: "These tragedies have to end, and to end them we must change."

Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy told the audience the President had confessed that the day of the shootings had been the most difficult of his presidency so far.

The President has also been meeting with emergency service workers who were among the first on the scene, minutes after the shooting started.

The President listened carefully as religious leaders led the service

Kevin Paturzo, 25, said: "Just him coming to this town is much appreciated.

"It's a small community, everybody knows everybody around here. Him coming out here, reaching out to the families is deeply respected, but it's going to take a lot of grieving."

At a packed St. Rose Catholic church, the priest's announcements included news that the Christmas pageant rehearsal would go on as planned, but without six-year-old Olivia Engel, who died before she could play the role of an angel.

Shortly before Mr Obama was due to arrive, worshippers at the church close to the school were evacuated after a reported bomb threat.

Armed police were sent but it was quickly decided that there was no danger to the public.

Makeshift memorials have appeared around the town, the largest of which sits at the end of Dickenson Drive where Sandy Hook Elementary stands.

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Jacintha Saldanha: Nurse's Funeral In India

The funeral of the nurse found dead after being duped by a prank call to the hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge will take place in India today.

Mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha was found hanging in her nurses' quarters at London's King Edward VII's Hospital on December 7.

Three days earlier the 46-year-old nurse had transferred a call from two Australian DJs, believing they were the Queen and Prince of Wales, to a colleague who described in detail the condition of the Duchess during her hospital stay for severe morning sickness.

Ms Saldanha's family have flown to her home country for the funeral, which will take place at Our Lady of Health Church in the town of Shirva, Karnataka, near Mangalore.

Her children described the "unfillable void" left in their lives by their mother's death as a mass was held at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday.

Ms Saldanha's coffin arrives in Mangalore, India

Following the service, her husband Benedict Barboza and two children Junal and Lisha paid an emotional tribute to a "kind-hearted, generous and well-respected woman".

Fighting back tears, Mr Barboza said: "My wife, you were the light in my darkness, who always showed me the way forward.

"From the day we met, you always stood by me in times of hardship and happiness.

"I feel a part of me has been ripped out."

Ms Saldanha's daughter Lisha, 14, said: "We will miss your laughter, the loving memories and the good times we had together. The house is an empty dwelling without your presence.

"We are shattered and there's an unfillable void in our lives."

A candle-lit vigil for the nurse was held in Mangalore at the weekend

Her son Junal, 16, said: "Our mother, kind hearted, generous and a well-respected woman in both of our lives. You were the core of the family who kept us together."

Standing outside the cathedral alongside their local MP Charlotte Leslie and MP Keith Vaz, who has been campaigning on behalf of the family, Mr Barboza said the family "could not have foreseen the unprecedented tragedy that has unfolded in our lives".

"The events of the last week have shattered our lives. We barely have the strength to withstand the grief and sorrow."

He thanked the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prime Minister David Cameron for their condolences.

Memorial services have already been held at the hospital where Ms Saldanha worked and in Bristol where her husband and children live.

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Mandela Recovering After Gallstones Removed

Nelson Mandela is recovering from a successful operation to have gallstones removed, the South African government has confirmed.

The 94-year-old former president has been in hospital with a lung infection for a week.

"The former president underwent a procedure via endoscopy to have the gallstones removed ... The procedure was successful and Madiba is recovering," the government statement said, referring to Mr Mandela by his clan name.

Mr Mandela was admitted to the 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria on December 8 for tests, which revealed the recurrence of the infection.

Doctors wanted to treat him for this first before carrying out the gallstones procedure, the government said.

Mr Mandela's latest hospital stay has caused growing concern in South Africa, which idolises him as the nation's first democratically-elected leader after the apartheid era.

He made his last public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup football tournament.

In January 2011, he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but turned out to be an acute respiratory infection.

The chaos that followed saw the South African military take charge of his care and the government control information about his health.

South African President Jacob Zuma has wished Mr Mandela a "speedy recovery".

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British Boy Dies In US School Shooting

US Shooting: Deadliest Massacres

Updated: 12:23pm UK, Saturday 15 December 2012

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, is among the deadliest in modern US history.

Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother before opening fire in the elementary school killing 20 children and six adults. He then turned the gun on himself.

It is the worst school shooting in America's history and second only to the Virginia Tech massacre in terms of the country's deadliest ever attacks.

Both attacks make up a grim history of mass murders using firearms in the US.

:: Aurora, Colorado, July 20, 2012:

A masked gunman burst in on the Century 16 cinema during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises throwing tear gas before opening fire.

He killed 12 and injured 58. James Eagan Holmes, 24, is the sole suspect and was arrested at the scene. He will appear in court in January.

:: Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas, November 5, 2009:

A 42-year-old US Army Major, serving as a psychiatrist, opened fire inside the US military base killing 13 and wounding 29 in an attack deemed an act of terrorism. Hasan was shot and captured and is paralysed from the waist down.

Before the killing he had been in touch with the late al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al Awlaki to ask whether he would be considered a martyr if he died shooting US soldiers.

:: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16, 2007:

Seung-Hui Cho, 23, killed 32 and injured 17 in America's deadliest shooting. He launched two separate attacks at the campus two hours apart before killing himself.

Cho had a history of mental illness and was in therapy through his school years.

:: Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, October 2, 2006:

Charles Carl Roberts shot dead five and injured five in an attack at an Amish school. The 32-year-old dish washer at a local restaurant then killed himself.

He was driven by anger at God over the death of his premature daughter.

:: Red Lake Indian Reservation, March 21, 2005:

Sixteen-year-old Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather and grandfather's companion before opening fire at Red Lake High School. He killed nine and injured seven, then took his own life.

He blamed years of school bullying for the attack.

:: Forth Worth, Sept 25, 1999:

Unemployed white supremacist Larry Gene Ashbrook opened fire on the congregation of Wedgwood Baptist Church, killing seven and wounding seven. He then turned the gun on himself.

Ashbrook, 47, was a member of a group that advocated killing minorities.

:: Atlanta, July 29, 1999:

Mark Orrin Barton, a trader, opened fire in two investment offices killing nine and wounding 12. He killed himself after a six-hour police manhunt.

The 44-year-old had been upset by big financial losses.

:: Columbine High School, Colorado, April 20, 1999:

Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire on schoolmates after bombs they had planted in the cafeteria failed to go off. They killed 13 and injured 21 before killing themselves.

The students were motivated by their anger at society. Harris had a history of depression.

:: McDonald's, San Ysidro, California, July 18 1984:

Welder James Huberty walked into a McDonald's and opened fire killing 21 people and wounding 19 before being shot by a police sniper.

The 51-year-old thought society was about to collapse. When asked where he was going as he left the house for the killing, he told his wife: "hunting humans".

:: University of Texas, Austin, August 1, 1966:

Engineering student Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, opened fire on students from the 28th floor of the main campus building. He killed 13 and wounded 32 before being shot dead by a police marksman. He also killed his wife and mother.

In a note he said he was suffering irrational thoughts and wanted to relieve his wife and mother from suffering but offered no explanation for the university attack.

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US Missiles And Troops To Protect Turkey

The US is deploying two Patriot missile units along with 400 troops to Turkey as part of a Nato force to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian attack.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta signed a deployment order on Friday on his way to Turkey from Afghanistan.

The order calls for the American soldiers to operate two batteries of Patriots at undisclosed locations in Turkey.

The move is part of a wider Nato effort to bolster Ankara's air defences amid growing tension on the Turkish-Syrian border.

Germany and the Netherlands are also sending Patriots, which are designed to knock out cruise and ballistic missiles as well as aircraft.

Turkey is a founding member of Nato and requested the help from the alliance after siding with opposition forces battling President Bashar al Assad's regime.

Leon Panetta has been meeting troops and politicians in Afghanistan

The Turkish government has vowed to defend its territory after cross-border artillery fire wounded civilians and one of its fighter jets was  downed.

US and European leaders have warned the Assad regime not to use its arsenal of chemical arms, calling it a "red line" that would trigger international military action.

During a brief stop at Incirlik Air Base Mr Panetta told US troops that Turkey might need the Patriots.

He said he had approved the deployment "so that we can help Turkey have the kind of missile defence it may very well need to deal with the threats coming out of Syria."

Mr Panetta did not reveal how soon the two Patriot batteries will head to Turkey or how long they will stay.

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Egyptian Sword Fight Injures Protesters

At least 19 people have reportedly been hurt in Egypt, after supporters of the country's draft constitution attacked protesters with swords.

The clashes in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria come on the eve of a referendum on the charter, which opponents claim does not guarantee basic rights to Egyptians and places emphasis on Islam and Sharia law.

Witnesses said dozens of protesters fought with clubs and swords and threw stones at one another.

Cars were set alight and a large crowd of anti-Mursi protesters armed with knives surrounded a mosque in the city, trapping a preacher who had criticised those planning to oppose the constitution when voting begins on Saturday.

A hospital official told the AP news agency that 19 Egyptians were injured in the clashes.

In the Egyptian capital Cairo, where tanks and armed troops have been deployed, protests outside mosques were peaceful.

Demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace but there were no reports of any violence.

At least eight people have died and hundreds have been injured in the three weeks since Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi assumed sweeping new powers - which have now been abolished - to push through the constitution.

The referendum, which will be held on two days, asks Egyptians to accept or reject a basic law that must be in place before national elections can be held early next year.

The government said Saturday would be made a holiday to enable people to vote.

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Royal Hoax Radio Staff 'Moved Into Safehouses'

Staff at a radio station behind a hoax call that led to the apparent suicide of nurse Jacintha Saldanha have been moved to safehouses, according to reports.

Managers at Sydney radio station 2Day FM have also recruited 24-hour bodyguards to protect employees.

Ms Saldanha was found dead days after the DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian called London's King Edward VII hospital, where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for severe morning sickness.

They impersonated the Queen and Prince Charles, with the "monarch" making enquiries about her "granddaughter".

Nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead after receiving a hoax call

Australian news website news.co.au said police have launched an investigation due to staff receiving death threats, with one letter specifically targeting Mr Christian.

The letter reportedly said there are "bullets out there with your (Mr Christian's) name on" and contained further threats involving a shotgun.

An inquest into the 46-year-old nurse's death opened at Westminster Coroner's Court on Thursday, and heard injuries were found on her wrists and that she had left three notes.

Two of the notes were found in her room at the hospital. The other was among her possessions.

The mother-of-two's body was released to undertakers on behalf of the family after the hearing.

The court heard that police are exploring emails and texts sent by Ms Saldanha, who was discovered by a colleague and a security guard on Friday.

Officers are also interviewing her friends and family, and staff at the Australian radio station responsible for the prank.

Detective Chief Inspector James Harman said: "On Friday December 7 Jacintha Saldanha was found by a colleague and a member of security staff. Sadly she was found hanging.

"There were also injuries to her wrists. The London Ambulance Service was called to the scene. At this time there are no suspicious circumstances."

The inquest came as pressure mounted on bosses at the radio station to name the executives responsible for airing the hoax call.

Sky News understands Australia's independent media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), has had 2,500 complaints from around the world over the 2Day FM segment.

ACMA has announced a rare fast-track investigation into the prank, which saw Ms Saldanha put two radio hosts through to a fellow nurse who unwittingly revealed details about Kate's treatment.

Australia's radio broadcasting code stipulates that it is a breach to record a person in conversation, and also air it, without their knowledge.

The radio station insists it did not break the law and says it tried to contact the hospital on five separate occasions. The hospital disputes any contact was ever sought.

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Serbian FA Fined For Racist Behaviour Of Fans

The Serbian Football Association has been fined £65,000 over the improper conduct of fans involving racist chanting during a match against England's Under-21s.

UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe, also ordered Serbia to play their next Under-21 international fixture behind closed doors, following the violent scenes during and after the game at the Mladost Stadium in Krusevac in October.

But the FA, which complained of the racism to UEFA after the incident, said the sanctions were not tough enough.

FA General Secretary Alex Horne said: "We are disappointed with the sanctions levied by UEFA with regards to the racist behaviour displayed towards England's players.

"Let's be clear, racism is unacceptable in any form, and should play no part in football.

"The scenes were deplorable and we do not believe the sanction sends a strong enough message."

FA General Secretary Alex Horne says he is "disappointed" by the sanctions

The control and disciplinary body also banned six players for varying terms, including English duo Thomas Ince and Steven Caulker, as well as two Serbian coaches, after ugly scenes marred the end of the European Championship play-off which England won 1-0.

It means defender Caulker will play no part in the ties against Italy and Norway in June next year, while midfielder Ince will miss just the first fixture.

They have three days to lodge an appeal against the decisions.

A charge against the Football Association of failing to control their players was dismissed by UEFA.

Serbian midfielder Goran Causic was handed a four-match ban, teammates Ognjen Mudrinski and Filip Malbasic were suspended for three games, and Nikola Ninkovic for two.

Serbia fitness coach Andreja Milunovic, who attacked England officials, was banned for two years, the second of which has been suspended for three years.

Assistant coach Predrag Katic was also banned for two years, the final six months of which were suspended for three years.

Disciplinary proceedings against Serbian defender Aleksandar Pantic were dismissed.

Ninkovic (L) and England's Danny Rose (R) clash during the October 16 match

The FA had reported the racist abuse to UEFA plus a number of other incidents.

Full-back Danny Rose, who was dismissed after the final whistle for kicking the ball away in anger, complained he had been particularly targeted.

He claimed he was subjected to monkey chants throughout the match - and as he left the pitch.

Players from both sides were charged with misconduct after the game and an investigation launched into the incidents.

Mr Horne added: "It is the FA's vehement belief that its players and staff acted correctly in the face of provocation, including racist abuse and missiles being thrown.

"We are therefore surprised to see that two of our players have been given suspensions.

"We shall await UEFA's reasoning but it is our intention, at this stage, to support our players and appeal these decisions."

Head Coach Stuart Pearce said: "I am concerned to see our players suspended by UEFA and we will continue to support them.

"I maintain that our players played no part in the aggression. From what I witnessed our players and staff were forced to protect themselves in the violent scenes that followed the game."

Rose will still face a one-match suspension from UEFA for his sending off after the final whistle.

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