Pakistan Bomb Blast: Explosion In Karachi

A bomb planted on a motorbike in a crowded area of Karachi has killed at least two people, according to Sky sources.

More than 30 people were injured in the explosion, which damaged six buses and four motorbikes.

The target of the attack appeared to be buses taking back activists after a joint rally organised by the city's dominant political party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

Imran Shokat, a spokesman for police in the area, said the motorbike was parked in the congested Aisha Manzil neighbourhood.

The southern port city is home to 18 million people and is the financial capital of Pakistan.

Authorities there have been unable to clamp down on militancy and violent crime.

Between five and 10 people are murdered there every day, but bombings are less common.

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New Year Celebrations: UK Welcomes In 2013

Large crowds lined the banks of the River Thames in London and the streets of Edinburgh as the UK welcomed the start of the New Year.

Along the Thames, up to 250,000 people watched a major fireworks display which saw the night sky illuminated with pyrotechnics to round-off a momentous year.

Revellers were able to watch clips from the 2012 Olympic Games during an 11-minute firework display set around the London Eye. Millions more watched it all on television.

In Edinburgh, tens of thousands of people descended on the streets of Scotland's capital for the world-famous Hogmanay celebrations.

Around 75,000 party-goers counted down the last 10 seconds of 2012 before joining in a mass rendition of Auld Lang Syne after the clock struck midnight.

Scottish rockers Simple Minds headlined the Hogmanay concert and street party.

The View, Bwani Junction, Reverend and the Makers and The OK Social Club also played, and fireworks were set off to mark the start of 2013.

Fireworks explode around the London Eye

Pete Irvine, artistic director of the Hogmanay celebrations, said: "I think it's going really well this year. It's really, really busy here tonight - probably busier than we've seen it in some time because the weather is so good."

Following their hard work during the London 2012 Games, more than 150 of the mayor's "Team London Ambassadors" volunteered at the Thames event to help ensure it was a success.

They gave out maps, helped direct people to the viewing areas, and provided guidance and advice on getting home safely.

As daylight broke in London, some 200 clean-up staff cleared 160 tonnes of rubbish left by revellers in Westminster.

The workers took just six hours to clear the streets ahead of today's New Year's Day parade in the city centre.

The Metropolitan Police said 96 arrests were made during Monday night's celebrations, with drunkenness, public disorder and assault the most common offences.

More than 3,500 police supported the organisers and stewards of the event, working alongside colleagues from the British Transport Police and other emergency services to keep revellers safe.

Kisses exchanged during Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh

Chief Inspector John Williams said: "This year saw the viewing areas fill up earlier than ever before with thousands of revellers coming to see in the new year London-style.

"Officers worked hard, alongside the stewards, in very large crowds to keep people safe in what is a challenging policing environment, helping to ensure revellers and visitors alike could make their way home at the end of the night."

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "What an amazing end to an incredible year.

"Watched by hundreds of thousands in the capital and millions around the globe, London has proved, yet again, that it can pull off spectacular world-class events in style."

Today's New Year's Day parade will see a procession of Olympic Games Makers, drummers, stilt walkers and Bolivian dancers greet 2013 as they snake their way through central London.

The New Year celebrations got under way in Edinburgh as early as Sunday night, when a torchlight parade was held.

A record crowd estimated at 35,000, including 7,000 torch carriers, were led by the massed pipes and drums and the Up Helly Aa' Vikings from Shetland.

The procession made its way through the city streets to the burning of the effigy of a Viking boat and a spectacular Son et Lumiere display on Calton Hill.

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Last-Minute Deal Reached On US Fiscal Cliff

The US Senate has approved legislation aimed at averting the so-called fiscal cliff by stopping most tax hikes and across-the-board spending cuts that had been due to begin with the New Year.

The legislation was approved with an overwhelming 89-8 vote, and came well after midnight on New Year's Day.

The House of Representatives must still approve the measure.

President Barack Obama praised the agreement, saying: "While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay."

Without the legislation, economists had warned of a possible new recession and a spike in unemployment.

The White House-backed legislation would prevent middle-class taxes from rising, and raise rates on incomes over $400,000 (£246,000) for individuals and $450,000 (£277,000) for couples.

It also blocks spending cuts for two months, extends unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, prevents a 27% cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients and prevents a spike in milk prices.

Vice President Joe Biden after a Senate Democratic caucus meeting on Monday

The deal would allow the White House and politicians time to regroup before plunging quickly into a new round of budget brinkmanship.

This is certain to revolve around Republican calls to rein in the cost of the Medicare health programme for the elderly and other government benefit programmes.

Officials also decided at the last minute to use the measure to prevent a $900 pay rise for politicians which had been due to take effect this spring.

Vice President Joe Biden, who negotiated the deal with Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, was on Capitol Hill to sell it to Democratic senators.

The tax hikes and spending cuts were due to come into force at midnight. But as global markets are closed on New Year's Day, politicians have time to vote the deal into law.

The White House and Congressional leaders hope to send legislation to Mr Obama within a day or two, meaning consumers should not notice any impact.

Mr Obama had originally campaigned for tax hikes to kick in for those making $250,000 and above, and his acceptance of a higher threshold has already angered liberals, though still represents a political victory.

The president said the deal would extend tax credits for clean energy firms and also unemployment insurance for two million people.

Both sides are already gearing up for the next legislative showdown over the need to lift the government's statutory borrowing limit of $16.4trn (£10.1trn), which was reached on Monday.

The Treasury will now take extraordinary measures to keep the government afloat for an undisclosed period of time until the ceiling is raised. Republicans are already demanding spending cuts in return.

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Christopher Martin-Jenkins Dies Aged 67

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the cricket journalist and former president of the Marylebone Cricket Club, has died at the age of 67.

He was diagnosed with terminal cancer a year ago, and passed away on New Year's Day.

The Test Match Special commentator was given an MBE in 2009, and served as the MCC's president in 2010 and 2011.

A statement on behalf of his family said: "We are very sad to say that Christopher Martin-Jenkins died peacefully at home this morning after his brave resistance to cancer.

"The family is extremely proud of all that he did to pass on his love of cricket worldwide with his gift of communicating through the spoken and written word.

"He was above all a much-loved husband, brother, father and grandfather. The family would be grateful if our privacy could be respected for the time being."

The official account of Lord's Cricket Ground tweeted: "Sad, sad news to start the new year."

Former England cricket captain Sir Ian Botham wrote: "Very sad to hear of the death of the 'Major' ... Christopher Martin-Jenkins. Our thoughts are with the family. A true gentleman!"

Wisden editor Lawrence Booth described him as a "warm voice from childhood and beyond".

Former England cricketer Graeme Fowler said: "A magnificent writer, broadcaster, and man. The world has lost a gentleman. Cricket has lost a wonderful voice."

Mr Martin-Jenkins was born in Peterborough and had a modest cricketing career before moving into journalism.

He joined the BBC in 1970 as cricket correspondent, and went on to work for The Daily Telegraph and The Times.

His son Robin was a professional cricketer for Sussex until his retirement in 2010, making 162 first class appearances for the county.

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Seven Die In Gun Ambush In Northern Pakistan

Gunmen have ambushed and shot dead six female aid workers and a male doctor who were travelling in a van in northern Pakistan.

The group's vehicle was raked with gunfire as they returned home from a children's community centre run by the Pakistani charity Ujala, according to district police officer Abdur Rashid Khan. 

The driver of the vehicle was seriously wounded in the attack.

The ambush occurred on the outskirts of the town of Swabi, in northern Pakistan.

Doctors at the Shah Mansoor Medical Complex in Swabi have confirmed that they received the seven bodies.

The attack occurred on the outskirts of the town of Swabi

Militants in the conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province - where the attack took place - oppose female education and have attacked female students and blown up their schools.

Last month, gunmen killed nine health workers taking part in a national polio vaccination drive in a series of attacks.

Aid workers have frequently been kidnapped or killed in Pakistan, which is struggling to contain a Taliban insurgency and plagued by corruption and violent crime.

No group has claimed responsibility for today's attack.

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Anger Over TV Show's Crude Royal Joke

The broadcasting watchdog has received complaints after a Channel 4 show featured a lewd joke about the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year 2012, presented by comedian Jimmy Carr, went out just after the 9pm watershed on Sunday and lasted for two hours.

The show, which had been pre-recorded, also included sexual gags about US President Barack Obama, sprinter Usain Bolt and singer Susan Boyle.

A spokesman for the watchdog Ofcom confirmed complaints had been made about the show, but was unable to say how many.

Most of the controversial material came from Gavin & Stacey star James Corden, 34, and award-winning comic Jack Whitehall, assisted by Jonathan Ross.

Whitehall, 24, made a joke about the bladder infection suffered by the Duke of Edinburgh last summer and also said Olympic gold medallist Bolt could "rake it in" by going to stud like the retired racehorse Frankel.

He and Corden reportedly each drank a bottle of wine during the recording of the show, and Whitehall later told his Twitter followers he had been drunk.

Fresh Meat star Whitehall was named King Of Comedy in a viewer vote for the UK Comedy Awards in December.

Ross was suspended from the BBC in 2008 after he and Russell Brand left lewd messages on the answerphone of veteran Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.

He later quit the BBC and said one reason was to avoid the "sheer volume of negative press" he was attracting to the corporation.

Carr himself was the butt of other comedians' jokes in the summer when a row blew up over his tax affairs.

Channel 4 was later reported as saying the programme was a well-known satirical review of the year that had been broadcast after the watershed with appropriate warnings.

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Ivory Coast Stadium Stampede Kills 61

Sixty-one people have died and dozens of others have been injured in a New Year's Eve stampede at a stadium in Abidjan in Ivory Coast.

It happened at around 2am local time after crowds gathered to watch a fireworks display.

Officials said 61 people had died and 48 been injured, although some estimates of the number hurt were much higher.

Many of those who were injured are believed to be children.

Abidjan is Ivory Coast's largest city

Rescue co-ordinator Lieutenant Colonel Issa Sako said the number of people trying to get into the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium to watch the fireworks had caused the accident.

He said: "In the crush people were walked over and suffocated by the crowd."

One woman, Assetou Toure, said her children had been at the event and she did not know if they had survived.

"My two children came here yesterday. I told them not to come but they didn't listen," she said.

"They came when I was sleeping. What will I do?"

A Reuters correspondent said there were bloodstains and abandoned shoes outside the stadium on Tuesday morning, and rescue workers and government officials were still on the scene.

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Missing Jordan Cobb: River Search For Teen

Friends of a teenager who has been missing since he jumped from a ferry into a river are praying that he will be found alive.

Jordan Cobb, 16, from Plymouth, was last seen jumping from the Torpoint ferry into the River Tamar on New Year's Eve.

A major search involving coastguard rescue teams and police is under way.

His friends have taken to social networking websites to express their concern and are hoping for his safe return.

Fletcher Medlen wrote on Facebook: "Jordan you mean the world to me your (sic) my best friend and you always will be I f****** love you Jordan Cobb."

Matt Lethbridge tweeted: "Happy new year people but thought (sic) are with Jordan Cobb. Praying for you my man."

He later added: "Going sleep hoping to wake up to good news about Jordan Cobb. Thoughts are with you mate."

Lauren Prend tweeted: "Praying for Jordan Cobb to be safe, can't believe what's happened to him. Wasn't that long ago when I spoke to him! Love you Jordan xxx"

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said Brixham Coastguard received a Mayday distress call from the Torpoint ferry at 9.15pm reporting a man overboard near the ferry's slipway in Torpoint, Cornwall.

Police, the coastguard and the RNLI conducted an extensive search for the teenager after he failed to reappear and the search was resumed the following morning.

Devon and Cornwall Police said there was a possibility Jordan had managed to swim ashore.

The Torpoint Ferry, which is pulled across the River Tamar on chains, is one of the main ways to travel between Devon and Cornwall and was established in 1791.

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Playboy Hugh Hefner Marries His Runaway Bride

Hugh Hefner has married Crystal Harris - who broke off her previous engagement to the Playboy founder just five days before their planned wedding in 2011.

The pair reconciled early last year, and the 26-year-old glamour model went on to tie the knot with the 86-year-old in a small ceremony on New Year's Eve.

"So happy" tweeted Harris, who has changed her name to Crystal Hefner, although her Twitter account remains in her maiden name.

"Having so much fun with friends and family," she added.

The happy couple pose for the camera (Pic: Hugh Hefner)

Harris and Hefner did not try to keep the wedding a secret as Harris had tweeted about the nuptials before they even took place, also switching to her married name beforehand.

"Today is the day I become Mrs. Hugh Hefner. Feeling very happy, lucky, and blessed," she tweeted.

Harris and Hefner had been due to get married in 2011 at a lavish ceremony in front of 300 guests before she had a "change of heart" and dumped him.

The ceremony was low-key this time around, with Harris tweeting a picture of a room at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles flush with an arch of white and pink flowers.

Only around two dozen white chairs were set out for the ceremony.

Crystal takes a photo in the mirror of her dress (Pic: Crystal Hefner)

Harris, who has a psychology degree, was Playboy magazine's Miss December 2009 and appeared on the July 2011 cover of the adult magazine with a "runaway bride" sticker covering her bottom half.

The model, who was born in San Diego to British parents, said she asked for Christmas ornaments at her pre-Christmas bridal shower to help decorate Hefner's famed mansion.

"I was deciding what kind of shower I wanted, and I thought I didn't really want a lingerie shower, since I have more than enough lingerie," Harris told Us Weekly magazine.

Hefner has been married twice before. He and his second wife Kimberley Conrad, who is also a former Playmate, divorced in 2010 after a lengthy separation.

His first marriage to Mildred Williams ended in divorce in 1959. He has two children from each marriage.

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Delhi Gang Rape Suspect To Undergo Bone Tests

One of six suspects held over the gang rape and murder of a student in India is to undergo bone tests to determine whether he is old enough to answer for the crime.

Murder convictions carry the death penalty in India. However, only those aged 18 or more can be put on trial.

If the suspect is found to be underage, it is unclear whether he could still be tried for rape, which carries a life sentence.

Protesters light candles around a mannequin representing the rape victim

The six males are jointly accused of raping and killing an unnamed 23-year-old woman on a bus in Delhi on December 16.

The victim was airlifted to Singapore for emergency treatment, but died on Saturday.

She was cremated in Delhi the next day. Her ashes were set to be submerged in the holy river Ganges near her home town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, in accordance with Hindu customs.

Police have clashed with protesters since the December 16 attack

Indians have been demanding the death penalty for those responsible, holding demonstrations almost every day since the attack.

Protesters and politicians from across the spectrum called for a special session of Parliament to pass new laws to increase punishments for rapists - including possible chemical castration - and to set up fast-track courts to deal with rape cases within 90 days.

Thousands of people have lit candles, held prayer meetings and marched through various cities and towns to express their grief, and to demand stronger protection for women and the death penalty for rape.

Activists are calling for politicians to pass tough new laws

The protests continued on Tuesday, ahead of the first court appearance for the six suspects on Thursday.

Details of the charges run to more than 1,000 pages, according to reports, and some 30 witnesses are named in the prosecution's documents.

On Monday, the Indian army and navy cancelled their New Year's celebrations, as did Sonia Gandhi, the head of the ruling Indian National Congress party.

Several hotels and clubs across the capital also decided not to hold their usual parties.

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