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Sandy Hook kids return to school

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 03 Januari 2013 | 08.16

CLASSES are resuming for Sandy Hook Elementary School students for the first time since last month's shooting that killed 20 children and six educators.

The more than 400 students are attending classes at a refurbished school in a neighboring town that has been given the same name as their old school.

The school district says parents who want to be close to their children are welcome to visit and stay in classrooms or an auditorium throughout the day.

Parents were encouraged to have their children take the bus to help them return to familiar routines.

The gunman, Adam Lanza, killed his mother before going on the rampage at the school on Dec. 14 and then committing suicide. Police have not offered a possible motive.


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Bank card payments suspended in Vatican

THE Bank of Italy has suspended all bank card payments in the Vatican including for tickets to its famous museum until further notice because of a failure to fully implement anti-money laundering legislation, Italian media report.

The payments have been suspended since January 1 after the Bank of Italy ordered Deutsche Bank Italia, which handles bank card payments on Vatican territory, to deactivate its terminals because of a lack of authorisation for the transactions.

The Vatican museum, which was visited by five million tourists last year who paid a total of 91.3 million euros ($A115 million), will now be asking for payments in cash, La Repubblica newspaper reported.

The reports quoted Italian central bank sources saying the Vatican does not respect international anti-money laundering norms and an Italian-registered bank such as Deutsche Bank Italia can therefore not operate on its territory.

The suspension also includes payments at the Vatican pharmacy, the post office and a few shops that operate in the world's tiniest state.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said contacts were under way with other operators and the suspension of bank card payments should be "short-lived", Corriere della Sera reported.

Pope Benedict XVI has vowed greater transparency in Vatican finances and the operations of its bank, the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), which has been infiltrated by organised crime in the past.

Moneyval, a group of experts from the Council of Europe, said last year the Vatican had made huge strides in adapting its legislation to new rules but that a lot of work remained to be done.


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Hot cocoa 'tastes better in orange cup'

EUROPEAN scientists say they have found further evidence that how you serve food and drink matters hugely in the perception of taste.

Researchers at the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the University of Oxford recruited 57 volunteers and asked them to taste hot chocolate served in plastic cups with four different colours - white, cream, red and orange with white on the inside.

The chocolate was the same in all the samples, but the volunteers found that the flavour was better when the drink was served in the orange or cream-coloured cups.

"The colour of the container where food and drink are served can enhance some attributes like taste and aroma," Betina Piqueras-Fiszman of the Polytechnic University of Valencia said in a press release.

The findings could be beneficial to chefs and food manufacturers, Ms Piqueras-Fiszman added.

Previous research has found that yellow containers boost the perception of flavour of lemons in soft drinks; beverages with cold colours, like blue, seem more thirst-quenching than warm colours like red; and if drinks are pink, they are perceived as being more sugary.

The study appears in a specialist publication, the Journal of Sensory Studies.


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US stocks ease after strong rise

US stocks have headed lower after rising strongly for two straight sessions driven by Congress's long-awaited deal to avert the "fiscal cliff".

Five minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Index was down 36.05 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 13,376.50.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 2.66 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 1,459.76.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 6.96 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 3,105.30.

On Wednesday the markets opened the New Year with a grand rally, the S&P 500 surging 2.5 per cent and the Nasdaq gaining 3.1 per cent.


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Man in hospital after Sydney home invasion

A MAN is in hospital after being bashed by three men and stabbed in the arm with a chisel when he answered the front door of his home in Sydney's west.

The 45-year-old man was confronted at his front door in Smithfield about 2.45pm (AEDT) on Thursday by a man who started punching him, police said.

Two other men appeared and also started assaulting him.

Police said he was struck to the body with a spirit level and stabbed in the arm with a chisel, both tools belonging to the victim.

He was taken to Fairfield Hospital for treatment to non-life threatening injuries.

Police describe the first man as being of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean appearance, 30 years old, 170cm to 175cm tall, medium build with black hair.

The second man has been described as being of Caucasian appearance in his mid-20s, 180cm to 185cm tall with a large build. He was wearing brown shorts and a blue shirt.

The third man has been described as being of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean appearance, 25 to 30 years of age, 170cm to 175cm tall with a muscular build and wearing a black T-shirt.


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Iraq car bomb kills 12 Shiite pilgrims

IRAQI officials say a car bomb has struck a procession of Shiite pilgrims south of Baghdad, killing at least 12 and wounding dozens.

A police official says the bomb exploded late Thursday afternoon in the town of Musayyib, about 60 kilometres south of the Iraqi capital.

He says the bomb hit the pilgrims as they were returning from the holy city of Karbala to commemorate the Arbaeen.

The religious event marks the passing of 40 days after the anniversary of the seventh century martyrdom of the revered Shiite saint Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

A hospital official confirmed the casualty toll. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information to reporters.


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141 journalists killed in 2012: watchdog

LAST year was one of the deadliest on record for journalists, with 141 killed in 29 different countries and Syria the most dangerous place on earth for reporters, a media watchdog says.

The Swiss-based Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), which fights for the protection of journalists, said the figure was up by 31 per cent on 2011.

At least 37 journalists, among them 13 working for foreign media, were killed in Syria, it said in a statement.

Four journalists are reported missing or detained: Ukrainian Anhar Kochneva, Jordanian-Palestinian Bashar Fahmi, freelance US reporter Austin Tice and another American reporter James Foley, who has contributed video to Agence France-Presse.

The situation in Somalia has deteriorated dramatically, where 19 were killed, said the PEC.

Three Latin American countries followed among the most dangerous places: Mexico with 11 journalists killed, Brazil also with 11 dead, and Honduras, where six journalists were killed.

The Philippines ranked number seven with six killed, followed by Bangladesh and India with four each, said the PEC.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists for its part said last month that 67 reporters were killed in 2012, up 42 per cent from the previous year, due in large part to the Syria conflict, shootings in Somalia, violence in Pakistan and killings of reporters in Brazil.

The Paris-based press rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) meanwhile put the number of those killed at 88 last year.


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