Today's HeadLines

Doctors amputate actress Zsa Zsa Gabor's right leg

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor's right leg, which was infected with gangrene, has been amputated in a life-saving surgery her doctors have deemed a success.

She is in "frail health" and will be closely monitored in a Los Angeles hospital, Dr David Rigberg said.

The 93-year-old has been admitted to hospital a number of times since breaking her hip in July.

"Ms Gabor needed an amputation above her knee due to poor circulation and a large ulcerated area on her right leg," said Dr Rigberg, an associate professor of vascular surgery at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"The surgery today went well, however, she is in frail health so we will continue to monitor her closely," he said, adding that after consulting with Ms Gabor's husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, he felt amputation was the best decision.

Barack Obama eases rules on US travel to Cuba

US President Barack Obama has said he will ease restrictions on US citizens travelling to Cuba.

The president said he had instructed the relevant government departments to allow religious groups and students to travel to the communist-run island.

President Obama said he believed the new, more relaxed, rules which also make it easier to send remittances to Cuba will support civil society there.

The changes will not end the decades-old US trade embargo.

The rules will be modified to, among other things:

• Allow religious organisation to sponsor religious travel to Cuba under a general licence
• Allow accredited institutions of higher education to sponsor travel to Cuba
• Allow any US person to send remittances (up to $500 per quarter) to non-family members in Cuba to support private economic activity
• Allow remittances to be sent to religious institutions in Cuba in support of religious activities
• Allow US airports to apply to provide services to licensed charters

Brazil floods: Rain hampers rescue effort

Emergency crews in Brazil are struggling to reach areas affected by deadly mudslides and floods because of renewed rainfall.

Officials say more than 500 people are known to have died in the floods - the country's worst in decades.

Local media reported rescuers had to reach worst-hit areas on foot because vehicles cannot cross blocked roads.

Mountainous areas north of Rio de Janeiro have been hit by the heaviest downpours in 44 years.

The rain caused rivers of mud to rush down the mountains and tear through towns, levelling houses and throwing cars over buildings.

More than 5,000 people have been left homeless, and officials said at least 511 people had died.

Forecasters have warned that the steady rainfall in the area will continue into next week.

Emergency crews say the weather is causing severe problems.

"The rain did not stop at dawn and is continuing in the morning, which is making the rescue efforts more difficult," fireman Lt Rubens Placido told Reuters news agency from the town of Nova Friburgo.

"The number of deaths is going to rise quite a bit. There are still a lot of people buried."

Foreign diplomats to tour Iran nuclear sites

A group of foreign diplomats is expected to begin a two-day tour of some of Iran's nuclear sites.

Iran has said that the tour is a gesture of goodwill and transparency.

The move comes ahead of the resumption of talks about Iran's nuclear programme with permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

Western nations suspect that Iran is attempting to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful civilian purposes.

Pilgrims killed in stampede at Indian festival

Officials say 102 pilgrims have been killed in a stampede at a religious festival in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

At least 44 more have been injured in the crush, which was reportedly triggered by a road accident.

The pilgrims were returning from the Hindu shrine of Sabarimala, which is in a remote, mountainous, densely-forested area.

Kerala Governor R S Gavai has said he is "deeply shocked and saddened".

"We have recovered 102 bodies. The rescue work is almost over," local police official Sanjay Kumar told the Associated Press news agency.

The stampede happened at Pulmedu, near the town of Vandiperiyar in Idukki district, Indian media reported.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had gathered at the hill shrine on Friday, the last day of an annual festival.

The festival runs for two months and attracts millions of visitors every year.

Reports differed as to exactly how the deadly crush was triggered.

Iraq seeks militants after Basra jail breakout

Twelve militants linked to al-Qaeda have broken out of a prison in Basra in southern Iraq, the authorities say.

The men were awaiting trial when they obtained police uniforms and walked out of the detention centre - in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces - before dawn, security officials said.

They are said to have ties with the Islamic State of Iraq - a Sunni insurgent group affiliated to al-Qaeda.

All the prison guards have been arrested and a manhunt is under way.

"Of course, there was collusion from within the compound, but we do not know who is involved at the moment," said Ali Ghanim al-Maliki, head of the security committee at Basra's provincial council.

The 12 were the only detainees held at the detention centre - in a fortified compound which also houses the governor's office, the police headquarters and an intelligence cell.

Half of them had confessed to involvement in multiple bombings since 2004 in Basra and the southern cities of Amarah and Nasiriyah, an intelligence officer told the Associated Press news agency.

Their confessions led the authorities to the other six suspects, the officer said.

He added that the fugitives were believed to be heading to Baghdad to obtain fake IDs and passports to help them flee the country.

Car searches and identity checks have been stepped up, and checkpoints set up on two major northbound roads.

Basra is Iraq's second largest city, located 340 miles (550km) south of Baghdad.