World News: Democracy campaigner calls on Mubarak to quit

Egypt's most prominent democracy advocate took up a loudspeaker and called for President Hosni Mubarak to resign, speaking to thousands of protesters who defied a curfew for a third night.

Fighter jets streaked low overhead and police returned to the capital's streets in high-profile displays of authority over a situation spiralling out of control.

Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei's appearance in Tahrir, or Liberation, Square underscored the jockeying for leadership of the mass protest movement that erupted seemingly out of nowhere in the past week to shake the Arab world's most populous nation.

Up to 10,000 protesters gathered in the square yesterday, and even after the 4pm curfew, they numbered in the thousands, including families with young children, addressing Mr Mubarak with their chants of "leave, leave, leave".

"You are the owners of this revolution. You are the future," Mr ElBaradei told the crowd. "Our essential demand is the departure of the regime and the beginning of a new Egypt in which every Egyptian lives in virtue, freedom and dignity."

Director 'stable' after surgery

Lord of the Rings director Sir Peter Jackson is in stable condition in the intensive care unit of Wellington Hospital after surgery for a perforated ulcer.

Sir Peter was said to be "doing well" but is likely to remain in the hospital for at least a few more days Awards.

Navy rescues shark victim

The Mexican navy said it has rescued a fisherman who was badly bitten by a shark while at sea.

Sailors received a distress call from a shark fishing boat near the Revillagigedo Islands off Mexico's Pacific coast. One of the crew had suffered a serious bite wound on his leg and lost a dangerous amount of blood.

Sailors told the boat's captain how to stabilise the man, and sent an amphibious ship and a helicopter to get him into emergency treatment.

Guard strangled in jail chapel

A GUARD at a US state prison has been found strangled inside the prison's chapel. Jayme Biendl, 34, was found dead in the chapel at Monroe Correctional Complex, where she worked.

An inmate was found in the chapel lobby and told officers he had planned to escape.

30 swept to death in river

A RAGING river has swept at least 30 people to their deaths in Bolivia after swamping a bus and a lorry that tried to cross.

Police said that volunteer rescuers have recovered 30 bodies so far, and more people are feared missing. Thirteen people managed to reach safety on dry land.

Police chief is killed in suicide blast

Pakistan: A suicide car bomber attacked a vehicle carrying a senior police official in the city of Peshawar today, killing him and two others.

The dead included Rasheed Khan, the deputy superintendent of police for southern Peshawar, as well as his driver and a passer-by.

Indonesia: Pop star Nazril "Ariel" Irham was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail today after several of his homemade sex tapes found their way to the internet.