World News: Tunisia mourns protest dead

TUNISIA today starts three days of mourning to honour those who died in the unrest that led to the fall of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. The interim government has faced continuing protests against Mr Ben Ali's RCD party remaining in office.

At least 78 people have died since protests began.

PM rules out extradition role

SWEDISH Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has insisted his government will play no role in deciding whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to the US.

Assange is currently in London, fighting extradition to Sweden over sex attack allegations.

His supporters and lawyers have argued that if he is sent there, he may face extradition to the US, where he could be prosecuted and ultimately face the death penalty.

127 'mobsters' face charges

A TOTAL of 127 defendants have been named in 16 indictments in the US after one of the largest Mafia takedowns in FBI history.

Among those arrested in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island were union officials and two former police officers. A suspect was also arrested in Italy.

Women unite against Berlusconi

MORE than 2000 Italian women, including politicians and actresses, have signed an online petition telling premier Silvio Berlusconi that not all women in Italy are prostitutes or showgirls, in response to his encounters with a teenage Moroccan girl.

Commuters in Tokyo pass a poster showing one of the 12 Heavenly Generals of Yakushi. The posters are part of a tourism drive to promote the city of Nara.

Eight pirates killed as navy storms hijacked freighter

SOUTH Korean special forces stormed a hijacked freighter today in the Arabian Sea, rescuing 21 crew members and killing eight assailants, South Korea said, in a rare and daring raid on Somali pirates.

The military operation off the coast of Africa, which also captured five pirates, came a week after the attackers seized the South Korean freighter and held hostage eight South Koreans, two Indonesians and 11 citizens from Myanmar.

"We will not tolerate any behaviour that threatens the lives and safety of our people in the future," South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said in a brief televised statement.

Mr Lee said he appreciated unspecified countries for cooperating in the military operation but did not elaborate.

South Korea's special navy forces stormed the hijacked vessel in a pre-dawn rescue operation.

The captain of the ship was shot by a pirate and taken by helicopter to a nearby country for treatment, though the wound is not life-threatening, Lt. Gen. Lee Seong-ho said.

The 20 other crew members were rescued unharmed, he said.

Star octopus gets aquarium statue honour

Germany: Paul the celebrated octopus has finally got his tentacles wrapped around a football. The Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen unveiled an outsized memorial to the World Cup's late and most unlikely star with a 6ft 6in tall plastic replica of Paul clutching a ball.

Mexico: Workers at famous archaeological sites in the state of Oaxaca went on strike, shutting tourists out of pre-Colombian ruins, museums and former convents.