World News: US gunman appears in court over assassination attempt

The 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate a US congresswoman and killing six others appeared in court today.

Jared Loughner stared vacantly at a packed courtroom and sat down to listen to instructions from his attorney.

Gabrielle Giffords is in an intensive care unit, gravely wounded after being shot through the head but able to give a thumbs-up sign.

Thirteen other people were injured in the shooting outside an Arizona supermarket.

The attack, which claimed the lives of six people, including a federal judge, a congressional aid and a nine-year-old girl, have dominated news in the US, prompting outrage and sparking debate over gun control and whether heated political rhetoric fuelled the incident.

Loughner only spoke to say "yes," when the judge asked if he understood that he could face life in prison or the death penalty.

The judge ordered that Loughner be held without bail.

A Mass for all the victims was scheduled at St Odelia's Parish in Tucson.

President Barack Obama will travel to Arizona tomorrow to attend a memorial service for the victims.

Leader dismisses Eta 'ceasefire'

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said the announcement by Basque separatist group Eta of a permanent ceasefire does not go far enough.

Mr Zapatero said that the "definitive end" of Eta was required.

Qantas flights to LA resume

Qantas said it will resume A380 flights from Australia to Los Angeles this weekend after a more than two-month stoppage because of engine problems.

The flights to the American West Coast have been grounded ever since an engine on one of the airline's superjumbo jets disintegrated shortly after the plane took off from Singapore airport on November 4 last year.

Qantas flights to Singapore and London were reinstated in late November.

Hubble tracks down green blob

The Hubble Space Telescope got its first peek at a mysterious giant green blob in outer space and found that it is strangely alive.

The glowing blob is giving birth to new stars, some only a couple of million years old, in remote areas of the universe where stars do not normally form.

DeLay sent to jail for 3 years

Former US House Republican leader Tom DeLay has been sentenced to three years in prison on conspiracy charges.

The Texas politician was convicted of conspiring to funnel corporate campaign contributions to legislative races in Texas, in violation of state law.

Race is on to save victims of flash flood

Australia: Rescuers raced today to reach people trapped on roofs after a flash flood hurled a tsunami-like wall of water near the town of Toowoomba, killing at least eight people and leaving 72 missing.Tunisia: The government has ordered all schools and universities to be indefinitely closed following continuing violent protests in the capital.

At least 14 people were killed over the weekend in the protests.