World news: Christian hostages freed in Iraq after fatal stand-off

Islamic militants held around 120 Iraqi Christians hostage for nearly four hours in a church before security forces stormed the building and freed them, ending a stand-off that left many dead.

Security officials said the militants, allegedly linked to al-Qaida in Iraq, were on the phone with Iraqi authorities demanding the release of imprisoned female fighters when the security forces attacked.

The stand-off began yesterday when the militants attacked the Iraqi stock exchange. Police then chased them toward the Our Lady of Deliverance Church.

Worshippers inside were listening to a bible reading when the gunmen burst in.

Parishioner Marzina Matti Yalda said: "As we went outside the hall to see what was happening, gunmen stormed the main gate and they started to shoot at us."

US Army spokesman, Lt Col Eric Bloom said at least 19 people were killed - seven hostages, seven Iraqi security troops and five militants. As many as 30 were wounded, including a priest and a nun.

Iraqi defence minister Abdul-Qadir al-Obeidi said "the terrorists were planning to murder the highest number of hostages".

Clinton's Khmer Rouge plea

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton urged Cambodia to improve its human rights record and ensure the Khmer Rouge was brought to justice for crimes against humanity in the 1970s. Mrs Clinton, in the capital Phnom Penh, visited the main Khmer Rouge prison and torture centre.

32 injured in suicide blast

A SUICIDE bomber blew himself up beside a police vehicle in a major square in Istanbul, Turkey, near tourist hotels and a bus terminal, injuring 32 people, including 15 police officers.

The attack in Taksim Square was followed by police gunfire and sent hundreds of people racing for cover. It coincided with the possible end of a unilateral ceasefire by Kurdish rebels, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Turkey is also home to radical left-wingers and Islamic militants.

Briton tells of 'rape' by priest

A BRITISH woman spoke out about her rape ordeal at the hands of a priest, during a march by clergy sex abuse victims near the Vatican.

Sue Cox, 63, from Warwickshire, was among around 100 survivors from a dozen countries, including the US and Ireland, at yesterday's candlelit protest.

China begins huge census

China has begun its world-beating once-a-decade census, a whirlwind 10-day head count that will see six million officials go door-to-door to document the demographic changes taking place in the world's most populous country. The 2000 tally put China's official population at 1.295 billion.

Former rebel wins Brazilian presidency

Brazil: A former Marxist guerrilla who was tortured and imprisoned during the country's long dictatorship was elected president of Latin America's biggest nation.

Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's first female leader, takes office on January 1.Afghanistan: Taliban fighters overran Khogyani district in eastern Afghanistan today, occupying government buildings and killing and capturing police officers after an intense gun battle.