World News: Three women die in horror stampede at packed club

Three young women died in a stampede at a Hungarian nightclub, police said.

Five people, including the organisers of the event, were taken into custody.

Thousands of people were caught up in the stampede late on Saturday and the victims may have been trampled by the rushing crowd, Budapest police spokeswoman Katalin Fanni Horvath said. Police and medical investigators were working to determine the cause of the deaths. Police have denied reports the victims were stabbed.

"Human irresponsibility caused the deaths of the three victims," interior minister Sandor Pinter told reporters, adding that drugs had been detected in one of the women.

The incident occurred late on Saturday at the West-Balkan nightclub in downtown Budapest, housed on several levels inside a Communist-era shopping centre and office complex.

According to district officials, the venue was functioning without a full permit and being allowed to operate only until 10pm with a maximum capacity of 300 people. An estimated 2500 people were in the nightclub when the incident occurred.

Pope's Protestant science chief

The Pope has picked a Protestant to head the Vatican's sciences academy.

Benedict XVI chose Werner Arber, a Swiss molecular biologist who shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1978, as president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

15 killed as bus blows up

Police said an explosion on a minibus in north-western Pakistan has killed at least 15 people.

It is unclear whether today's explosion was caused by a bomb or the gas cylinder used to power the bus. The bus was travelling between the cities of Hangu and Kohat when the blast occurred.

Giffords 'no longer critical'

GRAVELY- wounded US Representative Gabrielle Giffords has been downgraded from a critical to serious condition after a procedure to remove her from a ventilator was successful.

Ms Giffords was shot point-blank in the head on January 8, when a gunman opened fire at a meet-and-greet she was hosting outside a supermarket in her hometown. Six people died.

Doctors have warned that the full extent of Ms Giffords' recovery remains uncertain.

Hezbollah defiant over Lebanon

The leader of Hezbollah has defended the decision to bring down Lebanon's Western-backed government, saying the Shia militant group did so without resorting to violence.

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah also said his bloc will not support Saad Hariri returning to his post as prime minister.

Nepal cuts power to 12 hours per day

Nepal: The country's state-owned utility is supplying power just 12 hours a day and says the cuts may get worse because of an electricity shortage.

The 12-hour cuts were imposed yesterday.

Argentina: A brick from the Cavern Club, a cheque for 11 signed by Ringo Starr and an "authentic" Beatles wig are among thousands of objects related to the Fab Four luring Beatles fans to a new museum in Buenos Aires.