NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

WORLD NEWS/ A BOND THAT COULD NOT BE BROKEN: In life, they were united in their tireless work saving countless British soldiers in Afghanistan.In death, they were united in tragedy. Shortly after Lance Corporal Liam Tasker was killed in a firefight with the Taliban this week, his devoted Army search dog Theo suffered a seizure and passed away too. The pair had uncovered 14 home-made bombs and hoards of weapons in just 5 months, a record for a dog and his handler in the conflict. Only last month he described his joy at the close bond he had developed with Theo, a springer spaniel cross. "I love my job and working together with Theo. He has a great character and never tires," he said in a British interview. "He can’t wait to get out and do his job and will stop at nothing". Tasker, 26, was the 358th serviceman killed in the conflict while his dog Theo, 22 months, was the 6th British military hound to die in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. The pair were from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, 1st Military Working Dog Regiment, and were part of the Theatre Military Working Dogs Support Unit based at Camp Bastion.

WORLD/ NO MORE SURVIVORS IN CHRISTCHURCH: No more survivors of the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, are likely to be found and the task is recovery, not rescue, relief officials said today. Key buildings in the city, struck by a shallow quake of magnitude 6.3 last Tuesday, are being scoured for bodies; the official toll is now 161.Power, transport and sewage systems are gradually being restored but rebuilding the city is a daunting task. The Civil Defence national controller announced the shift from rescue to recovery "with considerable sorrow and frustration". "We now face the reality that there is no chance that anyone could have survived for this long," he said. Officials say the final toll could be as high as 240. The Police Superintendent said 90 of the bodies found so far were pulled from the Canterbury TV Building. Workers at 3 other major buildings - the cathedral, pictured, the Grand Chancellor hotel and the Pyne Gould Guinness building - were getting closer to bodies believed to be trapped inside.

WORLD/ GADDAFI ACCUSED OF WAR CRIMES: US President Obama repeated his call this afternoon for Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi to leave, saying he "has lost the legitimacy to lead". Obama's words came after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said he will investigate Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his sons and senior aides for crimes against humanity. Luis Moreno-Ocampo said no-one had the right to massacre civilians. Thousands of people are thought to have died after security forces targeted protesters in unrest which began in mid-February. Gaddafi vowed to fight on despite losing control of much of the country. Earlier today, his forces launched air strikes on the oil town of Brega, sources in the town said. The raid come a day after 14 people died in clashes between rebels and government troops in the town.

WORLD NEWS/ TERROR THEORY IN FRANKFURT SHOOTING: Prosecutors in Germany say they suspect Islamic militancy as the motive for a gun attack on US airmen at Frankfurt Airport yesterday, in which 2 died. The suspected gunman, who is in police custody, is of Kosovo Albanian origin. He allegedly fired on the air force bus, killing the driver and another man, and injuring 2 others.The dead men, who were based at RAF Lakenheath in eastern England, had just flown in from Britain and were about to travel to the nearby US air base at Ramstein, a hub for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. US President Barack Obama has condemned the shooting as an "outrageous act", and pledged to "ensure that all the perpetrators are brought to justice".