INDIA GANG-RAPE VICTIM DIES; GOV’T BRACES FOR PROTESTS
NEW DELHI: A medical student who was savagely gang-raped in New Delhi died in a Singapore hospital on Saturday, triggering appeals for calm from Indian leaders, who feared a fresh outburst of violent street protests.

Police threw a ring of steel around the center of the Indian capital after news of the 23-year-old’s death was broken in the early hours of the morning by the Singapore hospital that had been treating her for the last two days. She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. Her body is to be flown back to India, accompanied by her parents who were at her bedside when she was pronounced dead at 4:45 am. After boarding a bus on December 16, the student was attacked by six men who took it in turns to rape her and assaulted her with an iron bar before throwing her and her male companion off the moving vehicle.

CHINA LAW SAYS FAMILY MEMBERS SHOULD VISIT ELDERLY
BEIJING: China has passed a new law stipulating that family members should pay regular visits to their elderly relatives, according to the government’s official website. The ruling, approved by China’s National People’s Congress on Friday, is part of a package of amendments to the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly legislation and will come into force on July 1, 2013. The law mentions neither specific penalties for those who fail to visit frequently,nor elaborates on what “often” means. But it does state that if the rights and interests of the elderly are violated, they or someone on their behalf can seek official help or file a lawsuit. The wide-ranging law includes clauses covering intra-family conflicts regarding support obligations, housing and assets. It stipulates punishments for people who abuse the elderly, fail to support them and interfere in their freedom to marry. AFP