Suspect held in family murders

A man was being held by police today on suspicion of killing a mother and son in their own home.

Neighbours said the victims -- named locally as Sally Cox (43) and Martin Faulkner (22) -- were hacked to death with an axe in Oxfordshire.

Armed police arrested Mrs Cox's 45-year-old former partner a few hours later in Wiltshire.

Detectives and forensic investigators found a "horrific" scene when they arrived at the terraced home yesterday morning.

Search for 17 fishermen fails

New Zealand has called off the search for 17 fishermen missing for more than 30 hours in icy Antarctic waters after their South Korean fishing boat sank.

New Zealand's rescue co-ordination centre said 20 survivors and five dead crewmen had been recovered from the water after the No 1 Insung went down 1,400 miles south of New Zealand, about halfway to Antarctica.

Madoff misses son's funeral

Imprisoned financier Bernard Madoff won't seek to attend his son's funeral out of consideration for the privacy of his son's wife and four children, his lawyer has revealed.

Ira Sorkin said Madoff instead will mourn privately at the North Carolina prison where he's serving a 150-year sentence for his fraud conviction.

Madoff's older son, Mark (46), hanged himself on Saturday, two years after his father was arrested on charges that he cheated thousands out of tens of billions of dollars.

Ivory Coast poll winner's vow

The internationally recognised winner of Ivory Coast's presidential election said he and his supporters will march on state institutions in a bid to take control, and the European Union agreed on sanctions against the incumbent.

Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo claimed victory in November's balloting and has rebuffed calls from the US, the EU, former colonial ruler France and the African Union to step down. The United Nations recognised opposition leader Alassane Ouattara as the winner.