Bernard Madoff was not attacked, US prison says

Disgraced US financier Bernard Madoff is being treated in a prison hospital for hypertension and dizziness, a US Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman has said.

Traci Billingsley denied earlier media reports that Madoff was assaulted at a prison in North Carolina.

Madoff, aged 71, is serving 150 years for a $65bn (£41bn) fraud.

He admitted defrauding thousands of investors through a Ponzi scheme, which pays out using new investors' money rather than from any profits.

He said the scheme had been running since the early 1990s.

It unravelled when Madoff's investors, hit by the economic downturn, tried to withdraw about $7bn, but he could not produce the money.

The list of his victims included film director Steven Spielberg's charitable foundation.

Italy's Berlusconi vows to defeat mafia by 2013

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has vowed to defeat organised crime in the country by 2013.

"The mafia is a pathological phenomenon that we want to defeat once and for all by the end of this term in office," Mr Berlusconi told Italy's national radio.

"No government in the history of the republic has acted with as much determination and efficiency in the fight against criminal organisations".

Italian police have arrested hundreds of people in recent anti-mafia raids.

Those being held are accused of extortion, arms dealing and drugs trafficking.

Earlier this month, mafia informant Gaspare Spatuzza made an allegation that a Sicilian Mafia boss convicted of 1990s bombings had boasted of ties to Mr Berlusconi.

Gaspare Spatuzza said the Mafia boss claimed to have Mr Berlusconi's support.

A spokesman for Mr Berlusconi, who denies the allegations, suggested the Mafia was trying to discredit the prime minister.

'Grisly' Brittany Murphy artwork withdrawn

Promotional artwork for a DVD release showing late actress Brittany Murphy lying apparently lifeless in a bathtub has been pulled by a US rental chain.

Redbox said it planned to complete the removal of DVD covers and posters from its outlets by 1 January.

The artwork promotes Deadline, a direct to DVD title in which Murphy played a writer staying in a haunted house.

A private funeral service is expected to be held later at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

'On her game'

It is the same cemetery where singer Michael Jackson was laid to rest earlier this year.

Murphy, 32, was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre after collapsing in the bathroom of her Hollywood home on Sunday.

The county coroner's office is awaiting the results of toxicology and tissue tests before releasing an official cause of death.

Best known for her roles in Clueless and 8 Mile, Murphy completed a number of films this year that are currently awaiting release.

The director of one, a thriller called Abandoned, said she was delightful to work with and "was on her game".

"She was such a pro and so good at her craft that she could turn it on and off as necessary," said Michael Feifer.

Gautam Gambhir & Virat Kohli's centuries seal India win

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli both hit centuries to take India to a series-clinching seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their fourth one-day meeting.

In another high-scoring game, Gambhir made a career-best unbeaten 150, his seventh one-day century, and Kohli scored 107 for his first one-day ton.

Sri Lanka opener Upul Tharanga's 118 had led his side to an imposing 315-6.

But India recovered from 23-2 as Gambhir and Kohli's third-wicket stand of 224 turned the match their way.

The two came together after Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were dismissed cheaply and rebuilt their side's innings as they achieved the highest successful run chase in a one-day international at Eden Gardens.

Kohli, replacing the injured Yuvraj Singh, was finally out going for his second six with their partnership only 13 runs short of a record third-wicket total.

India needed another 69 from more than 10 overs but Dinesh Karthik helped Gambhir take them home and put them 3-1 up in the series.

After the match Gambhir was chosen as man of the match but gave his award to Kohli.

"When you have someone at the other end who can attack the bowling, especially when you lose early wickets, it takes the pressure off you," said Gambhir.

"With Kohli attacking I was able to take my time to settle down."

Kohli said: "As a kid I dreamed of getting a hundred for India in a one-day game and I have been able to achieve that - it is a great feeling."

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara blamed his bowlers for the defeat, saying: "Once you get 315 on the board you expect your bowlers to really do the job for you.

"But with our bowling we were either too short or too full on either side of the wicket.

The final match in the five-game series takes place in Delhi on Sunday.

Twitter buys location tracker start-up Mixer Labs

The micro-blogging website Twitter is buying the location tracking start-up Mixer Labs for an undisclosed sum.

Mixer Labs, founded by two former Google employees, makes an application for Twitter called GeoAPI.

Twitter chief executive Evan Williams said the deal would allow Twitter users to show people where they are when they post updates to the site.

The application will also allow users to search where an event is happening, the firm said.

On the company's blog, a statement said: "We want to know what's happening, and more precisely, where is it happening.

"As a dramatic example, twittering 'Earthquake!' alone is not as informative as 'Earthquake!' coupled with your current location".

Twitter is a social networking site in which users write messages of no more than 140 characters.

An estimated 58 million people use Twitter around the world.

Medvedev plans drink-driving crackdown

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has announced a zero tolerance policy on drink-driving - a major cause of death among Russian men.

"I believe that consuming alcohol before driving should be banned," he said, speaking live on Russian TV.

"I will make corresponding amendments to the law."

Heavy drinking and related traffic accidents are seen as one of the main reasons why one in three Russian men dies before retirement age.

In a wide-ranging end-of-year interview, Mr Medvedev said "we are not ready yet for allowing consumption of alcohol - even small, limited amounts of it - before driving."

"We are not very accurate drivers as it is, and after a glass people completely lose their heads. Besides, we do know how people (in Russia) usually drink: a glass at first - that is allowed now, isn't it? - then two, and three, and finally 'okay, let's roll'.

HP camera 'can't see' black faces

A YouTube video suggesting that face recognition cameras installed in HP laptops cannot detect black faces has had over one million views.

The short movie, uploaded earlier this month, features "Black Desi" and his colleague "White Wanda".

When Wanda, a white woman, is in front of the screen, the camera zooms to her face and moves as she moves.

But when Desi, a black man, does the same, the camera does not respond by tracking him.

The clip is light-hearted in tone but is titled "HP computers are racist".

"HP has been informed of a potential issue with the facial-tracking software included on some of its systems, which appears to occur when insufficient foreground lighting is available," an HP spokesman told BBC News.

"We take this seriously and are looking into it with our partners."