Hundreds of Australian cricket fans dress up like Richie Benaud. Image copyright Getty Images More than 300 fans have descended on Australia's Sydney Cricket Ground dressed like legendary commentator Richie Benaud. The group, known as The Richies, wore wigs and cream jackets to salute Benaud, who died in 2015 aged 84. They want Richie Day to be officially recognised at the annual Sydney Test, which is currently being played between Australia and Pakistan. Benaud was a popular broadcaster after playing 53 Test matches for Australia. The co-founder of The Richies, Michael Hennessy, said he was pleased to see 311 Benaud lookalikes at the ground on Wednesday. "He had the most influence on Australian cricket since Don Bradman, so I think it would be great to honour Richie with his own day," he told the BBC.
Mr Hennessy said anyone over 18 could join the club - provided they donned cream, bone, white, off-white or beige. "There's a strict dress code and a behavioural code to try and honour Richie in the right way," Mr Hennessy said. Korean Air crew to 'use more force' with unruly passengers. Image copyright Getty Images Korean Air has said guidelines will be revised for crew to react "firmly and actively against in-flight violence", after facing criticism for its handling of an on-board incident. US singer Richard Marx said last week that he had intervened to help restrain a disruptive passenger on a Korean Air flight from Hanoi to Seoul. Crew had been "ill-trained" and "ill-equipped", Marx said. The airlines said it would also review the use of Taser guns on board. "Korean Air will react more firmly and actively against in-flight violence that threatens the overall safety of the flight," it said in a statement.
As part of the changes, the airline said it would be providing more training to staff and hiring more male flight attendants, making sure at least one male is on duty in the cabin for each flight, according to Reuters news agency. Image copyright Twitter / @richardmarx Taser is a brand name often used to refer to electric stun guns. Boxing Day Test: Azhar's 66 steadies Pakistan on rain-affected day one at MCG - BBC Sport. Dozens killed in Mexico fireworks blast. An explosion at a fireworks market outside Mexico City has killed at least 29 people, officials say. Dozens of other people were injured as the blast hit the San Pablito fireworks market, about 20 miles (32km) outside the city. Video from the scene showed a large number of fireworks rocketing into the air as they caught fire. Dozens of paramedics and police attended the scene. The cause of the explosions is not yet known.
Locals have been told to avoid the area and keep roads clear. Officials said a number of children were among those who were badly burned, on up to 90% of their bodies. Fireworks continued to explode after the initial blast, as smoke billowed from the area in thick black clouds. Photos from police and medical personnel at the scene showed several injured people among the destroyed market stalls, with brick buildings scorched by the heat. Image copyright Mexican Red Cross / Twitter However, she said it soon became clear the entire market was at risk. Aleppo battle: Hopes rise for evacuation of rebel-held areas. Image copyright Reuters Hopes have risen that a planned evacuation of rebel-held parts of the Syrian city of Aleppo will begin soon, after an earlier deal collapsed. Rebel sources said a new truce had been in effect from 03:00GMT and evacuations would take place on Thursday. Russia's defence ministry and sources from Syria's army and the Hezbollah group said preparations were under way.
One convoy of ambulances did try to leave but was shot at and had to turn back, rebel sources said. Rebel fighters and civilians had been due to leave the city early on Wednesday, but a ceasefire collapsed. Latest updates from Aleppo Reuters news agency quoted one Syrian official source on Thursday morning as saying that the "operation to organise the departure of gunmen from eastern Aleppo has now started".
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Moscow says that the phrasing "on the orders of President Putin" in the statement is significant, apparently underlining the country's commitment to the deal. Park Geun-hye: S Korea lawmakers vote to impeach leader. Image copyright European Photopress Agency South Korea's parliament has voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal. The National Assembly motion passed by 234 votes to 56, meaning some members of Ms Park's ruling Saenuri party voted to impeach her. Ms Park's authority now passes to Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn.
She has been embroiled in a political scandal that led thousands of Koreans to take to the streets in recent weeks demanding her removal from power. At the heart of the crisis is the relationship between Ms Park and her close confidante, Choi Soon-sil, who stands accused of using her connections to gain influence and financial benefits. Prosecutors say Ms Park had a "considerable" role in the alleged corruption, which she has denied. With public anger mounting and weekly protests drawing hundreds of thousands of people calling for her removal, Ms Park cut an isolated and and embattled figure. If it upholds the decision, only then would Ms Park be dismissed. Park Geun-hye: S Korea lawmakers vote to impeach leader.
Viewpoint: From American Dream to Asian ambition? Image copyright iStock While the "American dream" of social mobility seems nothing more than a dream for many American students, it is emerging as a new reality in much of east Asia. The latest round of Pisa results, published this week, show that many of the most disadvantaged students in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam perform as well as the highest-achieving quarter of students around the world.
In the western world, only Estonia and Finland match such a level of resilience against social disadvantage. In the previous 2012 tests, Shanghai came out as the top performer among 65 education systems compared in mathematics, reading and science. Some wondered to what extent Shanghai's success might be unrepresentative of other parts of China. China still impressive So the world will continue to look to China as a global player in education.
Image copyright Getty Images But there are also areas where China can look to other countries for inspiration. Remote beach in Indian Ocean ranked Australia's best. Image copyright Rik Soderlund A remote island territory in the Indian Ocean has been named home to Australia's best beach. Cossies Beach in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, about 1560km (969 miles) from mainland Australia, was rated number one by researcher Brad Farmer. It was named after Governor-General Peter Cosgrove and inspired by the colloquial term for a swimming costume. Mr Farmer spent five months compiling a list of the country's finest beaches. The rankings were sorted in consultation with the University of Sydney's coastal studies unit and were backed by Tourism Australia. Charles Darwin, who visited the Cocos Islands in 1836, described it as a "brilliant expanse" in "shallow, clear and still water" and "under the blue vault of heaven".
It had a similar effect on Mr Farmer, who has been researching and reviewing beaches since 1985. "I felt honestly as though I'd finally found the holy grail of beaches in Australia," he told the BBC. Remote beach in Indian Ocean ranked Australia's best. Standing Rock: Are pipeline protest camp days numbered? Image copyright Reuters Winter is descending upon thousands of Native Americans camped out in North Dakota as part of the Dakota Access pipeline protests. Temperatures frequently drop below freezing at night. The early snowstorms of the season are rolling across the prairie. "We are prepared for the worst," says Noah Morris, an assistant medic based in the Oceti Sakowin Camp.
In April 2016, when the first members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe pitched their tents along the Cannonball River to protest against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. They lie spread across a valley, housing as many as 6,000 people, in three distinct groups. The Sacred Stone Camp is dense, close to the river, sheltered from the wind by a steep bank and clusters of trees. Oceti Sakowin Camp is sprawling, home to as many as 4,000 people, huddled around sacred fires, chatting with friends, sheltering from the cold in trucks, tepees, tents and yurts. "The level of organisation we have is incredible," she added. Standing Rock: Are pipeline protest camp days numbered? Chapecoense air crash: Colombia plane 'ran out of fuel' Colombian authorities say evidence is growing that a plane carrying a Brazilian football team crashed because it ran out of fuel as it tried to land.
The plane had no fuel on impact, an official said, corroborating audio of the pilot asking to land because of a fuel shortage and electric failure. The capital Bogota was mentioned on the flight plan as a possible refuelling stop, but the plane did not land there. The plane plunged into a mountainside near Medellin late on Monday. Only six of the 77 people on board the plane survived. "Having been able to do an inspection of all of the remains and parts of the plane, we can affirm clearly that the aircraft did not have fuel at the moment of impact," civil aviation chief Alfredo Bocanegra told a news conference. Freddy Bonilla, another aviation official, said regulations stipulated that aircraft must have 30 minutes of fuel in reserve to reach an alternative airport in an emergency, but "in this case the plane did not have" it.
Refuelling stops. In pictures: Living near the Arctic Circle. Image copyright Ed Gold Three years ago, the residents of Galena, in Alaska, were forced to abandon their homes when the Yukon River flooded the town. The Alaska Air National Guard and the National Army Guard evacuated around 300 residents from the surrounding area, many of whom eventually returned to find their homes no longer suitable for habitation. Since then, the town has been rebuilt and one of the residents, Adriana Hevezi, invited British photographer Ed Gold to document the re-formed community having seen his book, Wales: Portrait of an Alaska Village at a friend's house in Fairbanks.
Gold took up the challenge and set off to reach the Alaskan community. One of the first pictures Gold took was of the funeral of long-time Galena resident Sidney Huntingdon, whose casket was taken on sledges behind snow machines along the frozen Yukon River to the cemetery. Gold's portraits capture some of the residents, along with their personal history. Jake Pogresbinsky Image copyright Ed gold. Chapecoense plane crash: Thousands of fans hold vigil for team.
100 Women 2016: Is feminism just for white women? Chapecoense plane crash: Football rallies around Brazilian team. Image copyright AFP/Getty Images The football world has rallied around a Brazilian club which lost most of its players in a plane crash in Colombia. Only six of the 77 people on the plane, carrying members of the Chapecoense team, survived Monday's crash. The team were flying to what was billed as the biggest match in their history - the final of the Copa Sudamericana. Their opponents, Colombian team Atletico Nacional, have offered to concede the game to ensure Chapecoense are declared the champions. In a tweet, the club also asked fans to turn up to their stadium at the time which the game was scheduled, dressed in white. In a joint statement, Brazilian first division football teams have offered to lend players to Chapecoense free of charge, and asked the league to protect the club from relegation for the next three years. There were also 21 journalists on board.
What happened? Three of the six survivors are footballers: Image copyright AP In pictures: Chapecoense tributes Who are Chapecoense? S Korea braces for 'largest' protests against president. Image copyright Reuters Some two million people are expected to join nationwide protests in South Korea to demand the resignation of President Park Geun-hye, organisers say. They estimate 1.5 million will gather in Seoul and 500,000 in other regions - in what would be largest rallies since the demonstrations began five week ago. About 25,000 police are being deployed in the capital, local media report. Ms Park is accused of allowing her friend, Choi Soon-sil, to manipulate power from behind the scenes. The president has apologised twice on national television, but has so far resisted calls to resign. The fallout from the scandal shows no sign of abating, with South Korea witnessing the largest protests since pro-democracy demonstrations of the 1980s. On Saturday, members of the Korean Peasants League, the country's largest farmers group, are expected to join the protest in Seoul.
But they were allowed to continue on foot to join Saturday's rallies. Image copyright AP. Untitled. Peshmerga vs. the Islamic State: The Road to Mosul (Full Length) Untitled. Obama's jokes at presidential medal winners' expense. Inside the Kurdish advance on Mosul - BBC News.