London - The head of the Anglican Church Wednesday described the situation in Zimbabwe as a "complete humanitarian outrage" resulting from "state aggression towards civil society."

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said in a statement in London that "outside pressure" on the regime of President Robert Mugabe was now "more necessary than ever."

"The Zimbabwean situation is now a complete humanitarian outrage, compounded by self-serving and self-deceiving pronouncements from those clinging to power," said Williams.

New Delhi - Indian police said Tuesday they had identified the Mumbai attackers as Pakistanis, and confirmed a communication subscription used in the November
26 attacks was purchased in that country.

A voice over internet protocol (VOIP) service the terrorists used to communicate with their leaders during the deadly siege was bought in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, PTI news agency quoted Indian investigators saying.

Mumbai police also released photographs of the terrorists killed during the attacks, identifying each by name and place of origin in Pakistan, and details of the places they attacked.

Paris - The French co-author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Stephane Hessel, was on Wednesday awarded a UNESCO prize for his life's work.

The 91-year-old Hessel, who was honoured on the 60th anniversary of the document, said that it remained difficult today to implement human rights in the world.

As one example, he criticized France for its handling of illegal immigrants.

"Immigrants are not treated as they should be," said Hessel, whose mother was German. "The problem will be be even more important in the future, because climate change will provoke more migration."

Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel's government approved Wednesday the use of a German ship in a European Union anti-piracy mission off Somalia that was formally constituted two days earlier.

Germany has promised a naval frigate, the Karlsruhe, and up to 1,400 sailors, airmen and other military personnel, but must wait till its parliament has given authorization.

That is expected to happen on December 19, with the authorization running till December 15, 2009.

The EU expects to operate a flotilla of six warships and three reconnaissance planes in the area, with seven EU nations involved in the operation code-named Atalanta.

Johannesburg - The critics have been silenced, organizers of the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa said on Wednesday.

"Plan B is dead," Danny Jordaan, head of the World Cup local organizing committee told reporters in Johannesburg in a year-end review of preparations for the tournament.

Jordaan was referring to speculation earlier this year that the world football body FIFA could yank the World Cup from South Africa if the country was deemed ill-prepared to become the first African host of the tournament.

FIFA president Joseph Blatter's admission in June that FIFA did have a Plan B when it came to the host nation - in the event of a major upset - was grist for the rumour mill.

New Delhi - Indian stock indices rose by more than 5 per cent Wednesday following positive cues from Asian markets and news of a likely bailout for the US auto industry.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share sensitive index Sensex closed at 9654.90 points, 5.4 per cent above its previous close.

The broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange ended at 2928.25 points, about 5.2 per cent over its previous close.

Market analysts said reports indicating an agreement on a 15-billion-dollar bailout for US automakers had buoyed investors.

Financial incentives announced by the government and rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India announced on the weekend also had positive impact.