RIO DE JANEIRO - A BRAZILIAN model whose feet and hands were amputated following a drug-resistant infection died early on Saturday, health officials said.

Mariana Bridi, 20, died at 2.30 am from complications related to a generalised infection caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the Espirito Santo State Health Secretariat said in a statement.

SEOUL - THE he eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il on Saturday said he had no interest in taking power and that his father alone would decide on a successor, according to Yonhap news agency.

The South Korean agency, quoting 'well-informed intelligence sources,' reported earlier this month that Mr Kim had nominated his third son, Kim Jong-Un, as successor and had informed the ruling communist party leadership of his choice.

LONDON - THOUSANDS of people are expected to demonstrate in London on Saturday against the BBC's refusal to broadcast a charity appeal to raise emergency funds for people in the Gaza Strip.

The BBC is worried that broadcasting the appeal could compromise its impartiality and questions whether aid can be delivered efficiently in Gaza, where Palestinians say over 1,300 people died during Israel's 22-day offensive.

NEW DELHI - INDIAN Prime Minister Manmohan Singh successfully underwent heart bypass surgery on Saturday, an official of his Congress party told reporters.

'We must thank the surgeons, the team of doctors,' the governing Congress party's spokesman Veerappa Moily said in a brief statement. He gave no other details on the surgery.