While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 6 edition

Well wishers of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaraman hold her portrait as they pray at a temple in Mumbai, India on Dec 5. PHOTO: REUTERS

Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram dies

Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the chief minister of south India's Tamil Nadu state and one of the country's most popular political leaders, died after a prolonged illness, hospital authorities announced late Monday night.

"It is with indescribable grief, we announce the sad demise of our esteemed honourable chief minister of Tamil Nadu ...at 11.30pm today (2am Singapore time on Dec 6)," Chennai's Apollo Hospital said in a statement released to the media.

Doctors had been treating the 68-year-old former film star, who enjoys an almost god-like status in Tamil Nadu.

Hundreds of devotees have kept a round-the-clock vigil outside the private hospital in the state capital Chennai since she was first admitted in September suffering from a fever. Their numbers have swelled since her condition worsened on Sunday.

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New York City seeks up to US$35 million for Trump-related security costs

New York City is asking the US government for up to US$35 million (S$49.8 million) to cover security costs related to President-elect Donald Trump, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday (Dec 5).

Trump has spent the majority of his time since Election Day in his apartment at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, forcing police to work with the U.S. Secret Service to provide intensified security measures in one of the city's busiest neighborhoods.

The situation is "truly unusual," de Blasio said at a Monday news conference.

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Man angered by fake news story fires assault rifle inside Washington 'pizzagate' eatery

A man has been arrested after firing an assault rifle inside a popular pizzeria in Washington that was the target of a fake news story during the US presidential election campaign, police said.

No one was injured in the incident at the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in the upmarket Chevy Chase neighbourhood.

The man, Edgar M Welch, 28, of Salisbury, North Carolina, told police he had come to the restaurant, Comet Ping Pong in northwest Washington to "self-investigate" what is being called "Pizzagate," an online conspiracy theory asserting, with no evidence, that the restaurant is somehow tied to a child abuse ring.

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French PM Manuel Valls announces presidential bid

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Monday (Dec 5) threw his hat in the ring to succeed Francois Hollande in next year's presidential election.

"I am a candidate for the presidency of the Republic," Valls said, announcing he would step down as prime minister on Tuesday (Dec 6) to campaign for the Socialist nomination in a primary in January.

The 54-year-old Spanish-born premier announced his candidacy in a speech from his political base in the tough Paris suburb of Evry, in which he appealed to the fractured left to unite behind him.

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Football: Sudamericana title given to plane crash team

South American football confederation Conmebol agreed Monday (Dec 5) to award the Copa Sudamericana to Brazilian club Chapecoense, whose team was wiped out in a plane crash while heading to the final.

"Conmebol awards the title for the 2016 Copa Sudamericana championship to Chapecoense," including the US$2 million (S$2.8 million) in prize money, the confederation said in a statement.

The unsung club was having a fairy tale season until the charter plane flying it to the biggest match in its history ran out of fuel and smashed into the mountains in northwestern Colombia a week ago, killing 71 people.

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