Canberra sorry for military abuse

26 November 2012 Last updated at 00:40 ET

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Stephen Smith formally apologised in parliament

Australia's government has apologised to victims of abuse in the military, after a probe that saw hundreds of claims of mistreatment made.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith told parliament steps would be taken to ensure the sexual, physical and mental abuse would not be repeated.

The investigation received more than 1,000 claims of abuse dating from the 1950s to the present day.

It was commissioned following a sex scandal at a military academy in 2011.

'Not acceptable'

The investigation, conducted for the government by law firm DLA Piper, set out allegations of abuse from both male and female personnel serving in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) over the past six decades.

More than 1,000 people submitted allegations to the investigation. Claims from 775 people fell within its terms of reference - "the overwhelming majority of which are said to be plausible allegations of abuse", a Defence Ministry statement said.

The allegations include 24 rape claims in the late 1990s and allegations young teenage boys were abused at a naval training base in Western Australia in the 1960s and 1970s.

"Young men and women have endured sexual, physical or mental abuse from their colleagues which is not acceptable," Mr Smith told parliament.

In some cases officers had failed personnel "through their behaviour, including through the turning of a blind eye".

"Such experiences have had a lasting, serious, traumatic and adverse impact on the people who have experienced them," he said.

"You should never have experienced this abuse. Again, I say sorry."

A judge has been named to lead a taskforce that will investigate each individual abuse claim. Mr Smith said compensation of up to A$50,000 ($52,200, £32,600) would be made available where appropriate.

"Belittling or predatory"

In a statement Defence Force chief General David Hurley said the military was committed to "deep cultural reform".

"The number, nature, and range of allegations demonstrates that some members of the ADF have failed to understand the responsibility that rank imposes, that rank is a privilege and not a licence for domineering, belittling or predatory behaviour," he said.

The military would work to ensure that all members could serve "in an environment free from abusive behaviour of any kind".

Australia began a series of enquiries into its military after an incident in April 2011 in which two cadets from the Australian Defence Force Academy were accused of secretly filming a female cadet having sex and broadcasting it on the internet.

A separate review by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick warned that women were failing to thrive in the Australian military and were under-represented in it.

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Dhaka protests after deadly fire

26 November 2012 Last updated at 05:16 ET

Thousands of people have protested in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, after a fire at a garment factory killed more than 100 people over the weekend.

Demonstrators blocked roads and some threw stones and attacked vehicles in the industrial suburb of Ashulia, demanding justice for those who died.

Hundreds of factories are shut. The government says Tuesday will be a national day of mourning.

Another factory fire on Monday was almost under control, officials said.

The second blaze in as many days at a clothes-making factory in Dhaka occurred at the multi-storey Euro-Bangla Garment building in the suburb of Uttara. There were no reports of deaths.

Reports said that at least eight workers suffered injuries. The cause of the blaze is now being investigated.

Poor safety

Workers and relatives of those who died in the blaze at Tazreen Fashion factory vented their anger on Monday, demanding better protection.

They said that many people were trapped after the fire broke out late on Saturday - the building reportedly lacked fire exits.

"I haven't been able to find my mother," said one worker, Shahida, Reuters news agency reports. "I demand justice, I demand that the owner be arrested."

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Firefighters took several hours to bring Saturday's blaze under control

Fatal fires are common in Bangladesh's large garment manufacturing sector.

Lax safety standards, poor wiring and overcrowding are blamed for causing several deadly factory fires every year.

There are around 4,500 factories in Bangladesh, employing more than two million people.

Clothes account for up to 80% of Bangladesh's $24bn (£15bn) annual exports.

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Catalan separatists win majority

26 November 2012 Last updated at 05:28 ET

Voters in Spain's Catalonia region have given a majority to parties seeking Catalan independence.

However, Catalan President Artur Mas, who called the early election and pushed for independence, lost seats.

His centre-right CiU remains the largest bloc, winning 50 seats out of 135, down from 62 last time.

The left-wing separatist ERC won 21 seats. But a BBC correspondent says despite their combined majority, the parties may be unable to work together.

Both the CiU and ERC want to hold a referendum on independence from Spain.

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A source close to a "disappointed" Catalan President Artur Mas told me a referendum, or at least a public consultation on independence, is "still the plan".

Crucially, my source believes a deal with Esquerra Republicana, the centre-left pro-independence party which increased its share of the vote last night, "has to be possible" as there is "no other alternative".

However a pact between CiU - Mr Mas's centre-right nationalist coalition - and Esquerra Republicana will not be easy. The two are poles apart on the crucial issue of the economy and how to tackle the economic crisis in Catalonia.

CiU has implemented austerity measures, including controversial cuts to the public sector. It is possible it will want to implement more economic reforms, which Esquerra Republicana is likely to oppose.

My sense therefore is that, following last night's election result, a referendum on independence from Spain is less likely, because of the fact that the political process going forward has become even more complicated than it was before.

Mr Mas told the BBC he would consult the people on independence within the next four years.

"I am happy with tonight's results," he said, "but not as happy as I could have been."

Mr Mas called early elections after a funding row with the central government in Madrid.

It has accused him of trying to exploit the economic crisis, saying Catalan nationalists were looking for excuses after nearly running out of money.

European membership?

Mr Mas says the wealthy and influential north-eastern region gets a raw funding deal from the central government. His centre-right Catalan nationalist coalition (CiU) argues a Catalan state would fare better as a member of the EU than a province of Spain.

The European flag was prominent at Mr Mas's campaign rallies, and he says an independent Catalonia would quickly gain membership of the 27-member bloc.

However, the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), the Republican Left party, has more than doubled its previous share of seats - up from 10 in 2010 to 21 this time.

That has been seen partly as a reaction to Mr Mas's resort to austerity measures to fight Catalonia's debt.

CiU and the ERC have very different views of how to address the economic crisis, says the BBC's Tom Burridge, in the Catalan regional capital Barcelona.

The result may actually mean a referendum on independence from Spain is therefore less likely, because the political process has become even more complicated, our correspondent says.

It was already far from straightforward, he says.

A referendum would be illegal under the current Spanish constitution, and Spain's ruling Popular Party is likely to block any attempts for constitutional change.

Other parties, such as the Ciutadans, the Popular Party of Catalonia and the Socialist Party of Catalonia are all opposed to Catalonia's independence bid.

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Egypt's Mursi meets top judges

26 November 2012 Last updated at 05:37 ET

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The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says it seems that President Mursi is now "reaching out for a compromise"

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi has been meeting senior judges to try to ease a crisis over the extent of his powers, reports say.

A decree giving him sweeping new powers was announced on Thursday, sparking violent nationwide protests and leading to a 9% drop in Egypt's stock market.

Mr Mursi said on Sunday the decree was temporary and not intended to concentrate power in his hands.

He was committed to finding "common ground" with other parties, he said.

He also hoped to reach consensus on a new constitution currently being drafted, he added, and the decree was intended to prevent democratically elected bodies from being undermined.

Mediation efforts

The Judges' Club, which represents judges throughout the country, called for a nationwide strike to protest against the decree over the weekend.

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President Mursi may have been guilty of a degree of over-confidence, or political naivety"

End Quote

The journalists' union also rejected the president's decree and threatened to go on strike.

But the top judicial body, the Supreme Judicial Council, appeared not to reject the decree outright, saying it should only apply to "sovereign matters", and urged judges to return to work.

Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky has begun efforts to mediate between the president and the judges.

The minister said he himself had some reservations about the president's decree, Reuters reported.

The president met members of the Supreme Judicial Council on Monday morning to discuss the decree, Egyptian media said. It was not clear whether the talks had finished.

Several prominent opposition leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed elBaradei, have said they will not engage in dialogue with the president until he rescinds the measure, known as the constitutional declaration.

Teenager dies

According to President Mursi's decree, no authority can revoke presidential decisions.

There is also a bar on judges dissolving the assembly, which is drawing up a new constitution.

The decree has sparked violent protests in Cairo and across the country since it was announced.

On Sunday, a teenager died and 60 people were injured in clashes in the Nile Delta town of Damanhour, between the president's supporters and opponents.

Described as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement that backs Mr Mursi, 15-year-old Islam Fathy Massoud was killed after its headquarters were attacked.

Other clashes saw police firing tear gas in Cairo's Tahrir Square area. However, the trouble had died down on Monday and there were no further reports of clashes.

Egypt's stock market, which had seen a fall of almost 10% on Sunday, recovered some ground on Monday morning.

Large demonstrations are planned by supporters and opponents of Mr Mursi on Tuesday.

The Muslim Brotherhood has called for a one million-man march to take place outside Cairo University.

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Gunmen attack Nigeria police HQ

26 November 2012 Last updated at 05:59 ET

Unknown gunmen have attacked a Nigerian police base in the capital, Abuja, where Boko Haram Islamist militants are often held, police say.

A police spokesman said the attack was repelled. Unconfirmed reports say some detainees were freed.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) headquarters is near several government buildings and security is normally extremely tight in the area.

No group has said it carried out this attack but Boko Haram is suspected.

The group wants to establish Islamic law in Nigeria and has killed hundreds of people this year, mostly in the mainly Muslim north.

The attack comes a day after a double suicide bombing killed 11 people in a church inside a military barracks in Kaduna state, north of the capital.

One Abuja resident said he heard gunfire for about half an hour in the early hours of Monday morning.

A police spokesman did not give any further details.

An AFP journalist at the Sars headquarters says there are no visible signs of damage to the building, which is heavily guarded with two armoured vehicles outside.

Armed robbery suspects are also often detained at the building.

It is where suspects are held when they are first transferred to the capital.

While most Boko Haram attacks are carried out in the north, it has previously targeted Abuja.

Last year, a suicide bomber from the group attacked the main police headquarters in the capital killing six people.

The militants have also previously attacked prisons and freed hundreds of suspected Boko Haram members.

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UBS fined £29.7m for Adoboli case

26 November 2012 Last updated at 06:09 ET

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined UBS £29.7m ($47.6m) for failings that led to trader Kweku Adoboli losing £1.4bn.

The fine, the third largest imposed by the FSA, was for "system and control failings" that allowed him to trade in London well beyond authorised limits.

The trader was last week convicted of two counts of fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison.

UBS said it was "pleased that the chapter has been concluded".

The FSA, which conducted the investigation into failings at the bank with its Swiss counterpart, Finma, said there were serious weaknesses at the Swiss bank.

It said in a statement: "UBS failed to take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively, with adequate risk management systems, and failed to conduct its business from the London Branch with due skill, care and diligence."

The FSA's director of enforcement and financial crime, Tracey McDermott, said faulty controls had allowed the losses to mount to what was the largest trading loss in the country.

"UBS's systems and controls were seriously defective," she said.

"As a result, Adoboli, a relatively junior trader, was allowed to take vast and risky market positions, and UBS failed to manage the risks around that properly."

'Gambler'

Adoboli, the 32-year-old Ghana-born son of a diplomat, joined UBS in 2003, becoming a trader in 2006.

He worked in UBS's global synthetic equities division (GSE), buying and selling exchange traded funds (ETFs), which track stocks, bonds and commodities.

He was arrested in September last year.

Southwark Crown Court was told that he was "a gamble or two away from destroying Switzerland's largest bank".

The judge said there was "a strong streak of the gambler" in him.

But, during evidence, Adoboli said everything he had done was aimed at benefiting the bank, where he viewed his colleagues as "family".

He said he had "lost control in the maelstrom of the financial crisis", but had been doing well until he changed from a conservative "bearish" position to an aggressive "bullish" stance under pressure from senior managers.

He told the jury that staff were encouraged to take risks until they got "a slap on the back of the wrist".

The fine was set at 15% of the revenue of the division where Adoboli worked and takes account of the revenue generated by the business area where the weak controls occurred.

'Serious deficiencies'

UBS said it had made a number of substantial changes since discovering the losses, including fixing the weakness in its financial reporting.

The bank added it was retraining staff on the importance of risk management and had changed the way it evaluated and compensated employees.

UBS is changing its own structure to make itself a simpler organisation.

The bank's chief executive, Oswald Gruebel, left the company in the aftermath of the scandal.

His successor, Sergio Ermotti, announced a major restructuring last month to run down the large, risky parts of the investment banking division.

UBS said it had fully co-operated with the regulators' investigations and that it accepted their findings and the penalties incurred.

UBS's fine was discounted from the original level of £42.4m for early settlement.

Switzerland's financial regulator Finma said in a statement that it would also check whether UBS had adequate capital backing for its operational risks.

Finma said it had identified "serious deficiencies in risk management controls" and that it would appoint a third party to make sure proper measures were introduced.

UBS has been banned by regulators from making new acquisitions and it also needs to get prior approval from Finma for any new business initiatives.

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Ehud Barak quits Israeli politics

26 November 2012 Last updated at 06:50 ET

The Israeli Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, has announced that he is quitting politics and will not be contesting January's general election.

Mr Barak, a former military chief of staff who served as prime minister from 1999 to 2001, said he would now concentrate on his personal life.

"I want to study, to write, to live and have a good time," he told reporters.

The 70 year old will remain as defence minister, a post he has held since 2007, until a new government is formed.

On his Twitter feed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Mr Barak for his service of his country, adding that he appreciated "his contribution to security of state".

The BBC's Kevin Connolly says Mr Barak believes this month's military offensive on Gaza was a successful note on which to end a long career in Israel's military and political establishment.

At least 158 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed in the eight-day operation, which Israel said was aimed at ending rocket-fire from Palestinian militants.

Commando

Mr Barak served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from 1959 until 1995.

He saw action as an undercover commando, served with distinction in the 1973 Middle East war, and oversaw two daring operations to free Israeli hostages on hijacked planes.

Mr Barak led the 1972 operation against Palestinian militants from the Black September group who had seized a Sabena flight and forced it to land at Lod (now Ben Gurion) airport, in Israel.

Dressed as a ground technician, he convinced the hijackers that the plane needed repairing and quickly overpowered them, killing two men and capturing two women. Mr Netanyahu served under Mr Barak on that raid.

Four years later, Mr Barak was one of the architects of the raid on Entebbe airport in Uganda to rescue another plane of Israelis also being held hostage by Black September.

In 1991, he was appointed chief of the general staff of the IDF. During his four years in the post, he helped implement the Oslo Accords and participated in peace talks with Jordan.

On his resignation from the military, Mr Barak joined the Labour-led government of Yitzhak Rabin as interior minister. After Rabin's assassination in 1995, he served as foreign minister in the government of Shimon Peres until its fall in 1996.

Mr Barak was elected leader of the Labour party and defeated Benjamin Netanyahu in the 1999 prime ministerial election on a manifesto which included the promise to withdraw from southern Lebanon and push for a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians.

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There are many ways for me to serve the country, not just through politics"

End Quote Ehud Barak Israeli Defence Minister

He made good on the first pledge in 2000 and also held detailed negotiations on final status issues with the late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. However, Mr Barak's coalition government collapsed in 2001 and he lost the premiership to Ariel Sharon. Mr Barak subsequently resigned both as leader of Labour and as a member of Israel's parliament.

Mr Barak returned to frontline politics in 2007 after he regained the leadership of Labour and then joined Ehud Olmert's ruling coalition as defence minister. He has held that post for the past five years, despite leaving Labour to form his own Independence party.

Mr Barak said he had been considering his decision for the past few weeks and said he would now spend more time with his family, despite opinion polls showing increased support for his party following this month's Gaza offensive.

He added: "I feel I have exhausted my political activity, which had never been an object of desire for me. There are many ways for me to serve the country, not just through politics."

But our correspondent says it is not impossible that he is invited to return to any future Netanyahu government despite no longer holding a seat in parliament.

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Syrian attack 'kills 10 children'

26 November 2012 Last updated at 07:00 ET

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Unverified video posted by opposition activists purportedly showed cluster bombs in Deir al-Asafir and rebels in Marj al-Sultan military base

Activists in Syria say a government jet has dropped a cluster bomb on a playground, leaving 10 children dead.

Video posted on the internet showed children's bodies on the ground with their mothers grieving over them.

The children were killed when a MiG fighter bombed a playground in the village of Deir al-Asafir, east of Damascus, opposition activists said.

Intensive fighting has continued around the capital. Rebel fighters captured at least part of an airbase on Sunday.

Further footage of the playground attack showed what appeared to be cluster bomblets on the ground.

In one video, two girls could be seen lying dead in a street while another showed a distraught mother standing, apparently inside a clinic, over her daughter's lifeless body.

In recent months there have been mounting allegations that the Syrian government has resorted to using cluster bombs as the conflict intensifies, although those claims have been denied, the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon reports.

'Baseless'

Two cluster bombs were dropped on the village, activists said. One man told Reuters news agency that 70 bomblets had been found.

"None of those killed was older than 15 years old," Abu Kassem, an activist in Deir al-Asafir told Reuters.

He said 15 people had been wounded in the attack and denied that rebel fighters were inside the village. They had been operating on the outskirts, he said.

Last month, Human Rights Watch said there had been an increase in online video reports purporting to show evidence of cluster bombs being dropped in the conflict, especially around the town of Maarat al-Numan.

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So far, many of those fleeing the civil war have been invisibly absorbed into friends' and relatives' homes. Atma, while distressing enough to witness, is relatively small. But it will probably grow. "

End Quote

The Syrian government said the military did not have such weapons and dismissed the allegations as "baseless".

An unverified report by the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), an opposition activist network, put the number of casualties across Syria on Sunday at 117, including 14 children.

Activists believe 40,000 people have died since the start of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule in March 2011.

The UN refugee agency says the number of Syrians refugees in neighbouring countries either registered or awaiting registration has reached 442,000. Another 2.5 million are described as internally displaced.

Battle for military bases

Rebel fighters said on Sunday they had captured a military airbase at Marj al-Sultan, not far from Deir al-Asafir, although activists of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they had later pulled out.

Amateur video showed a rebel standing beside a wrecked helicopter while a man speaking on the video said a warplane had been blown up.

Although the rebels control areas to the east and north-east of Damascus as well as on the edge of the city, government forces are widely seen as superior in the capital and the Free Syrian Army has been unable to take permanent control of military bases.

A similar rebel attack took place last week on an air defence battalion base at Hajar al-Aswad, south of Damascus, which fighters briefly controlled after a four-day siege.

The rebels have been more successful in holding on to bases in areas of Syria more firmly under their control. Last week opposition sources said they had seized a base at Mayadeen in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

They now appear to hold a swathe of territory in the Euphrates valley, from the Iraqi border to the provincial capital of Deir al-Zour.

Unverified videos posted on the internet on Monday showed fighters claiming to be in control of the Tishreen dam on the Euphrates river, further north in Aleppo province. There has been fierce fighting in the area around the dam for several days.

In a separate development, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has criticised a decision by France and the UK to recognise Syria's new opposition coalition as sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

"From the point of view of international law, this is absolutely unacceptable," he told French journalists ahead of a two-day visit to Paris, which was starting on Monday.

"A desire to change the political regime of another state by recognising a political force as the sole carrier of sovereignty seems to me to be not completely civilised."

The EU has stopped short of full recognition, describing the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as "legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people."

1. Cluster bombs are usually dropped from a plane and can fly several miles before releasing their load of bomblets.

2. The canister starts to spin and opens at an altitude between 1,000m and 100m, spraying the bomblets across a wide area.

3. Each bomblet is the size of a drink can and contains hundreds of metal pieces. When it explodes, it can cause deadly injuries up to 25m away.

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DR Congo rebels urged to stop war

24 November 2012 Last updated at 16:39 ET

A summit of four African heads of state has urged rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo to cease fire and stop threats to depose the government.

The leaders also told the M23 group to leave the eastern city of Goma, which they captured on Tuesday.

Later the rebels said they had met DR Congo President Joseph Kabila, and would hold talks with him.

The summit was held in Uganda which, alongside Rwanda, has been accused of backing the rebels.

Both countries deny the charges.

The UN has warned of a humanitarian crisis, with food and medicines running short.

Armed groups have battled over mineral-rich eastern DR Congo for two decades.

Joint force

President Kabila and the presidents of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania attended the Uganda talks but the Rwandan leader, Paul Kagame, stayed away. He was represented by his foreign minister.

M23 leader Jean-Marie Runiga was also in Kampala.

The four presidents issued a statement calling on M23 to "stop all war activities and withdraw from Goma" and "stop talk of overthrowing an elected government". Mr Kabila was also urged to listen to the rebels' grievances.

Rebels have rejected previous calls to leave Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and the main city in eastern DR Congo.

However, Mr Runiga said a withdrawal was possible, but could only come about from talks with Mr Kabila.

He said he held a meeting with Mr Kabila to arrange the talks, and that despite some tensions the meeting had gone "very well".

"Direct negotiations are scheduled between us and Kabila tomorrow," he said, quoted by AFP news agency.

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• Named after the 23 March 2009 peace accord which they accuse the government of violating
• This deal saw them join the army before they took up arms once more in April 2012
• Also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army
• Mostly from minority Tutsi ethnic group
• Deny being backed by Rwanda and Uganda
• Believed to have 1,200 to 6,000 fighters
• International Criminal Court indicted top commander Bosco "Terminator" Ntaganda in 2006 for allegedly recruiting child soldiers
• The UN and US imposed a travel ban and asset freeze earlier this month on the group's leader, Sultani Makenga

The presidents' statement also proposed:

• That the DR Congo government should evaluate the "legitimate grievances of M23"
• M23's withdrawal from current positions to at least 20km (13 miles) from Goma within two days
• A joint force of neutral regional troops, government soldiers and rebels at Goma airport
• That Goma police be rearmed and resume duty
• That UN Monusco peacekeepers occupy the neutral zone between Goma and M23
• Supervision of the process by army chiefs of Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo

About 500,000 people have been displaced by the rebellion since it began in April, with the formation of M23 after a mutiny in the army.

The rebels said they were not given army posts promised in a 2009 deal to end a previous uprising.

Their exact aims are unclear but they have also advanced beyond Goma, taking the town of Sake despite a loyalist fight-back.

They had threatened to attack the capital, Kinshasa, if President Kabila did not open negotiations with them.

The UN has accused Rwanda and Uganda of backing the M23, saying the chain of command culminates with Rwandan Defence Minister James Kabarebe.

The M23's gains have raised fears of renewed war in DR Congo, where some five million people died in a conflict from 1997-2003.

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution condemning the rebel seizure of Goma and calling for sanctions against M23 leaders.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled as the rebel forces have advanced, scattering from villages and refugee camps.

The United Nations' children's fund Unicef says hundreds of children have been separated from their parents. It warns that many of them risk being recruited by armed groups.

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Gangnam Style 'most viewed video'

24 November 2012 Last updated at 20:35 ET

Gangnam Style, the dance track by South Korean pop phenomenon Psy, has become YouTube's most-watched video of all time.

It has notched up more than 808m views since it was posted in July.

The video pokes fun at the consumerism of Gangnam, an affluent suburb of the South Korean capital Seoul.

In it, the portly Psy dances as though he is trotting on a horse, holding the reins and spinning a lasso in a manner that has sparked a global dance craze.

The video also features the 34-year-old singer reclining on a sun lounger in tight pink shorts, gazing longingly at a girl dancing on an underground train in tight shorts and gesticulating at a woman working out on a beach - in tight shorts.

The dance has sparked numerous copycat versions, being performed by a diverse fan-base including Filipino prison inmates, prominent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and a Chinese robot.

Popular parodies include one performed by Eton College schoolboys and another in the Star Trek language Klingon.

Gangnam Style, which won best video at this year's MTV Europe Music Awards, has also been number one in 28 countries.

It holds the Guinness World Record for the most "liked" song ever - currently with a little under 5.4m likes on YouTube.

Previously, Justin Bieber's 2010 teenybopper hit Baby held the record for the most YouTube views.

Bieber's manager Scooter Braun was the first person in the US to tweet a link to the Gangnam Style video.

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