Bristling with anger, President Barack Obama branded Wednesday's defeat of gun reform in the US Senate as "shameful," accused lawmakers of caving to the gun lobby, and promised to fight on. A deeply emotional Obama -- using disdainful language, and surrounded by relatives of gun victims, including some of the 20 kids gunned down in the Newtown massacre -- accused the firearms lobby of lying to halt change.

Phoenix, Apr 12 (EFE).- Arizona state authorities investigated Friday a package of explosives addressed to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known for his iron fist against illegal immigration. The package bomb was detected at a post office in the northern Arizona city of Flagstaff and was subsequently deactivated by a team of experts after X-rays revealed it contained explosive material, the MCSO said.

An auction of ceremonial masks originating from Arizona's Hopi tribe took place in Paris on Friday only a few hours after a court allowed a sale that opponents said amounted to "sacrilege". Some 70 brightly coloured "Kachina" visages and headdresses were put on sale by the Neret-Minet auction house, with an estimated total value of between 600,000 and 800,000 euros (between $780,000 and $1 million).

A French court on Friday allowed an auction in Paris of ceremonial masks originating from Arizona's Hopi tribe to go ahead, despite opponents saying the sale amounted to "sacrilege". A French lawyer for the tribe, Pierre Servan-Schreiber, told AFP the court had refused to halt the sale of around 70 brightly coloured "Kachina" visages and headdresses by auction house Neret-Minet, which was due to start at 1230 GMT. He said he would make a last-ditch request to the French auction authority to suspend the sale, but had little hope of success.