Hinzman died of cancer on Sunday evening at his home in Darlington, Pennsylvania, his daughter Heidi Hinzman told Reuters.

He played a prominent role in Director George Romero's low-budget, black-and-white 1968 film "Night of the Living Dead," which is credited with revolutionizing the zombie genre.

Hinzman was working as an assistant cameraman on the film when Romero decided to cast him as the zombie in the movie's opening sequence.

"We'd like to tell the story that it was a hard audition session, but Bill was there and old enough and thin enough and he had an old suit," said the film's producer Russ Streiner.

Dressed in that suit, Hinzman appears at a Pennsylvania cemetery and attacks a pair of young siblings by knocking the man's head against a tombstone and chasing the woman.

He lurches across an open field and eventually chases the woman into a farmhouse.

Fans called Heinzman "No. 1 zombie," said Streiner, who also played a character named Johnny who fought with Hinzman in the cemetery.

"He was a very popular guy, he was very accessible to the fans," Streiner added.

Hinzman also went on to direct and star in the 1980s horror movies "The Majorettes" and "FleshEater."

He will be cremated, as he had asked, said Heidi Hinzman.

"He always joked with me that if he got buried he would come back," she said.

Green tea contains antioxidant chemicals that may help ward off the cell damage that can lead to disease. Researchers have been studying green tea's effect on everything from cholesterol to the risk of certain cancers, with mixed results so far.

For the study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers decided to examine the question of whether green tea drinkers have a lower risk of frailty and disability as they grow older.

Yasutake Tomata of the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine and his colleagues followed nearly 14,000 adults aged 65 or older for three years.

They found those who drank the most green tea were the least likely to develop "functional disability", or problems with daily activities or basic needs.

Specifically, almost 13 percent of adults who drank less than a cup of green tea per day became functionally disabled, compared with just over 7 percent of people who drank at least five cups a day.

"Green tea consumption is significantly associated with a lower risk of incident functional disability, even after adjustment for possible confounding factors," Tomata and his colleagues wrote.

The study did not prove that green tea alone kept people spry as they grew older.

While green tea and its extracts are considered safe in small amounts, they do contain caffeine and small amounts of vitamin K, which means it could interfere with drugs that prevent blood clotting.

In a letter to Congress yesterday, Obama said more sanctions are warranted "particularly in light of the deceptive practices of the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks." He said the problems included the hiding transactions of sanctioned parties, the deficiencies of Iran's anti-money laundering regime and the unacceptably high risk posed to the entire international financial system posed by Iran's activities.

The Central Bank sanctions were included as an amendment in the wide-ranging defense bill Obama signed into law at the end of last year. The White House said Obama signed the executive order approving the sanctions on Sunday.

The new measures come as the White House tries to both ratchet up pressure on Tehran to abandon its nuclear program and dissuade Israel from launching a unilateral strike on Iran.

Obama said on Sunday that he does not believe Israel has yet decided whether to attack Iran. The president said he still believes a diplomatic solution is possible.

Iran insists its nuclear pursuit is for peaceful purposes, but the West accuses Iran of developing the know-how to build a nuclear bomb. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week would not dispute a report that he believes Israel may attack Iran this spring in an attempt to set back the Islamic republic's nuclear program.

In recent weeks, both the US and European Union have imposed harsher sanctions on Iran's oil sector, the lifeblood of its economy.

In Washington, the Senate Banking Committee approved more penalties on Tehran last week. The sweeping measure would target Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, require companies that trade on the US stock exchanges to disclose any Iran-related business, and expand penalties for mining joint ventures with Tehran.

Emil Boc said he was resigning "to ease the social situation" referring to weeks of protests in Romania over austerity measures that he introduced in 2010.

Boc, who became prime minister in 2008, urged Romania's feuding politicians to be mature and rapidly vote for a new government. He defended his record, saying that he had taken "difficult decisions ... not because I wanted to, but because I had to."

He added that the International Monetary Fund has forecast growth of up to 2 percent this year lower than expected, but higher than the European Union average.

"This is a victory for those that demonstrated on the streets," said Crin Antonescu, head of the opposition Liberal Party. "The most corrupt, incompetent and lying government" since the 1989 anti-Communist revolt has gone, he said.

President Traian Basescu is expected to hold talks yesterday with the country's political leaders about a new prime minister, his spokesman Valeriu Turcan said.

Romania signed up for a US$26 billion loan with the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank in 2009 to help pay salaries and pensions, after the economy shrank by more than 7 percent. In 2010, the government increased sales tax from 19 percent to 24 percent and cut public workers' salaries by a quarter to reduce the budget deficit.

Minutes before he set fire to his home, killing himself and his two young sons days after he was denied custody and ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation, Powell sent an email to his attorney.

"I'm sorry, goodbye," the Utah man wrote.

The Sunday blaze at Powell's home brought yet another twist in the very public scandal that began when Susan Powell vanished in 2009.

A social worker brought the two boys to Josh Powell's home on Sunday for what was to be a supervised visit, and Powell let his sons inside but then blocked the social worker from entering.

The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas. Moments later, the home burst into flames.

Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Sargeant Ed Troyer said emails Powell sent just prior to the explosion that authorities were made aware of seemed to confirm that Powell planned the deadly blast.

Susan Powell, the 28-year-old mother of two, was reported missing on December 7, 2009.

Authorities in the couple's hometown of West Valley City in Utah quickly turned their attention to Josh Powell. He repeatedly denied any involvement in her disappearance.

About a month later, police spent 12 days in the Utah desert looking for clues, and Josh Powell and his father, Steven, quickly disappeared from the limelight.

On Sunday, the lawyer for Susan Powell's parents said the children had started talking to their grandparents about the night their mother vanished.

"The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that Mommy was in the trunk," said attorney Steve Downing, whose clients had custody of the children. "Mom and Dad got out of the car and Mom disappeared."

The children, 5-year-old Braden and 7-year-old Charles, were ordered by a judge to then go live with Susan's parents as the parallel cases were investigated.

Sargeant Mike Powell of the West Valley City Police Department in Utah said it was too soon to say how Josh Powell's death may impact their probe.

The US evacuated all its diplomats from the country as Syrian forces intensified shelling on the restive city of Homs.

Already, more than 5,400 people have been killed since the Arab Spring-inspired uprising that began last March, according to the United Nations.

"We have been relentless in sending a message that it is time for Assad to go," US President Barack Obama said during an interview with NBC. "This is not going to be a matter of if, it's going to be a matter of when."

The US vowed to step up pressure on Assad to quit but ruled out military intervention. Obama said a negotiated solution in Syria was possible.

The US State Department warned last month it would close the embassy unless Assad's government stepped up its protection. It cited concerns about the safety of personnel and recent car bombs.

Also yesterday, an explosion ripped through a gas pipeline in Homs, the state-run news agency SANA reported. It blamed terrorists.

The Syrian government says terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy are behind the uprising, not protesters seeking change.

Syria's state-run TV denied government forces were besieging Homs, saying activists in the city were setting tires on fire to make it appear as if there was a bombardment.

Syrian security forces are "chasing the terrorists and clashing with them," it said.

Forced to veto

China said yesterday it was forced to veto a United Nations vote on Syria because it was called before differences in the proposal were bridged.

On Saturday, Russia and China vetoed a draft resolution backing an Arab League plan to promote "regime change" in Syria.

China said the resolution put undue emphasis on pressuring the Syrian government and prejudged the result of any dialogue in Syria.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin yesterday rejected criticism that China was favoring the Assad government.

Liu said China supports further dialogue to end the violence in Syria, restore Mideast stability and realize the Syrian people's desire for political reform.

At least 13 people were killed and 40 are believed missing, most of them along the shore near the epicenter of the 6.9-magnitude quake that struck in a narrow strait just off Negros Island. In the mountain village of Planas, 15 kilometers from coastal Guihulngan town in Negros Oriental province, as many as 30 houses were buried with at least 40 residents believed trapped, said Governor Roel Degamo.

"Their situation is bad because if you are covered by landslide for one hour, two hours, how can you breathe?" Mayor Ernesto Reyes said. "But we just hope for the best, that there are still survivors."

Army troops and police were deployed to help in the rescue.

At least 10 people were confirmed dead in Guihulngan, including students at a college and an elementary school and others in a town market that collapsed, Reyes said. About 100 were injured.

The quake, which hit at 11:49am local time, triggered another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, also in Negros Oriental. An unknown number of people were trapped, said La Libertad police chief inspector Eric Arrol Besario.

"We're now getting shovels and chain saws to start a rescue because there were people trapped inside. Some of them were yelling for help earlier," Besario said. Three key bridges in the town cracked and were no longer passable, he said.

Food and medicines were waiting in the provincial capital of Dumaguete, but the aid could not reach the villages because of damaged roads and bridges.

"There is a Canadian and an Indian doctor who are here for an earlier scheduled medical mission and it's good that they are helping us," said Reyes. "They have some medicines with them but that may not be enough."

Nine bridges were damaged in Negros Oriental, including four that were not passable, said Governor Degamo. The worst damage was concentrated in the province's mountainous northern portion, he said.

Philippine seismologists briefly issued a tsunami alert for the central islands. Huge waves washed out five bamboo and wooden cottages from a beach resort in La Libertad, but there were no reports of injuries, said police Superintendent Ernesto Tagle. Elsewhere along the coast, people rushed out of schools, malls and offices.

The Philippines is in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.

The latest quake was set off by movement in an undersea fault, said Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The 85-year-old monarch ascended the throne when her father, George VI, died on February 6, 1952. She is the longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for over 63 years.

Before a year's worth of festivities to celebrate her milestone, the queen said she and her husband have been "deeply moved" to receive so many kind messages about her Diamond Jubilee.

"I am writing toa thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Phillip over these years," she wrote in a message to the nation. "In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope that we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighborliness."

The queen's Diamond Jubilee will be feted with a series of regional, national and international events throughout 2012.

Over the course of 2012, members of the royal family will fan out across the globe and travel to Commonwealth countries including Canada, Jamaica and Belize in honor of the queen's Diamond Jubilee.

The queen and Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, will tour the UK from March to July. The 2012 Diamond Jubilee weekend will be held from June 2-5, with the main highlight being a huge pageant on the Thames River.