'Arizona gunman' in court for assassination attempt

A man charged with trying to assassinate a US congresswoman, in a shooting that left six people dead and more than a dozen wounded, has appeared in federal court in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jared Loughner, 22, faces several charges over Saturday's attack.

Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head, remains in a critical condition but doctors say the swelling in her brain has stabilised.

Among the dead were a nine-year-old girl and a federal judge.

The BBC's Washington Correspondent Iain Mackenzie reports.