Cargo plane crashes in Russia
A cargo aircraft crashed soon after taking off from the eastern Russian city of Mirny in Yakutia region today, killing all 11 people on board.

‘Godmother’ of Chinese gangsters, Xie Caiping, jailed for 18 years
One of China s most notorious illegal casino operators, a woman who kept a stable of at least 16 young men as her lovers, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Abdullah to decide on Afghan poll
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah will announce tomorrow his decision whether to take part in next week’s run-off vote against President Hamid Karzai, his campaign said in a statement today.

Illegal downloaders buy more – survey
People who illegally download music spend more on official releases than those who obey download laws, a British survey published this weekend has suggested.

Radovan Karadzic appears before Hague court – to mock the judges
The Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic finally graced the UN war crimes court with his presence today, but used his first appearance to mock the judges and play for more time.

Infantile Europe should stop vying for Barack Obama s attention
A star-struck Europe is squandering the Obama presidency because individual leaders are too busy competing for the President s attention, a report warned on the eve of an EU-US summit in Washington seen as crucial to saving world climate change talks.

Vaccines ’safe’ for pregnant women
It is safe for pregnant women to use any licensed swine flu vaccine, whether it contains a booster substance known as an adjuvant or not, the World Health Organisation said today.

Swiss consider change to suicide law
Switzerland is preparing to change the law on assisted suicide to make sure it is only used as a last resort by the terminally ill, and to limit so-called “death tourism”, the government said today.

Animal activists outraged by Nepal s plans for mass animal sacrifice
Plans to sacrifice more than 500,000 animals during a two-day religious festival in Nepal this month have met with the wrath of animal rights activists, who have called for the 300-year-old ritual to be banned.

Radovan Karadzic ready to face Hague judges over Srebrenica massacre
Radovan Karadzic will finally face judges in The Hague today after informing the war crimes tribunal that he would end his three-day boycott.

Pregnant women urged to get jab
Pregnant women and other people at high risk should be vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu virus as the cold weather begins to bite in the northern hemisphere, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said today.

Abdullah pulls out of poll run-off
Afghanistan’s run-off election are still set to go ahead with President Karzai as the only candidate after his rival Abdullah Abdullah confirmed his intention to withdraw this morning, the country’s top electoralofficial said.

Pakistan bomb toll rises to 117
The death toll from a car bombing in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Wednesday has risen to 117 and rescue workers are still searching for more than 60 missing people.

Coup plotter Simon Mann pardoned by Equatorial Guinea
Simon Mann, the former SAS officer jailed for 34 years for plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea, has been pardoned on health grounds.

Darling expects three new banks
The British government will announce a banking overhaul this week which it hopes will attract new players to the market, as carve-up plans for rescued banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds are finalised.

US extends Colombia presence
The US and Colombia have signed a pact to expand Washington’s military’s presence in a deal described by Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez as a threat to the region’s security.

Somali’s piracy a survival measure-PM
The prime minister of Somalia has vowed his government would do everything possible to find the missing British couple feared kidnapped by pirates.

Karadzic attends Hague tribunal
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic appeared in court today for the first time since his trial for genocide started but said he would take no further part unless he had more time to prepare his defence.

US state elections set to become first verdict on Barack Obama presidency
American voters go to the polls today to elect two powerful mayors, two state assemblies and two state governors, one of whom faced a possible lawsuit from the surviving members of Monty Python yesterday.

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