A round-up of today's other stories in brief:
Nigerian air crash toll of 100 feared
LAGOS - More than 100 passengers and crew are believed to have been killed when a Nigerian airliner crashed shortly after take- off on Saturday night.
Confusion surrounded the crash yesterday after initial claims suggesting nearly half the passengers had survived were followed by reports indicating that there was no sign of any survivors. Nigerian TV broadcast images of charred bodies and fragments of fuselage scattered across swampy earth at the crash scene.
The pilot of Bellview Airlines flight 210 sent a distress signal shortly after take-off from Lagos on Saturday night, then lost contact with the control tower during a heavy electrical storm. - (Guardian service)
Yorkshire man on terror suspicion
LONDON - British police have arrested a man from northern England over alleged comments he made to a Sunday newspaper about the July 7th bombings in London.
The 27-year-old man from west Yorkshire was arrested late on Saturday on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism, a police spokesman said, without giving details. - (Reuters)
CIA indictments possible this week
WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald appears to be laying the groundwork for indictments this week over the outing of a covert CIA operative, including possible charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, according to lawyers involved in the case.
Top administration officials are expected to learn from Mr Fitzgerald as early as today whether they will face charges as the prosecutor winds up his nearly two-year investigation, the lawyers said. - (Reuters)
Man held over deaths of children
PARIS - A Frenchman has been remanded in custody overnight on suspicion of killing his three children.
The man, unemployed Jean-Paul Steijns (36) was detained with his wife on Thursday after police accompanying a bailiff on a visit to the couple's home found the body of their third child, a newborn baby, decomposed in a sports bag. - (Reuters)
18 mountaineers missing in Nepal
KATHMANDU - Rescue workers are searching for seven French and 11 Nepali climbers who went missing four days ago after an avalanche in western Nepal, officials said on Sunday.
Authorities in Kathmandu lost contact with the 21-member climbing team on Wednesday after the avalanche swept through the base camp of the 6,981m (22,903ft) Kang Guru peak. - (Reuters)
Pakistan hit by second quake
ISLAMABAD - A magnitude 6 earthquake rocked Pakistan yesterday, 15 days after a 7.6 magnitude quake killed 53,000 people. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage. - (Reuters)
Six people killed in torrential rains
BARI, Italy - At least six people were killed as torrential rain battered southern Italy overnight, demolishing a bridge, sweeping away cars and derailing a Eurostar train, police said on yesterday. - (Reuters)
£5bn in online sales predicted
LONDON - Shoppers snapping up gifts over the internet will help drive online sales to £5 billion this Christmas, research has predicted. Despite the wider retail sector remaining stuck in the doldrums, the amount spent online in November and December will far outstrip last year's £3.5 billion. - (PA)