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David Taylor, the 63-year-old Labour Co-operative British Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Leicestershire, died yesterday from a sudden heart attack whilst walking in Calke Abbey, Derbyshire with his family. According to his website, he was taken to Queen's Hospital, Burton in Staffordshire, but staff were unable to save him. On their Twitter page, the Co-operative Party described his death as 'devastating'. Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East, described him on her blog as 'one of those MPs who could be described as a true parli

U.S. authorities have charged Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab with trying to blow up a plane on its descent into the city of Detroit, Michigan on Friday. The man, who comes from a prominent Nigerian family, was read the charges in a hospital Saturday, where he is being treated for burns. The charges were read by United States District Judge Paul Borman while Abdulmutallab was being held at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Abdulmutallab was asked if he understood the charges against him, and he answered in

A bomb squad searched a jetliner belonging to German flag carrier Lufthansa after it was found that the owner of a suitcase in the hold was not on the flight. The Airbus A330 diverted to Iceland but was later able to continue to the US. The 160 people on board remained so while the luggage was inspected in Reykjavik. It was found that there were no security risks in the suitcase concerned. "It seems the passenger in question somehow missed the plane after having checked in," explained Fridthor Eydal of Keflavik International Airport, which ser

The new Antonov An-148 jet made its first commercial flight from Saint Petersburg, Russia to Moscow on Thursday. Starting with one of the busiest regional routes in Russia new Antonovs are to connect the other major destinations throughout Europe. The new aircraft was designed in the Ukraine by the famous Antonov design bureau and is manufactured in Voronezh, Russia. The twinjet features a high-wing design, glass cockpit and 68 passengers cabin with a 3.5 thousand km range at the average 800 km/h cruising speed. The first serial airplane has

The Indian Government issued a terror alert in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and Chennai (formerly Madras). This comes after several militants claiming to be the Taliban allegedly sneaked into India to conduct suicide bombings. According to one source, the terrorists are planning an attack on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The Nuclear Plants across India received a similar alert, due to fears that terrorists would be targeting them. In addition, government offices and transportation facilities have received beefed up

A woman attacked Pope Benedict XVI during Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, causing a disruption to the ceremonies. The pope was unharmed and got to his feet and completed the Mass, although afterwards he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray also fell down and broke a leg. The accused assailant, Susanna Maiolo, is a 25-year-old Swiss national from the Ticino region, is reported to have psychiatric problems. Susanna Maiolo also attempted to attack the pope during last years

The Associated Press reports that a 23 year-old Nigerian passenger known as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to ignite what seemed to be fireworks, which turned out to be a mixture of liquid and powdered explosives, during descent on Northwest/Delta Flight 253 departing from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan. The device intended to set off the bomb failed; the Airbus A330 plane safely landed around noon yesterday. At least one passenger was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. The suspect claimed

A Chinese court sentenced prominent democracy activist Liu Xiaobo to 11 years in prison for inciting to subvert state power, prompting international calls for his release. A Beijing court issued the sentence Friday following a two-hour trial earlier in the week. A group of U.S. and European diplomats were among those who stood outside the court after they were barred from the courtroom. Gregory May, first secretary with the United States Embassy in Beijing, told reporters the United States is "deeply concerned" by Liu's sentence. "We conti

American actor Charlie Sheen was arrested Friday on domestic-violence related assault charges. The 44-year-old was charged with assault, menacing and criminal mischief. He was released on US$8,500 bond from an Aspen, Colorado jail. Aspen police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro did not identify the victim in press briefings, citing police policy. Sheen's publicist Stan Rosenfield said not to jump to conclusions, "It would benefit everyone not to jump to any conclusion." Sheen is married to real-estate investor Brooke Mueller Sheen, with whom he had

A blaze on the cargo vessel Aegean Sea has left three Greek and six Filipino sailors dead. Fire broke out in the Greek ship's engine room in the Caribbean Sea while it was 160km (100 miles) north of the Venezuelan mainland and close to Margarita Island. The Venezuelan Navy provided assistance after the fire broke out and five more of the twenty-four crew-members were airlifted to hospital. The nine who were killed were reported missing and later found dead in various compartments throughout the ship. The fire had spread upwards through much of

A metal guard rail slicing into a bus killed ten people today in an overnight crash in Ipoh, Malaysia. Three more were injured with one hospitalised when the double-decker Sani Express struck the rail at 1 a.m. this morning with 48 passengers on board. The vehicle was en route to the northern destination of Perlis from the central state of Selangor when it crashed in Perak on the North-South Expressway, which runs the length of the country. The victims were on the lower deck when the vehicle skidded, struck and was ripped open on the left-hand

Iraqi officials have said that at least twenty people were killed and 100 wounded in multiple attacks across Iraq today. According to the authorities, twin bombings near a bus station in the central town of Hillah killed a dozen people and wounded more than 73 others. The second of those two blasts occurred as emergency workers arrived at the scene of the initial explosion. An Iraqi provincial council member was among the dead. An explosion at an outdoor funeral in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City killed at least five