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A Russian passenger airliner safely landed at the Vnukovo airport in Moscow on Saturday, after concerns that its landing gear might have been damaged. The plane, an Airbus A330 with 267 passengers aboard, had departed from Vladivostok, en route to Moscow. Shortly after takeoff, pieces of landing gear were discovered on the runway, which were "most likely from that particular airplane," according to an Emergency Ministry spokesman. It was decided to continue to Moscow instead of returning to Vladivostok to land, since the latter option would

According to Niger’s election commission, President Mamadou Tandja's party won a large majority in the parliament after recent elections held on Tuesday. 76 of 113 total seats were taken by Tandja's party, and a further 21 seats were taken by smaller parties supportive of the president. Twelve independents also received seats in the parliament. Opposition parties boycotted the ballot after Tandja altered the constitution to allow him to extend his time in office past the limit of ten years, and seek a third term. Reports of turnout varied wid

A heavy earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck deep underwater off the eastern shores of Indonesia on Saturday, officials said. According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake's epicentre was located 365 kilometers into the Banda Sea, southeast of Ambon Island in the Maluku Islands. Many people rushed to higher ground following the earthquake, fearing that a tsunami was generated, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake was too deep below the surface to cause any waves. A tsunami alert was initially issued by Indonesia,

US president Barack Obama declared a swine flu emergency in the country on Saturday, according to a statement released by the White House. Obama signed a declaration late on Friday, authorising health secretary Kathleen Sebelius to bypass some federal rules, in order to let health officials respond more efficiently to the outbreak of the H1N1 virus. The move is aimed at making it less difficult for people affected by the virus to seek treatment, and allow medical providers to give it immediately, bypassing potential hurdles such as health priv

A train crash in Egypt killed at least 25 people on Saturday, officials said. Varying reports gave the number of injured between 24 and 55. Police officials have warned, however, that the true death toll might be much higher. The incident occurred in the village of Guerzah, near the city of Giza. Two passengers trains were travelling in the same direction on the same track, when the one in front made an unexpected stop, reportedly after driving over a cow. The train behind it, however, continued cruising at a normal speed until running into th

A British pilot has died in a plane crash in the Caribbean Sea but managed to help save the lives of the nine passengers on the plane. Robert Mansell, aged 32, was a pilot who lived in the village of Knowle in the West Midlands of England. He had previously worked with Windward Islands Airways but was flying planes for Divi Divi Air at the time of his death. At 0930 local time, Mansell was flying with his nine passengers between the Caribbean islands of Curaçao and Bonaire when the right engine of his Britten-Norman Islander light aircraft fai

At least 132 people were killed on Sunday after two car bombings struck the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Over 500 were hurt in the attacks, which were the worst to strike the country in over two years. The attacks occurred at the Justice Ministry building and a provincial government office close to the high-security Green Zone part of the city. The explosions came during rush hour, at 10.30 local time (07.30 UTC). Officials have warned that the death toll is likely to rise, as rescue workers are still searching underneath the rubble of collapsed

Pakistani armed forces say they have captured the town of Kotkai on Saturday, the hometown of Taliban Chief Hakimullah Mehsud and one of his top officers, Qari Hussain. This comes after a week-long battle was launched on Monday, in part of an operation to curb the influence of the Taliban in South Waziristan. The operation began the previous Saturday when Pakistani forces approached from three separate areas of South Waziristan. Pakistan plans to trap Taliban within the area while approaching the towns of Makeen and Ladha, both of which are m

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper caused controversy this week after telling Toronto business leaders that he prefers to watch American news programmes instead of Canadian. On Wednesday, he told the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Convention that he watched "mainly American news" and suggested it was his hobby "to watch politics elsewhere". The Toronto Star says his "words ring true" in light of the interviews he's given to American broadcasters like Fox News and CNN. Three of Harper's cabinet members, Jim Flaherty, Peter Kent and Tony C

A senior Afghan intelligence official has reported that a military aircraft crashed in the country's northern region on Thursday. Provincial intelligence chief Abdul Majid Azimi said that the aircraft went down in the mountains of Afghanistan's Baghlan province. He added it was not immediately known if the aircraft involved is a helicopter or a plane or to whom it belonged. Mohammad Asif Qazizada, the district governor of the Khinjan district, told the Agence France-Presse news agency: "a military aircraft has crashed in the Basgah area on the

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan early on Friday, the US Geological Survey reported. The tremors, which started at 00.21 local time (19.51 UTC), were felt in the capitals of both countries. There were no immediate reports of deaths or destruction from the earthquakes. A reporter for the Al Jazeera news agency said that the initial earthquake lasted for several seconds, and was followed by a heavy aftershock. In October 2005, a heavy 7.6 magnitude earthquake st

The US Justice Department said on Thursday more than 300 people have been arrested in the United States over the past two days, as part of a massive operation targeting the La Familia Mexican drug cartel. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters on Thursday that the recent arrests are part of a 44-month, multi-agency law enforcement investigation known as Project Coronado. Holder called the operation the largest coordinated US law enforcement operation ever undertaken against a Mexican drug cartel. He added that the reach of the cartel str