¤ An Iranian military plane crashed in northwest Iran yesterday, killing at least 11 people aboard, including several senior Revolutionary Guard commanders, police and news agencies said. Ahmad Kazemi, head of the corps' ground forces, was killed, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Massoud Jazayeri told the official IRNA news agency. Mr Kazemi was one of the most powerful commanders after Yahya Rahim Safavi, commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guard.

¤ Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was granted bail yesterday after seven weeks of house arrest on charges related to the disappearance and presumed death of three leftists during his 17-year rule. The motion by Judge Victor Montiglio, who suggested a bail of $19,000, must be ratified by the court of appeals and a ruling is expected this week.

¤ The trial of cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri on charges of stirring up racial hatred and urging the killing of non-Muslims opened in a London court yesterday. Mr Hamza, 47, is the most high-profile figure to go on trial in Britain charged with such offences since the September 11 20001 attacks on Washington and New York. The Egyptian-born cleric faces nine counts of using public meetings to incite his followers to kill non-Muslims. Four other charges say he urged the killing of Jews.

¤ Three people were killed and 22 others injured when a South African bus carrying tourists from New Zealand, Italy and the Netherlands crashed yesterday, police said. Police spokesman Elsa Gerber said the accident occurred early yesterday on a national highway in the Free State province more than 500 kilometres southwest of Johannesburg.

¤ Four people died in a helicopter crash near the north-eastern Romanian city of Iasi, authorities said yesterday. The helicopter, which belonged to the Interior Ministry, was carrying a medical team when it crashed a few minutes after taking off from Iasi airport, officials said.