A Swiss airline flight made an emergency landing just after takeoff in Saint Petersburg, Russia, yesterday when a bird was caught in one of its engines, but no one was injured, Russian news agencies said.
The Airbus 319 was to travel to Zurich with 123 passengers and seven crew members, but turned around and landed at Pulkovo airport because of an engine problem.
"After the plane's takeoff at 3 p.m. (1200 GMT), the crew informed authorities that there were vibrations in an engine," an official said.
"Checks revealed that the vibrations were caused by the presence of a bird in one of the engines." (AFP)
Mehmet Ali Agca offered deals
Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to kill late Pope John Paul II, has received several book, film and documentary offers from abroad, which he will consider after his release from prison this month, his lawyer said yesterday.
Haci Ali Ozhan told the Anatolia news agency the offers came from "important publishers and film-makers from several countries, including European countries and the US", adding Mr Agca, "will examine the offers in detail after his release on January 18 and make a decision after meeting officials from the companies".
The lawyer said his client was "in good health both physically and psychologically" after nearly three decades behind bars.
"He is planning to get married and will be looking for a fiancee," Mr Ozhan added.
Mr Agca, 51, shot and wounded Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City in 1981. (AFP)
'Postie' couple deserve a pat
A pair of plucky posties have refused to be beaten by the freezing weather gripping the country.
Husband and wife team Peter and Jill Garton have continued their rounds despite snow, ice and freezing temperatures. The keen couple have even been using a sledge to make sure their customers in Ingham, Lincolnshire, get their mail.
Peter, 51, and Jill, 49, met on the job and even had a "postie" wedding in their uniform. (PA)
Italian gives birth to sextuplets
A 30-year-old Italian woman gave birth to four baby girls and two boys yesterday, the largest multiple birth in Italy since 2003.
The mother and babies all are in good health following the caesarian birth in the southern city of Benevento, near Naples, Italian news agencies reported.
However, the children were born after just 29 weeks of pregnancy and weigh between 610 and 800 gramme s.All are on assisted breathing apparatus.
Doctors said the multiple birth probably was due to fertility treatment taken by the woman, and not due to in vitro fertilisation. (Reuters)
New leukemia gene risk factors
Researchers have found four new genetic variants that increase the risk of contracting one of the major forms of leukemia, confirming that risk factors for the fatal blood cancer can be inherited.
The findings mean scientists now know of 10 genetic variants associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The four new genetic factors are all common in European populations and each factor contributes to an increase in the risk of the disease.
CLL is the most common type of leukemia in adults, accounting for around 30 to 40 per cent of all forms of leukemia in Western countries. Most of those diagnosed are over the age of 55, and while the incidence of CLL is broadly equal in black and white populations, the disease is rare among Asians. (Reuters)
Strike a pose!
A Pakistan hockey player and two national team officials have been fined after pictures emerged of them hugging a woman and drinking alcohol.
They were fined by the Pakistani Parliament for the un-Islamic pose after the pictures were circulated in Argentina.
Men hugging women in public is frowned upon in Pakistan and drinking alcohol is illegal for Muslims. (PA)
Stranded workers shelter in temple
Dozens of Indian labourers have been forced to take refuge in Kabul's Sikh temple after job agents who promised lucrative jobs in the unstable capital disappeared, leaving the men penniless and without passports.
Around 200 stranded men were crowded into the Karte Parwan Gurdwara, the centre of Afghanistan's small Sikh community, last month. Many flew home after their families scraped together funds for flights and travel documents, but over 30 are still stuck.
Diplomats helped arrange for the men stuck in Afghanistan to stay at the Gurdwara. Sikh temples traditionally have a free food kitchen attached.
A mix of men from Rajasthan, Mahrashtra, Andhra Pradesh and other Indian states now spend most of the day huddled round a brazier or dozing under blankets waiting for rescue. (Reuters)
Saddam town turned down
The mayor of a provincial Jordanian town has dropped plans to name a new neighbourhood after Saddam Hussein.
Mohammed Sarayrah says several hundred residents of Mazar in southwestern Jordan had applied to name the neighbourhood on the edge of the town after the former Iraqi dictator.
The number was large enough to grant the request, he added.
However, Mr Sarayrah said Jordan's central government, under pressure from Kuwait and Iraq, demanded that he drops the plans to name the area after Saddam, who was executed by hanging in 2006. (PA)