A passenger train derailed between Moscow and St Petersburg late yesterday and Russian news agencies reported there were deaths.
The federal Investigative Committee said the three rear cars of an express train from Moscow to St Petersburg went off the tracks in Novgorod province.
Russian news agencies cited unidentified officials as saying a small crater was found at the site of the wreck, sparking speculation that it could have been caused by a bomb.
Russian news agency reports later said 10 people had been killed and 130 injured. (PA)
Million dollar kids
An Australian study has found that the average child now costs $1 million (US$917,000) to raise.
A study on Generation Z and the cost of parenting by social analyst Mark McCrindle found a government estimate that it cost $384,543 to raise a child to 18, did not include private education, holidays or "non-essential" items. It also assumed that children would leave home at 18 but this was no longer the case with Generation Z, those born after 1995, as the costs of accommodation and bills were a deterrent to moving out.
"In today's Australian families the majority of young people stay in the parental home and rely on their parents... until their mid-20s. So the cost per household to raise children to age 24 is $834,000," the McCrindle report said, adding that one had to add the "non-essential" yet "usual" child rearing expenses such as toys, holidays and travel, dining and entertainment, education, sport and activities, furniture and household equipment dedicated to the children's use. This boosted costs by another $3,000 per child per year taking the total parental cost to raise the average number of children (2.7) in Australia to $1,028,093. (Reuters)
Mineshaft miracle
A cocker spaniel named Nell fell 80ft down a mineshaft and escaped unscathed, the RSPCA has said.
The four-year-old spent two days at the bottom of the mineshaft in Dyserth, near Colwyn Bay, North Wales, after she went missing during her morning walk.
Nell's owner, Peter Bell, spent two days searching for her and it was not until he had heard about disused mineshafts in the area that he managed to find his beloved pet. Five RSPCA officers were drafted in to help before animal welfare officer Mark Roberts was lowered into the mineshaft by rope to rescue the dog. (PA)
London's tartan
A competition to design the first tartan for London will be launched on St Andrew's Day.
Londoners will be asked to create a pattern that reflects the cityscape of the capital, perhaps using the pillar box red of the city's buses, or blue to represent the Thames.
Harry Potter star Robbie Coltrane and Scottish poet Jackie Kay MBE will help judge the entries. (PA)
'Don't turn churches into nightclubs'
The Vatican yesterday warned Italy's bishops against letting deserted churches be transformed into nightclubs if the decision was taken to sell the places of worship.
Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican's new culture commissar, urged "the greatest caution" after announcing that Roman Catholic churches with few worshippers could be sold off.
He gave the example of a church in Hungary which was "transformed into a nightclub and where striptease took place on the altar."
The Archbishop, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said dwindling numbers of worshippers at some churches meant it now made sense to sell, or even destroy, the buildings.
Italian bishops' groups would be responsible for deciding whether the sites should be sold, said Archbishop Ravasi. (AFP)
Students try to poison teacher
Three teenagers have been charged with trying to poison their teacher in class.
Police in Massachusetts said they tried to get her to drink some type of cleaning solution by hiding it in her water bottle.
The two 13-year-olds and a 12-year-old were foiled when she noticed it had an unusual smell. (PA)
Slap election
Romania's president Traian Basescu, who is facing re-election, has denied hitting a boy during a rally after footage of the incident was broadcast.
It appeared to show Mr Basescu hitting the 10-year-old boy in the face during an election rally in 2004. He was not president then.
He initially said he did not recall the incident. Three hours later he denied he had ever hit any child, his own daughters or his wife. (PA)
Boys in boot
A man put his two young sons in the boot of his car while he ran an errand.
Michael Monahan locked the three-year-old and six-year-old in his Pontiac Trans Am for several minutes while he went inside a sailing shop in Fall River, Massachusetts.
He has been charged with assault and reckless endangerment of a child. (PA)