Iraq bomb kills police recruits
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At least 25 people have been killed and more than 40 others injured in a suicide bomb attack in the Iraqi province of Diyala, police say.
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The bomber attacked a queue of police recruits in the town of Jalawlah, just before midday local time (0900 GMT).
This is the latest in a series of attacks, launched mainly by Sunni Islamists in Diyala.
Last month, Iraqi forces detained hundreds of people in the province in operations against Sunni insurgents.
Stopped by police
The suicide bomber ran into a crowd of young Iraqis outside a police recruitment centre in the town of Jalawlah before detonating an explosive vest, according to local police.
The attacker is reported to have arrived at the recruitment centre by car, where his vehicle was stopped by police.
However, he is reported to have jumped out of the car and run into the crowd of recruits.
Diyala has emerged as one of Iraq's most dangerous regions.
Groups in the province linked to al-Qaeda regularly attack members of Sunni "Awakening" groups - former insurgents who have turned against al-Qaeda and which are supported and financed by the US military.
BBC News
Dollar increases against the euro
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The dollar has climbed back to a six-month high against the euro, as continuing fears about the European economy hit the single currency.
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With a key German business sentiment survey posting its worst reading in three years, the euro fell as low as $1.4571 in Tuesday trading.
Data showing that the German economy contracted from April to June, also increased European recession fears.
Meanwhile, the pound fell to $1.8331, its lowest point since July 2006.
Deteriorating outlook
The US currency has benefited as the economic outlook has darkened in both mainland Europe and the UK.
Investment guru Warren Buffett said last week that he had no bets against the dollar - underscoring the currency's strength. The fall in the euro and sterling could help European exporters whose goods will now be cheaper overseas.
But it will hurt holidaymakers who have benefited from a strong pound when travelling to countries which use the dollar.
While the dollar resumed its rises on Tuesday, oil prices fell.
US light crude was down 67 cents to $114.44, while London's Brent fell 64 cents to $113.39.
BBC News
Priest Cancels Nun Beauty Contest!
Priest cancels nun beauty contest
An Italian priest who said he wanted to hold the world's first beauty contest for nuns has decided to cancel the project, saying he was misunderstood.
Antonio Rungi said he had never intended to put sisters on the catwalk, but had wanted to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.
He had wanted to hold the contest online on his internet blog.
Father Rungi said he changed his mind after the local religious authorities expressed their displeasure.
"My superiors were not happy. The local bishop was not happy, but they did not understand me either," Father Rungi told Reuters news agency from the town of Mondragone, near Naples.
"It was interpreted as more of a physical thing," he said. "Now, no one is saying that nuns can't be beautiful, but I was thinking about something more complete."
He said he had intended to showcase the good works that nuns do, especially in education and health care, so as to boost interest in religious vocations.
"We have to draw more attention to the world of nuns, who are often not sufficiently appreciated by society," he wrote in his blog.
"Nuns are - above all - women, and beauty is a gift from God," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper before he cancelled the project.
He had wanted nuns to send their photos to him, so that internet users could then choose the winner.
Father Rungi said the idea of the contest had been put to him by nuns themselves.
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Provided by-bbc.com
Old Women Goes Down Baggage Chute!
STOCKHOLM (AFP) - An elderly woman misunderstood instructions while checking in at Sweden's main airport and was whisked down a baggage shoot after she placed herself instead of her luggage on the belt, media reported Wednesday.
The 78-year-old woman, who was not named, was preparing to fly from Stockholm's Arlanda airport to Germany on Tuesday when she lay down on an unmanned baggage belt in the belief she was following check-in instructions, the Upsala Nya Tidning local daily reported on its website.
She was quickly swept off to the baggage handling centre, where staff members helped get her back on her feet.
The woman suffered no serious injury and caught her flight as planned.
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Source-Yahoo.com
Tourist plane makes emergency landing in Portugal
A Thomas Cook Boeing 757 taking British holidaymakers to Spain's Canary Islands on Wednesday made an emergency landing in Faro, southern Portugal, airport sources said.
The sources described the landing as a part of "normal airport activity," saying it was usual for captains to land at the nearest airport when facing an "unforeseen situation."
The plane was carrying 210 passengers who had boarded it in London.
The emergency landing occurred one week after a Spanair plane en route to the Canaries crashed in the Spanish capital Madrid, killing 154 people
-topnews.in
Australian Hurdler Banned For Life!
Vienna - Former hurdler Elmar Lichtenegger was banned for life Wednesday by the Austrian athletics federation for a second positive doping test.
The ban will apply to all international and national sport, the federation ruled.
Lichtenegger, 34, retired from athletics in December last year a few days after testing positive for the banned substance Norandrosteron, a metabolite of the anabolic steroid Nandrolone.
He had been banned for 15 months in 2003/2004 for a similar doping offence. In both cases, Lichtenegger blamed tainted food supplements for the positive result.
Lichtenegger was a silver medallist in the 110-metre hurdles at the 2002 European indoor championships.
-Topnews.in
Malta fears 71 migrants drowned
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As many as 71 African migrants drowned after their boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea, eight of their companions have told Maltese police.
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The survivors were rescued by a fishing vessel from a semi-submerged dinghy about 70km (40 miles) off Malta, then handed over to a Maltese military boat.
The ship and a military aircraft searched the area for other survivors but none were found, the police said.
Malta - the smallest EU member state - is a leading destination for migrants.
More than 1,000 have managed to reach the island so far this year, mainly from Libya and North Africa. On Sunday, more than 100 were brought ashore in two separate operations off the Maltese coast.
The last major loss of life off Malta's coast came in May 2007, when a small boat adrift went missing with at least 53 migrants on board.
"Notwithstanding that they know about [previous] tragedies, these desperate people still try and make the journey to Europe," Neil Falzon, a representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Malta, told the AFP news agency.
Mr Falzon said that if the number of fatalities was confirmed, it would serve to highlight "the need for assistance to these people".
In June, the European Parliament passed a controversial set of EU rules for dealing with illegal migrants, which allow those caught to be detained for up to 18 months and face a five-year re-entry ban.
Lawmakers backed the measures by a large majority despite opposition from many Socialist and Green parties, and condemnation from human rights groups.
BBC News
