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On Monday, five people were injured after a Boeing 737-400, operated by Adam Air, overshot the runway today while landing at Hang Nadim Airport on the island of Batam in Indonesia. The aircraft skidded 75 metres (245 feet) into a grassy field after touching down in rainy conditions. Damage was done to the right wing, hydraulics and main landing gear. The plane came to rest with the nose in the air and leaning towards the right. Of the 176 passengers (one source says 174) and crew on board, five passengers required treatment for neck and head

An Algerian rebel group that has pledged its allegiance to Al-Qaeda announced on Monday that it had kidnapped two Austrians vacationing in Tunisia on February 22, 2008. The statement was read by Salah Abou-Mohammad, a spokesman for the Islamist group which last January announced it was redefining itself as "Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb". "A squadron of heroic mujahideen was able to infiltrate deep into the Tunisian state and succeeded in kidnapping two Austrian tourists," Abou-Mohammed said. "The two kidnapped are in good hea

The Toronto Police service have announced the results of a five-week undercover operation against Canadian drug traffickers that ended Monday in the city's Bloorcourt, Bloordale, Parkdale and Alexandra Park regions. In total, 96 people were arrested, most of whom lived outside the neighbourhoods affected. Nearly half were free on probation or bail at the time of their arrests, and two men were charged with assaulting a police officer while resisting arrest. Despite the large number of arrests, police seized only $31,800 worth of cocaine, $80

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has described President Bush's veto of CIA waterboarding ban as, among other things, "a brazen move signaling a callous disregard for human rights." The executive director of the ACLU, Anthony Romero, said that "it is fundamentally un-American when our president vetoes laws against torture." Romero believes "the president's veto sends a message to the world that despite Congress' actions, our country will continue to engage in this inhumane and heinous conduct when we should be affirming unequivocally a

Space Shuttle Endeavour successfully launched this morning from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, on mission STS-123 to assemble the International Space Station (ISS). Lift-off occurred at 06:28:14 UTC (02:28 local time). On board was a crew of seven astronauts; Mission Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Gregory Johnson, Robert Behnken, Michael Foreman, Richard Linnehan, Takao Doi and Garrett Reisman. All except Reisman will return to Earth aboard Endeavour in two week's time. Reisman, a member of the ISS Expedition 16 and 17 crews,

The 3rd Stage of 2008 Tour de Taiwan was held today in Changhua County - the long-distance circulation. This race started at Baguashan, along County Route 19 through two townships including Tienwei and Yuanlin, and finally entered the climbing stage near the Arch of Baguashan. The route challenged cyclists' speed in the climbing stage, and many consider the Changhua County part of the race, the hardest of the tournament. In this race, Tomoya Kano and Shinichi Fukushima sprinted for the leading advantage with four other cyclists, but after ent

Michael Todd, chief of Greater Manchester Police, has been found dead in North Wales. It has been reported that he was found at the bottom of a cliff with letters found nearby, either on his body or in his car, which were addressed to family and friends, although this has not been confirmed. The discovery comes after an extensive search by mountain rescue teams, following Todd's unexpected absence. According to GMP, the chief Constable had been on a walking trip, which was not uncommon, however when he failed to return the alarm was raised. S

Indonesian budget carrier Adam Air has been warned by Indonesia's transport minister that unless the airline improves safety it will be shut down. Adam Air has suffered a string of recent accidents. "We are giving them a chance to improve. If there's no change, we will place them in the third category," said Transport Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal, according to the state's Antara news agency. The third category refers to the lowest a three-category ratings system for airline safety introduced last year. Airlines in the third category will be s

There were 3 games played in the National Hockey League on March 10, 2008. Game summaries New York Rangers @ Buffalo Sabres Jason Pominville scored the first goal for the Sabres, putting them up 1-0 just 16 seconds into the game. Just over a minute later, the Rangers tied up the score when Fedor Tyutin scored. In the second period, the Rangers took the lead when Jaromir Jagr scored his 18th of the season, his 639th of his career. Thomas Vanek tied the score with a power play goal 14:14 into the second period. The game remained a 2-2 tie t

The elections in Malaysia have resulted in gains by opposition parties. The ruling Barisan National (BN) Coalition's fraction has fallen below two thirds (The requisite supermajority to amend the constitution), while still maintaining an absolute majority to mass its legislation. The elections, held on the March 8, were for the Parliament of Malaysia and all the state legislatures, except that of Sarawak. Opposition parties defeated the BN in five of the thirteen state legislatures, up from one in the 2004 elections. A number of commentators

2008 Tour de Taiwan, with 7 different divisions and 8 stages, started yesterday at Love River of Kaohsiung City as its first stage. Not only a site event named "Walking in the Love River for World Games 2009" (in Chinese: 愛河健走，世運加油) was held to support the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung City, but also a damn hot weather challenged for cyclists' physical strength. In the starting of the 3rd lap, there was a sudden blow sound near the 50m flag. According to some witnesses, a cyclist from Health Net Pro Cycling Team was forced to quit this race be

In the 2008 Spanish general election held on Sunday, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) has emerged as the winner for the second election in a row, edging out the more conservative People's Party in a vote characterized by fears of a faltering economy and militant separatists. With 93 percent of ballots counted, the Socialists, led by incumbent Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, had 43.8 percent of the vote, while the People's Party, headed by former Interior Minister Mariano Rajoy, had 40.2 percent. The Socialists are pro