1. There can be little doubt that the military had pop–ular support in moving into remove squabbling andineffective politicians.

2. It said in a statement that it had acquired 52.1 percent of the Russian bank and that it had also raised its interest in Kazakh pension fund Ular Umit to 4'.35 percent from 41.18 percent. (Reuters) Turbine Maker Offers Shares Turbine maker Power Machines has priced a secondary public offering of shares at 4.6' rubles (18.4 cents) per share, a shareholder said Thursday.

3. Visit: Pope Benedict Headlines Christmas party fears as firms could be sued over drunken staff Grade quits BBC for 8m ITV deal British troops ‘showed off about abusing Iraqis‘ Spy poisoning: Eight people undergoing tests at specialist clinic Sniffer bees set to snare suicide bombers Loch Ness monster beats Brown to be voted most famous Scot Jail for legless driver in 80mph police chase ‘Hitler‘s‘ rare race–car set to fetch 6million at auction Mass clean–up after tornado rips through village Controversial scientist predicts planetary wipeout Teacher denies sex assault on eight–year–old pupil Families face 1,500 average council tax bill warn Tories Blair ‘not invited to Chirac‘s party‘ Tube–ular bells tops travellers‘ chill–out chart NEWS HOMEPAGE The Pope met with Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan when he landed in Ankara just after 1pm local time today.

4. Snow leopards blend into their surroundings Headlines Christmas party fears as firms could be sued over drunken staff Grade quits BBC for 8m ITV deal British troops ‘showed off about abusing Iraqis‘ Spy poisoning: Eight people undergoing tests at specialist clinic Sniffer bees set to snare suicide bombers Loch Ness monster beats Brown to be voted most famous Scot Jail for legless driver in 80mph police chase ‘Hitler‘s‘ rare race–car set to fetch 6million at auction Mass clean–up after tornado rips through village Controversial scientist predicts planetary wipeout Teacher denies sex assault on eight–year–old pupil Families face 1,500 average council tax bill warn Tories Blair ‘not invited to Chirac‘s party‘ Tube–ular bells tops travellers‘ chill–out chart NEWS HOMEPAGE Conservationists in Pakistan have attached a satellite tracking collar to a snow leopard with the aim of gathering crucial information for efforts to save the endangered big cats.

5. Islamic cleric Abu Hamza: It was ‘unfair and oppressive‘ to put him on trial Headlines Christmas party fears as firms could be sued over drunken staff Grade quits BBC for 8m ITV deal British troops ‘showed off about abusing Iraqis‘ Spy poisoning: Eight people undergoing tests at specialist clinic Sniffer bees set to snare suicide bombers Loch Ness monster beats Brown to be voted most famous Scot Jail for legless driver in 80mph police chase ‘Hitler‘s‘ rare race–car set to fetch 6million at auction Mass clean–up after tornado rips through village Controversial scientist predicts planetary wipeout Teacher denies sex assault on eight–year–old pupil Families face 1,500 average council tax bill warn Tories Blair ‘not invited to Chirac‘s party‘ Tube–ular bells tops travellers‘ chill–out chart NEWS HOMEPAGE Radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza has lost his appeal against his convictions for incitement to murder and race–hate offences.