Fire kills two children in East Siberia
// Dec. 26, 2008 - 05:57 GMT
Death toll in Ukrainian apartment blast climbs to 24
The death toll from a gas explosion in an apartment building in southern Ukraine has risen to 24, the Vesti 24 TV channel reported on Friday, citing the Ukrainian emergencies ministry.
// Dec. 26, 2008 - 06:02 GMT
Nine injured, 30,000 evacuated in Chinese quake
Nine people were injured on Friday when a magnitude 4.9 earthquake hit southern China, causing 30,000 inhabitants to be evacuated, the Sina news website reported.
// Dec. 26, 2008 - 06:15 GMT
Russia's narrow monetary base up $1.1 bln to $147.5 bln in week
Russia's narrowly-defined monetary base stood at 4,225 billion rubles ($147.5 billion) as of December 22, up 32.2 billion rubles ($1.1 billion) in the week from December 15, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) said Friday.
// Dec. 26, 2008 - 07:19 GMT
Jobless divorcee dressed as Santa kills 8, self in California
An unemployed man dressed as Santa Claus killed at least eight people at a party at his ex-mother-in-law's house near Los Angeles, according to local police and media reports.
// Dec. 26, 2008 - 07:26 GMT
Chinese ships leave for anti-piracy mission off Somalia
A Chinese naval task force left a military base in the southern city of Sanya on Friday to take part in international efforts to combat Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
// Dec. 26, 2008 - 07:46 GMT