USA: A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the line at a drive-through restaurant.

Three teenage girls trick-or-treating in costume have been hit by a vehicle and killed while on a pedestrian crossing at junction in southern California.

A survivalist accused of ambushing two state troopers, killing one and seriously wounding the other, was captured by US marshals near an abandoned aeroplane hangar.

Canadian police have said they hope the laying of child pornography charges against two teenagers in the Rehtaeh Parsons case will begin to ease the pain stemming from the 17-year-old girl’s death.

Police in Canada have made two arrests in the case of a 17-year-old who died after a photo of her allegedly being sexually assaulted was shared online.

Police shot dead a gunman who held four firefighters hostage for hours in a Georgia home.

A safety supervisor on a gun range where a Cork-born soldier died during a training exercise has refused to tell an inquest about events on the fateful day because of possible further legal proceedings.

An Irishman serving with the British Army was shot and killed by a single machine gun bullet to the head at a non-combat zone within an army training range, an inquest heard.

Businessman Don Tidey has paid tribute to a fallen soldier who made the “supreme sacrifice” while assisting in his rescue from a gang of Provisional IRA kidnappers almost 30 years ago.

Bereaved families of three Irish soldiers killed by a landmine in Lebanon 22 years ago said they have finally been vindicated.

THE families of three murdered soldiers have welcomed the prompt delivery of a independent report into the circumstances which led to their deaths 22 years ago.

A YOUNG solider bound for Lebanon revealed she can hardly wait to follow in her father’s footsteps and serve overseas.

Canadian fighter jets escorted a Cathay Pacific plane from Hong Kong to a safe landing in Vancouver International Airport following a bomb threat.

The ambulance crew that responded after golfer Tiger Woods crashed his sport utility vehicle would not allow his wife to ride with him to the hospital because they suspected domestic violence, documents released by the Florida Highway Patrol show.

A MISSOURI man and his four sons were charged with the ritualistic sexual abuse of his six grandchildren and police were yesterday searching the family farm for bodies that may be buried there.

The US Coastguard said one of its planes collided with a military helicopter off the Southern California coast early today.

VETERANS honouring the return of a British soldier killed in Afghanistan during the rescue of a kidnapped Irish journalist questioned the mission yesterday, as crowds lined the streets in tribute.

Iraqi detainee Baha Mousa was subjected to interrogation tactics branded illegal by the Government's chief law adviser more than 30 years before, an inquiry was told today.

British soldiers made Iraqi prisoners scream in an "orchestrated choir" and forced one to dance like Michael Jackson, an inquiry heard today.

The prime suspect for the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four people and injured 20 others will appear in a Canadian court today.

THE family of an Irish soldier found shot dead inside a secure base in Afghanistan last September are “upset” at a US Army finding that she committed suicide.

THE families of four Air Corps men killed in a helicopter crash will today be awarded distinguished service medals, nine years after the crew lost their lives during a rescue mission.

The nationwide manhunt for a US Marine wanted over the brutal killing of a 20-year-old pregnant colleague who had accused him of rape focused on Louisiana and Texas today, after he was apparently seen catching a bus.

At least six people found dead in a flat in a Vancouver suburb appear to have been targeted in a deliberate attack, police say.

AT LEAST six people found dead in a flat in a Vancouver suburb appear to have been targeted in a deliberate attack, police say.

At least six people who were found dead in an apartment in a Vancouver suburb appear to have been targeted in a deliberate attack, police said today.

At least six people have been found dead in an apartment in Vancouver, police said.

A military court acquitted a US Army officer of failing to control lower-ranking soldiers who humiliated and abused detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq during the autumn of 2003.

A jury sentenced a US Marine corporal today to time served and reduced his rank to private for conspiring to murder an Iraqi civilian during a frustrated search for an insurgent.

An elementary school in Southlake, Texas, was evacuated for more than an hour this morning after a fourth-grader showed up with a hand grenade, authorities said.

The only US military officer charged with a crime in the Abu Ghraib jail abuse scandal will be court-martialled on eight charges, including cruelty and maltreatment of prisoners.

The Egyptian official negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap plans to deliver to Israel today a Hamas demand that Israel free 1,400 detainees in exchange for a soldier held since June, Palestinian officials said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today said he hoped to revive long-stalled peace efforts with the Palestinians, saying that they would be able to achieve an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through talks with Israel.

FIRE crews yesterday struggled to protect homes from a wind-whipped wildfire that trapped and killed four firefighters in a wall of flames as it raced across almost 38 square miles in southern California.

A US Navy medic has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his part in the killing of an Iraqi civilian.

THE US has put forward plans to deploy international observers at the main cargo crossing between Israel and Gaza to prevent repeated security closures of Gaza’s economic lifeline.

The US proposes deploying international observers at the main cargo crossing between Israel and Gaza to prevent repeated security closures of Gaza’s economic lifeline, Palestinian and Israeli officials said today.

A Canadian soldier and 10 militants were killed today in fierce fighting near an opium-rich Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan, the military said.

Acting on behalf of Arab nations, Qatar circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution today demanding Israel end its offensive in the Gaza Strip and release the Palestinian officials it has arrested.

The father of a captured Israeli soldier today called on the government to consider releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for his son, despite the government’s refusal to negotiate with the captors.

Palestinian militants have agreed to a conditional release of the kidnapped Israeli soldier, but Israel has not yet accepted their terms, according to Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

A US Marine who appeared in a video singing about killing Iraqis has apologised, saying he wrote the song as a "joke".

Three Canadian boys barely into their teens are suspected of robbing seven bank over six weeks, handing the cashier a note in each case and using the Vancouver’s elevated train to make their getaway.