Confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik testified yesterday that he had planned to capture and decapitate former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland during his shooting massacre on Utoya island.

A lay judge in the trial of confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was dismissed today for commenting online that the anti-Muslim extremist deserves the death penalty.

The right-wing fanatic accused of murdering 77 people during a devastating bomb and gun attack in Norway last summer is expected to take the stand on the second day of his trial.

Right-wing fanatic Anders Breivik went on trial today over the murders of 77 people in a case that will decide whether he is evil or insane.

The right-wing fanatic responsible for the bomb-and-shooting massacre that killed 77 people in Norway has admitted to the “acts” in court but pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, saying he was acting in self-defence.

The right-wing fanatic who confessed to killing 77 people in a bomb and shooting massacre in Norway went on trial today, defiantly rejecting the authority of the court.

THE right-wing extremist who killed dozens of teenagers in Norway told police he had originally planned to execute leading Labour Party politicians whom he viewed as traitors.

THE man who killed 77 people in a bomb attack and shooting spree in Norway maintains he acted alone and stayed silent when pressed about potential associates in a 10-hour interrogation, police said.

A Norwegian prosecutor says he is concerned that the man who has confessed to killing 77 people is declining to give information that could determine if he had accomplices.

Norway’s prime minister today said fighting climate change would be a priority in his second term after his left-leaning government beat a splintered opposition to win re-election.

Nelson Mandela has celebrated his 89th birthday today with a star-studded football match and the launch of a humanitarian campaign, joined by former US President Jimmy Carter, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other elders of the global village.

Human rights must be given full and proper consideration in the drawing up of health policies, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commissioner claimed today.

THE European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, David Byrne has been honoured by the World Health Organisation for his outstanding work on tobacco control.

THE SARS threat could be over within months, but countries must remain vigilant to prevent the disease from resurfacing and combat other possible future epidemics, World Health Organisation officials said yesterday.

A TOTAL of 28 countries from around the world, plus the European Commission, lined up yesterday to endorse a landmark global anti-smoking treaty on the first day it was open for signature.

The SARS threat could be over within months, but countries must remain vigilant to prevent the disease from resurfacing and combat other possible future epidemics, World Health Organisation officials said today.

The fight against SARS in Hong Kong took two big steps forward today as the World Health Organisation lifted a travel warning and local researchers said they found the virus in civet cats that appear to have spread it to humans.

The UN health agency has lifted its advisory against travel to Hong Kong and the Chinese province of Guangdong that was imposed because of the outbreak of SARS.

The World Health Organisation has adopted a treaty aimed at cutting the number of smoking-related deaths.

GOVERNMENTS worldwide must do more to work together in the fight against SARS, the head of the UN health agency said yesterday, as delegates gathered for the WHO's annual meeting, wearing badges to show they have been screened for the virus.

Health officials are warning that SARS has not yet peaked in China where it began, as countries around the world work to deny the virus a toehold in their territory.

EUROPEAN Union health ministers have backed away from a proposal to screen travellers from areas affected by the SARS virus after taking advice from a senior UN health official.

The head of the World Health Organisation told European health ministers today to remain vigilant, predicting the deadly SARS virus had “not seen a peak” in China yet.

THE World Health Organisation said last night it was lifting its warning against unnecessary travel to Toronto less than a week after it was imposed amid fears over the spread of the SARS virus.

UN HEALTH chiefs yesterday said the worst of the SARS outbreak appeared to be over in Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada, while Vietnam has become the first country to contain the highly infectious disease.

The worst of the Sars outbreak appears to be over in Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada, but the deadly virus is still spreading in China, the UN’s World Health Organisation warned today.

UN health officials today said Vietnam was the first country to have successfully contained SARS, and said there was still time to stop the deadly virus spreading much further.

The World Health Organisation today declared that Vietnam the world’s first country to contain the deadly SARS bug.

A World Health organisation spokesman today confirmed that the agency is reconsidering the travel warning it issued last week for Toronto, Canada’s largest city, due to Sars.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) today accepted a leading scientist’s findings that the Sars bug, which is causing panic worldwide, is more deadly than first thought.

Elton John and American singer-songwriter Billy Joel have called off their joint concert in Toronto following the alert over the Sars virus, it emerged today.

PEOPLE must eat more fruit and vegetables, cut down on fats and exercise daily to avoid diseases that kill more than 30 million annually, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned yesterday.

Deaths worldwide from severe acute respiratory syndrome reached at least 100 today, as the main casualty China revealed that fatalities have been much more widespread than it had previously reported.

A little-known South Korean tuberculosis expert was today elected to head the United Nations health agency.

THE number of people living with HIV/AIDS around the world is now well over 40 million, figures released yesterday reveal.

THERE are 170 million underweight children in the world while more than one billion adults are overweight or obese, a new report said today.

The head of the World Health Organisation, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, said today she had decided not to stand for a second term in office.

As international diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan gather momentum, UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson said a prominent role for women should be a priority when a new government is formed.

A new round of negotiations on an international tobacco-control treaty opened today amid fears by health campaigners that it will be too weak to prevent cigarette-related deaths rising to 10 million a year by 2030.