Air force helicopters today resumed drops of urgently-needed relief supplies to the survivors of the weekend earthquake in inaccessible areas of Indian Kashmir, after nearly 12 hours of disruption caused by torrential rains and snow.

When expectant Palestinian mother Safra Hassan went into labour this morning, she told her husband, Rafiq, she wanted to call the child Yasser, after Yasser Arafat.

A British Telecom manager has admitted swindling wealthy New Yorkers by promising an inside track to buy shares in internet firm Google and blew £230,000 (€338,000) of their money on opulent hotels, top restaurants and gambling.