The worst flooding in 120 years in Russia’s Far East has forced about 20,000 people from their homes along with two captive brown bears which were airlifted to safety.

A private Chinese company plans to build the country’s first oil pipeline to Russia, state media said today, underscoring growing Chinese interest in tapping Siberian petroleum resources.

RUSSIA confirmed its first case of SARS on the border with China yesterday in a major embarrassment for visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao as he tried to convince the world his country can contain the disease.

A Russian cadmitted to a hospital in a city on the Chinese border was formally diagnosed with SARS today, becoming the country’s first official case.