LORRY drivers joined by farmers on tractors deliberately drove slowly along busy British motorways over the weekend in protest at plans to increase the tax on fuel.

Former government minister Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi has won Mauritania’s landmark presidential election with 53% of the vote, officials said today.

A US airliner bound for India was diverted to Amsterdam under escort of two Dutch F-16 jet fighters, after air marshals and the crew grew suspicious of several passengers they saw exchanging mobile phones as the plane was taking off.

The Northwestern Health Board says a patient has been isolated since the weekend with symptoms similar to the World Health Organisation's definition of the SARS virus.