North Korea claimed it carried out a provocative underground nuclear test today in the escalating international stand-off over its rogue nuclear and missile programmes.

An accident aboard a nuclear-powered Russian submarine in the Pacific Ocean killed more than 20 people, the navy said today.

SEARCH crews blasted through solid rock to rescue 11 of 13 coal miners who emerged covered in soot yesterday after six days trapped in a deep shaft in southern Russia.

Eleven coal miners who were trapped in a deep shaft in southern Russia for six days emerged alive today after rescuers had worked around the clock to blast a tunnel through solid rock.

A former traffic police officer killed four people when he opened fire in front of a bar in the Russian Far East.