WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama said on Wednesday he was optimistic that the G-20 meeting on the global economic crisis would succeed and called for global coordination on regulation the finance industry.

'I am actually optimistic about the prospects - everybody understands, we are in this together,' Mr Obama said as he met Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

SAMSON (Alabama) - A US gunman mowed down at least 10 people, including his grandparents and other relatives, in a deadly rampage in southern Alabama before turning the gun on himself, officials said Wednesday.

Michael McLendon, 27, left a trail of dead and wounded across two rural counties and three towns during Tuesday's shooting spree before killing himself after being cornered by police in a factory where he had worked.

THE National Heritage Board (NHB) is all set to jazz up activities and exhibits at the Malay Heritage Centre at Sultan Gate in Kampong Glam, the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in Tai Gin Road and the upcoming Indian Heritage Centre in the heart of Little India.

A new division, the Heritage Institutions Division, has been set up to assist in key areas like curation, programming, marketing and promotions and operations at these three community heritage institutions.

FRANKFURT - GERMAN industrial output tumbled in January as Europe's biggest economy and major exporter was pummelled by the global downturn, official figures showed on Wednesday.

Industrial orders in January fell 8.0 per cent from the previous month, according to an initial estimate from the economy ministry, accelerating from a downwardly revised 7.6 per cent in December.