KUALA LUMPUR - AIRLINES around the world are banding together to build scale and tap into growth regions as the global economic crisis shrinks demand for air travel and causes billions of dollars in losses.

Singapore Airlines, the world's leading carrier by market value, is still eyeing acquisitions in China and India, where demand for air travel is seen growing in coming years as consumers start to have more disposable income.

LONDON - BRITISH Prime Minister Gordon Brown faces a potential challenge to his leadership on Monday after support for his ruling Labour Party plunged to its lowest level in a century in European elections.

The slump in Labour votes, which followed a dismal performance in local government elections last week, helped the far-right British National Party win two seats in the European Parliament, the first time it has been represented there.

WASHINGTON - US PRESIDENT Barack Obama is 'deeply concerned' over the sentencing of two US journalists by North Korea and his government is using 'all possible channels' to obtain their release, The White House said early on Monday.

'The president is deeply concerned by the reported sentencing of the two American citizen journalists by North Korean authorities, and we are engaged through all possible channels to secure their release,' White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters.

RECIFE (Brazil) - BRAZILIAN military authorities say search boats scouring the Atlantic Ocean have now recovered 17 bodies of passengers on a doomed Air France flight that crashed a week ago.

Bodies recovered on Sunday raised the total to 17, after pilots in a grid search found 15 corpses about 45 miles (70 kilometres) from where the jet sent out messages signalling electrical failures and loss of cabin pressure.