ALBERT LEA - Two teenage girls who worked at a nursing home have been charged with abuse, accused of taunting, spitting on and groping the breasts and genitals of residents who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and other dementia disorders.

According to the criminal complaint, filed on Monday, 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson laughed earlier this year as they spat in residents' mouths, poked and grabbed them, and at times mocked them until they screamed.

LONDON - A BRITISH mother was found guilty on Thursday of kidnapping her own nine-year-old daughter, allegedly to scoop the reward money when the girl was found.

The disappearance of Shannon Matthews prompted one of the biggest searches in British history, costing over three million pounds (S$6.6 million), but she was found safely 24 days later in the base of a divan bed at the flat of Michael Donovan.

MOSCOW - PRIME Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday ruled out early presidential elections, saying the next presidential ballot in Russia would be held as scheduled in 2012.

'The next presidential election will take place in 2012.... For now, everyone must fulfil his duties in his place,' Mr Putin said, responding to a question on speculation he was planning an early return to the Kremlin.