Four-year-old male Wang Wang and 3-year-old female Fu Ni will be loaned to Australia for 10 years, according to Zhang Hemin, head of the Wolong Nature Reserve Administration, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Tuesday.

The British Columbia manufacturer recalled some 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and another 968,000 units distributed in Canada.

Overall, the number of reported hate crimes increased about 2 per cent. These same figures show a nearly 11 per cent increase in hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and a nearly 9 per cent increase in hate crimes based on religion. The largest category, racially motivated hate crimes, fell less than 1 per cent.

Dan de Vaul says the terms of probation offered on Monday would prevent him from sheltering about 30 people who reside at his ranch and participate in a substance abuse recovery programme.

John Galligan, the Fort Hood-area civilian attorney for Major Nidal Hasan, told The Associated Press by phone on Monday that the court must consider his client's mental status because the allegations against Hasan contradict his lifestyle and military career.

Takeo Mashimo returned to the capital, San'a, after a day of negotiations between the tribesmen and Yemeni authorities, said Natahiro Yamaguchi, the Japanese Embassy's deputy chief of mission.

The lot is next to the two-story brick home where Jamar lived with his mother in the impoverished Detroit enclave of Highland Park, a once-prosperous city of 16,000, where decay, abandonment, fires and demolition have eaten away at the community.

The meeting of countries contributing to the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan will follow a Dec 2-3 gathering of Nato foreign ministers.

English libel laws are considered claimant-friendly as the burden of proof is on the defendant and damages are typically higher than in other countries.

McDonald's Germany spokesman Martin Nowicki says the change has already been rolled out in Great Britain and France as part of a European-wide initiative.

Trishna and Krishna, who turn 3 next month, had been joined at the top of their heads and shared brain tissue and blood vessels.

Michael Corey Golden, 24, was sentenced to 14 years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to having vandalised and burned down the mosque in February 2008.

In an emergency statement to parliament, Mr Benn said people in Cumbria, which was lashed by the heaviest downpours on record, should be prepared for more flooding. 'Further heavy rain is forecast overnight and there may be some further flooding,' he said.

Toni Musulin, 39, has become a cult sensation in France after he drove off from the central city of Lyon with 11.6 million euros (S$24 million) in his van on Nov 5, before surrendering to police after 11 days on the run.

The 62-year-old woman, dubbed the 'Robin Hood banker', was found guilty of moving a total of 7.6 million euros (S$15.7 million) between December 2003 and February 2005, in 117 separate transfers.

'Canada would welcome the admission of Rwanda to the Commonwealth,' a spokesperson for Canada's Foreign Affairs Department told AFP.

Nathalie Blanchard said on Monday she was diagnosed with major depression and was receiving monthly sick-leave benefits until payments dried up this fall.

The step, which could lead to charges being filed, is a further blow to the prestige of parliament, already tarnished by excessive expense claims by dozens of legislators from all the major parties.

Andrews was jailed for life for murdering her boyfriend Thomas Cressman after he refused to marry her. She was ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years in jail in 2001.

The bill now returns to the three-person presidential council where, lawmakers said, Sunni Arab Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi is likely veto it again as it still fails to address his demand to give more of a say to Iraqis living abroad.