■ Russia
Paratrooper praised for valor
A paratrooper will be decorated for valor after he caught hold of a comrade whose chute failed to open and steered him to the ground by his straps, the military said. The incident happened when the soldiers became entangled in their parachute lines while jumping from a plane during joint exercises with Chinese forces that ended last last week. One managed to deploy his emergency parachute and held on to the other until they touched down. "Both guys showed the best qualities of Russian airborne troops -- skill, native wit and courage," said Colonel-General Vladimir Moltenskoi.
■ France
Banned airlines named
The government published a list of five airlines banned in its airspace for safety reasons yesterday. The civil aviation authority (DGAC) said on its Web site that the banned airlines were Air Koryo from North Korea, Air Saint-Thomas from the US, International Air Service from Liberia, Air Mozambique (LAM) and Phuket Airlines of Thailand. The ban was extended to Transairways, a subsidiary of LAM, the DGAC said. Some of the banning orders date back to April 2001, although Phuket Airlines was just barred on June 4. The announcement of the measures followed a string of fatal accidents this month.
■ United Kingdom
Post-mortem to be done
A post-mortem will be carried out on the body of a man discovered by Scottish police hunting the killer of 11-year-old Rory Blackhall. The man was found dead at an address in Livingston near where the boy lived. Over the weekend officers said they were seeking a black-clad man seen emerging from a wood near where the youngster's body was found. He was seen coming out of the woods the day before Blackhall went missing, wearing a shiny black nylon bomber jacket and a peaked hat with the ear flaps down, black trousers and boots. Blackhall disappeared on Aug. 18 after his mother dropped him off for school. His body was discovered days later fully clothed in a wood about half a mile from his school. Police said he had been asphyxiated.
■ Sudan
Relief convoys under attack
Bandits are stepping up attacks on African Union (AU) and relief convoys in Sudan's Darfur region disrupting the flow of aid in the conflict-stricken area, aid officials said. "There is a lot of banditry ... The area is lawless and they [gunmen] are attacking everyone," Jean Baptiste Natama, a senior AU protocol officer said. Natama said one person was lightly injured on Thursday when unidentified gunmen attacked a patrol near Nyala. The AU official said the incident was the first of its kind in several weeks. But an aid official, who did not want to be named, said incidents of gunmen shooting at convoys and stealing vehicles and aid had increased in recent months in Darfur.
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