A powerful plume of steam and ash rose from the Popocatepetl volcano in central Mexico on Tuesday, prompting local schools to cancel classes and emergency teams to prepare for evacuations.

The Norwegian anti-Islamic gunman who massacred 77 people said in court on Tuesday his shooting spree and bomb attack were "sophisticated and spectacular" and that he would do the same thing again.

About 300 people have died and 8,000 others were injured after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit northwest China's Qinghai Province early on Wednesday, a local official said.

A plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski has crashed near a Russian airport, officials say. Russian media reported that 87 people were killed in the crash near Smolensk, and a regional governor was quoted as saying there were no survivors.

Thai security forces have retaken an anti-government satellite TV station and stopped its broadcasts, after a day-long confrontation with protesters. The red-shirted demonstrators had forced officials to put the People Channel back on air on Friday a

Hours after a suicide attack at a political rally in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province Monday, three explosions went off in rapid succession near the U.S. consulate in the province's capital, Peshawar, police said.

At least 41 people were killed in two explosions that hit the Moscow metro during rush hour Monday, local news agencies reported.