Small plane crashes in Hungary

BUDAPEST, July 18 (Xinhua) -- A small plane crashed on Saturday at an air show in Dunakeszi, 15 kilometers north of Budapest, killing a man on the ground.

The local wire service MTI reported that the Zlin aircraft was performing a stunt when a gust of wind overturned it and caused the crash.

The pilot was seriously injured. A 60-year-old staff member of the security firm serving at the local airport was killed in the accident.

The air show, titled Hunt for Balloons, was organized by Lufthansa and Hungarocontroll, Hungary's air navigation service.

Russia says talks on Nagorno-Karabakh constructive

MOSCOW, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The meeting between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute was constructive, an aide to the Russian president said on Saturday.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Moscow on Friday and then met in a tripartite format with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday.

The talks were "prolonged and, in our view, very constructive, "Medvedev's foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

At the meeting, Medvedev reaffirmed Russia's readiness to continue its efforts to help find mutually acceptable decisions, Prikhodko said.

Sargsyan and Aliyev have met six times over the past year in a bid to settle the territorial dispute.

The talks between Aliyev and Sargsyan on Friday "were deep, concrete and serious," said Matthew Bryza, U.S. co-chairman of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Minsk Group, a mediator in the conflict.

They failed to reach a consensus, but the talks will continue, Bryza was quoted as saying by the Itar-Tass news agency.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a region with a largely ethnic Armenian population, declared independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, sparking conflict ever since.

World's oldest man, WWI vet, dies at 113

World War One veteran Henry Allingham looks at a card displaying a picture of a World War One pilot during his 113th birthday party at HMS President in London in this June 6, 2009 file photo. Allingham, who was born in 1896 and was the world's oldest man and Britain's oldest war veteran, died on Saturday, July 18, 2009, aged 113.(Reuters Photo)

World War One veteran Henry Allingham poses for a portrait by photographers during a visit to the Tate Britain art gallery, in central London, in this November 10, 2008 file photo. Allingham, who was born in 1896 and was the world's oldest man and Britain's oldest war veteran, died on Saturday, July 18, 2009, aged 113.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

One killed in attack on policeman in Russia's Ingushetia

MOSCOW, July 19 (Xinhua) -- One woman died and three others were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police officer's residence in Russia's turbulent North Caucasus region of Ingushetia, news agencies reported on Sunday.

Attackers opened fire at the house of Bei-Ali Ekazhev, chief of a special-task police unit, late on Saturday in central Ingushetia, and fled the scene, the RIA Novosti reported citing investigators.

The attack has left Ekazhev's sister killed, his wife and daughter severely wounded and Ekazhev himself slightly injured, said the investigators.

A criminal investigation has been launched into the attack.

Meanwhile, in another restive North Caucasus republic of c, a 28-year-old armed man identified as Adam Merzhoyev fired at two police officers on Saturday night when his car was being checked, said the Itar-Tass.

One of the two police officers died later of wounds. Merzhoyev was killed by return fire.

The Kremlin in April formally ended anti-terrorist operations in Chechnya, which has experienced two bloody wars in the past 15 years. The North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan have seen a rise in daily violence in recent months.

The leader of Ingushetia, Yunus-bek Yevkurov, was injured in an assassination attempt last month.

Britain's Conservatives extend lead over Labor: poll

LONDON, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Britain's opposition Conservatives have extended their lead over Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labor Party with 17 percentage points, according to a poll published on Sunday.

The Sunday Times published the opinion poll by the YouGov, an international Internet-based market research firm in Britain, that the Tories had an approval rating of 42 percent against Labor with 25 percent and the Liberal Democrats with 18 percent.

The poll of nearly 2,000 people suggested that the economic gloom and criticisms of the government over the war in Afghanistan are taking their toll on Labor Party.

The British people remain worried about unemployment as the Office for National Statistics reported last week that the unemployment rate in Britain has hit 7.6 percent, the highest since January 1997.

Pope's hand in a cast

Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges faithful during his Angelus prayer in Romano Canavese, northern Italy, Sunday, July 19, 2009. The pope blessed a few hundred faithful Sunday with his right arm in a cast during his first public appearance since undergoing surgery to set a wrist he fractured in a fall. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges faithful during his Angelus prayer in Romano Canavese, northern Italy, Sunday, July 19, 2009. The pope blessed a few hundred faithful Sunday with his right arm in a cast during his first public appearance since undergoing surgery to set a wrist he fractured in a fall. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Pope Benedict XVI blessed a few hundred faithful Sunday with his right arm in a cast during his first public appearance since undergoing surgery to set a wrist he fractured in a fall.

Britain to create first low-carbon economic area

(Xinhua) -- The British government announced plans on Monday to create the first low carbon economic area in the northeastern region, the Downing Street No. 10 said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Business Secretary Peter Mandelson are visiting a Nissan factory in Sunderland, a borough of northeast England Monday morning, where they will explain details of how the area will begin to specialize in making low carbon vehicles, said the Downing Street.

The British government issued the low carbon industrial strategy last week to help create jobs and promote economic growth.

The strategy also set out the first investments from the 405 million pounds (648 million U.S. dollars) for low carbon industries and advanced green manufacturing announced at the 2009 budget.

According to a report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the British economy will shrink by 4.2 percent in 2009 and will only recover to a weak gain of 0.2 percent next year.

The British people also remained worried about unemployment as the Office for National Statistics reported last week that the unemployment rate in Britain has hit 7.6 percent, the highest since January 1997.

Mandelson said the low-carbon strategy builds on the New Industry, New Jobs approach, outlining the strategic role the British government will play alongside the private sector, to make the most of the potential benefits for innovation, growth and job creation in Britain.

It is estimated that low carbon and environmental goods and services are already worth 3 trillion pounds (4.8 trillion dollars) in the global economy, and employ near 900,000 directly and through the supply chain in Britain.

"With the sector set to grow by over 4 percent annually over the next six years, we must do all we can to support British businesses and workers in benefiting," Mandelson said.