D Monday, February 8, 2010 News 11 Murder claims fly as voting begins UKRAINE: Voters went to the polls yesterday in a bitterly contested presidential run-off election. More than 37million votes were cast after prime minister Yulia Tymoshenkos campaign accused supporters of rival Viktor Yanukovych of killing a campaign aide in the early hours of election day. But both Europe-leaning Tymoshenko, 49 and Kremlin-backed Yanukovych, 59, were dismissed by outgoing president Viktor Yushchenko. The people of Ukraine will be ashamed of the choice they have to make, he said. and finally... AMERICA: A dentist has made a new beak for a bald eagle which injured itself in fishing line. Kirk Johnson, of Alaska, patched up the damage using the same material as temporary crowns, held it in place with sticky poster putty and even coloured it in with a highlighter. The eagle is said to be doing fine. Obama mocked by Palin during rally AMERICA: Sarah Palin claimed the country was ready for another revolution as she savaged Barack Obama in a speech. The 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee mocked Mr Obamas campaign slogan in front of activists in Nashville, asking: Hows that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for you? Missile tested that could reach China INDIA: A missile which could carry a nuclear warhead as far as China was test-fired yesterday. It was the fourth time the Agni III has been launched, and all but the first have been successful. Most of its missiles are intended to confront neighbour Pakistan but the Agni III could fly 3,000km (1,900 miles). Delhi, which normally notifies Pakistan of its tests, has offered to restart peace talks with its rival. S AFRICA: The president has publicly apologised for fathering a lovechild in an extramarital affair last year. Jacob Zuma (pictured) said: I deeply regret the pain that I have caused to my family, the ANC and South Africans in general. But opposition leader Helen Zille criticised Mr Zuma, who has three wives, saying words are not enough and that he must repair the damage his behaviour has inflicted on the fight against HIV and Aids. His affair emerged last week in a newspaper. Mr Zuma earlier expressed no regrets and insisted it was a private matter. Zuma says sorry for his lovechild affair AUSTRALIA: Prime minister Kevin Rudd bows his head during a service of remembrance held at St Pauls Cathedral in Melbourne yesterday to mark a year since 173 people died in the countrys worst bushfires Picture: Getty worlddigest By Ellen OReilly Gas explosion so big it felt like an earthquake 6 Irish used right to die Swiss clinic SIX Irish people have taken their lives at a Swiss assisted suicide clinic since 1998. According to the Dignitas clinic near Zurich, 29 Irish people had registered as members there up until May 2009, the 14th highest membership in the world. Between 1998 and 2009, 1,041 accompanied suicides were carried out at the clinic with 89 assisted suicides last year, including one Irish person. Dignitas has said many people who begin the process do not complete it. Its founder Ludwig Minelli told a Sunday newspaper many people change their minds after being given a provisional green light. Although assisted suicide has been allowed in Switzerland since the 1940s, its government is looking at greatly restricting or banning the act, with justice minister Eveline Widmer- Schlumpf saying last year the country has no interest in being attractive for suicide tourism. AT LEAST five people were killed and scores injured when a huge ex- plosion ripped through a US power plant yesterday. Fireballs and plumes of smoke shot 15m (50ft) into the air and the force of the blast was felt as far as 48km (30 miles) away. At least 50 workers were inside the Kleen Energy natural gas-fired power station in Middletown, Con- necticut, when a gas pipeline blew up. The towns mayor reported five people died while 12 people were badly injured in the blast. There was further confusion late last night as authorities said there could have been multiple deaths maybe as many as 50 while 250 people may have been injured. Most casualties were being treated for broken bones, abdominal inju- ries and blunt force trauma. Search and rescue teams were scouring the collapsed building for casualties, many of whom were feared buried. There was a massive explosion, there are possible fatalities, said police chief George Yepes. The ex- plosion, shortly before 11.30am lo- cal time, is thought to have hap- pened during tests on a gas pipeline running into the 620MW plant. Nearby homes were shaken and damaged, with walls knocked down and windows blown in by what many residents initially thought was an earthquake. They were doing the firing of the engines this morning and so some- thing went wrong and it blew up, said neighbour Bernadette Nyland. Flames came shooting up. The smoke came billowing and my dogs went running. It blew out our win- dows it was frightening, she add- ed. Among a flurry of Twitter mes- sages posted by witnesses was one woman who said: First thought was earthquake or huge gust of wind whole house shook. Another resident, LynnTownsend, said: When we went outside we saw a very big explosion of bright orange flame between the two smoke stacks. It was thought the blast happened when one of the plants energy-gen- erating systems was turned on for a testing procedure. The plant was being built to pro- vide environmentally-friendly elec- tricity for up to 520,000 homes. The Kleen Energy plant after yesterdays explosion Picture: AP index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html