Row as Castro girl visits US

Cuban first daughter Mariela Castro has been granted a US visa to attend events in San Francisco and New York.

The move has sparked a firestorm of criticism from Cuban-American politicians who called her an enemy of democracy and a backer of the Communist government her family has led for decades.

The trip kicks off next week when Ms Castro is due to chair a panel on sexual diversity at a conference organised by the Latin American Studies Association.

It is one of several trips to the US by prominent Cubans, some with close links to the government.

Vietnam bus

crash kills 34

A bus plunged into a river bank in central Vietnam, killing 34 people and injuring 21 others in one of the country's deadliest road accidents.

The bus smashed through the rails of a bridge and plunged into the bank of the Serepok River about 18 metres below.

The bus was travelling from the central highland province of Dak Lak to the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City.

Pavarotti guru

dies, aged 87

Herbert Breslin, the hard-driving manager who helped propel Luciano Pavarotti to international fame during the 36 years they worked together, has died. He was 87.

New York-based Breslin collapsed at his hotel in Nice, France, and died at a hospital there, his wife, Carol, said. She added she was told doctors believed he died of a heart attack.

Under Breslin's guidance, Pavarotti moved beyond opera houses to become a star who performed at arenas, stadiums and even Las Vegas.

11 on Ethiopia

terror charges

Ethiopia's federal court has ruled that 11 people should face terror charges after prosecutors said they formed a cell with an al- Qa'ida-linked group from neighbouring Somalia.

The charges come amid signs of increasing militancy in the East African nation.

Ethiopian troops moved into Somalia earlier this year to fight the Somali militant group al Shabab.