Teen led gardai on car chase

A YOUTH found guilty of dangerous driving after he led gardai on a high-speed chase in Dublin, which ended when he crashed into a parked taxi, has been bound to the peace for one year.

Judge Clare Leonard noted yesterday that the teen, aged 17, had just completed a six-month custodial sentence for a drugs offence. The teenager, who has 15 prior convictions, had been found guilty at the Children's Court of two counts of dangerous driving in Dublin's north inner city on April 2 last year.

Coal mine death toll rises to 44

The confirmed death toll after an explosion at a coal mine in Siberia has risen to 44, while the fate of 46 others still underground is unknown, Russian officials said today.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was visiting the Raspadskaya mine, which was hit by two explosions on Saturday and Sunday.

Tornadoes kill five in America

Tornadoes have ripped through the heart of America in an outbreak of violent weather that killed five people, tossed cars off highways, flipped mobile homes and sent baseball-size hail crashing through windshields.

Officials reported that at least 58 others suffered injuries throughout Oklahoma in the daylong onslaught. Two of the injuries were critical.