Schwarzenegger is out-muscled

CALIFORNIA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, criticised for receiving millions of dollars for links to two fitness magazines, says he is ending his ties to the publishing group.

Schwarzenegger will receive at least $13m (7.4m) over five years for serving as executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines. The ties to publisher American Media Operations prompted wide criticism about a perceived conflict of interest.

Afghan hanged

TALIBAN guerrillas hanged a pro-government tribal chief in the troubled southern Afghan province of Zabul, accusing him of being an American spy, officials said yesterday.

Malik Agha's killing was the fifth in six weeks and came as violence mounts before parliamentary elections in September.

17 die in crash

A BUS carrying 55 people plunged into a deep valley in China yesterday, killing 17 passengers.

The accident came as the bus was en route from the western city of Chongqing to the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong.

Chechnya toll

A RUSSIAN Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Chechnya, killing eight people yesterday in at least the third fatal Mi-8 crash in the rebel province this year.

Authorities did not say if it was shot down.