AP - Spain's Interior Ministry says 45 people are dead after an airliner bound for the Canary Islands swerved off the runway and caught fire during takeoff from the Madrid airport.

AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite.

AP - Russian forces on Wednesday built a sentry post just 30 miles from the Georgian capital, appearing to dig in to positions deep inside Georgia despite pledges to pull back to areas mandated by a cease-fire signed by both countries.

AP - Pakistani officials say missiles have struck a suspected militant hideout near the Afghan border.

Reuters - At least 45 people were killed when a Spanair plane crashed on takeoff at Madrid airport on Wednesday, the government said, but an emergency services source reported nearly 150 fatalities.

AFP - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will open the new parliament on Tuesday, despite opposition warnings that this would jeopardise power-sharing talks following controversial polls.

AFP - Missiles fired from Afghanistan hit a militant hideout in Pakistan's tribal belt Wednesday, killing at least eight people including some foreign extremists, security officials said.