Harare/Johannesburg  - A Zimbabwe magistrate court on Tuesday postponed remand proceedings in the case of top human rights campaigner and eight other rights activists until the legality of their arrests and detention has been heard by a superior court.

Jestina Mukoko and her co-accused are being held on charges of banditry.

"The accused will remain in custody pending the outcome of the determination of cases in superior courts," Magistrate Olivia Mariga said, however.

Dubai  - David Beckham made a quiet debut for AC Milan as the Italians ran out winners on penalties in a friendly against German Bundesliga side SV Hamburg in Dubai on Tuesday.

Beckham, wearing the number 32 shirt, played the first 45 minutes on the right side of midfield in the Dubai Football Challenge.

Milan won 4-3 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes. Brazilian Ronaldinho scored from the spot for Milan in the 62nd minute only for substitute Collin Benjamin to equalize five minutes later.

Budapest  - At 3.30 p. m. on Tuesday, Ukraine completely shut off the flow of natural gas to its western neighbour Hungary, the minister for energy Csaba Molnar said after a crisis meeting.

From Wednesday morning, power stations than can will have to switch to alternative sources of energy, Molnar announced. He added that further restrictions on the industrial use of gas might still have to be made.

Berlin  - Asian carmakers lead a fall in German vehicle sales last year, data released Tuesday showed, with the giant Japanese auto group Toyota Motor Corporation reporting a 27-per-cent sales plunge in Europe's biggest auto market during 2008.

Along with Toyota, Japanese rivals Mitsubishi, Mazda and Honda also reported steep falls, Germany's vehicle registration office (KBA) said Tuesday, as the growing sense of economic uncertainty hit Germany's key car sector.

Korean carmaker's new German car registrations slumped by 15 per cent last year.

Vienna  - The United States on Tuesday granted inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) greater access to its civilian nuclear programme and expressed hope that more countries would adopt the stricter monitoring regime.

The IAEA, the United States and other countries have been pushing Iran to implement the so-called Additional Protocol, as it would have given the IAEA greater powers in probing the country's alleged military nuclear projects.

Durban - A storm warning was Tuesday issued in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province amid forecasts of further "ferocious storms" by as early as Friday, officials said.

Eighteen people were killed in a severe storm that struck the east coast province over the weekend, leaving what officials said was a "trail of destruction in its path."