Cairo  - Four Muslim gunmen opened fire on a group of Coptic Christians as they were leaving church in the southern Egyptian governorate of Menya, killing two and wouding one, a security source told the German press agency dpa on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday night as Coptic Christians were celebrating Easter in a church vigil.

The source told dpa that the incident "is a revenge case that dates back to a dispute in 2004, and is not based on sectarian or political reasons."

Budapest - Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai Sunday presented his new government's programme of crisis measures and public spending cuts to steer Hungary out of its economic woes.

Pensions, public sector pay and welfare payments were all cut while value-added tax was increased in an effort to relieve the national budget by the equivalent of 4.4 billion euros.

Bajnai also announced tax relief for lower-income workers in an effort to counter unemployment. "This is a crisis management programme that demands sacrifice by all Hungarians," he warned.

Kassel, Germany (dpa) - German police shot and killed one of two escaped circus bears Sunday in the central city of Kassel.

Police said the animal had bitten the leg of an officer who was trying to catch it.

Circus owner Daniel Renz voiced outrage: "Both these animals were 25 years old and had been circus bears all their lives. They were never aggressive. I could have led the bear away by its ear. That is what I did when I took the second bear back to its cage."

London, Apr. 19 : Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo has vowed to stay on at Manchester United as long as Sir Alex Ferguson remains the club's manager.

The Portuguese winger has told close friends that he has no intention of joining Real Madrid this summer if Ferguson reassures him he will continue to manage United next season.

A source close to the United player revealed to The Mirror: "Cristiano has no immediate desire to leave United while Sir Alex is the manager. And Cristiano has made that abundantly clear to him. In the event that situation was to change, he would undoubtedly reconsider his position."

London, Apr. 19 : The England and Wales Cricket Board is hoping to tap into the lucrative Indian Twenty20 boom.

A Telegraph report says that interest is growing in the ECB''s plans for a new 20-over competition, now known as the P20.

A potential sponsor has been found in Kingfisher, owned by billionaire businessman Vijay Mallya - who also owns the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL.

Vienna - Up to 15 people were feared to be buried by a large avalanche Sunday in the Hinterstoder skiing area in Austria, according to media reports.

Witnesses saw the avalanche at around 10:30 local time and reported that between 10 and 15 backcountry skiers were trapped under the snow. Police told Austrian press agency APA that they assumed that "several" people were buried.

Up to 40 rescue workers and several several helicopters were dispatched to the site in the Upper Austria province.