Phnom Penh - The Cambodian government on Monday launched an investigation into a helicopter crash that killed the country's controversial chief of police and three others on Sunday night.

Hok Lundy, a close ally of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, died along with deputy army commander Sok Sa Em and two pilots when their helicopter crashed en route to the police chief's home province of Svay Rieng near the Vietnamese border.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said an investigation into the incident had begun but declined to provide any further details.

"We are unable to provide specific details until the investigation is completed," he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Brussels - China should work more closely with the European Union to boost development and stability in Africa, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday said.

Both the EU and China play a growing role in Africa, and "in this new context, it would seem advantageous to coordinate the EU's and China's efforts more closely around priorities which reflect Africa's needs," a statement from the ministers said.

Jakarta - Nearly four years since the devastating Asian Tsunami of December 2004, which claimed 230,000 lives, an early warning system developed and funded with German assistance will begin operations.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will attend Tuesday's ceremony in Jakarta along with representatives of the German government, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said.

The German government financed the 45-million-euro (58-million- dollar) project the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, or GITEWS.

Paris - A poll released on Monday showed that French President Nicolas Sarkozy's forceful handling of the financial crisis and his calls to reform capitalism have given his popularity a substantial boost.

According to the survey, which was conducted by the Viavoice institute for the daily Liberation, 48 per cent of respondents said they had a "positive opinion" of Sarkozy, a jump of 8 percentage points over one month ago and his best showing since January.

Sarkozy's popularity surge was due in large part to left-wing voters, among whom he gained 10 points, to a positive rating of 29 per cent.

London, November 10 : Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who is dating ‘Pussycat Doll’s Nicole Scherzinger, is scared of his girlfriend’s driving – because she drives too fast.

The ace racer, who has been dating the 23-year-old since they met at last year’s MTV Europe Music Awards in Germany, was branded a “speed angel” by Scherzinger who revealed her beau’s fright when she drove.

“I have a Bentley but Lewis isn’t keen to be alongside me. Lewis is a speed angel, but I’m a speed demon,” the Sun quoted her as saying.

Gorleben, Germany - Accompanied by a huge police escort, a convoy of trucks was to carry 100 tons of glass-encased nuclear waste Monday 20 kilometres across German countryside to a secure storage warehouse.

On Saturday and Sunday there had been mayhem in the district as violent protesters invaded tracks in a bid to stop a train bringing the waste from La Hague, France. Near the border, three protesters had chained themselves to concrete blocks under a track.

The train reached the railhead in the town of Dannenberg early Monday, 14 hours late, and cranes began carefully shifting the 11 containers onto the trucks.