London, Nov 9 : Princes William and Harry have managed to raise just 1,500 pounds each for their much- publicised motorbike charity ride across Africa.

However, 83 other people on the same ride raised an average of 3,500 pounds each.

A representative for William and Harry confirmed that the charity donation was just 1,500 pounds each, but insisted the princes had raised the profile of the charity ride.

“The princes both donated the minimum required to take part but their presence on the ride, as with their support of other charities, raised its profile and we expect more riders to be taking part next year, so it raises more money indirectly,” the Mirror quoted the spokesman, as saying.

Berlin - Germany marked Sunday the sudden end of the Berlin Wall 19 years ago, with the former mayor of West Berlin, Walter Momper, recalling it as a "wonderful gift to the Germans."

The commemoration coincided with more sombre ceremonies marking Kristallnacht, the 1938 orgy of Nazi violence against Jews.

Momper, who was Berlin mayor from 1989 to 1991 and is now speaker of the state of Berlin legislature, said the date wrapped together both the peaceful revolution against communism in 1989 and the pogrom of 1938.

After weeks of protests, East German authorities suddenly announced on November 9, 1989, that their citizens could pass through the wall and visit the West at will.

London - Ceremonies took place across Britain and Ireland on Sunday to remember the servicemen and women who lost their lives in armed conflict.

Queen Elizabeth II led Remembrance Sunday events by laying a traditional poppy wreath at the Cenotaph in London's Whitehall.

Remembrance services, which take place on the Sunday closest to November 11, the date of the end of World War I, this year fall two days before the 90th anniversary of the end of that conflict.

Military performances are due to take place in London's Trafalgar Square to commemorate the anniversary.

The war dead were also commemorated in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, as well as in other cities and towns across Britain and Ireland.

Damascus - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday spoke out against the signing of the US-Iraqi security pact, saying the presence of US troops in Iraq posed a threat to stability in the region.

"The presence of occupation forces constitutes a permanent threat to Iraq's neighbours," al-Assad told Arab parliamentarians.

The security deal being negotiated between Baghdad and Washington outlines the future of US troops in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires at the end of this year.

Under the deal, al-Bashar said, Iraq would become "a base for attacks on its neighbours."

Iran has also indicated its opposition to the deal, calling it an "assault on the sovereignty of Iraq."

Istanbul - Villagers in the east of Turkey have slaughtered 44 sheep in honour of the victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential election, Zaman daily reported Sunday.

Moscow - Investigators said deadly freon gas killed 20 people on a Russian nuclear-powered submarine Sunday when the fire safety system accidentally kicked in during a sea trial in the Sea of Japan.

It was unclear what activated the fire-extinguishing system and the military has launched further investigations, a spokesman for Russia's top investigatory committee, Sergei Markin, was quoted by news agencies as saying.

The system is designed to discharge the Freon gas coolant, which kills instantly, as the most serious of three safety methods to fight fires aboard.