Beijing - Can China save the world from the current financial crisis? To give the answer right away: no.

However, the nation with its more than 1 billion people and its strong economic growth may be able to offset at least some of the effects of the global financial meltdown.

"At the moment China can only save itself and thus be a certain stabilizing factor in Asia," said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China.

Kampala - At least 20 people died instantly and an unknown number was rushed to hospitals after a bus with failed brakes rammed into a column of 15 commuter vehicles in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, press reports said Thursday.

Brakes in the overcrowded bus entering Kampala from upcountry failed Wednesday night as it was ascending an road escarpment, the Kampala-based Central Broadcasting Service (CBS) radio station reported.

The bus rolled down the road, sweeping aside 15 commuter taxis and several other vehicles. The number of fatalities is believed to be much higher than 20, CBS said.

London, Oct 23 : The French national archive has released a footage of Republican presidential candidate John McCain being interviewed as a bedridden prisoner during the Vietnam War.

McCain, who was filmed smoking, was emotional during the interview, the Sky News reported

The video portrays McCain as a hero but the message may be tarnished as he is filmed smoking a cigarette.

London, Oct 23 : Its not just children, who always lie, even parents know the art quite well, according to a new survey, which has shown that they tell up to 3000 lies to their kids while bringing them up.

Parents tend to lie about mere things in order to make their children behave properly; they also often lie about things when they do not know answer to the questions their kids ask them.

“Most lies are ones our parents told us. Fables get passed through generations,” the Sun quoted Kathryn Crawford of The Baby website, which commissioned the study, as saying.

The most common lie told by 84 per cent of mums or dads is that Santa Claus only gives presents to good children.

Washington, Oct 23 : Researchers at Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute have found that blocking signals from a specific protein that activates cells in the immune system could help kill cells that cause leukemia - a rare form of blood cancer.

The human immune system has a two-part strategy when dealing with infections. It generates antibodies that bind with bacteria and viruses to neutralize them.

For a short time, the immune system also produces large numbers of a type of white blood cell, cytotoxic T-cell that kills other infected cells.

Amman - Interior ministers of Iraq and eight of its neighbouring countries were scheduled to meet in Amman Thursday to discuss ways of helping the Iraqi government restore security to the violence-torn nation.

The two-day conference, the fifth of its type since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, will be attended by Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey and Iran.