Berlin  - The zoo keeper who raised Germany's famous polar bear cub Knut by bottle was found dead Monday in his Berlin apartment.

A police spokesman Thomas Doerflein, 44, appeared to have died of natural causes. There was no reason to suspect suicide or foul play, he said.

Dorflein raised Knut by bottle after the cub and his twin brother

were rejected by their mother when they were just days old.

Knut weighed a tiny 810 grams at birth, and there were real fears he would die, as his brother did after just four days.

Cairo  - Eleven tourists kidnapped during a safari trip in southern Egypt and apparently kidnapped when they strayed over the Sudanese border were freed and heading towards Aswan, an unconfirmed report said Monday.

A local authority spokesperson in the region, who declined to be identified, said the tourists from Germany, Italy and Romania - along with eight Egyptian safari staff - had been attacked at the weekend.

London, Sept 22 : A woman was banned from boarding a budget jet — courtesy her too long name.

Washington, Sept 22 : A new “International Religious Freedom Report” has said that though Pakistan took some steps to improve the treatment of religious minorities during 2007, serious problems, like the overall condition of women and minority communities, remained unresolved.

The report pointed out that there were forced conversions to Islam, especially in Sindh where 15-20 Hindu families were forced to convert.

Describing the general situation in the country in “pretty negative terms”, the report, released at the weekend, said that terrorist and extremist groups and individuals “continued to target religious congregations”, reported the Daily Times.

London, September 22 : A massive gem stone discovered by miners in Lesotho may be the largest polished round diamond in history, dwarfing the Indian-originated Koh-i-Noor diamond which is currently part of the Crown Jewels.

Weighing 478 carats, this is the 20th largest rough diamond ever found.

British-based leading global diamond mining business, Gem Diamonds, has revealed that the stone is of outstanding clarity.

The stone was found at the Letseng Mine, owned by the company, in Lesotho earlier this week.

Jerusalem - An Israeli woman gave birth Sunday to a big but health baby boy who weighed in at 5.25 kilos, Israel Radio reported.