London  - Eight people died and a further eight remained unaccounted for after an oil platform helicopter crashed into the North Sea off the coast of Scotland Wednesday.

"We can confirm that eight bodies have been recovered from the North Sea... The remaining eight persons are unaccounted for," said a police statement issued in the port city of Aberdeen.

The Bond Puma helicopter was returning from an oil platform in the North Sea operated by British Petroleum (BP) when it came down some 50 kilometres off the port city of Aberdeen.

London - US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev moved to open a new chapter in relations between their two nations Wednesday by agreeing to draw up a new deal on nuclear disarmament.

Following a meeting in London ahead of Thursday's summit of Group of 20 (G20) leading world economies, both presidents pledged to "move further along the path of reducing and limiting strategic offensive arms," in a joint statement issued after their first meeting since Obama's inauguration.

London - Up to ten people were feared dead and six more were missing after a helicopter ditched in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland Wednesday.

The Bond Puma helicopter was returning from an oil platform in the North Sea operated by British Petroleum (BP) when it came down some 50 kilometres off the port city of Aberdeen.

Oil industry sources said they had received reports of between six and 10 fatalities, with six more missing. The Royal Air Force was assisting in a large search-and rescue operation.

London, Apr 1: Guitarist Benji Madden, rapper Will I. AM and DJ Samantha Ronson are doing their own bit for a fundraising charity, by compiling their own playlist to be auctioned.

The musicians have filled their own MP3 players with their own favorite songs, which will be auctioned to raise funds for an organization called Music Rising, whose objective is to replace the instruments lost or destroyed in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast region, reports the Daily Star.

London, Apr 1 : American actor David Hasselhoff's teenage daughters are set to follow in his footsteps with a pop career of their own.

Hasselhoff, 56, who started his own singing career towards the end of the 1980s, calls his two girls Taylor Ann, 18, and Hayley Amber, 16, `The Hoff Drops'.

The `Baywatch' star is preparing them for their music career, and has looked into enlisting top songwriters and even booked studio time for them.