Beijing

Small-plane crash kills all 53 people aboard

A small passenger plane carrying 53 people crashed today in a northern China lake immediately after takeoff, and the government said there were no survivors.

The plane crashed in Baotou, a city in the Inner Mongolia region, seconds after taking off at about 8:20 a.m., the official Xinhua News Agency said. The China Eastern Airlines flight, which was heading to Shanghai, was carrying 47 passengers and six crew members, the agency said.

All were confirmed dead by government officials in Baotou.

Togo

Celebration turns into stampede, killing 13

A celebration at the gates of Togo’s presidential palace turned into a stampede Saturday, killing at least 13 people as excited crowds tried to surge onto palace grounds in the capital of the tiny West African nation.

Officials warned that the death toll could climb, as hospitals treated scores of other victims.

The celebration was called to mark the easing of 11 years of European Union sanctions against President Gnassingbe Eyadema, Africa’s longest-ruling leader.

Large crowds of Eyadema’s party members and others marched through the capital Saturday to the palace. When the palace gates were thrown open to admit them, the crushing throngs of celebrants tried to push through at once.

Austria

Gale-force winds, snow wreak havoc

Gale-force winds dumping heavy snow caused havoc across Austria on Saturday, blowing cars across roads and into deadly collisions, knocking out power to thousands of homes and tearing a balcony off a building that critically injured a man below.

Several hundred cars spun out of control and ended up in snowbanks along the north-south A2 highway, where visibility was poor as gusts exceeding 60 miles an hour blew snow into the air.

Authorities closed the A2 near the city of Graz for more than three hours after 12 inches of snow fell on the area.

In one accident, two minivans collided, killing a 32-year-old man and injured two young children, Austrian television said.

Puerto Rico

Courts order recount of gubernatorial race

Puerto Rico’s two highest courts ordered election authorities in separate rulings Saturday to immediately begin recounting votes cast in the extremely tight Nov. 2 gubernatorial elections.

The recounts were ordered by the U.S. District Court and the Puerto Rico Supreme Court.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Dominguez decided in favor of pro-statehood candidate Pedro Rossello’s lawsuit to force an immediate recount of preliminary election results, which showed him narrowly losing to Anibal Acevedo Vila, who supports Puerto Rico maintaining its current status as a U.S. commonwealth.

United Nations

Minister: Russia missile system is just defensive

Russia’s new nuclear missile system is purely defensive and part of the country’s program to upgrade its military, Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said the country was developing a new “state-of-the-art” nuclear missile system unlike any weapon held by other countries. He said it would be deployed “in the near future” but gave no details.

“It’s a military issue, of course,” Fedotov told The Associated Press on Friday when asked about the new missiles. “Any armed forces needs a kind of upgrading, so it’s a natural process.”