Toyota Motor Corp on April 19 agreed to pay a record US$16.4 million federal fine for delaying a safety recall over defective accelerator pedals, and also announced a new recall -this time of its 2010 Lexus GX 460 luxury SUV.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and US officials say two leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq have been killed in a joint Iraqi-US operation.

A suicide bomber attacked Pakistani police guarding a protest rally against power cuts in the city of Peshawar on April 19 killing 23 people, police and government officials said.

Air traffic over Europe could return to about 50 percent of its normal level on Monday (April 19) if weather forecasts confirm that skies over the continent are clearing of volcanic ash, says The European Union presidency.  

The state funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria has been held in Krakow, with thousands gathering in the city to pay respects.

Three medium earthquakes on April 18 shook Guatemala, said officials.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will raise its forecast for global growth this year to 4 percent or more as China and emerging economies pick up pace, the Nikkei newspaper quoted the head of the fund as saying.

Europe's air travel chaos deepened on Saturday as a huge cloud of volcanic ash spread southeast across the continent, halting more than three in four flights and stranding tens of thousands of passengers worldwide.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, who returned on Saturday from a shortened visit to Latin America, headed for worst-hit Gyegu Town in Yushu immediately after landing at Batang Yushu Airport in northwest China's Qinghai province on Sunday.

Some 100,000 Poles filled Warsaw's biggest public square on Saturday, joining together for a memorial and funeral Mass for the 96 people killed in a plane crash a week earlier.