Wikinews Shorts: November 18, 2008

Iraq helicopter crash kills two
On Saturday, 2 US soldiers were killed when their OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter crash landed when it hit overhead cables while attempting to land in Mosul. This is one of a number of aviation crashes that have happened in Iraq in recent months.

Sources 

66 people killed in Burkina Faso collision
At least 66 people are dead after a bus and truck collided with one another on Saturday in the western African country of Burkina Faso. 66 people were reported dead by officials; 30 further victims were being treated in hospital on Saturday.

The bus is reported to have been bound for Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), when the collision occurred near the city of Boromo. Many of the bodies were badly burned.

Sources

Alaskan Democrat gains in US Senate race
After Friday's counts, Democratic Party candidate Mark Begich increased his small lead over his Republican rival for the US Senate, Ted Stevens, to 1,022 votes. The final counts are scheduled for today. Around 24,000 Alaskan votes remain to be counted from the November 4 election. The State Division of Elections said that it postponed counting of some votes in order to verify questioned and absentee ballots. Three weeks ago, incumbent Stevens was found guilty of failing to disclose gifts, and so could be the first convicted felon elected to the Senate.

Related news
 * "Three US Senate seats still undecided". Wikinews, November 12, 2008

Sources