Camilla grandmom

LONDON: Prince Charles' office says his wife has become a grandmother for the third - and fourth - time. Clarence House says Laura Lopes, the daughter of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, gave birth to twin boys on Wednesday. The boys have been named Louis and Gus. Camilla already has two other grandchildren. Lopes has a 23-month-old daughter with husband Harry, and her son Tom Parker Bowles has a two-year-old daughter with his wife Sara. The mother and sons are said to be doing well.

Cold snap hits Britain

LONDON: Three people have died in avalanches in the Scottish Highlands and three more in a car crash as Britain ends 2009 with icy weather. Emergency services said two climbers were killed on Britain's highest mountain, 1,344-metre Ben Nevis, on Wednesday. A third was rescued at Torridon in another part of the Highlands but died later. In northwest England, three men were killed in a car crash as snow swept across northern Britain.

Brazil rains kill 18

RIO DE JANEIRO: Heavy rains in the Rio de Janeiro area have triggered mudslides that have killed at least 18 people. Rio de Janeiro state's Office of Civil Defence says that more deaths are likely as more rains are expected. The deaths in the past 24 hours come as about 2 million people are preparing to gather along Copacabana beach to ring in the New Year. Officials said on Thursday that most of the deaths occurred as shanties collapsed under mud or rain in the greater Rio de Janeiro city area, but some deaths have been reported in more sparsely populated areas.