Frankfurt - European shares slumped more than 2 per cent in opening trading Wednesday, picking up on a downbeat end to Wall Street and steep falls in Asia.

As renewed concerns emerged about the outlook for the global economy and profits, Europe's blue-chip Stoxx 50 began the trading day down 2.5 per cent at 2,286 points.

The fall was mirrored across key national European markets with shares in London, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich all sliding by more than
2 per cent.

Fresh economic concerns resulted in the oil price dropping by 3.3 per cent below 70 dollars a barrel on expectations of falling demand for energy. In July energy prices were heading towards 150 dollars a barrel.

Mexico City  - Police in the northern Mexican town of Ascension, near the US border, received a parcel containing a cooler packed with four human heads, Mexican media reported Tuesday.

The parcel arrived last week, but it was not opened until Monday because it was initially thought to have been sent by mistake to the police command in Ascension, some 150 kilometres southwest of Ciudad Juarez.

The cooler was labelled "Vaccines, delicate material, handle with care," so police first contacted local hospitals and health centres to check whether they had ordered vaccines.

Vienna - The World Bank Group has launched a new office in Vienna on Tuesday to help a wider range of countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia attract direct foreign investment.

Expanding its previous work in Vienna that was focused on the West Balkan region, the World Bank's investment climate advisory service FIAS is expanding to countries such as the Ukraine and Armenia, programme coordinator Margit Mischkulnig said.

"It's going deeper and wider," she said.

London, Oct 21 : Iranian security forces have arrested two pigeons for apparently spying near its Natanz nuclear facility.

According to the Etemad Melli newspaper, one of the pigeons captured near rose water production plant in the city of Kashan in Isfahan province had metal rings and "invisible" strings attached to it.

It is believed that the bird might have been communicating what it had seen with the equipment it was carrying.

London, October 21 : An Oregon hiker rescued from a mountain, where he survived for five days with a broken ankle, has revealed that he ate centipedes, ants and even a poisonous wolf spider to survive.

Derek Mamoyac, 27, fell badly while descending 12,300-ft Mount Adams in Washington state on October 12.

It was supposed to be a one-day trip, and he had not informed his family about it.

When he failed to turn up for work the following morning, his family reported him missing.

Mamoyac tried descending the mountain by crawling on his knees, but he had to stop when it became too painful.

He revealed that he drank water from creeks.