Geneva - The ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has caused the displacement of over 250,000 people, has put children at particular risk of recruitment into armed groups, the UN's Children Fund said Wednesday.

UNICEF called on "all armed groups to end the recruitment and use of children," Pierrette Vu Thi, the agency's chief in the DR Congo, said in a statement. They must "immediately release the children within their ranks."

Geneva - While airlines have dropped capacity to cope with the expected global economic downturn, the drop in air travel was steeper than the companies could keep up with, statistic released Tuesday showed.

November saw a 4.6 per cent drop in international passenger traffic, the third consecutive month of decline, and cargo fell by 13.5 per cent, according to the International Air Transport Association.

St Moritz, Switzerland  - The women's alpine ski super-G World Cup race in St Moritz was called off Sunday because of stormy weather.

A new date for the race has not yet been set.

London, Dec 20: Two new studies have suggested that the Swiss glaciers are melting away at an accelerating rate and many will vanish this century if climate projections are correct.

According to a report by BBC News, both studies have been done by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

One assessment found that some 10 cubic km of ice have been lost from 1,500 glaciers over the past nine years.

The other study, based on a sample of 30 representative glaciers, indicates the group''s members are now losing a meter of thickness every year.

St Moritz, Switzerland - World champion Anja Paerson of Sweden got celebrated once again in St Moritz as she claimed a big super combined ski race win on Friday.

The World Cup leader Lindsey Vonn of the US, by contrast, crashed out.

Paerson, 27, led the way after the downhill portion and also mastered the slalom run well for a combined total of 1 minute 41.87 seconds.

It was the first win of the season and the 39th overall for the three-time world champion from 2007, who 12 months ago won the super-combined and downhill World Cup races in St Moritz.

Nyon, Switzerland - Werder Bremen will face seven-time European champions AC Milan in the UEFA Cup's round of 32 following the draw made in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday.

Holders Zenit St Petersburg also face German opposition in the form of VfB Stuttgart while SV Hamburg have been pitted against Dutch side NEC Nijmegen and VfL Wolfsburg take on Paris St Germain.

Big-spending Manchester City will expect to progress at the expense of FC Copenhagen but Aston Villa face a challenging task against CSKA Moscow. Tottenham Hotspur will also need to be at their best if they want to overcome Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.