AT least 12 people have died after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the interior ministry in the Afghan capital, Kabul, officials say.

An interior ministry spokesman said 42 people, including two policeman, had been injured in the blast. The attacker detonated explosives at a busy gate outside the ministry building as staff arrived at work, police said.

It is the latest in a series of explosions in Kabul this year, despite high security in the capital.

Plane missing in rainforest

A SEARCH is under way for a Brazilian passenger plane with at least 150 people on board that has gone missing over the Amazon rainforest.

Air force jets started searching the densely forested region for wreckage of the Boeing 737. Aviation authorities believe the airliner struck an executive jet, which was then able to land in Para state.

The Gol airlines flight left the Amazonian city of Manaus on Friday but failed to arrive in Brasilia.

Royal to run for French president

THE French politician Segolene Royal has officially entered the race to become her country's next president.

Declaring her candidacy for the nomination of the opposition Socialist Party, she vowed to bring real change.

Royal has a strong lead in opinion polls over her more established male rivals, among them critics who say she lacks political experience.

In November, Socialist party members will select a candidate to run for president next April. The latest opinion poll suggests that Royal is ahead of any of her potential rivals by at least 30 percentage points.

Musharraf defends war role

PAKISTAN president Pervez Musharraf has defended his nation's role in the international 'war on terror'.

Musharraf, who has been visiting Britain, warned the west would be "brought down to your knees" without his help and would lose the battle with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

He also said he shared the perspective of disaffected young Muslims who turned to terrorism and blamed western policies for the situation in Pakistan.

"You'll be brought down to your knees if Pakistan doesn't co-operate with you, " he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "Pakistan is the main ally. If we were not to be with you, you won't manage anything. Let that be clear."