The prosecutor's office in Paris says it has opened an inquiry into allegations that the former French President Jacques Chirac accepted money from African leaders when he was in office. The prosecutor's office said its financial division would question the French lawyer who made the allegations, Robert Bourgi, who has said he was the go-between in the transactions. Mr Chirac has denied the allegations.

A rush hour collision involving a bus and two trains in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires has killed at least nine people and left more than 200 injured, some of them seriously. Footage from closed-circuit television cameras show the bus trying to cross a level crossing with the barrier half-closed when a train smashed into it.

The British artist Richard Hamilton, who was the pioneer of pop art in the 1950s, has died at the age of 89. During his career, he produced paintings, prints and sculptures but will be best remembered for his collages, as Keith Adams reports.

The work that brought Richard Hamilton to prominence in 1956 was Just What is it That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? The collage shows a scantily clad body builder holding a lollipop bearing the word "pop". His work's elevation of popular culture inspired Andy Warhol and earned him his reputation as the father of pop art. Another well-known piece is his cover of the White Album by the Beatles, simply the band's name embossed on a white square.