Other stories from around the world in brief
Polish deputy leader sacked by Kaczynski
WARSAW - Poland's conservative prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has said he will dismiss his junior coalition partner, deputy prime minister Andrzej Lepper and his Self-Defence party, effectively ending their four-month alliance.
Mr Kaczynski said yesterday he would try to put together another majority in parliament but if that failed, snap elections were the only way out.
"We are doing all we can to put together a majority, but if it fails, early elections will be the only solution," Mr Kaczynski said. - (Reuters)
Branson to invest $3bn in bio-fuels
LONDON - Richard Branson joined the growing ranks of global warming activists yesterday by committing $3 billion (€2.4 billion) to tackle climate change. The billionaire has pledged all profits from his Virgin air and rail interests over the next 10 years to combating rising global temperatures.
However, the estimated $3 billion will not go to charities and will be invested in a new branch of Mr Branson's ever- expanding Virgin conglomerate, Virgin Fuels. Much of the investment will focus on bio-fuels, an alternative to oil-based fuels made from plants. - (Guardian service)
Five Palestinians shot dead in Gaza
GAZA - Israeli soldiers shot dead five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip yesterday on the bloodiest day in the coastal territory in weeks.
While violence flared, the ruling Islamic militant group Hamas welcomed a statement by the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators endorsing efforts to forge a Palestinian unity government that could help end an international aid blockade. - (Reuters)
Resignations over immigrant fire
AMSTERDAM - Two government ministers have resigned after a damning report condemned safety lapses at a detention centre where 11 illegal immigrants died in a fire last October.
The long-awaited report into the fire at the centre at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport criticised the justice ministry and was a major embarrassment for the government just two months ahead of a national election. - (Reuters)
Mladic supporter arrested
BELGRADE - An alleged supporter of war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic has been arrested while trying to jump bail and flee Serbia.
The man, named by police as Marko Lugonja, was due to appear in court next week with nine other alleged Mladic aides. He was seized while trying to board an aircraft for Moscow. - (Reuters)
Danish former SS member arrested
MUNICH - A Danish-born former SS member who is wanted in Denmark for murder has been arrested in southern Germany and a court will decide on his extradition within a week, according to the Munich public prosecutor.
Soeren Kam (84) is accused of the 1943 murder of journalist Carl Henrik Clemmensen in Copenhagen. Denmark has been seeking his extradition since 2004. - (Reuters)
Tougher Swiss asylum laws
GENEVA - Switzerland looks set to support tougher asylum rules in a referendum on Sunday, shrugging off warnings from opponents that the changes may deny protection to the persecuted and dent the country's humanitarian reputation.
The regulations, which UN refugee officials say will make the Alpine state's laws among the harshest in Europe, have already been approved by parliament and the government, but critics have raised enough signatures to force a popular vote. - (Reuters)