A round-up of today's other stories in brief
14 on trial in Egypt for tourist attacks
CAIRO - Egypt sent for trial 14 people accused of involvement in a series of attacks on tourists last year, the public prosecutor said.
The 14, including two women, were charged yesterday in connection with a bombing on April 30th close to the Egyptian Museum, a popular tourist attraction, and a gun attack on a tourist bus the same day in another part of Cairo.
The group is also accused of involvement in a bombing which killed three tourists at a Cairo bazaar last April 7th. - (Reuters)
20-year term for Bosnia war crimes
BANJA LUKA - A court in Bosnia's Serb Republic sentenced an ex-soldier to 20 years in prison for war crimes yesterday, the longest jail term handed down so far in the semi-autonomous region.
The Banja Luka district court ruled that former Bosnian Serb soldier Milanko Vujanovic (48) was guilty of murdering five Muslim civilians in a northern village in October 1992, along with two other unknown soldiers.
"Based on statements by witnesses and material evidence gathered during the investigation, it was found that Vujanovic knew these were non-Serbs who were not engaged in the military," the judges said in their ruling.
This is the second war crimes ruling in the Serb Republic, one of the two ethnic regions created after Bosnia's 1992-95 war in which 100,000 people died, mostly Bosnian Muslims.
The other region, the Muslim-Croat federation, has conducted many more war crimes investigations and trials. - (Reuters)
At least 14 die in Turkey bus crash
ANKARA - A bus carrying 40 people left a road and plunged into a river yesterday, killing at least 14 passengers and injuring 11 others. Sixteen other passengers were missing and feared dead.
The bus was submerged in the Kelkit river after the pre-dawn crash in the central Turkish province of Tokat, 322km (200 miles) east of Ankara, said local official Ferhat Kutoglu.
He said the missing had probably been swept away by the Kelkit's strong currents and had likely drowned. Two of the bodies were discovered near a bridge some 19km (12 miles) from the scene. The bus was travelling from Istanbul to the eastern city of Van, near the Iranian border. - (AP)
Footballer scores €5m book deal
LONDON - England footballer Wayne Rooney has signed the biggest sports book deal in publishing history, it was announced today.
The 20-year-old Manchester United star has agreed a 12-year contract with HarperCollins to write a minimum of five books. It will net him a guaranteed €5 million advance plus royalties. The first volume, due in bookshops at the end of July, will be an autobiography of his life so far, up to and including this year's World Cup. - (PA)
Gay groups oppose Polish president
BERLIN - Dozens of gay rights protesters confronted Polish president Lech Kaczynski during his first visit to Berlin yesterday, accusing him of trampling on the rights of homosexuals in Poland.
Several dozen protesters gathered outside Humboldt University where Kaczynski was giving a lecture on European solidarity, protesting against his decision to ban gay pride parades when he was Warsaw mayor. - (Reuters)
Asbo for 'Amarillo' noise order breach
A woman has been given an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) for repeatedly blasting out the hit single Is This The Way to Amarillo?
The Asbo was imposed on mother of three Teressa Webb (30), of Bath, in England, after she repeatedly broke a noise abatement order. - (PA)