A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Bush to meet Shia leader in Washington
WASHINGTON- US president George Bush will hold White House talks with a top leader of Iraq's majority Shias on Monday and will also meet the country's Sunni vice- president next month, US officials said.
The scheduled talks appeared to signal more direct engagement by Mr Bush, following a crisis summit with the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, in Jordan on Thursday, to help calm sectarian violence in Iraq. The White House said yesterday that Mr Bush would meet Shia leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim for "an exchange of views and a discussion of important issues facing Iraq today". - (Reuters)
Police arrested in explosives case
MADRID- Authorities arrested seven people, four of them police officers, in a suburb of Madrid yesterday for suspected trafficking of the same explosive used in the train bombs of March 2004. - (Reuters)
'Orange' ministers sacked
KIEV- Ukraine's parliament, mounting its toughest challenge yet to the president, Viktor Yushchenko, yesterday sacked two ministers who played a key role in the 2004 "Orange Revolution" and promoted his pro-West policies.
Parliament and the government have been at odds with the president since Viktor Yanukovich, the president's nemesis since the big protests, was named prime minister in August. - (Reuters)
Royal suggests French-Syria talks
BEIRUT- French Socialist presidential candidate Ségolène Royal suggested yesterday that France talk to Syria to try to reduce tensions in neighbouring Lebanon, going against the policy of French president Jacques Chirac.
Ms Royal, on a visit to the Middle East aimed at strengthening her foreign policy credentials, said she broadly agreed with French policy towards Lebanon, its former protectorate, but proposed conditional talks with Damascus. - (Reuters)
US church pays €44m settlement
LOS ANGELES - The largest Roman Catholic archdiocese in the US said yesterday it had agreed to pay $60 million (€44 million) to settle 45 lawsuits alleging sex abuse by priests. Sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests has cost the US church at least $1.5 billion since 1950.
Several American dioceses have reached multimillion-dollar settlements with victims in recent years, as bishops have tried to resolve the crisis and move on. - (AP)
Court setback for Berlusconi
ROME- An Italian appeals court ruled yesterday against removing the main judge in the trial of former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and David Mills, the estranged husband of UK culture secretary Tessa Jowell, in a setback for the defence, Italian news agencies have reported.
Mr Berlusconi and Mr Mills face charges of false accounting, embezzlement and tax fraud. - (AP)