A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Passenger shot dead by air marshal
MIAMI - An American Airlines passenger who claimed to be carrying a bomb was shot and killed by an air marshal while trying to flee a plane arriving from Medellin, Colombia, at Miami International Airport yesterday.
The passenger was a 44-year-old US citizen, the spokesman said.
A law enforcement official said "no device has been located at this time". The incident took place as American Airlines flight 924 arrived from Medellin for a stopover in Miami en route to Orlando, Florida.
The spokesman said the passenger indicated during the flight that there was a bomb in a carry-on bag and upon landing immediately exited the aircraft through the jetway ramp at Gate D42. Air marshals pursued and ordered the passenger to get down on the ground.
"The passenger then reached into his carry-on bag, at which point, consistent with air marshal training, the air marshals took the appropriate actions. Shots were fired as the team attempted to subdue the subject," the spokesman said. - (Reuters)
Thatcher in hospital for tests
LONDON - Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was admitted to hospital yesterday after complaining of feeling faint.
Mrs Thatcher (80), who held office from 1979 to 1990 as Britain's first female prime minister, would be staying in a London hospital overnight for tests, a Conservative Party spokeswoman said.
"She was taken into hospital after feeling faint," the spokeswoman said. "
- (Reuters)
Pinochet stripped of immunity
SANTIAGO - Former Chilean ruler Augusto Pinochet was stripped of his legal immunity by an appeals court yesterday, allowing his trial in the disappearance of 29 additional dissidents during his 1973-90 dictatorship.
The 16-6 vote by the Santiago Court of Appeals allows the judge handling the case to add the 29 new cases to nine for which Gen Pinochet (90) had been indicted and put under house arrest two weeks earlier. His lawyer immediately announced he will appeal the ruling.
The missing dissidents are among 119 killed in the early years of Pinochet's rule in a case known as Operation Colombo. The case has dragged for months as relatives of the victims have filed individual criminal suits, forcing separate rulings by the courts. - (AP)
Pinter attacks US foreign policy
STOCKHOLM - Ailing British playwright Harold Pinter (75) used his Nobel prize lecture yesterday to attack US foreign policy and urge the unflinching pursuit of truth to restore "the dignity of man".
Forbidden by doctors from going to Stockholm to receive the 10 million crown (€1.09 million) literature prize, Pinter, who has been battling cancer for years, sent a video recording showing him in a wheelchair. His frailty and hoarse voice added to the drama of a speech peppered with the potent silences of his plays, such as The Birthday Party and The Caretaker, which gave rise to the term "Pinteresque".
Relentless in his criticism of the US, President George Bush and British prime minister Tony Blair, Pinter expanded the criticism to "the majority of politicians" who weave "a vast tapestry of lies" to keep themselves in power.- (Reuters)