Today's other stories in brief
Second letter bomb goes off in Britain
LONDON - A second letter bomb in two days exploded in Britain yesterday, injuring two men, a day after a similar device hurt a woman.
Police said they were checking whether either or both were connected to a suspected campaign by animal rights extremists.
Britain has some of the world's most militant animal rights campaigners whose tactics have previously involved letter bombs. - (Reuters)
Police get time to quiz suspect
BIRMINGHAM - British police were last night granted a further 72 hours to question seven of the nine terror suspects arrested in Birmingham last week.
But they were refused an extension on the remaining two and have until 4am today to either charge, release them on bail or without charge. Only two of the suspects are thought to have attended the private hearing, which lasted almost five hours. - (PA)
US army officer faces court martial
FORT LEWIS - The US government began its case against an army officer being court-martialled for refusing to fight in Iraq by accusing him yesterday of making "disgraceful" statements and abandoning his unit.
First Lieut Ehren Watada faces up to four years in a military prison and a dishonourable discharge if convicted on a charge of not deploying to Iraq and two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for his criticism of the war.
- (Reuters)
Former equality official at UN dies
UNITED NATIONS - Angela King, a former UN official for women's equality from Jamaica, has died, and secretary general Ban Ki-moon said yesterday she will "be mourned with profound affection and respect" around the world.
Ms King (68), who was appointed by former secretary-general Kofi Annan in 1997 as an assistant secretary general for gender issues and the advancement of women, died on Monday in a New York hospital from cancer, her friends said.
- (Reuters)
Judge orders arrest of actor
LOS ANGELES - A California judge ordered an arrest warrant yesterday for actor Daniel Baldwin after he failed to show up in court to face charges of car theft.
Baldwin - a member of an acting family that includes brothers Alec, Stephen and William - was scheduled to be arraigned in Newport Beach on the charges.
Baldwin (46), who co-starred in the TV police show Homicide: Life on the Street in the 1990s, was arrested three times last year on various drug and driving charges. - ( Reuters)
US has failed in Iraq, says Villepin
PARIS - French prime minister Dominique de Villepin believes the US has failed in Iraq and the international community lacks the imagination to solve the Iran crisis, according to an interview in the Financial Times today. He said the US had to fix a date for withdrawing its troops if it was to address the underlying cause of instability in Iraq, which he said was a feeling the foreign presence was illegitimate. - ( Reuters)