Today's other stories in brief
EU bans most of Pakistan's airline fleet
BRUSSELS - The European Union is set to ban most of the Pakistan International Airlines fleet from flying to the 27-country bloc because of safety concerns, an EU source said.
The source said a committee of experts had decided to block all but seven aircraft of the airline's roughly 40-aircraft fleet from flying to Europe for failing to meet international safety standards.
The state-run airline declined to comment. - (Reuters)
Britain, US discuss missile shield
LONDON - Britain is talking to the United States about participating in a US plan for a missile defence shield, the government said yesterday.
Officials would not confirm the details of a report in the Economist magazine that British prime minister Tony Blair was lobbying to secure a missile-interceptor site for Britain.
But a spokeswoman for Mr Blair did say Britain had held talks "at various levels" with the US on providing additional British support for the planned system, which would use interceptors to destroy incoming ballistic missiles. - (Reuters)
BP settles Texas explosion cases
TEXAS - BP is settling a pair of court cases stemming from a deadly explosion at its Texas City oil refinery two years ago.
The settlement was announced by Brent Coon, lawyer for two contract workers, Clarence Kindard and EJ Godeaux, who were among the more than 170 people injured in the March 2005 blast that also killed 15 others. No terms were released. - (AP)
At least three die in Somali clashes
MOGADISHU - Somali government troops and their Ethiopian allies used tanks and heavy artillery to battle gunmen who struck a military base at the former defence ministry in Mogadishu yesterday.
At least three civilians were killed by stray bullets and retaliatory fire as the violence spilled over into the nearby neighbourhoods of Bar Ubah and Gupta.
The interim government and its Ethiopian allies have been hit with near-daily attacks by unidentified gunmen in the Horn of Africa country's seaside capital. They blame remnants of a hardline Islamist movement they drove out of Mogadishu and southern Somalia in a two-week joint offensive before the New Year. - (Reuters)
45 held after nuclear protest
FASLANE - Forty-five people were arrested yesterday after a blockade of Britain's nuclear submarine base.
Seven Greenpeace vessels, including the 164ft (50m) former icebreaker Arctic Sunrise, attempted to gain entry to Faslane naval base on the Clyde as part of an anti-nuclear protest.
After a five-hour stand-off, police stormed and seized the Arctic Sunrise. - (PA)