Today's other stories in brief
French frigate repels Somali pirate attack
PARIS - A French warship thwarted an attack by Somali pirates on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden and arrested eight men, the French military said yesterday.
The French frigate was patrolling the seas off Somalia as part of an EU mission against piracy in the region when it received a distress signal from a Panama-registered boat being pursued by pirates.
A spokesman for the French armed forces said the pirates fled when the frigate first approached and were captured when they made a second attempt to seize the S Venus cargo ship some hours later. - (Reuters)
Soldier charged in Afghan killing
OTTAWA - Canadian military police have charged an officer with second-degree murder in the death of an unarmed man in the southern Afghan province of Helmand.
Capt Robert Semrau is accused of shooting and killing the man - described by the military police as a "presumed insurgent" - on or around October 19th, 2008.
Capt Semrau is a member of a team of Canadian Forces mentors, which trains soldiers in the Afghan army.
- (Reuters)
Kim Jong-il inspects troops
LONDON - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has inspected a tank division and wished its soldiers a happy new year, days after news of his first major public outing since a suspected stroke in August.
Mr Kim, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, inspected Guard Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Tank Division 105, state news agency KCNA reported.
- (Reuters)
John Travolta's teenage son dies
The teenage son of actor John Travolta died suddenly yesterday during a family holiday in the Bahamas, according to the family's lawyer.
Jett Travolta (16) suffered a seizure at his family's holiday home at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island, attorney Michael Ossi said. Attempts were made to revive him, but he died at the scene, Ossi said.
Jett, who had a history of seizures, was the eldest child of Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston. They also have a daughter, Ella Blue, who was born in 2000.
- (Reuters)
World's oldest person (115) dies
LISBON - A Portuguese woman, thought to have been the world's oldest person, died yesterday aged 115.
Maria de Jesus, who was born on September 10th, 1893, and was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records and the Gerontology Research Group as the world's oldest person, died in an ambulance near the town of Tomar. - (AP)
Suicide attack on Sunni leaders
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber killed at least 23 people and wounded 72 yesterday at a gathering of Sunni tribal leaders in a town south of Baghdad, security spokesman Maj Gen Qassim Moussawi said.
The bombing took place a day after the US presence in Iraq officially came under an Iraqi government mandate for the first time, according to a bilateral security pact that took effect on New Year's Day. - (Reuters)
Drink-drivers get breath monitors
Motorists convicted of drink-driving will have to install breath-monitoring devices in their cars under new laws taking effect in five US states this week.
Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska and Washington require the devices for all motorists convicted of first-time drink-driving. - (AP)