In Short

A round up of today's other stories in brief...

A round up of today's other stories in brief...

Arrest over Srebrenica massacre

SARAJEVO - Bosnian police have arrested a Bosnian Serb policeman suspected of taking part in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of about 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys, the office of the war crimes prosecutor said yesterday.

Zoran Tomic was a member of the special police unit in the town of Sekovici during the 1992-95 war.

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He was suspended from his job by international peace envoy Miroslav Lajcak last year along with 34 other Bosnian Serb policemen suspected of involvement in the Srebrenica killings. - ( Reuters)

Iran 'will not end' nuclear plans

TEHRAN - Iran ruled out halting its disputed nuclear programme yesterday, days before world powers were expected to offer trade and other benefits to coax Tehran into stopping atomic work they fear is aimed at making bombs.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's top authority, said the United States knew it was lying when it accused Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons.

Such arms were of no use and Tehran opposed them, Ayatollah Khamenei said at an event to mark the anniversary of the death in 1989 of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.- ( Reuters)

Mayor in gay weddings row

ATHENS - The mayor of a tiny Aegean island faces criminal charges after conducting Greece's first same-sex marriage ceremonies.

Tasos Aliferis held the civil ceremonies for two Greek gay and lesbian couples shortly after dawn yesterday on Tilos, angering conservative church officials and the country's justice minister.

"This is a huge step forward for human rights in Greece," said Evangelia Vlami, one of the newlyweds. "It is a very important day for us." Her marriage was held in front of about 30 people on Tilos. - ( AP)

Film studio fire accidental

LOS ANGELES - The huge fire that destroyed part of Universal Studios in California was accidentally started by workers using a blowtorch on the roof of a movie set. They were heating asphalt shingles to apply to the roof and the fire broke out after they left.

The fire began on a streetscape featuring New York brownstone facades at the 400-acre site. The theme park reopened yesterday giving tourists a view of the set that went up in flames , and authorities promised to investigate reports that firefighters were hindered by low water pressure. - ( AP)