Other world stories in brief
US to deport man (83) over Nazi massacre
WASHINGTON- A US appeals panel has upheld an order to deport a Wisconsin man accused of serving as a Nazi SS guard, whose duty was to finish off dying Jews in a two-day mass execution in Poland that killed more than 40,000, the US justice department said yesterday.
The department said the board of immigration appeals had affirmed the January 2007 order to deport Josias Kumpf (83) to Germany, Austria or his native Serbia.
"His culpability in this atrocity does not diminish with the passage of time," said acting assistant attorney general Matthew Friedrich. - (Reuters)
No church access for Dan Brown film
ROME- The Italian Catholic Church has refused to allow a movie based on a Dan Brown novel be filmed in churches in Rome after the author's Da Vinci Code novel and film outraged the Vatican.
Angels and Demons, starring Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor, is the prequel to Brown's bestselling novel. - (Reuters)
Hague court may release suspect
AMSTERDAM- The International Criminal Court in The Hague may have to release the first suspect to come before it because of concerns that a fair trial may no longer be possible, the court said yesterday.
The trial of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga was due to start on June 23rd. - (Reuters)
Chechnya rebels kill three soldiers
MOSCOW- Rebels in Russia's southern Chechnya region killed three soldiers in an ambush on a military convoy yesterday, news agencies reported, in one of the deadliest attacks on Russian forces this year.
The Kremlin says fighting in mainly Muslim Chechnya has ended and has backed a local leader to rebuild the region. - (Reuters)
Dead man elected as village mayor
BUCHAREST- The residents of a Romanian village knowingly voted in a dead man as their mayor in a municipal election at the weekend, preferring him to his living opponent.
Neculai Ivascu (57), who ran the village for almost two decades, died from liver disease just after voting began - but still won by 23 votes. "I know he died, but I don't want change," a villager said. - (Reuters)
Srebrenica civil action begins
THE HAGUE- A Dutch court yesterday began hearing from a survivor of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre who says Dutch troops guarding the Bosnian town as part of a UN force allowed Bosnian Serbs to murder his family.
It is the first civil action by relatives of Srebrenica victims against the Netherlands over its part in the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. - (Reuters)
Spanish truckers call off action
SPAIN- Striking Spanish lorry drivers yesterday called off their action over soaring fuel costs. Three unions mostly representing self-employed drivers said they were suspending the strike which started on June 9th "so as not to cause more economic damage". - (AP)
No puppy love as dog loses $10m
NEW YORK- A dog owned by hotelier Leona Helmsley which was left millions of dollars in her will has to face a more frugal lifestyle.
A New York judge reduced the trust fund for Trouble from $12 million (€7.75 million) to $2 million.
The remaining money will now go to Helmsley's charitable foundation. - (AP)