In short

Today's other stories in brief

Today's other stories in brief

Peace possible in five years, says Olmert

JERUSALEM - Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, yesterday cautiously welcomed the renewed Arab peace initiative and said it would be possible to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians within five years.

But in interviews published yesterday Mr Olmert said there would be no negotiation over refugees and that, for now, he would not discuss the key issues of a future agreement in his talks with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

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He also referred to Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas as a "terrorist" and accused him of personally transferring over $1 million to militants to carry out attacks against Israel. - (Guardian/Reuters)

Guantánamo prisoner sentenced

GUANTÁNAMO BAY - A US military tribunal at Guantánamo formally convicted Australian David Hicks yesterday on a charge of providing material support for terrorism.

The tribunal's judge accepted Hicks's guilty plea as part of an agreement that limits his sentence to seven years, in addition to the five he has already spent in Guantánamo without being charged. The deal allows for at least part of that sentence to be suspended. - ( Reuters)

Gunmen shoot illegal immigrants

PHOENIX - Unknown gunmen fired on a truck packed with suspected illegal immigrants in southern Arizona early yesterday, killing two people and wounding a third, police said.

The gunmen killed a man and a woman travelling in a pick-up truck near Green Valley, south of Tucson.

The dead are believed to be Mexican immigrants travelling with three family groups from the poor southern Mexican state of Chiapas. - (Reuters)

Nun 'healed' after prayer to pope

AIX-EN-PROVENCE - A French Catholic nun who said her Parkinson's disease disappeared after she prayed to the late Pope John Paul declined to call her restored health a miracle.

But she said: "I was ill and now I am healed."

Sr Marie Simon-Pierre (46) said she had suffered for four years and was about to quit work as a maternity ward supervisor when she suddenly found her hand was calm enough to write clearly again.

Her recovery could be central to a drive to beatify John Paul, putting him one step away from sainthood.

- (Reuters)