A round-up of today's other stories in brief
US troops kill three Iraqi civilians
BAGHDAD - US troops, fearing a car-bomb attack, fired on a crowded minivan and killed at least three civilians including a child north of the Iraqi capital yesterday.
The US army's 3rd Infantry Division said its troops had opened fire after first trying to wave the minivan to a stop and then firing warning shots.
Two men and a child were killed and three people wounded.
Survivors disputed the US military's account, insisting that five family members, including two children, died and four were wounded as bullets tore through the van.
There has been no confirmation that Zarqawi, Iraq's most wanted militant, is dead after a gunfight with US troops in Mosul on Saturday. - (Reuters)
Rail strike adds to French woes
PARIS - A strike by French rail workers delayed commuters yesterday and added to the conservative government's woes, just days after France's worst urban unrest in almost 40 years abated.
Four trade unions worried about a privatisation of the SNCF railway company went on strike, despite a letter from transport minister Dominique Perben assuring them there were no plans to sell SNCF or to close some railway lines.
SNCF chief Louis Gallois said a one-day strike could cost the company about €20 million. - (Reuters)
Resolution on Iran crisis deferred
VIENNA - EU and US envoys will not push immediately to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, to give Russia time to ease a crisis triggered by suspicions Tehran is seeking a nuclear arsenal.
Diplomats said yesterday a meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog on Thursday would shelve a resolution to refer Iran for possible sanctions in favour of a statement demanding Iran come clean on a suspected bomb-making document. "There will be no resolution. The Russians and Chinese oppose this," said a diplomat from the so-called EU3. - (Reuters)
Glitter could face firing squad
VUNG TAU - Gary Glitter could face the death penalty in Vietnam after it emerged yesterday that a 12-year-old girl has claimed the disgraced rocker paid to have sexual intercourse with her three times.
Police in the resort town of Vung Tau, where Glitter (61) has been detained since Saturday amid allegations he had sex with at least one minor, said two girls aged 18 and 12 went to his rented house in the town and had sex with him.
Obscene acts with a child carry a penalty of up to 12 years in prison, but sex with someone as young as 12 carries a maximum penalty of death before a firing squad. - (Guardian Service)