A roundup of today's other world news in brief
Hostage held for 12 years released
FLORENCIA – Colombian rebels on Tuesday freed a government soldier who was held hostage in the jungle for more than 12 years and symbolised those left behind in a war against Latin America’s oldest insurgency.
A Brazilian military helicopter ferried Sgt Pablo Emilio Moncayo to a civilian airport in Florencia, 370km south of the capital Bogota, after rebels handed him to the Red Cross in Colombia’s remote southern jungle.
His release was the second handover this week and raised hopes for a broader hostage deal with the Farc, once a powerful rebel force that has been battered by President Alvaro Uribe’s war against guerrillas and cocaine traffickers. – (Reuters)
Bicycle bomb blast in Afghan market
KANDAHAR – A bomb attached to a bicycle exploded in a busy market in southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing at least eight people and wounding 38, an Afghan official said.
Earlier reports from Helmand province said a suicide bomber on foot had caused the blast, close to a group of local officials handing out seeds to villagers as part of a scheme to dissuade people from growing opium poppy.
Zemarai Bashary, spokesman for the interior ministry in Kabul, said eight people were killed in Nahr-e-Saraj district. He said the death toll could rise.
Mr Bashary said the bomb was on a bicycle parked in the market. – (Reuters)
UK riot officer cleared of assault
LONDON – A riot squad officer who provoked national outrage by hitting a G20 protester with a metal baton had been cleared of assault.
Metropolitan police sergeant Delroy Smellie (47), walked free from court and was reinstated within hours, almost a year after the clash.
The officer, a member of the force’s controversial territorial support group, was accused of beating animal rights activist Nicola Fisher.
But a judge ruled there was no evidence his use of the extendable weapon to defend himself was unreasonable.
Sgt Smellie, who could still face misconduct proceedings, hugged and kissed supporters after giving a double thumbs up and thanking the judge. – (PA)
Six powers to draw up Iran sanctions
LONDON – Six world powers, including China, agreed yesterday to start drawing up new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme in the next few days, a source with knowledge of the talks said.
The source said representatives of Britain, the US, France, Russia and Germany had reached agreement with Beijing during a conference call.
“It has been agreed with China to start drawing up sanctions on Iran,” the source said. “Drawing up of a security council resolution is to begin in the next few days.”
Diplomats say China has been slowly falling in line with the other powers involved in the negotiations on Iran by backing the idea of new UN sanctions against Tehran, but Beijing wants any new steps to be weak. They say the four western powers would like a resolution to be adopted soon. – (Reuters)
Flight attendants pose nude over pay
MADRID – Flight attendants owed up to nine months’ wages by a grounded Spanish airline have posed nude for a calendar to draw attention to their plight, one of the cabin crew turned model said yesterday.
Selections from the calendar, which have appeared in the Spanish media, show the Air Comet attendants, all female, posing provocatively in and outside airline cabins, and in one case on top of a jet turbine.
“We are just demanding our rights to receive what is ours, we each have eight or nine months of unpaid salaries,” attendant Adriana Ricardo, who appears in the calendar, said. Air Comet filed for administration in December. – (Reuters)