A roundup of today's other foreign news in brief
'Atlantis' launched for final time
CAPE CANAVERAL – The space shuttle Atlantisand six veteran astronauts blasted off yesterday from the Kennedy Space Center to deliver a Russian module and spare parts to the International Space Station.
The launch was the last for Atlantis, and the third last for the shuttle programme. Nasa is retiring the shuttles, which began flying in 1981, due to cost and safety issues. Shuttles Discoveryand Endeavourare scheduled for their final flights later this year.
Atlantislaunched from its seaside pad at 2.20pm local time (6.20pm GMT). It soared over the Atlantic Ocean and headed towards an orbital rendezvous with the space station 354km (220 miles) above Earth. – (Reuters)
Attack at soccer match kills eight
MOSUL – Insurgents attacked players and spectators at a soccer match yesterday in volatile northern Iraq, killing eight and wounding 120 as al-Qaeda warned of “dark days coloured in blood” for the country’s Shia majority.
One attacker drove a pick-up truck full of explosives on to the soccer pitch, targeting players, while two suicide bombers strolled into the crowd of onlookers, police and witnesses said.
The blasts took place in Tal Afar, a town predominantly inhabited by Shia Turkmen about 60km (40 miles) west of the violent city of Mosul, where Sunni Islamist insurgents such as al-Qaeda remain active. – (Reuters)
Palestinian boy shot by settlers, says witnesses
RAMALLAH – The body of a Palestinian teenager was found in the occupied West Bank yesterday.
Palestinian police and witnesses said he had been shot dead by Jewish settlers after he threw rocks at their car.
The body of Aysar Zaben (16) was not found until after midnight, although the incident happened on Thursday on a road near the city of Ramallah, they said.
An Israeli police spokesman said the incident was being investigated but it was not clear exactly what took place.
Witnesses said a group of Palestinian teenagers threw rocks at a car carrying Jewish settlers. The armed settlers then fired at the stone throwers. – (Reuters)