A round-up of other world stories in brief...
Maliki says killings violate bilateral pact
BAGHDAD – Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki views a US military raid that killed two people overnight in the southern city of Kut as a crime that violated a bilateral security pact and wants US forces to hand those responsible to the courts, according to an Iraqi official.
“The general commander [Mr Maliki] is affirming that the killing of two citizens and detaining others in Kut is considered a violation of the security pact,” according to an official in the office of Baghdad security spokesman Maj Gen Qassim Moussawi. – (Reuters)
Nuno Álvares Pereira canonised
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI has created five new saints, including Portugal’s national hero, Nuno Álvares Pereira, a medieval warrior-friar credited with securing Portugal’s independence from Castile.
The pope said yesterday that the 14th-century nobleman had shown that, “in any situation, even of a military and warlike nature, it is possible to act and live out the values and principles of Christian life”. – (Reuters)
Two killed in talent studio collapse
TBILISI – Two people were killed when the five-storey studios of a Georgian TV talent show collapsed early yesterday. Fourteen people, including participants and technical staff of the Star Academy show, were in the Soviet-era building in the capital Tbilisi when it collapsed. Two members of the support crew died and two others were being treated in hospital. – (Reuters)
Italian cruiser fights off pirates
NAIROBI – An Italian cruise ship used guns and a firehose to beat off an attack by pirates off the east African coast, according to the vessel’s captain.
Pirates yesterday also freed a Yemeni-owned tanker, the Sea Princess II.
Commander Ciro Pinto of the MSC Melody, which has a capacity of 1,500 passengers and crew, said his ship was slightly damaged by firing from the pirates.
“They tried to put up a ladder with hooks. They were climbing up, so we reacted. We started firing. When they saw us firing – we even sprayed them with water with the firehose – they gave up and went off,” he said. – (Reuters)
Pharaonic-era mummies found
LAHUN – Archaeologists have unearthed a cache of pharaonic-era mummies in brightly painted wooden coffins near Egypt’s little- known Lahun pyramid.
The mummies were the first to be found in the sand- covered rock surrounding the mud-brick Lahun pyramid, believed to be built by the 12th dynasty pharaoh Senusret II 4,000 years ago.
The site was first excavated more than a century ago. – (Reuters)