Today's other stories in brief
Killer Wright to spend rest of life in jail
LONDON - Ipswich killer Steve Wright was jailed for life yesterday without the prospect of parole for the murder of five prostitutes.
Former forklift truck driver Wright (49) killed the five drug-addicted women in late 2006 by asphyxiating them. He was convicted on Thursday.
At Ipswich Crown Court Mr Justice Gross gave Wright a whole-life term, meaning he will spend the rest of his life in jail. - (Reuters)
Six policemen die in suicide bomb
FALLUJA, Iraq - A suicide bomber killed six policemen and wounded nine yesterday when he detonated a jacket packed with explosives outside a mosque in Falluja, a mainly Sunni Arab city west of Baghdad, police said.
The man approached a police checkpoint near the mosque on the outskirts of the city, 50km (31 miles) west of the capital, and blew himself up, police said. - (Reuters)
Lopez gives birth to twins
NEW YORK - US singer-actress Jennifer Lopez gave birth to twins - a boy and a girl - early yesterday in a New York hospital. The 38-year-old, who is married to singer Marc Anthony, delivered her first children just after midnight in a Long Island hospital, manager Simon Fields said. "They are healthy, happy and thrilled," Mr Fields said of the new family.
DRC peace deal under threat
KINSHASA - A month-old peace accord in east Democratic Republic of Congo faced a fresh hitch yesterday when Tutsi rebels halted participation in a ceasefire commission in protest at UN allegations they had massacred civilians.
The move announced by renegade Tutsi Gen Laurent Nkunda posed a potential threat to the January 23rd ceasefire and peace pact signed by Gen Nkunda's rebels, Congolese president Joseph Kabila's government and rival eastern militia groups. - (Reuters)
46 killed in aircraft crash
MERIDA, Venezuela - All 46 people on board were killed when a Venezuelan passenger plane hit the sheer face of an Andean mountainside shortly after takeoff from Merida yesterday.
Rescuers rappelled from helicopters to search for remains in the shattered wreckage lodged 4,000m (13,000ft) above sea level. - (Reuters)
Anger at Cameron Auschwitz remark
LONDON - British Conservative leader David Cameron faced demands for an apology yesterday after describing state support for trips to Auschwitz as a "gimmick".
"The Jewish community will be deeply hurt and offended by this," Labour peer Lord Janner said.
"It's a low form of politics which David Cameron must already be regretting.
"I think it's very, very important that he apologises."
Mr Cameron's remark referred to funding for two pupils from every further education institution to visit Auschwitz. He described this as another "gimmick" from Gordon Brown's government. - (PA)
Officer escorting Clinton killed
DALLAS - A Dallas motorcycle police officer in Hillary Clinton's motorcade was killed in a road accident yesterday while escorting the Democratic presidential contender to a rally ahead of the March 4th Texas primary. Mrs Clinton said she expressed her deepest condolences to the family of Cpl Victor Lozada-Tirado and police department.
She made only a brief appearance at a rally she had planned in nearby Fort Worth, cutting it short to visit the dead officer's family. - (Reuters)