A round-up of other world news in brief
19 die in wave of Baghdad bombings
BAGHDAD - A volley of explosions killed 19 people in Baghdad yesterday, including five who were caught up in a suicide attack by a woman whose bomb vest was apparently detonated remotely.
Witnesses to the attack at the entrance to Baghdad's international zone said the woman was behaving erratically at the checkpoint before her bomb exploded.
Witnesses told Iraqi media that the woman's explosives were set off remotely.
The attack came moments before a much larger "sticky bomb" attached to a bus exploded, killing 13 female government employees inside. A third bomb killed a man in a shopping district. - (Guardian service)
Israel lets limited aid in to Gaza
GAZA - Israel opened border crossings with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip yesterday, allowing in limited amounts of food and fuel for the second time in three weeks after the United Nations warned of a looming humanitarian crisis.
Aid groups said the one-day shipment would have minimal impact because border crossings have been closed for so long, depleting reserves. "It is just not enough," said a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency. - (Reuters)
Bid to stop Syrian atomic aid blocked
VIENNA - The UN nuclear watchdog chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, objected to western moves yesterday to block aid for a planned Syrian nuclear power plant, saying US intelligence pointing to a secret Syrian atomic weapons programme remained unproven.
Diplomats at a 35-nation meeting of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) governors said the US, Canada and EU signalled it would be prudent to halt the project while Syria is under IAEA investigation over the US reports.
But China, Russia and developing nations, which together comprise the majority on the governing body, rejected the western challenge as "political interference" undercutting the IAEA's aid programme for civilian atomic energy development. - (Reuters)
Juror discussed trial on Facebook
LANCASHIRE - A woman juror was dismissed from a trial after posting details of the case on Facebook and asking friends if they thought the defendants were guilty.
The woman went against strict rules forbidding jurors from discussing cases with family and friends and posted details of the sexual assault and child abduction trial on the social networking site.
After the juror's actions were discovered, she was removed from the case at Burnley crown court. - (PA)
British police to get 10,000 Tasers
LONDON - Tens of thousands of police officers across England and Wales are to be allowed to use high- voltage Taser stun guns, the British government said yesterday.
Funding will be provided for police chiefs to buy an extra 10,000 of the weapons - designed to temporarily disable a suspect - after a year-long trial in 10 police forces, a home office spokesman said. Previously, use of Tasers had been restricted to 6,500 authorised firearms officers. - (Reuters)