Today's world news in brief
Two charged over Antigua murders
ANTIGUA- A man and a teenager from Antigua have been charged with the murders of a British couple on their honeymoon, officials in the Caribbean island have said.
Kaniel Martin (20) and Avie Howell (17) appeared before a judge in the capital, St John's, on charges of murder, robbery and receiving stolen property. They were ordered to be held without bail.
Ben and Catherine Mullany, both 31 and from Wales, were married on July 12th and went to Antigua for a two-week honeymoon. On July 27th, the day they were to leave, they were shot before dawn at the Cocos Hotel in the island's southwest. - (Reuters)
Paedophile facilitator jailed
LONDON- A paedophile who acted as a "librarian" for a global internet child abuse ring has been jailed after one of the biggest undercover police investigations into online abuse in Britain.
Unemployed Philip Thompson (27) amassed nearly a quarter of a million indecent pictures of children, including thousands in the two most serious categories.
He was jailed for a minimum of 45 months at Teesside Crown Court in Middlesbrough. - (Reuters)
Fay heads for Florida Keys
KEY WEST- Store owners had boarded up their windows but few Florida Keys residents appeared inclined to flee as Tropical Storm Fay strengthened on its way to the islands after killing more than 50 people in the Caribbean.
The sixth storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was expected to refuel over the warm waters of the Florida Straits before striking the low- lying and flood-prone Keys later yesterday, the US National Hurricane Center said. - (Reuters)
UN alarm at race violence in Russia
GENEVA- A key United Nations rights body has voiced alarm at mounting racial violence in Russia and has called on Moscow to take firm action against ultra- nationalist and neo-Nazi groups and hate speech in the media.
A racial discrimination committee has also urged the Russian government to hold an investigation into police repression of Georgians in Russia in 2006. - (Reuters)
Ukraine drops delta canal plan
BUCHAREST- Ukraine has scrapped a plan to extend a shipping canal which would have threatened wildlife in the ecologically sensitive Danube Delta, according to the Romanian foreign ministry.
While a spokesman for the Ukrainian government said he was unaware of any such decision , Romania said it welcomed Kiev's move to halt the deep-water canal plan. - (Reuters)
Iran offers aid with satellites
TEHRAN- Iran says it is ready to help fellow Muslim states launch satellites into orbit after it successfully put a dummy satellite into orbit, a move that may increase Western suspicions over its atomic ambitions.
The long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into space can also be used for launching weapons. - (Reuters)
Man dies in Alton coach crash
LONDON- A man died and two people were seriously injured when a coach plunged down a steep embankment, the emergency services said last night.
One woman was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition and 20 more were taken to hospital for medical treatment, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
More than 60 were hurt when the coach overturned in the village of Alton, near the Alton Towers theme park, shortly before 6pm. - (PA)