A round-up of other stories in brief
22 Colombian prospectors die in landslide
Twenty-two Colombian gold prospectors, most of them women, died in a landslide that swamped their makeshift mine in the impoverished southwestern part of the country, a Red Cross spokesman said.
Sixteen women were among those killed in Saturday's disaster at the Suarez gold mine, said Colombian Red Cross spokesman Carlos Marquez.
"All the victims were people from Suarez who worked, informally, in the mine. This is a region where there are a lot of single mothers and their only source of work is the mine." - (Reuters)
Turkey seeks leave for attacks in Iraq
ANKARA -Turkey's cabinet asked parliament yesterday for permission to launch attacks on Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq that Washington fears could destabilise one of the most peaceful areas of the country.
Government spokesman Cemil Cicek said Turkey still hoped military action against the Kurds, who use the mountainous region as a base for attacks inside Turkey, would not be needed. - (Reuters)
Former detention chief on trial
BAGHDAD -The former head of a US detention facility in Iraq that held Saddam Hussein before his execution went on trial yesterday, facing life imprisonment for charges that include aiding the enemy.
Lieut-Col William Steele, the former commander of the 451st military police detachment at Camp Cropper, a detention facility near Baghdad airport, pleaded guilty to three of the seven charges at a pre-trial session on October 7th.
The most serious charge he still faces is that of aiding the enemy. He is accused of providing an unmonitored mobile phone to detainees. - (Reuters)
Anglicans seek gay marriage blessing
OTTAWA -The Ottawa branch of the Anglican Church of Canada has issued a challenge to the worldwide Anglican movement by asking its bishop to authorise the blessing of homosexual marriages.
In a weekend vote, the Ottawa diocese voted 177 to 97 to ask Bishop John Chapman to allow clergy "to bless duly solemnised and registered civil marriages between same-sex couples, where at least one party is baptised." - (Reuters)
Croatian war crimes trial opens
ZAGREB -A powerful parliamentary deputy and six other people went on trial in Croatia yesterday over the killing of Serb civilians during Croatia's 1991-1995 war of independence.
Branimir Glavas, who limped into the Zagreb county court with the help of a cane, is the first senior state official to be charged with such offences, in an indication of the country's growing resolve to confront its recent past. - (Reuters)