A round-up of today's other stories in brief
13 Iraqi police recruits killed in ambush
BAGHDAD - A bomb blast and an ambush by gunmen on a convoy of buses near the town of Baquba killed 13 police recruits yesterday and several more recruits were kidnapped, a local official said.
... Another 25 police recruits were wounded, the official said, when buses that were taking them to Baghdad were attacked by insurgents using mortars and rifle fire on Saturday. - (Reuters)
Police and youths clash in Paris
PARIS - French police and youths clashed in a Paris suburb yesterday as tensions mounted ahead of the anniversary of riots last year that shocked the country and provoked renewed debate about the integration of immigrants.
A police spokesman said 30 to 50 people were involved in clashes in Grigny (south of Paris) that started after youths set cars on fire and torched a bus after ordering its passengers off. - (Reuters)
Politicians back call to end veil row
LONDON - Politicians backed an appeal to end the "polarising" row over Muslim veils yesterday after the head of Britain's race relations watchdog warned it could trigger race riots.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, said the debate surrounding the issue "seems to have turned into something really quite ugly". He warned in the Sunday Times that the divisions risked becoming "the trigger for the grim spiral that produced riots in the north of England five years ago. Only this time the conflict could be much worse." - (PA)
Peace activist guilty of assault
LONDON - A peace activist who once acted as a human shield in Iraq is due to be sentenced tomorrow for assaulting a pop singer.
New Zealander Christian Briggs (30) punched Billy Leeson, the front man for guitar band Les Incompetents, after an argument on a bus.
The 19-year-old struck his head on the pavement, fractured his skull and fell into a coma. He regained consciousness, but is still struggling to make a full recovery five months later.
Briggs pleaded guilty at an earlier Snaresbrook Crown Court hearing to causing grievous bodily harm. The architectural technician spent three weeks in Iraq with the Truth Justice Peace Human Shield Action Group in 2003 protesting against the US-led invasion. - (PA)
Civic Democrats lead Czech poll
PRAGUE - The right-wing Civic Democrats dominated the first round of Czech elections for the upper house Senate, results showed yesterday, boosting the prime minister, Mirek Topolanek, and his calls for an early vote for a new parliament.
The election is a test of strength for the Civic Democrats and the rival leftist Social Democrats, who have been in a power struggle since inconclusive parliamentary elections in June. - (Reuters)