Today's other stories in brief
Aircraft goes missing with 14 on board
CARACAS - An aircraft disappeared yesterday off the coast of Venezuela with 14 people on board, including eight Italians, rescue officials and the Italian government said.
The Czech-made LET L-410 aircraft was flying to the Los Roques archipelago from Caracas but never arrived at its destination, air rescue worker Caleb Castro said. - (Reuters)
BBC presenter is murder suspect
LONDON - A BBC children's television presenter has been arrested on suspicion of murder after his fiancee was found dead in the bathroom of their London flat, his lawyer and police said yesterday.
Mark Speight, who hosts the art show SMart, was held at the scene on Thursday and later bailed to return to a police station in early February. - (Reuters)
Dutch court rules out police strike
AMSTERDAM - Dutch police can not hold a planned strike that would reduce security patrols at embassies in The Hague because it could undermine public safety, a Dutch court said yesterday.
The strike, which was due to be held today, would have affected embassies including those of the United States and Turkey. - (Reuters)
Britney Spears taken to hospital
LOS ANGELES - Lawyers for Kevin Federline, ex-husband of pop star Britney Spears, went to court yesterday seeking to strip the troubled singer of visitation rights to their sons hours after she was hospitalised following a fit of hysterics.
Police and ambulances were called to her Los Angeles house on Thursday night, police said. Television reports showed Spears (26) being taken out of her home on a gurney and driven to hospital in an ambulance. A police spokesman said Spears was under the influence of an unknown substance and was being examined in the hospital. - (Reuters)
French museums to offer free entry
PARIS - French national museums, including the Louvre in Paris, will let in many visitors free in the coming months, in an experiment to open up high culture to a wider public.
Until June 30th, 2008, some national museums will offer free admission at all times to their permanent collections, while others will offer it to those under 26 one evening a week. - (Reuters)