A round-up of today's other world news stories in brief
Turkish court jails ex-Nobel nominee
DIYARBAKIR - A Turkish court yesterday sentenced Kurdish politician Leyla Zana, a former Nobel Peace Prize nominee, to 10 years in prison for "committing crimes for a terror group", court officials said.
She was convicted of spreading propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerrilla group in nine speeches she made at protest meetings and news conferences. - (Reuters)
Note shortage shuts Gaza banks
GAZA - Bank branches across the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip shut their doors yesterday, saying they did not have enough bank notes in their vaults to operate normally because of an Israeli-led blockade.
"The bank is closed because of the occupation's ban on cash entry," signs read at several branches in Gaza City.
Israel said it opened its border crossings with the Gaza Strip yesterday for the first time in a week to allow in limited amounts of food, medical supplies and fuel.
- (Reuters)
Global fall in measles deaths
WASHINGTON - Measles deaths plummeted 74 per cent globally this decade thanks to a concerted effort to vaccinate children in Africa and other hard-hit regions but India remains troublesome, health officials said yesterday.
Measles deaths worldwide fell from an estimated 750,000 in 2000 - the year before the vaccination initiative began - to 197,000 in 2007, the UN World Health Organisation and other partners in the effort reported. - (Reuters)
Mayor blames gays for HIV/Aids
MOSCOW - Moscow has banned gays and lesbians from promoting their way of life because they can help spread HIV/Aids, the Russian capital's mayor, Yuri Luzhkov (72), was quoted as saying yesterday. "We have banned, and will ban, the propaganda of sexual minorities' opinions because they can be one of the factors in the spread of HIV infection," he said.
- (Reuters)