Other stories from around the world in brief
Israeli army to pull out of Lebanon soon
JERUSALEM - The Israeli army yesterday said it could complete a pull-out from southern Lebanon within a few days as the United Nations said the number of peacekeepers in the devastated country had reached 5,000.
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said such a level of peacekeepers on the ground in southern Lebanon should enable Israel to finish its withdrawal.
"Things are going as planned at this stage with the co-ordination. Hopefully we'll leave very soon," said Miri Eisin, Mr Olmert's spokeswoman. - (Reuters)
Czech PM rejects expulsion centre
PRAGUE - New Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek yesterday said he opposed plans by a group representing Germans forced out of eastern Europe after the second World War to build a permanent centre on the expulsions.
Reiterating a long-standing Czech position, the prime minister, leader of the right-wing Civic Democrats, said his government wanted relations with Germany to focus on "the present and the future".
"I consider attempts to build the so-called Centre Against Expulsions to be counterproductive, damaging Czech-German relations, not helping European integration, nor the atmosphere in central Europe," he said in a statement. The Centre Against Expulsions plans to build a permanent centre in Berlin. - (Reuters)
Congo protest over fire at TV stations
KINSHASA - Congolese youths blocked the main highway through Kinshasa yesterday and stoned UN peacekeepers in a second day of protests at a fire that crippled TV stations belonging to their presidential candidate.
A day after the mysterious fire silenced the two channels allied to vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, hundreds of youths set fire to tyres on Kinshasa's main boulevard and threw stones at cars and UN armoured vehicles. - (Reuters)
Presidential rivals hurl accusations
ABUJA - Nigeria's vice president Atiku Abubakar, who wants to run for president in elections next year, accused secret police of abducting his campaign spokesman yesterday on orders from president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Abubakar and Obasanjo are locked in a fierce public feud because the president appears determined to thwart his deputy's ambition.
The pair have hurled accusations of corruption at each other almost every day for the past two weeks. - (Reuters)
Suspect package on Air India flight
TORONTO - Canadian police destroyed a suspicious package yesterday that was found on an Air India flight heading to England.
The airliner turned back to Toronto on Monday night after a passenger discovered the package in one of the plane's washrooms and alerted the crew.
The contents of the package are still under investigation, a police spokesman said. - (Reuters)
Nasa delays space shuttle's return
CAPE CANAVERAL - Nasa yesterday delayed shuttle Atlantis' homecoming by a day due to bad weather expected at the Florida landing site and because it wanted time to examine video of an object seen falling out of the craft.
Nasa rescheduled touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center for 6:22am local time tomorrow.
"Based on this weather we're having, we're going to waive off tomorrow," astronaut Terry Virts from Mission Control in Houston told Atlantis commander Brent Jett. - (Reuters)