A round-up of today's other world news in brief
Rebel aircraft shot down in Sri Lanka raid
COLOMBO – Two Tamil Tiger aircraft were shot down by the military last night after launching a surprise raid on the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.
One of the aircraft crashed into a government office building, killing one person and wounding more than 40.
The raid was an embarrassment for the government, which has driven the rebels out of most of their northern strongholds and had said it was on the verge of destroying the group. – (AP)
Zimbabwe cholera cases pass 80,000
GENEVA – More than 80,000 people have been infected with cholera in a six- month outbreak in Zimbabwe that has killed 3,759, the World Health Organisation said yesterday.
About half of the patients who died from the water- borne diarrhoeal disease failed to reach any of the country’s 365 cholera treatment centres. – (Reuters)
No extradition for genocide suspect
HELSINKI – Finland will not extradite a genocide suspect to Rwanda because it fears he will not get a fair trial, the government said yesterday. Rwandan authorities had requested that François Bazaramba, a former pastor at a Baptist church in Rwanda, be extradited to face charges for his alleged role in the planning and carrying out the 1994 genocide. – (Reuters)
Goody ‘thrilled’ at curfew change
Cancer victim Jade Goody and her fiance, Jack Tweed, were “absolutely thrilled” yesterday after being told they will be able to spend their wedding night together.
The British ministry of justice said the terms of Mr Tweed’s curfew, imposed following his release from prison, would be changed to reflect the “exceptional” circumstances. – (PA)
Bosnian Serbs to pay Muslims $42m
BANJA LUKA – The authorities of the Bosnian Serb-controlled town Banja Luka must pay $42 million (€32.7 million) to its Islamic community for 16 local mosques destroyed during the 1992 to 1995 Bosnian war, a local magistrate ruled yesterday.
The court ruling comes eight years after local Muslims filed the first case in Bosnia in which a religious community sought joint reparation for wartime damages. – (Reuters)
France unveils Guadeloupe deal
GUADELOUPE – A relative calm returned to violence- torn Guadeloupe yesterday after France announced a multimillion-euro aid package aimed at easing the growing crisis.
Streets were mostly quiet following a week of arson attacks and gunfire by protesters angry over low wages and a high cost of living on the French territory and its neighbour Martinique. – (AP)
Dentist forcibly removed dentures
BERLIN – A German court yesterday found a dentist guilty of assault for forcibly extracting the dentures from a patient who did not pay a €700 bill.
The dentist (57) apologised to the municipal court in Neu-Ulm after he was fined €6,000 for going to the woman’s home and taking the false teeth from her mouth. – (Reuters)
Drugs found in biscuit lorry
HANTS – Two Spanish men were being questioned yesterday after £1.8 million (€2.03 million) of cocaine was discovered in a lorryload of biscuits arriving in the UK from St Malo in France.
UK border agency officers seized about 30 kilos of cocaine at Portsmouth Continental Ferry Port in Hants and arrested the men last night. – (PA)