A round-up of other world news in brief
Arrest made after wedding tent fire
KUWAIT – Kuwait’s interior ministry has arrested one person on suspicion of starting a fire in a wedding tent that killed 46 women and children, according to the state news agency Kuna.
The health ministry said the death toll from the fire, which engulfed a women’s tent at the wedding on Saturday, had reached 46.
More than 70 others were injured. The tent, which could seat more than 200 people, had only one exit, which contributed to the high death toll. – (Reuters)
Forest fires rage in central Greece
ATHENS – A forest fire raged out of control in central Greece yesterday, burning isolated farmhouses and olive groves and threatening villages, authorities said.
Wildfires, mostly triggered by high temperatures, drought or arson, are frequent during the summer. Greece declared a state of emergency in 2007 during a 10-day blaze that killed 65 people.
On Monday, locals used hoses and spades to fight off the flames at the village of Prodromos, about 100km west of Athens. – (Reuters)
20,000 support Thaksin at rally
BANGKOK – More than 20,000 supporters of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra have rallied in the historic heart of Bangkok, handing in a petition to seek a royal pardon for the fugitive billionaire.
Plans to submit the petition had renewed fears of an intensification of the country’s four-year political crisis, which would further damage Thailand’s reputation as a stable investment and tourist destination.
The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, whose red-shirted ranks are filled largely by the rural poor, says 3.5 million Thais signed the petition, which has angered royalists and the middle classes who despise Mr Thaksin. – (Reuters)
Chiluba acquitted of all graft charges
LUSAKA – Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba has been acquitted of all charges in what was seen as a landmark corruption case against a former African head of state.
Zambia has earned praise from western donors for cracking down on corruption, a policy that critics say is rare in Africa. Some analysts say the ruling could be a setback for Zambia’s fight against graft.
Mr Chiluba’s co-accused, two business executives, were found guilty of theft and possession of state funds and were each imprisoned for three years. – (Reuters)
Giant carnivorous plant found
MANILA – A giant carnivorous plant has been discovered by a team of scientists in the central Philippines, and named after Sir David Attenborough. The new species of pitcher plant is so big it can catch rats as well as insects in its traps.
It occurs only on the summit of one mountain in Palawan, Philippines, and was discovered by botanists Alastair Robinson, Stewart McPherson, Volker Heinrich and Andreas Fleischman in June 2007. They named the remarkable plant Nepenthes Attenboroughii in honour of natural history expert Sir David Attenborough. – (PA)