Today's other stories in brief
Strikes may close UK's major airports
LONDON - Tens of thousands of air passengers face New Year travel misery after union bosses yesterday called a series of strikes at some of the UK's busiest airports in a row over pensions.
Firefighters, security, clerical and maintenance staff at seven airports owned by BAA, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Glasgow, will walk out at 6am on January 7 for 24 hours, at 6am on January 14 for 24 hours and at 6am on January 17 for 48 hours in protest at the closure of the final salary pension scheme for new workers.
Unite predicted that the action would close the airports, leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and wrecking travel plans. - (PA)
No punishments over tube killing
LONDON - No one is to be punished for police failings which led to an innocent man being shot dead on a tube train, it was announced yesterday.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said four senior officers, including Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, should not face disciplinary action over the shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.
But the 27-year-old electrician's family branded the decision - which brings a series of police watchdog reviews into the tragedy to a close - a "scandal". - (PA)
Bodies of 12 Indian policemen found
RAIPUR, India - The bodies of at least 12 policemen were recovered from a jungle in central India yesterday, a day after Maoist rebels ambushed a security patrol and looted weapons, police said.
The attack occurred in the remote Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh state, the epicentre of the Maoist insurgency.
Police said about two dozen security men had managed to flee Thursday's rebel gunfire and report the attack. But retrieving the bodies of the dead policemen from the dense jungle had been delayed because the area had landmines planted by the rebels. - (Reuters)
EU observer condemns clashes
MOLO - The EU's chief election monitor in Kenya has condemned clashes that have killed hundreds and displaced thousands in the run-up to a Dec 27th presidential and parliamentary election.
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, chief EU observer, flew to hot spots by helicopter, stopping in Molo where thousands of people have set up makeshift camps after being forced to flee violence in nearby Kuresoi.
"Seeing this many people living in these sorts of conditions is heart-rending. It is beneath Kenya . . . It's a shock to witness these kinds of scenes here," Mr Lambsdorff said. - (Reuters)
Roof mogul dies after garage fall
CHICAGO - One of the world's richest men who made a fortune with a roofing company has died after falling through the garage roof at his home.
Ken Hendricks (66) was checking on construction of the roof at his house in Illinois when the accident happened. He suffered massive head injuries.
Mr Hendricks, the 91st richest person in America, was the founder of ABC Supply, a wholesale distributor of roofing materials. He had a net worth of an estimated $3.5 billion (€1.7 billion). - (AP)
EU steps in over Russia threats
MOSCOW - Moscow came under pressure from the European Union yesterday to drop its threat to shut down British Council offices in Russia on New Year's Day.
Amid increasingly fraught relations, the UK's top diplomat told Russian ambassador Yuri Fedotov yesterday that the move would be illegal and unjustified. - (Reuters)