In brief

A round-up of other stories from around the world.

A round-up of other stories from around the world.

Guantanamo film actors held by police

LONDON - Four actors who play al-Qaeda suspects in a British film that won a prestigious prize were detained by the police at London-Luton airport as they returned from the Berlin Film Festival. They were questioned under anti- terror laws, alongside two of the former terrorism suspects they play on screen.

They were returning last Thursday after the premiere of the film, The Road to Guantanamo. It depicts the life of three men from Tipton in the West Midlands, who go to Afghanistan and end up being held for two years by the US at its military base on Cuba before being released without charge.

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The film, directed by Michael Winterbottom, won the Silver Bear award for direction at Berlin on Sunday - (Guardian service)

Scientists to defend evolution

ST LOUIS - Scientists at a large annual gathering have rallied in support of evolution, speaking out against what they call an assault on science from religious conservatives.

A group in St Louis, Missouri, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the largest US gathering of scientists yesterday announced the formation of an alliance to defend evolution. - (Reuters)

28 people killed in Nigerian rioting LAGOS - At least 28 people died in weekend rioting in two Muslim states in northern Nigeria over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad and a planned constitutional amendment.

Initial reports said 15 people died in sectarian riots in Maiduguri, capital of the northeastern state of Borno, and one was killed in political violence in the state of Katsina on Saturday. - (Reuters)

Police break up Uganda rally

KAMPALA - Ugandan riot police fired tear gas and a water cannon at opposition supporters yesterday in the latest outbreak of violence before the east African nation's first multi-party poll in 25 years.

Several hundred supporters of opposition leader and presidential candidate Kizza Besigye were gathered at a Kampala rugby club awaiting his final rally when police moved to disperse them. - (Reuters)

Half of British talk to their cars LONDON - Nearly half of British motorists regularly talk to their cars, giving words of encouragement ahead of a long trip and lavishing praise for a job well done at journey's end, according to research yesterday. - (Reuters)

Spanish back talks with Eta

MADRID - A vast majority of Spaniards support the idea of negotiations with Eta, but only if it first renounces violence, a poll released yesterday indicated. - (Reuters)

Bulgaria rattled by earthquake

SOFIA - An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale rattled Bulgaria yesterday, shattering windows and sending people fleeing into the streets. - (Reuters)

Man's death may have been racist

PARIS - A French judge was investigating yesterday whether a young Jewish man who died after being kidnapped and tortured may have been the victim of a racist attack. - (Reuters)

Iran's president in cartoon

TEHRAN - An Iranian newspaper has published a caricature of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hitting a punching bag with a nuclear emblem on it, marking the first time the country's leader has been drawn in a cartoon in more than 25 years. - (AP)