A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Hamas wants ceasefire with Israel
GAZA - The Hamas government wants a ceasefire with Israel and is willing to ask Palestinian militants to stop firing rockets from Gaza into the Jewish state, a spokesman said yesterday.
But Ghazi Hamad said Israel had first to stop military activity in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
"I spoke today with the prime minister and he said we definitely want quiet everywhere. We are interested in a ceasefire everywhere," Hamad said in an interview on Israel Radio.
The Islamic militant group scrapped a 16-month truce with Israel last Friday and soon after launched a barrage of makeshift rockets at the Jewish state from Gaza. - (Reuters)
More UK troops for Afghanistan
LONDON - British Defence Secretary Des Browne announced 130 more troops for Afghanistan yesterday but senior military sources said no additional large scale deployment was planned despite worsening clashes there.
A review of force levels is thought to be under way and results should be ready within weeks, but the only additional forces they expect to require would be support troops for the 3,200 on the ground. - (Reuters)
Taylor may serve sentence in UK
LONDON - Britain promised yesterday to hold Liberia's Charles Taylor in jail if he is convicted of war crimes, paving the way for the West African country's former president to be tried in The Hague.
"I was delighted to be able to respond positively to the request of the UN Secretary General, that, should he be convicted, Charles Taylor serve his sentence in the UK," British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett said. - (Reuters)
Avoid World Cup bets, PM advises
PHNOM PENH - Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen urged his impoverished people yesterday not to sell their possessions to place bets on the soccer World Cup, saying it was a bad idea.
"Go ahead and watch it, but do not sell your cows, motorcycles, cars, homes and land to bet on the games," Hun Sen, a one-eyed former Khmer Rouge soldier, told several hundred villagers and foreign diplomats at a provincial hospital opening. "Just bet verbally, for fun." - (Reuters)
Civil rights group sues US defence
PHILADELPHIA - The American Civil Liberties Union sued the US Defence Department on Wednesday to demand information it says the government has collected on groups opposed to the war in Iraq.
The group says the Pentagon has been monitoring anti-war groups and individuals and has compiled lists on people it sees as potential threats but who the ACLU says are exercising their free-speech rights. - (Reuters)
Bishop makes case for homosexuals
NEW YORK - The gay American bishop at the centre of controversy over his consecration has pleaded with the US branch of the Anglican Church not to bar homosexuals from the job.
Gene Robinson told a national meeting of the Episcopal Church he was "not an abomination". - (PA)
Man pleads guilty to J-Lo video theft
NEW YORK - A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to stealing a video of the wedding of singers Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez and then trying to extort $1 million from the couple for its return.
Tito Moses ( 31) admitted in Manhattan State Supreme Court on Wednesday that he and an accomplice hatched a plot to extort the million dollars from the celebrity couple in exchange for the stolen wedding video. - (Reuters)