Other stories from around the world in brief
Russia rails against Iran sanctions
MOSCOW - Russia, committed to the construction of an atomic reactor in Iran, yesterday criticised a draft UN resolution providing for some form of sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear ambitions.
Critical comments by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, making plain Moscow's distaste for sanctions as a punitive tool, looked likely to complicate diplomatic efforts to resolve months of confrontation between Tehran and the West. - (Reuters)
28 policemen killed in Iraq
BAGHDAD - Gunmen yesterday ambushed an Iraqi police convoy north of Baghdad, killing 28 policemen, including the commander, and wounding 25 more, police said.
It was the second major ambush of police in the past week. On Sunday, an assault on a convoy of buses near Baquba killed 13 Iraqi police recruits. - (Reuters)
Call for inquiry into Tibet deaths
NEW YORK - China should allow an independent inquiry into the deadly shooting by Chinese troops on 75 Tibetans fleeing the country's mountainous frontier into Nepal, a US-based human rights group said yesterday.
Human Rights Watch said Beijing should also rescind any orders that allow border troops to fire on unarmed civilians. Refugee groups have said that a 17-year-old nun and a man in his 20s were killed in the September 30th shooting. - (Reuters)
Pope warns EU on xenophobia
ROME - Pope Benedict yesterday urged EU countries to respect the rights of immigrant communities, saying dialogue between members of different faiths was essential to avoid a rise of xenophobia. - (Reuters)
French book prize for American
PARIS - The Académie française yesterday awarded its top literary prize for the first time to an American, whose debut novel, written in French, has become a bestseller. Les Bienveillantes (The Benevolent) by Jonathan Littel took the "Grand Prix du Roman" in the first round of voting. - (Reuters)
Italian PM Prodi spied upon
MILAN - Italian prime minister Romano Prodi and his wife have been spied on for the past two years with state employees making illegal checks on their tax returns and financial records, a judicial source said yesterday. The investigation showed that officials checked the tax records of Mr Prodi "many, many times". - (Reuters)