A round-up to today's other stories in brief.
3 charged in connection with bank raid
KENT – Three people were last night charged in connection with the multimillion pound Securitas depot raid on Wednesday of last week, Kent Police said.
Car salesman John Fowler (57), was charged with conspiracy to rob Securitas at Tonbridge and three charges of kidnapping Colin, Lynn and Craig Dixon.
A second man, Stuart Royle (47), was charged with conspiracy to rob and Kim Shackelton, a 39-year-old woman, was charged with handling stolen goods.
The three are the first people to charged in connection with the £53 million robbery.
Police yesterday recovered a "substantial amount" of cash on a farm in the county of Kent, according to neighbours. - (PA)
Pope no longer a patriarch
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict has dropped one of his nine official titles, giving up "Patriarch of the West" in a discreet step apparently intended to promote closer ties with the Orthodox churches of the East.
Benedict will retain titles such as Vicar of Jesus Christ and Servant of the Servants of God, but the patriarch title will not appear in the Vatican's annual directory due out later this month.
The pope has stressed his desire to improve ties with the Orthodox churches, which split from Rome in 1054; a Vatican aide said scrapping the patriarch title was meant to help that. - (Reuters)
Ivory Coast factions meet
YAMOUSSOUKRO, Ivory Coast - A meeting of key players in war-divided Ivory Coast marks the first decisive action of a new prime minister named under a UN-backed peace plan and raises tentative hopes for a more dynamic phase of peace efforts.
Analysts said Tuesday's meeting, the first on home ground between all the top political and rebel figures since a brief 2002-03 civil war split the country in two, indicated a greater readiness to shoulder responsibility for the country's problems. - (Reuters)
Inquiry promised into Mills case
LONDON - Claims that the Home Office mishandled an extradition request from Italy involving David Mills, husband of the beleaguered culture secretary Tessa Jowell, will be investigated, Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday.
According to a report in the Times yesterday, Italian prosecutors have claimed that the Home Office harmed its inquiry into Mr Mills, and a move to extradite him, by revealing sensitive information to the Berlusconi government.
The Home Office has denied any wrongdoing. - (PA)
Woman held in animal rights case
GLOUCESTER - A 31-year- old woman was arrested yesterday by detectives investigating a hate campaign waged against the owners of a guinea pig-breeding farm.
The woman was detained at her home in Gloucester by officers investigating the theft of a pensioner's body from a graveyard in Yoxall, Staffordshire, in 2004.
The Hall family announced the closure of the farm on January 20th. The body of Gladys Hammond (82), mother-in- law of Christopher Hall, who co-owns the farm, was dug up and removed under cover of darkness from St Peter's church in October, 2004. - (PA)
Philippines still under emergency
MANILA - Philippines president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said yesterday that she will keep a six-day-old state of emergency in place while awaiting reports on the aftermath of a foiled coup plot.
The justice secretary, meanwhile, said he was not ready to recommend lifting emergency laws as it wasn't clear if the threat to Ms Arroyo's administration had been eliminated. - (AP)