A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Israeli air strike kills militants, boy
GAZA - An Israeli air strike killed two Islamic Jihad militants and three other people in the Gaza Strip yesterday, including an eight-year-old boy, Palestinian medics and witnesses said.
The Israeli army confirmed the strike on a car carrying the two militants, which came on the eve of formal campaigning for Israel's elections on March 28th and after interim prime minister Ehud Olmert vowed to use an "iron fist" against militants. - (Reuters)
Wrangling and violence continue
BAGHDAD - Iraqi president Jalal Talabani said yesterday he would convene parliament in six days, but political wrangling means a government of national unity is unlikely to be formed any time soon.
A car bomb north of Baghdad killed six people, including two children. Five other car bombs exploded in the capital, killing at least 22. - (Reuters)
Three climbers die in Spain
MADRID - Three British climbers were found dead in Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains yesterday, police said, a day after one of the group survived blizzards and freezing temperatures to raise the alarm. A police spokesman said the three died of hypothermia after a snowstorm battered the mountains east of Granada.
He described the climbing expedition as reckless. "They died of hypothermia. It seems they were not prepared." - (Reuters)
Lib Dem shadow cabinet named
LONDON - Menzies Campbell yesterday announced his Liberal Democrat shadow cabinet and rewarded a key supporter and his closest leadership rival with key jobs. Rising star Nick Clegg has been given the high-profile home affairs brief. Leadership runner-up Chris Huhne will speak on the environment; Michael Moore has been promoted from defence to foreign affairs; and Julia Goldsworthy becomes shadow chief secretary to the treasury.
Two of the party's older hands - Vince Cable and Steve Webb - retained their respective treasury and health briefs. - (PA)
Lords throw out ID measure
LONDON - The House of Lords last night threw out a key plank of the British government plan to introduce ID cards. It insisted that no one should be forced to enter details on a national register if they wanted a new passport.
By a 61 majority, the lords removed part of the legislation which they claimed amounted to "compulsion by stealth". - (PA)
40 African migrants drown
NOUAKCHOTT - More than 40 African migrants heading for Spain's Canary Islands drowned at the weekend when their boats sank off the west African coast, Mauritania's Red Crescent organisation said yesterday. More than 40 other migrants were rescued. - (Reuters)
Court overrules universities
WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court ruled yesterday that universities in receipt of federal funds must allow military recruiters on campus, even if they oppose the Pentagon's policy barring gays and lesbians from serving. The unanimous decision upheld as constitutional a 1994 federal law which permits the government to withhold money from universities that deny military recruiters the same access to campuses given to other employers.
The ruling was a defeat for a coalition of law schools that challenged the measure and said the Pentagon's policy violated its own long-standing policies against discrimination based on sexual orientation. - (Reuters)