A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Litvinenko death treated as murder
LONDON -Scotland Yard is now treating the mysterious death in London of former KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, as murder. Two weeks after he succumbed to polonium-210 poisoning, detectives have concluded he was deliberately killed.
In a statement last night, the Metropolitan police said the team investigating Mr Litvinenko's death had "reached the stage where it is felt appropriate to treat it as an allegation of murder ". (Guardian service)
Ten US soldiers die in Iraq
BAGHDAD -Ten US troops were killed yesterday in Iraq in four separate incidents, CNN reported, quoting the military. If confirmed, the deaths would be among the highest tolls in a single day for US troops in Iraq in recent months.
More than 2,900 US troops have died in the war in Iraq since March 2003. - (Reuters)
Israel told to stop overflights
PARIS -French president Jacques Chirac has told Israel it should stop flying planes over Lebanon in what Israel says is an effort to gather intelligence on Hizbullah arms smuggling.
Israeli planes have routinely flown over Lebanon since a 34-day war between Israel and Lebanese Hizbullah guerrillas ended on August 14th in a UN-sponsored ceasefire. - (Reuters)
Hunger strike intervention order
THE HAGUE -The UN war crimes tribunal has ordered the Dutch authorities to intervene if necessary to stop Serbian ultranationalist leader Vojislav Seselj dying from a hunger strike.
The tribunal ordered steps to keep Seselj alive, including possible drip-feeding, as long as they did not contravene "accepted standards of medical ethics or binding rules of international law". - (Reuters)
Mandelson warns on Turkey
BRUSSELS -The EU's trade commissioner has warned member states against making Turkey's membership bid a hostage to the Cyprus dispute.
Peter Mandelson said Turkish membership remained "the big strategic objective for the European Union" and cautioned against overreaction to current problems. - (Reuters)
Taylor son charged in US
WASHINGTON -The son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor has been charged in the United States with two counts of torture and one count of using a firearm to carry out a violent crime, according to a a US law enforcement official.
Charles McArthur Emmanuel, or Charles Taylor jnr, faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges, the official said. - (Reuters)
Lollobrigida wedding off
ROME -The wedding between Hollywood veteran Gina Lollobrigida and her long-time Spanish boyfriend has been called off, according to reports.
Lollobrigida (79) had been due to marry Javier Rigau y Rafols (45) from Barcelona, on January 27th but Mr Rigau has pulled out, citing media persecution.- (AP)
Call for coma death with dignity
LONDON -A 53-year-old woman who has been in a coma for over three years should be allowed to die with dignity, Britain's top family judge said yesterday.
The Official Solicitor made the decision after a last attempt to revive the woman failed. - (Reuters)
Gates confirmed as defence secretary
WASHINGTON -The US Senate has confirmed the nomination of Robert Gates as the next US defence secretary, replacing Donald Rumsfeld. - (Reuters)