Today's other stories in brief
Two dead as ships collide in Messina
PALERMO - A high-speed ferry carrying about 150 commuters collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Sicily yesterday, killing at least two people and injuring some 20 others, Italian authorities said.
Italian port authorities said the collision took place at the entrance of the port of Messina on the straits between Sicily and the Italian mainland. - (Reuters)
Influx of bird flu patients alarms
JAKARTA - An Indonesian hospital was yesterday overwhelmed with patients suffering bird flu symptoms while the virus spread further among flocks in Vietnam and flared anew in Thailand.
A recent spurt of human infections with the H5N1 bird flu virus, which re-emerged in Asia in late 2003, has alarmed health officials.
Four Indonesians have died this year after a six-week lull in cases, taking the number of people killed by bird flu in the country to 61, the highest in the world. - (Reuters)
Maoists take their seats in Nepal
KATHMANDU - Nepal's Maoists took their seats in a newly created interim legislature yesterday, capping a landmark peace agreement that has seen them make the transition from guerrilla fighters to lawmakers in less than a year, witnesses said.
Under a peace deal between the Maoists and mainstream political parties, the interim parliament will prepare for elections to a special assembly - likely in June - supposed to draft a permanent new constitution and decide the monarchy's future. - (Reuters)
Thai generals censor interview
BANGKOK - Thailand's ruling generals censored an entire CNN interview yesterday with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in which he promised to quit politics and return to civilian life.
"No, enough is enough," Mr Thaksin said in answer to a question about whether he planned another shot at power if he is ever allowed back to his home country.
- (Reuters)
Russia seeks a deal on meat ban
BRUSSELS - Russia is unlikely to lift its ban on Polish meat imports this week when technical-level talks are due to take place, Russia's envoy to the European Union said yesterday.
But if Russia receives necessary assurances from Polish and EU health experts during a meeting tomorrow, a deal may be possible when German chancellor Angela Merkel visits Moscow on January 21st, Russian ambassador Vladimir Chizov said.
- (Reuters)
Sheikh sentenced to death in Kuwait
KUWAIT - A member of Kuwait's ruling family has been sentenced to death for drugs trafficking, the first such capital sentence in the Gulf Arab state, a judicial source said yesterday.
Sheikh Talal al-Nasser al-Sabah, arrested in April 2006, was sentenced on Sunday after being found guilty of smuggling and dealing hashish and heroin, the source said.
He was also sentenced to 10 years in jail for money laundering and possessing unlicensed weapons.
- (Reuters)
Boys may have copied hanging
BAKU - Two boys in different regions of Azerbaijan who hanged themselves at the weekend may have been influenced by Saddam Hussein's execution, a source in the security authorities said yesterday.
According to a preliminary conclusion by the investigators, Naig Gasanov, who was almost eight-years-old, hanged himself out of curiosity and Shakir Sunchelyeyev (12), did it "to show his protest", the source said. - ( Reuters)