A round-up of other world news in brief
Bettencourt to be quizzed over tax
PARIS – France’s richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt, is to be questioned by police about alleged tax evasion and money laundering in a scandal that has hit the government, a public prosecutor’s spokeswoman said yesterday.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has been embarrassed by allegations from the former bookkeeper to L’Oréal cosmetics heiress Bettencourt (87), that the billionairess and her late husband made illegal cash donations to politicians and to Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential election. – (Reuters)
Journalist shot dead in Athens
ATHENS – Leftist urban guerrillas shot dead a Greek reporter yesterday, the first murder of a journalist in Greece in more than 20 years, police said.
Sokratis Giolias (37), was killed outside his home in the Athens suburb of Ilioupoli when three unknown assailants shot him several times at close range.
"The ballistic investigation showed that the guns used in the assassination today . . . have been used in attacks claimed by the Rebel Sect," police said in a statement.
No group has claimed responsibility. – (Reuters)
Bosnian Croat jailed over Srebrenica
SARAJEVO – A Bosnian court has sentenced a former Bosnian Croat soldier to 10 years in prison for his role in the 1995 massacre in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
Marko Boskic (46), was found guilty of crimes against humanity after confessing to have taken part in killing hundreds of Muslims captured after the fall of Srebrenica, the court said. He is the first Bosnian Croat sentenced over what happened in Srebrenica. In April, he was extradited from the US, to which he had moved and where he worked in construction. – (Reuters)
Sudan rebels in child safety deal
GENEVA – Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region and the United Nations will sign a deal this week to protect children, an independent mediation group said yesterday, in a move that appears aimed at stopping the use of child soldiers.
The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue said Darfur's Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) and the United Nations children's agency UNICEF would sign the agreement in Geneva tomorrow. – (Reuters)
Black granted bail while he appeals
CHICAGO - Convicted former media mogul Conrad Black was yesterday granted bail while he appeals his fraud conviction.Black is to be released from prison on bond pending the outcome of his appeal, following a US supreme court decision on the "honest services" law, an appeals court ruled.
The terms of bail will be determined by the trial judge, according to the brief order by a three-judge appeals court panel. - (Reuters)