A round-up of other world news in brief
Retrial for gang members over Jewish murder
PARIS – Five people found guilty of kidnapping and torturing to death a young Jewish man will be retried by an appeal court alongside 14 other gang members, the Paris public prosecutor’s office said yesterday.
Youssouf Fofana, the leader of the self-proclaimed “gang of barbarians”, had appealed against his life sentence and will face a new trial in about a year with his fellow defendants, an official said. – (Reuters)
Britain’s Afghan troop levels
LONDON – Britain should maintain its troop levels in Afghanistan and may need to deploy more soldiers for up to 18 months until the Afghan army can take on greater responsibility, the head of the British army said yesterday.
Britain has increased its troop levels to about 9,000 soldiers this year in Afghanistan to improve security ahead of a presidential election on August 20th. There are plans to cut that level back to 8,300 once the election is over.
“[Cutting the number] down to 8,300 would be wrong militarily . . . I couldn’t sign up to that now,” said Gen Richard Dannatt. – (Reuters)
Indian state shut down by strike
KOLKATA – Supporters of India’s ruling Congress party shut down West Bengal with a strike yesterday to protest against fatal clashes after the general election with the eastern state’s biggest party, the Communists, police said.
The 12-hour strike paralysed railway services and forced airlines to cancel or reschedule flights, police said. After torching several buses on Thursday, Congress party supporters squatted on railway lines and blocked major roads yesterday. – (Reuters)
Squid invasion in San Diego waters
SAN DIEGO – Thousands of aggressive flying squid with razor-sharp beaks have invaded the shallow waters off San Diego, California.
The squid, which can weigh up to 100lb, came up from the depths last week and swarms of them attacked unsuspecting divers.
Some divers reported tentacles enveloping their masks and yanking at their cameras and gear.
The Humboldt squid are native to the deep waters off Mexico, where they have been known to attack humans and are nicknamed “red devils” for their rust-red colouring and aggression. – (AP)
Japanese PM set to hold on to job
TOKYO – Japan’s unpopular prime minister, Taro Aso, looks set to keep his job and hold an election next month after efforts to force a ruling-party meeting that could have pushed him to quit were blocked by party heavyweights.
Mr Aso sparked chaos in the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) when he announced plans for an August 30th general election on Monday, a day after the party was trounced by the rival Democratic Party in a Tokyo assembly election.
Polls show the LDP is likely to lose the election, ending more than 50 years of almost unbroken rule. – (Reuters)
Chechen leader to sue for libel
MOSCOW – Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov will sue for libel a Russian human rights group that has blamed him for the kidnap and murder of a prominent activist, Interfax news agency quoted Mr Kadyrov’s lawyer as saying yesterday.
Natalia Estemirova, who worked for the human rights group Memorial, was abducted in the Chechen capital, Grozny, on Wednesday, killed and her body dumped in Ingushetia.
Memorial’s chairman, Oleg Orlov, blamed Mr Kadyrov, the Moscow-backed Chechen president, for her death. – (Reuters)