Today's other stories in brief
Bin Laden's son may be dead
WASHINGTON – The son of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden may be dead, but he was not an important player in the group, a US counterterrorism official said yesterday.
“There are some indications that he may be dead, but it’s not 100 per cent certain,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “If he is dead, Saad bin Laden was a small player with a big name. He has never been a major operational figure.”
He is believed to have been killed by an unmanned drone in Pakistan, but the official would not confirm this. A number of US broadcast outlets have reported that Saad was not the target in the Predator strike. – (Reuters/PA)
Naked girls plough fields in India
PATNA, INDIA – Farmers in eastern India asked their unmarried daughters to plough fields naked to embarrass the weather gods into bringing monsoon rain, officials said.
Witnesses said the naked girls in Bihar state ploughed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly women helped pull the ploughs.
Singer in court
LONDON – Amy Winehouse yesterday denied punching a dancer in an act of “deliberate and unjustifiable violence” at a charity ball. The singer said she felt intimidated and scared by the “drunken” dancer Sherene Flash when she leaned over and put her arm round her at the Prince’s Trust ball. – (PA)
Somali clashes kill at least 46
MOGADISHU – Clashes in central Somalia and the capital have killed at least 46 people, officials and peace groups said yesterday, while a new security minister pledged to build strong national security forces.
Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) said it was investigating a mystery illness that had killed three Burundian peacekeepers based in Somalia. Eighteen more were in a Kenyan hospital.
New Mozart works found
SALZBURG – The International Mozarteum Foundation said it had discovered two new works composed by Mozart.
The Salzburg-based foundation said in a brief release that the previously unknown works are piano pieces. Organisers said that more details would be made public during a presentation in Salzburg on August 2nd.