A round-up of other stories in brief
Victims' blood found on coat, trial is told
LONDON-Bloodstains on the jacket of a man accused of murdering five prostitutes in Ipswich came from two of his victims, a court heard yesterday.
There was a one in a billion chance the blood staining found on a reflective jacket in Steve Wright's home were not from the murdered prostitutes, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
Semen, also said to have come from Wright, was also found on the jacket, the court was told.
Wright (49) denies killing Gemma Adams (25), Tania Nicol (19), Anneli Alderton (24), Paula Clennell (24), and Annette Nicholls (29), whose naked bodies were found dumped at rural locations around the town within the space of just 10 days. - (Reuters)
Another undersea internet cable cut
MUMBAI -A third undersea cable has been cut after breaks near Egypt earlier this week disrupted web access in parts of the Middle East and Asia, Indian-owned cable network operator Flag Telecom said yesterday.
Flagsaid its cable had been cut 56km from Dubai between the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
"The repair ship has been notified and expected to arrive at the site in [ the] next few days," Flag said. - (Reuters)
More time to quiz artist's husband
LONDON -Police have been granted more time to question the husband of an award-winning TV make-up artist being held on suspicion of her murder, it was announced yesterday.
A custody extension granted by a court means police may quiz Diane Chenery-Wickens's husband, David, for another 36 hours.
Ms Chenery- Wickens (48), who has worked on shows including Dead Ringers, The League of Gentlemenand Casualty, has not been seen or heard from since last Thursday, when she travelled with her husband by train to London to attend a business meeting at the BBC. - (PA)
Author killed then robbed, court told
LONDON -A thief beat an 86-year-old reclusive millionaire author to death and left his body in his rundown house before stealing his identity and savings, a London court heard yesterday.
The body of Alan Chappelow, author of two 1960s biographies of playwright George Bernard Shaw, was found in June 2006, three weeks after he was killed, the Old Bailey heard. Chappelow lived alone in West Hampstead, north London, in a substantial but dilapidated and rubbish-filled house with an overgrown garden.
Wang Yam (46) is accused of killing him and stealing £20,000 from Chappelow's bank account over the phone and internet. - (Reuters)
Spice Girls cancel world tour dates
LONDON -The Spice Girls will no longer be performing in Australia, China, South Africa and Argentina as part of their ongoing tour.
The girl band, who reunited in a blaze of publicity in June last year, have said they would complete their tour in Toronto on February 26th.
A spokesperson blamed the decision on "family and personal commitments". Previous reports have suggested fans' lack of interest. - (Reuters)
New 'magic mushrooms' laws
AMSTERDAM -Dutch retailers of hallucinogenic "magic" mushrooms have promised tighter self-regulation to forestall moves to ban the fungi after a mushroom-related death.
The Dutch parliament is said to favour a ban after a teenage French girl died jumping from a bridge in 2007 whilst under the influence of the mushrooms. Health minister Ab Klink is due to debate the ban next week. - (Reuters)