Today's other stories in brief
Iraqi official escapes as blasts kill 13
BAGHDAD - Explosions killed at least 13 people in Baghdad yesterday, one blast targeting a Shia member of the first US-backed Iraqi governing body.
A roadside blast exploded near a vehicle convoy carrying Ahmed al-Barak, one of 25 members of the interim Iraqi Governing Council set up after the 2003 invasion. Mr Barak, who now heads a government committee on property disputes, was not harmed in the attack. - (Reuters)
Catholic-Muslim forum in Rome
VATICAN CITY - Senior Vatican and Islamic scholars launched their first Catholic-Muslim forum yesterday to improve relations between the world's two largest faiths by discussing what unites and divides them. The three-day meeting comes two years after Pope Benedict angered the Muslim world with a speech implying Islam was violent and irrational. - (Reuters)
Trials begin for Alzheimer's pill
LONDON - A vitamin pill that could slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease is to enter human trials after scientists found it protected animals from memory loss associated with the condition. High doses of vitamin B3 will be given to 70 people who have recently been diagnosed with the disease as part of the trial due to begin in the new year, which is open to volunteers over 50. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's or for any other type of dementia. - (Guardian service)
Munch 'Vampire' sells for 25m
NEW YORK - A rare 1894 Edvard Munch masterpiece sold for almost €25 million and set the world record for the artist at auction, Sotheby's said today.
Vampire, seen by many as the sister of Munch's fabled painting The Scream, went under the hammer for the first time in New York after more than 70 years in the hands of a private collector.
It fetched $38.2 million (€24.3m) and broke the existing Munch record of €19.6m, which was set by Girls on a Bridge, a Sotheby's spokesman said. - (PA)