Today's other stories in brief
Tamil Tigers under threat in Sri Lanka
THOPPIGALA - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers will lose their last foothold in the island's restive east within days after troops captured a strategic plateau overnight, the ground commander in the area said yesterday.
The military has captured vast swathes of territory from the Tigers in the east in recent months and has killed hundreds of rebel fighters since the operation to capture the landlocked area called Thoppigala in early February, the commander said. - (Reuters)
Farc to hand over politicians bodies
BOGOTA - Colombian rebels will hand over the corpses of 11 local politicians killed in captivity last month, allowing authorities to determine if they were murdered or died in crossfire, the Red Cross said yesterday.
The government accuses the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, of executing the provincial lawmakers in an incident that prompted hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets last week in protest of guerrilla kidnappings. - (Reuters)
More kidnappings in Niger Delta
ABUJA - Four more people have been abducted in the Niger Delta, authorities said yesterday, underscoring insecurity in Nigeria's oil- producing region hours after a three-year-old British girl was freed by her kidnappers.
Margaret Hill was released on Sunday night after four days in the hands of unknown ransom seekers who snatched her from the car as she was being driven to school on July 5th in Port Harcourt, the delta's main city. - (Reuters)
Greek trafficking ring broken up
ATHENS - Greek police said yesterday they had broken up a human trafficking ring that forced women from eastern Europe and the Balkans to work as prostitutes. Nine people were arrested in Greece and two in Ukraine, charged with sexual exploitation, they said. - (Reuters)
Juror arrested for listening to music
LONDON - A woman juror could be facing jail after she was arrested in court yesterday for apparently listening to music during a murder trial.
She is said to have used a traditional hijab headscarf to hide earphones to her MP3 player while ignoring vital evidence from a retired businessman who allegedly bludgeoned his disabled wife to death. - (PA)
Rice breaks new ground in DRC
WASHINGTON - US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice will go to the Democratic Republic of Congo next week, the state department said yesterday. She will be the most senior US official to visit the central African nation in a decade.
Dr Rice will be in the capital Kinshasa for a few hours on July 18th following a one-day trip to Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories. - (Reuters)
Archbishop asked to stay in post
ROME - The leader of Catholics in England and Wales has been asked by the pope to remain as Archbishop of Westminster beyond his 75th birthday, it was disclosed yesterday.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor had written to Pope Benedict offering his resignation, in accordance with Canon Law, to coincide with his 75th birthday next month. - (PA)
Speaker Pelosi under pressure
WASHINGTON - Cindy Sheehan, who became an anti-war activist after her son died in Iraq, said yesterday she would run against House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi if the Democratic leader failed to seek the impeachment of President Bush within the next two weeks. - (Reuters)