Other world stories in brief
Officer denies ordering de Menezes shot
LONDON- The police officer in charge of police who killed Jean Charles de Menezes thinking he was a would-be suicide bomber denied yesterday giving an order to shoot him.
Deputy assistant commissioner Cressida Dick told the Old Bailey that she used the word "stop" and expected a "conventional armed challenge" from firearms officers - meaning the 27-year-old Brazilian electrician would be stopped from entering the Underground. She told the jury: "The death of Mr de Menezes is a terrible tragedy and one that I, and I think the whole of the Metropolitan Police, regret." Ms Dick agreed under cross-examination that the police should be accountable. - (Reuters)
Erdogan wants camps shut down
ISTANBUL- Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan called on Iraqi authorities yesterday to shut down camps run by separatist Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and hand over guerrilla leaders.
"What will satisfy us is the closure of all PKK [ rebel] camps, including their training facilities, and the handover of the terrorist leaders to us," Mr Erdogan told reporters in televised comments. - (Reuters)
Scientist's tour cancelled
LONDON- A tour to promote a Nobel prize-winning scientist's new book has been cancelled after he returned to the US early following his comments that black people are less intelligent than whites.
Dr James Watson (79), co-discoverer of the double helix, who was in the UK to promote the book, made the controversial claims in an interview in the Sunday Times ahead of his arrival on Wednesday.
In the interview he said he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really".-
Humorist Alan Coren dies
LONDON- Humorist and broadcaster Alan Coren has died from cancer aged 69, the BBC said yesterday.
The former Punch editor was a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's satirical show The News Quiz, and also appeared as a team captain on TV's Call My Bluff.- (PA)
Anorexic fashion photo ad banned
MILAN- Italy's advertising watchdog has decided to ban a photograph of a naked anorexic woman used to highlight the illness while promoting a fashion brand.
The IAP self-regulatory watchdog said the picture, shot by controversial Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani, did not conform to its code of conduct. - (Reuters)
$350,000 sought to return dog
BOGOTA- Colombian kidnappers have demanded $350,000 (€244,784) to return a German shepherd taken from a rich Bogota family, going so far as to send a proof of life video with a note saying, "This is how your dog cries at night." An anti-extortion police unit, used to tracking human victims in the world's kidnapping capital, has been put on the case of Aldo de Fescol, the canine captured last month. - (Reuters)
Church condemns Chavez plan
CARACAS- Venezuela's Roman Catholic Church accused President Hugo Chavez yesterday of seeking to increase his power with an "authoritarian" proposal to rewrite the constitution to scrap term limits.
Mr Chavez's reform plan, which will be voted on in a December referendum, also includes allowing security forces to detain Venezuelans without charge during political "emergencies" or major natural disasters. - (Reuters)