In short

A round-up of todays other stories in brief

A round-up of todays other stories in brief

Saddam returns to court today

BAGHDAD- The chief prosecutor in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial said yesterday he had an audio tape and documents proving the former Iraqi leader personally ordered the gassing of ethnic Kurds in northern Iraq in the 1980s.

Saddam and six former commanders return to court today over the 1988 Anfal - Spoils of War - military campaign against Kurds that prosecutors say killed some 180,000 people. - (Reuters)

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Jewish school vandalised

VIENNA- Austrian police yesterday detained a man suspected of breaking into a Jewish community school in Vienna overnight and systematically smashing windows and porcelain with a crowbar, officials said.

Jewish community leaders denounced the incident as the worst anti-Semitic outburst in Austria for two decades. - (Reuters)

Archbishop attacks 'secular agenda'

LONDON- The Archbishop of Birmingham yesterday called on faith communities to pull together and challenge the secular democracy that he blamed for "forcing" laws such as those recognising same-sex partnerships onto the statute books.

The Most Rev Vincent Nichols said the "secular agenda" was engaged in an "intense and aggressive" reshaping of the moral landscape in Britain. - ( PA)

Chad denies threat from rebels

N'DJAMENA- Chad's government yesterday denied reports that a rebel column was 400km away and advancing on the capital, N'Djamena, saying the city was in no danger.

"The government categorically denies this information. It also reassures the population that N'Djamena is in no way threatened," the government said in a statement. - (Reuters)

Swiss agree  EU funding

GENEVA- Switzerland voted narrowly yesterday in favour of government plans to give €630 million in aid to new members of the European Union.

Government ministers had warned that a "no" vote could harm ties with the EU, Switzerland's largest trading partner. The aid, nearly half of which will go to Poland, will be paid out over 10 years.- (Reuters)