A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Pope accused of meddling in politics
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict, speaking just 10 days ahead of Italy's national elections, spoke out against gay marriage and abortion yesterday and said the Catholic Church had the right to speak out on thorny political issuesOpposition centre-left politicians, who advocate some legal recognition of the rights of unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples, accused the pope of meddling in politics.
Addressing members of the European People's Party, the pontiff said the church's position on such issues was "non-negotiable". - (Reuters)
783 new US sex abuse claims
NEW YORK - Roman Catholic leaders received 783 new claims of sex abuse by clergy in 2005, with most of the allegations involving cases that are decades old.
The new claims, reported yesterday, bring the total number of accusations against Catholic clergy in the US to more than 12,000 since 1950. - (Reuters)
EU tells Serbia to arrest Mladic
BRUSSELS - The EU told Serbia yesterday it must act "without delay" to bring top war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic to justice or run the risk of a suspension of talks on closer ties.
The 25-member bloc has kept up the pressure on Belgrade ahead of a new round of talks scheduled for April 5th, despite Serbia's warning on Wednesday that any break-off in discussions could jeopardise stability and reform efforts in the country. - (Reuters)
Catalonia to get greater autonomy
MADRID - Spain's congress has the green light to a controversial new statute giving greater autonomy to the region of Catalonia.
The statute includes a much-disputed phrase which says Catalonia, a wealthy region in northeast Spain, perceives itself as a nation. Conservatives say this is the beginning of the end of Spain as a unified country. - (Reuters)
Turkish Kurds battle with police
DIYARBAKIR - Thousands of Kurdish protesters lobbed stones and Molotov cocktails at Turkish police yesterday in a third day of street battles which have claimed three lives and wounded more than 250 people.
The fresh fighting erupted during funerals for two young men and an eight- year-old boy killed during Wednesday's clashes in Diyarbakir, the main city of Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast. - (Reuters)
Auschwitz may get name change
WARSAW - Poland's new conservative government wants to change the official name of the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz on the Unesco world heritage registry, an official said yesterday. The government hopes to change the name as foreign media often refer to Auschwitz as a Polish concentration camp. - (AP)
Supermodel held by NY police
NEW YORK - Supermodel Naomi Campbell was arrested at her Park Avenue home yesterday after getting into an argument with a woman, New York City police said. Charges were pending, a police spokeswoman said.
Campbell's agent, Amanda Silverman, said the arrest appeared to be related to the model firing her housekeeper. - (Reuters)
Britain faces more council strikes
LONDON - The British government pressed ahead yesterday with plans to scrap a rule allowing council workers to retire at 60 on a full pension, raising the prospect of fresh strikes.
More than 1.4 million local authority employees were involved in industrial action last Tuesday, crippling council services and causing travel chaos. - (PA)