Today's other stories in brief
Building collapsesin Istanbul
ISTANBUL - An eight-storey building collapsed in Istanbul yesterday. One man was rescued but authorities said they did not expect many casualties as people ran away when they heard the building start to crack.
It was not clear how many people were inside the building in the Sirinevler district on the European side of Istanbul, but most people had left before the collapse, Istanbul's governor, Muammer Guler, said. - (Reuters)
Killing of al-Qaeda militant claimed
ALGIERS - Algerian soldiers shot dead the co-ordinator and second-in-command of al-Qaeda's North African branch yesterday.
Samir Moussaab, whose real name is Samir Saioud, was reported killed during a skirmish with an army patrol in the Boumerdes region, about 50 kilometres east of Algiers.
He was tracked down using information gathered from ex-members of the group pardoned under an amnesty for Islamist rebels.- ( Reuters)
US state permits same-sex unions
CONCORD, N.H. - New Hampshire politicians authorised same-sex civil unions yesterday, in a Bill that will complete the transformation of New England into a unique US region where gay and lesbian couples have degrees of legal rights. The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 14-10 along party lines to give gays and lesbians almost the same rights as married couples. - (Reuters)
Royal narrows gap with Sarkozy
PARIS - French rightist candidate Nicolas Sarkozy leads Socialist rival Ségolène Royal ahead of the May 6th presidential election, but the distance between the two has narrowed, according to a poll released yesterday.
The CSA poll for Le Parisien newspaper put support for Mr Sarkozy at 52 per cent and for Ms Royal at 48 per cent. - (Reuters)
Grant arrested over assault claim
LONDON - Hugh Grant has been arrested and questioned by police after a photographer accused the British actor of attacking him with a tub of baked beans. Photographer Ian Whittaker told the Daily Star tabloid that he and Grant (46) clashed near the home of the star. Whittaker said Grant abused and kicked him on Tuesday before lobbing the beans. The paper printed photos of Grant with a plastic tub of food raised over his head. - (Reuters)