A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Explosion in UK Zagreb embassy
ZAGREB - An explosion in the mail room of the British embassy in Zagreb injured a member of staff yesterday and police were investigating the cause, officials said.
Police and embassy officials declined to say what kind of bomb it was. One Croatian television report said it was delivered with the morning newspapers.
The state news agency Hina said the casualty was a Croatian man who sustained slight injuries to the lower leg. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.
As current EU president, Britain will oversee a reassessment of Croatia's membership application in the next few weeks.
It was put on hold in March because Zagreb failed to arrest war crimes suspect Gen Ante Gotovina, revered as a hero by many Croats.
Hoping to clinch the start of negotiations, Zagreb in recent months stepped up efforts to locate the general, who has been in hiding since he was indicted in 2001 in connection with a 1995 Zagreb offensive against Serb rebels. - (Reuters)
Kyrgyz deputies lift immunity
BISHKEK - Kyrgyzstan's parliament stripped ousted president Askar Akayev's son of immunity yesterday, enabling prosecutors to charge him with crimes bearing jail terms of up to 15 years.
Aidar Akayev fled after a March "people's revolution" when crowds of protesters seized the main government building and unseated his father, who has been sheltered in Russia. The son has been living in Kazakhstan, his lawyers say. The coup was sparked by a rigged election in which Akayev's son and daughter both became parliamentarians. A court earlier removed the daughter's parliamentary mandate. - (Reuters)
Clarke attacks Blair government
LONDON - The Blair administration has deformed and abused every rule of good government, Tory leadership front-runner Kenneth Clarke claimed yesterday. In a withering attack on Labour, Mr Clarke, a former chancellor, said: "The consequence is a poor process of decision-taking, bad laws and a blundering administration."
He said that under Tony Blair, cabinet government had virtually ceased to exist. He had by-passed and politicised the civil service and packed government departments with "political commissars" in the shape of special advisers. - (PA)
Girl (10) found dead in suitcase
JOHANNESBURG - A 10-year-old South African girl who was kidnapped for ransom has been found dead in a suitcase, evoking painful memories of a similar case last year which shocked the crime-weary nation. Police said Marissa Naidoo's body was discovered in a suitcase in an apartment 30 km east of Johannesburg on Sunday and that her suspected kidnapper had leapt to his death as detectives forced their way into the apartment.
Leigh Matthews (21) was found shot dead south of Johannesburg nearly two weeks after disappearing from her university campus in July 2004, even though her father had paid a ransom for her return. - (Reuters)
Cliffhanger election in NZ
WELLINGTON - New Zealand's ruling Labour party began talks yesterday with potential allies to lay the foundations for a new centre-left government, after it pipped the National Party opposition by one seat in a nail-biting election.
Prime Minister Helen Clark, seeking to become the first Labour leader to win three consecutive terms, met the leaders of some minor parties after clawing back an early deficit to finish ahead of the National Party, led by former central bank governor Don Brash. Results will be declared official on October 1st.