A round-up of other world news in brief
Pope's visit to cost UK taxpayer €12m
LONDON – Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Britain in September will cost the UK taxpayer up to £12 million (€14.4 million), not including policing costs.
Disclosing the figures, Lord Patten, the prime minister’s special representative for the papal visit, said its “complexity and sophistication” had been underestimated and the government’s contribution would rise from the original forecast of £8 million.
The total bill could reach £23 million, with the balance being funded by the Catholic Church.
Archbishop Vincent Nicholls of Westminster conceded that church congregations would be expected to contribute more, after raising just over £1 million in a special appeal. – ( Guardianservice)
Ethnic Serb deputy shot in Kosovo
MITROVICA, Kosovo – A gunman shot and slightly hurt an ethnic Serb member of the Kosovo parliament yesterday, police said, marking the second political attack in the divided northern town of Mitrovica in the past week.
The shooting by the unidentified attacker highlighted tensions in the former Serb province, whose Albanian majority declared independence from Belgrade in 2008.
“The incident occurred when Petar Miletic was leaving his home in northern Mitrovica to go to work in Pristina,” said Ergin Medic, deputy regional police chief.
Mr Miletic, one of 10 Serb deputies in the 120-seat Kosovo parliament, was shot in the leg and his injuries were not life-threatening. – (Reuters)
Military aircraft crashes killing 10
BUCHAREST – Ten people died yesterday when a military aircraft carrying 13 people crashed soon after taking off from an airport in the southeast Romanian town of Tuzla.
Initial reports said the aircraft, an Antonov An-2, belonged to a small military air force school.
“The aircraft . . . which was on a flying mission for parachuting training crashed,” the defence ministry said. “Ten military people lost their lives in the air catastrophe and three were injured.”
The aircraft was carrying a crew of four and nine members of the naval forces. It crashed shortly after take- off and caught fire when it hit the ground. Firefighters put out the flames 35 minutes later. – (Reuters)