A round-up of today's other world news in brief
Fugitive officer arrested over Ukraine murder
KIEV – A fugitive senior policeman charged with the murder of an investigative reporter in Ukraine has been arrested.
Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko said the development demonstrated that senior officials could not act with impunity.
A senior official of the SBU security service, quoted by national media, said Oleksiy Pukach was detained on Tuesday in a village in central Ukraine.
The official said Mr Pukach had already acknowledged his involvement in the 2000 murder of reporter Georgy Gongadze. – (Reuters)
US man accused of al-Qaeda links
NEW YORK – A US man has been charged with giving al-Qaeda details about the New York city transport system and the Long Island railroad, as well as firing rockets on US troops in Afghanistan, according to US court papers unsealed yesterday.
Bryant Neal Vinas (26) is also accused of receiving military-type training between March and August last year from the Islamist extremist group headed by Osama bin Laden. – (Reuters)
Evidence of water on Saturn moon
TEXAS – Scientists have found the strongest evidence yet that liquid water lies beneath the icy surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
Researchers studied one of the water ice jets that regularly burst from fractures near the volcanic moon’s south pole.
The discovery increases the possibility of an ocean on Enceladus beneath a surface crust of ice, or large caverns filled with liquid water. – (PA)
Palin may have broken ethics law
ALASKA – An independent investigator hired by the state personnel board has determined that Alaska governor Sarah Palin may have violated state ethics laws by soliciting and accepting private donations to pay $500,000 (€352,000) in legal debts.
A confidential report, obtained on Tuesday by the Washington Post, says Mrs Palin may have violated laws prohibiting elected officials from using their office for "personal gain" by raising money for her Alaska Fund Trust.
Mrs Palin established the fund to help defend herself against more than a dozen ethics complaints filed against her since she took office. – ( Washington Postservice)