Today's other stories in brief
Disguised suicide bomber kills four police
BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber dressed in police uniform killed four policemen near a local government headquarters in northeastern Iraq, police said.
Lieut Col Hameed al- Shimari, who heads an emergency police unit in Baquba, 65km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, said seven civilians were also wounded in the attack in the restive city of Baquba.
The US military said eight US soldiers were wounded in the bombing near the Baquba mayor's office but none were killed. – (Reuters)
Physicist Stephen Hawking ‘very ill’
CAMBRIDGE – Physicist Stephen Hawking was “very ill” in hospital last night, his employers said.
Prof Hawking (67), who is based at Cambridge University, was said to be undergoing tests after being picked up by ambulance.
A university spokesman said Prof Hawking, who suffers from motor neurone disease, would spend the night at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, and was "comfortable". He said Prof Hawking, best known for his book A Brief History of Time, had been "unwell" for several weeks. – (PA)
Inquiry in case of jailed US journalist
TEHRAN – Iran has ordered a full investigation into the case of the US journalist convicted of spying and jailed for eight years.
Roxana Saberi’s conviction has complicated the Obama administration’s efforts to break a 30-year diplomatic deadlock between the two countries. Some analysts believe hardliners opposed to improved US-Iran relations are driving the dispute.
The planned investigation and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s insistence that Ms Saberi be allowed to make a full defence during her appeal indicate an attempt by some senior officials to prevent the case from derailing a move towards dialogue with the US president Barack Obama.
Iran’s judiciary chief, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, has ordered a full investigation into Ms Saberi’s case during the appeal.
His decision is unusual, signalling a possible struggle between officials who want to defuse tension over Ms Saberi's case and those seeking to spark it. – (AP)
Rise in crimes by German far-right
BERLIN – A rise in crimes committed by far-rightists saw the number of politically motivated offences in Germany reach a record high last year, according to the interior ministry.
The number of such offences rose by 11.4 per cent to 31,801 – the highest since the statistics were first collected in 2001. Of the total, 20,422 were linked to the far right, including attacks that killed two people. – (Reuters)
Officer defends G20 police tactics
LONDON – A senior officer has defended the tactics used against protesters during the G20 summit in London earlier this month in which a man died and several groups accused police of being heavy-handed.
Ken Jones, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, told BBC radio that the crowd-control methods used had avoided more aggressive techniques used elsewhere.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating three cases of alleged police violence at the G20 protests. – (Reuters)
Church leader was informer
WARSAW – The head of Poland’s small Lutheran Church is to step down after a church synod found he had acted as an informer for the communist-era secret services before 1990.
Bishop Janusz Jagucki is the latest in a long line of public figures, including some state officials and clergy from the dominant Catholic Church, to be accused of collaboration with Poland's former communist regime. – (Reuters)