More news in brief.
4 questioned over murder of honeymooners
LONDON -British detectives were yesterday helping police in Antigua to interview at least four local men in connection with the double murder of the honeymooning couple Ben and Catherine Mullany.
Sources in the Caribbean confirmed that one of the people the police had been investigating was called Clarence James, who often befriends holidaymakers and who lives close to the hotel where the newlyweds were shot, but sources said they were not focusing on him in particular. Three others were being held for questioning. - (Guardian service)
McCann DNA warning revealed
PORTIMAO -A British scientist warned that DNA tests on a sample from Kate and Gerry McCanns' hire car were inconclusive just days before the couple were made suspects, official police files revealed last night.
In an e-mail dated September 3rd, 2007, John Lowe, from the Birmingham- based Forensic Science Service, said it was impossible to conclude whether the material came from their daughter Madeleine. Four days later Portuguese detectives named the McCanns formal suspects in the child's disappearance, citing DNA evidence as grounds for their suspicions. The revelation came to light after police files were made public yesterday. - (PA)
Storm Edouard heads to Texas
HOUSTON -Tropical Storm Edouard moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico yesterday and has a 20 per cent chance of reaching hurricane speeds of 119km/h before it makes landfall this morning near Galveston, Texas, the US National Hurricane Center said. - (Reuters)
Death of al-Qaeda explosives expert
ISLAMABAD -Al-Qaeda confirmed the death of its chemical and biological weapons specialist Abu Khabab al-Masri about a week after he was reportedly killed in a missile strike in Pakistan, according to a US-based intelligence group. Al-Masri trained "lots of other experts", senior al-Qaeda leader Mustafa Abu al-Yazid said according to IntelCenter, based in Alexandria, Virginia. - (Bloomberg)