A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Old Blair ally to contest ex-PM's seat
SEDGEFIELD -One of Tony Blair's oldest political allies has been selected by local Labour Party members to contest the former prime minister's seat in Sedgefield.
Phil Wilson, one of the original five activists who backed Mr Blair's own nomination for the safe Labour seat in 1983, was chosen at a packed meeting at Trimdon Labour Club on Tuesday evening. - (Reuters/PA)
Taliban bomb kills six Canadians
KABUL -Six Canadian soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan yesterday when their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb, the Canadian government said, in what was the deadliest attack on Nato forces this month in the country.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest since April. It brings the number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan to more than 70 this year. - (Reuters)
Al-Qaeda suspects held in Yemen
SANAA -Yemeni authorities have arrested dozens of people with suspected links to al-Qaeda since Monday's suicide bombing that killed seven Spanish tourists and two Yemenis, security sources said yesterday.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh and other senior officials have said they believe al-Qaeda was behind the car bomb suicide attack at the Queen of Sheba Temple in the Marib province. - (Reuters)
Mexican mudslide buries 45 in bus
PUEBLA -A mudslide buried a bus with up to 45 passengers on board in a remote region of Mexico yesterday, following days of heavy rain. Part of a sodden hill collapsed on the bus, trapping those inside, a rescue official said. - (Reuters)
Al Gore's son held on drugs charge
LOS ANGELES -The son of former vice-president Al Gore was arrested for drug possession yesterday after he was stopped for allegedly speeding in his car, a sheriff's official said.
Al Gore III (24) was driving at about 160 km/h (100mph) in Los Angeles when he was pulled over. - (Reuters)
Man bites dog - savage dog dies
BEIJING -A Chinese man bit to death a fierce dog that was savaging his beloved puppy. Awakened by the puppy's yelps, a villager named Geng first tried to chase the dog away by hurling watermelons at it, a local newspaper reported yesterday.
The farmer then threw himself on the dog, clamping his teeth around its neck and eventually killing it. "The two were rolling around on the ground and fighting for nearly 10 minutes," the Yanzhao Cosmopolitan Newsreported. Geng suffered deep cuts and was treated in hospital. The puppy survived. - (Reuters)