A round-up of today's news in brief
Former White House counsel snubs congress
WASHINGTON:A congressional panel has moved toward seeking contempt charges against former White House counsel Harriet Miers after she refused to appear - under orders from President George Bush - at a hearing yesterday on the firing of federal prosecutors.
The White House promptly accused the Democratic-led Congress of looking for a fight and failing to understand separation of federal powers. "The committee is rejecting accommodation because they prefer just the kind of political spectacle," said spokesman Tony Fratto.
On a party-line vote of seven to five, a House of Representatives judiciary subcommittee rejected the contention that Mr Bush's claim of executive privilege allowed Ms Miers not to attend its hearing or testify on what she knows about fired prosecutors.- Reuters
Seven killed in Pakistani blasts
MIRANSHAH: At least seven people, including three policemen, were killed in two blasts in northwest Pakistan yesterday, one of them a suicide bomb attack on a senior government official.
The explosions came two days after Pakistani security forces killed a radical cleric and more than 70 of his supporters in an assault on a mosque-madrasa compound in the capital Islamabad. - (Reuters)
Shipman song sparks controversy
LONDON- Disgraced music producer Jonathan King has sparked controversy by writing a song which claims serial killer Harold Shipman was a victim of the media.
The song, together with a montage of pictures of Shipman's victims, features on a video which can be seen on the YouTube website.
King was released from jail in March 2005 after serving half of a seven-year jail term for abusing five boys aged 14 and 15 between 1983 and 1989. - PA
Four soldiers killed in Lebanon
NAHR AL-BARED: Al- Qaeda-inspired militants killed four Lebanese soldiers yesterday in fierce battles at a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon, security sources reported.
They said another nine soldiers were wounded in the Nahr al-Bared camp fighting that began in the early morning after Fatah al-Islam snipers shot dead two soldiers, prompting Lebanese troops to unleash barrages of artillery fire. - Reuters
Queen not amused by BBC
LONDON: The BBC has apologised to Queen Elizabeth for wrongly implying she had stormed out of a photo shoot with American photographer Annie Leibovitz.
The British broadcaster yesterday blamed a production company for sending it clips edited out of sequence which implied the monarch had lost her temper when asked to remove her crown. The footage should never have been shown, the BBC said. - Reuters
Dutch burqa ban Bill likely to fail
AMSTERDAM:Dutch right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders has sent a bill to parliament proposing a ban on wearing the Muslim burqa in public, but in its current shape it seems likely to fall through.
A blanket ban on Islamic face coverings would be a first in Europe, although other countries have outlawed them in specific places. - Reuters
Seven gored in bull run festival
PAMPLONA: Seven people, including two Americans, a Mexican, a Pole and a Norwegian, were gored yesterday. The casualties made it the bloodiest day yet at this year's annual running of the bulls festival in the northern Spanish town of Pamplona, organisers said. - Reuters
