A round-up of other world stories in brief
Sierra Leone militia leaders sentenced
FREETOWN - Sierra Leone's war crimes court yesterday sentenced three militia leaders to long jail terms for "some of the most heinous, brutal and atrocious crimes ever recorded" including killing, rape and enslaving children.
Handing down its first sentences, the UN-backed tribunal jailed Alex Tamba Brima and Santigie Borbor Kanu for 50 years each and Brima Bazzy Kamara for 45 years for crimes committed during the country's diamond-fuelled 1991-2002 civil war. - (Reuters)
Priest released in Philippines
ROME - An Italian priest who was kidnapped in the Philippines last month has been released, Italy's prime minister Romano Prodi said yesterday.
"Father Giancarlo Bossi has been freed," Mr Prodi said. "A car is taking him to a Philippine police station."
Fr Bossi, a 57 year-old missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, was taken at gunpoint on June 10th near his church in Zamboanga Sibugay province on Mindanao island.
The Philippine military had said it believed a rogue faction of a Muslim rebel group, talking peace with the government, was behind the kidnapping. - (Reuters)
'Sopranos' leads Emmy contenders
LOS ANGELES - HBO mob saga The Sopranos led the field of Emmy Award contenders for best television series yesterday, claiming a total of 15 nominations including a bid for best drama.
The show will compete for US television's highest honours against three other veteran shows and a new hit from NBC, the superhuman thriller Heroes. Rounding out the roster of best-drama candidates are two hit medical dramas nominated last year - Grey's Anatomy from ABC and House from Fox - and ABC's courtroom hour Boston Legal.
Workplace shows dominated the contest for best comedy series, with last year's winner, The Office, fellow NBC sitcom 30 Rock and ABC's Ugly Betty clinching nominations, along with the bawdy CBS hit Two and a Half Men and HBO's Hollywood satire Entourage. - (Reuters)
Iran, Syria pledge to strengthen ties
DAMASCUS - Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met Syrian president Bashar al-Assad yesterday and pledged to strengthen the alliance between their countries, which are both under US-led pressure.
Mr Ahmadinejad also met Hizbullah's leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Syrian capital. A joint communique said the two leaders were "comfortable with the fine way ties between Syria and Iran were going and careful to continue co-operation in all fields". - (Reuters)
BBC executive faces scrutiny
LONDON - A parliamentary committee said yesterday it will summon the BBC's deputy director general to answer concerns about a string of fake phone-in competitions that has tarnished the British public broadcaster's reputation.
Mark Byford and BBC chief operating officer Caroline Thomson have been told to appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee next Tuesday over "widespread and systemic problems" in the use of premium-rate phone services. - (Reuters)
US judge throws out Plame lawsuit
WASHINGTON - A US judge yesterday threw out former CIA analyst
Valerie Plame's lawsuit against vice-president Dick Cheney and other Bush administration
officials for disclosing her identity to the public.
Ms Plame and her husband Joseph Wilson had sought money damages from the officials for violating their constitutional
free speech, due process and privacy rights. - (Reuters)