Today's other stories in brief
US attacks kill 37 suspected Iraqi militants
BAGHDAD - A US air strike killed about 25 suspected Iraqi militants linked to Iranian-backed Shia militias yesterday and another 12 al-Qaeda fighters were killed in separate raids, the US military said.
It also said it had lost four soldiers across Iraq. Roadside bombs killed one soldier in the town of Baiji north of Baghdad and two more in the capital. Another US soldier was killed by small arms fire in Baghdad on Thursday. - (Reuters)
Tighter controls for Iraq security firm
WASHINGTON - US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice yesterday ordered tighter controls on US security contractor Blackwater, including putting cameras on its convoys, after last month's fatal shootings in Iraq.
US state department spokesman Sean McCormack said diplomatic security agents would also be sent to Iraq to accompany each convoy protected by Blackwater. The firm, which guards US diplomats in Baghdad, has come under intense scrutiny in the US Congress and is under investigation over the September 16th shootings in Baghdad that killed 11 Iraqis. - (Reuters)
Minister sacked after air crash
KINSHASA - Congolese president Joseph Kabila sacked his transport minister yesterday as the death toll from the latest air crash in the central African country rose to more than 50.
Democratic Republic of Congo's authorities said a Congolese mechanic aboard the Russian-made cargo aircraft that came down in Kinshasa on Thursday had survived the crash.
Officials had previously said all the occupants had died. - (Reuters)
BBC One boss quits after report
LONDON - The head of the BBC's flagship BBC One television channel, Peter Fincham, resigned yesterday after a report faulted him for wrongly implying Queen Elizabeth had stormed out of a photo shoot in anger.
The incident was an embarrassment for the British public service broadcaster, which has faced a number of scandals this year including an unprecedented fine for faking the results of a phone-in contest.
- (Reuters)
S Korean cancer victim gets job back
SEOUL - A South Korean court yesterday ordered the military to reinstate one of its first women helicopter pilots, discharged after she had a double mastectomy to treat breast cancer.
The case has been a rallying point for women's rights activists and cancer groups, who said she was the victim of antiquated and biased regulations.
The Seoul administrative court ordered the defence ministry to reinstate retired Col Pi Woo-jin. She had been told she could no longer serve because army regulations require soldiers who are missing body parts to be discharged. - (Reuters)
Sarkozy marriage under spotlight
PARIS - The state of French president Nicolas Sarkozy's marriage was in the spotlight again yesterday after a spokesman sidestepped a question about speculation France's "first couple" were about to announce their separation.
The rumour mill went into overdrive this week after Cecilia Sarkozy pulled out of an official trip to Sofia with her husband, who received Bulgaria's highest award for his efforts to win the release of six nurses from a Libyan jail in July.
"Where has Cecilia gone?" Le Parisien newspaper asked this week of the former model.
Asked if Ms Sarkozy would announce a separation this weekend, Mr Sarkozy's spokesman, David Martinon, told a briefing: "I don't comment on newsroom rumours, and certainly not that one."
- (Reuters)