A round-up of today's world news in brief
Football fans attack Rome police station
ITALY - About 200 soccer fans attacked a police barracks in Rome yesterday after the killing of a fan by a policeman sparked violence at stadiums and protests in at least four cities, police said.
A police officer said some of the attackers, wielding rocks and clubs, set cars on fire outside the barracks and smashed the building's windows. - (Reuters)
US army thwarts executions - Iraq
MIDDLE EAST - Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, accused the US military yesterday of thwarting attempts to execute former members of Saddam Hussein's government and demanded they be handed over so that their sentences could be carried out.
A court in September upheld the death sentences against Saddam's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majeed, former defence minister Sultan Hashem, and a former army commander, Hussein Rashid Muhammad. - (Reuters)
Illegal immigrants used as guards
BRITAIN - The British government acknowledged yesterday that some illegal immigrants had been employed as security guards, but said checks were under way to revoke their licences and deport them.
Up to 5,000 illegal immigrants have been able to secure security jobs in the UK, including guarding the prime minister's car, the Sunday Mirror newspaper reported. - (Reuters)
Police defuse two Eta bombs
SPAIN - Spanish police yesterday deactivated two bombs placed by Basque separatist guerrillas Eta in Getxo, a Basque seaside town in northern Spain. - (Reuters)