In Short

A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

Man charged over Rachel Nickell murder

LONDON -A man (41) has been charged with the murder of Rachel Nickell (23), which took place 15 years ago, the British crown prosecution service confirmed yesterday.

Robert Napper, a former warehouseman from Plumstead, southeast London, is due to appear in court next week charged with Ms Nickell's murder. The part-time model was found on Wimbledon Common, south London, in July 1992, after she had been attacked as she walked with her two-year-old son, Alex. She had been stabbed 49 times and sexually assaulted. - (Reuters)

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Kilo of radioactive material seized

BRATISLAVA -Slovak and Hungarian police seized a kilo (2.2lbs) of radioactive material and arrested three people in a joint operation yesterday, a spokesman said.

Slovak police spokesman Martin Korch said the material was being examined. He did not confirm a report carried by Slovak news agency Sita that it was enriched uranium. - (Reuters)

Tamil Tigers kill 17 in bomb attacks

COLOMBO -Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers killed 17 people in two bomb attacks in the capital, Colombo, yesterday, the military said, a day after the group's leader vowed the rebels would fight on for independence.

A woman suicide bomber killed a minority Tamil minister's aide in an attack on his office early yesterday. Hours later, a parcel bomb exploded near a shopping centre in a Colombo suburb. - (Reuters)

Germans arrest Georgian exile

BERLIN -German police have arrested exiled Georgian opposition leader Irakly Okruashvili following a request from Georgian authorities, the Berlin state prosecutor said yesterday.

"He was arrested in a Berlin hotel last night," a spokesman for the state prosecutor said. Berlin authorities will in the coming days and weeks consider a request to extradite him on embezzlement charges, he added. - (Reuters)

Briton killed by pack of stray dogs

SOFIA -A pack of stray dogs mauled a British woman to death in a Bulgarian village, police said yesterday.

Margaret Ann Gordon (56) was walking her pet dog when about eight wild dogs attacked her on Tuesday afternoon on the outskirts of the village of Nedyalsko in southeastern Bulgaria, a police spokeswoman said.

Ms Gordon, who had lived in Nedyalsko for two years, died from blood loss before an ambulance arrived. - (Reuters)