A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
BBC coverage of Middle East 'misleading'
LONDON - The BBC's coverage of the Israeli-Palestine conflict is "incomplete" and "misleading", including failing to adequately report the hardship of Palestinians living under occupation, an independent review commissioned by the station's board of governors has found.
The panel said the BBC should not let its own requirements of balance and impartiality become a "straitjacket" that prevented it from properly relaying the "dual narrative" of both sides.
It highlighted a "failure to convey adequately the disparity in the Israeli and Palestinian experience, reflecting the fact that one side is in control and the other lives under occupation". - (Guardian service)
Sunni leaders stake claim for change
BAGHDAD - Political leaders of Iraq's Sunni minority staked their claim to steering constitutional change through parliament yesterday, on the eve of the new assembly's first day of normal business since an election in December.
Guerrilla rebels were also in action, targeting the governor of the most predominantly Sunni Arab province with a suicide car bomb. Germany's Foreign Ministry yesterday said two German hostages held in Iraq since January had been freed after more than three months in captivity. - (Reuters)
EU body rebukes Polish minister
BERLIN - The European Commission joined German politicians yesterday in rebuking Poland's defence minister for comparing a German-Russian pipeline deal to a pact made between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Poland's Defence Minister, Radek Sikorski, said on Sunday the plan was akin to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of 1939, when Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin carved up Poland between them. - (Reuters)
Vein failure delays lethal injection
OHIO - A double murderer was put to death yesterday but not until after one of his veins had collapsed, causing the condemned man to sit up and tell his executioners, "It's not working," officials said.
The Ohio Department of Corrections said Joseph Clark (57) was pronounced dead following an injection of lethal chemicals at the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution in Lucasville. - (Reuters)
Narrow lead for right in Mexico
MEXICO CITY - Mexico's conservative ruling party presidential candidate has a narrow lead over his leftist rival in a tight election race that could mark a major shift in economic policy, a new opinion showed yesterday.
The survey by the Milenio newspaper gave Felipe Calderon of the ruling National Action Party 36 per cent support among probable voters with rival leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on 33 per cent. - (Reuters)
Yemen lifts ban on newspapers
SANAA - Yemen yesterday lifted a ban on three newspapers it had closed for reprinting cartoons lampooning Islam's Prophet Muhammad, a government official said.
The cabinet decided to cancel the suspension of the English-language Yemen Observer, al-Hurriya, and al-Rai al-Am came after a meeting with the head of the country's Journalists' Syndicate, said the official. - (Reuters)
Boy stabs father's killer to death
MOGADISHU - A 16-year-old Somali boy stabbed his father's killer to death in a public execution ordered by an Islamic court, witnesses said. Omar Hussein (45) was convicted under sharia law. - (Reuters)