Militant leader kills himself after chase
BEIRUT The Syrian leader of an Islamic militant group blew himself up on the Lebanese border after a gun battle with security forces. Omar Abdullah, 28, the leader of the group Tawheed and Jihad, had tried to cross into Lebanon from Syria with fake documents, the Interior Ministry said. He opened fire and tried to escape but, after a chase, detonated a belt containing explosives. Two members of the Syrian forces were wounded. (AP)
Plane shot down
N’DJAMENA A military plane has been shot down above eastern Chad, a region used by rebel forces to launch attacks. Officials have not released details of the fate of the crew. The Government said that it would reinforce a state of emergency. (AP)
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Neo-Nazi arrests
MUNICH Nine neo-Nazis were arrested in a raid in Rosenheim, southern Germany, and 55 firearms were confiscated. Police said the gang was not plotting an attack but kept the weapons, including machineguns, as a status symbol. (AFP)
Peace welcome
RAMALLAH The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has welcomed an appeal by Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, to resume talks. Mr Olmert said that Israel may “withdraw from considerable territory”. (AFP)
Nepal Truce signed
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KATHMANDU The Nepalese Government and communist rebels signed a UN-sponsored agreement spelling out the disarmament and disbanding of insurgents as part of a wide-reaching peace pact which has ended a ten-year conflict in Nepal. (AP)
Famine ‘genocide’
KIEV The Ukrainian parliament has approved a law recognising a 1932-1933 famine, which killed up to ten million Ukrainians, as a Soviet “genocide” against the Ukrainian people. The law had been put forward by President Yushchenko. (AFP)
Murder minister
NEW DELHI The Indian Coal Minister, Shibu Soren, has been found guilty of conspiracy in the abduction and murder of his press secretary 12 years ago. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has asked him to resign, an official said. (AFP)
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Rudolph restrained
OSLO The long arm of the law restrained a runaway reindeer that caused havoc along a highway in Norway’s Arctic. Klemet Klemetsen, 50, reached through the window of his police car and grabbed the animal by its neck while driving alongside. (AP)