Bhutto’s husband ‘in death plot’
Islamabad: A court in Karachi has indicted Asif Ali Zardari, the jailed husband of Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani Prime Minister, for a 1998 murder. He is said to have plotted the shooting of Sajjad Hussain, a former chairman of the state-run Pakistan Steel Mills, from his jail cell.
Hussain was a star witness in a corruption case against Zardari, who has been in prison since Bhutto’s Government was dismissed in 1996. A Swiss magistrate last week found Bhutto, Zardari and a Swiss intermediary guilty of money-laundering, for which they were given a six-month suspended jail sentence. (AFP)
Springer will not run for Senate seat
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Columbus: The television talk show host Jerry Springer said yesterday that he would not run for the US Senate next year. Mr Springer, a Democrat, spent six months crisscrossing Ohio speaking at Democrat dinners to gauge support for himself in a potential challenge to George Voinovich, a Republican.
Had he run for the Senate seat held by Mr Voinovich since 1998, he would have stopped doing his controversial show, he said.
It would have been Mr Springer’s first run for office since he served as mayor of Cincinnati from 1978 to 1981.
Aceh rebels killed
Banda Aceh: Seven suspected separatist rebels and a civilian were killed in the Indonesian province of Aceh and 11 guerrillas were captured, the military said. Indonesia began a massive operation to crush the Free Aceh Movement on May 19. More than 600 rebels have been killed and 900 captured. (AFP)
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Disease outbreak
Mazar-i Sharif: Three people have died in a suspected cholera or typhoid outbreak in northern Afghanistan and dozens more were being examined. The outbreak is in the Aqcha district of Jawzjan province, 380km (240 miles) northwest of Kabul, Ahmad Sayed, the provincial health chief, said. (AFP)
Taiwan spy arrest
Taipei: Two local men and a Taiwanese American have been arrested for allegedly spying for China. Among the information handed over since 2001 was Taiwan’s Theatre Missile Defense project plans, the Investigation Bureau said. Anti-submarine measures might also have been betrayed, newspapers said. (AFP)
Coup plot move
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Manila: Military investigators in the Philippines recommended courts martial for 45 officers who led an alleged coup plot against President Arroyo, as she vowed to show no leniency. On July 27, 300 junior military officers and soldiers took over part of Manila’s Makati financial district. (AFP)
Reverse sting
A common ingredient of food flavouring and cosmetics could make hornets attack humans, scientists from Tamagawa University in Machida, Japan, report in Nature. When threatened, the insects released similar chemicals, throwing other hornets into a defensive rage.
Whale-hunt starts
Iceland is to resume hunting minke whales in the North Atlantic, blaming their growing humbers for declining fish stocks. The country, which has not hunted whales since 1989, announced plans to kill 38 minke whales this month and next for “scientific research”.