A round-up of today's other stories in brief
At least 53 people killed in Iraq siege
BAGHDAD – At least 53 people were killed yesterday when gunmen took hostages at a provincial council headquarters in Saddam Hussein’s hometown, precipitating a battle with security forces who swept in to end the siege.
It was one of the deadliest attacks in Tikrit since a suicide bombing killed up to 60 police recruits in January and was the first hostage incident since 52 people were killed in a Baghdad church raid by al-Qaeda-linked gunmen last October.
The assailants set off car bombs, explosive belts and hand grenades as they stormed into the building and grabbed hostages, local officials said. Hostages who did not die as a result of explosions were executed by the gunmen, they said.
– (Reuters)
Fake quake victim sparks outcry
ROME – A woman who pretended to be a victim of Italy’s 2009 earthquake has sparked an outcry after she was paid to praise the government’s reconstruction efforts on one of prime minister Silvio Berlusconis TV channels.
Marina Villa (50) appeared in a popular television programme on the Canale 5 channel, part of Mr Berlusconi’s Mediaset empire, on Friday and said everything was fine in the city of LAquila, which was devastated by the quake. “LAquila is going back to what it was before. There are houses with gardens and garages. Id like to thank, if I can, the prime minister,” she said. Ms Villa apologised on Monday after messages left by her acquaintances on social networking sites revealed she was not from L’Aquila but from a small town in the Abruzzo region.
She admitted she had been paid €300 to appear in the programme and read a script pretending to be a quake victim after the programme makers learnt she was from the region. – (Reuters)
Actor Farley Granger dies at 85
NEW YORK – American actor Farley Granger, best known as a 1950s screen idol for his starring roles in Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers Ropeand Strangers on a Train, has died. He was 85.
Granger died on Sunday of natural causes at his home in Manhattan, said a spokeswoman at the New York City medical examiner’s office.The San Jose-born actor began his film career as a teenager, before embarking on an acting career that spanned several decades and genres, including movies, stage and TV. – (Reuters)