Today's other stories in brief
Serb acquitted over genocide charges
SARAJEVO – A Bosnian appeals court has acquitted a Serb wartime commander of Srebrenica genocide charges, quashing an earlier 40-year prison term on grounds of insufficient evidence.
Bosnia’s war crimes court convicted Milos Stupar and six other Bosnian Serbs in 2008 in connection with the killing of several hundred Srebrenica Muslim detainees in 1995 and were sentenced to terms ranging between 38 and 42 years in prison.
Mr Stupar appealed against the conviction, prompting the Sarajevo court’s appeals chamber to annul the verdict and start a new trial two months ago.
Evidence showed he could not have prevented the killings. – (Reuters)
Pirates hijack Russian tanker
NAIROBI – Somali pirates hijacked a Russian tanker carrying $52 million (€41 million) worth of crude oil and 23 crew yesterday, prompting Russia to send a warship to try to deal with the incident, officials said.
Pirates who hijacked the China-bound, Russian-owned MV Moscow University tanker 565km (350 miles) off the coast of Yemen warned against any rescue attempt, saying this would endanger the Russian crew. “A Russian warship is moving towards the tanker,” said a Russian defence ministry spokesman.
The chief of the Russian general staff cut short a visit to Nato headquarters in Brussels to co-ordinate the military’s response, he added. – (Reuters)
Earthquake strikes off Sumatra coast
JAKARTA – A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia yesterday, the US geological survey said, near an area devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no threat of a destructive, widespread tsunami although there was a small possibility of a local tsunami near the area of the quake.
The quake, which was earlier reported to be of 6.6 magnitude, occurred at 11.29pm local time and was centred about 137km (85 miles) southwest of Bengkulu. The depth was 18km (11 miles).
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. – (Reuters)
Taliban attack state buildings
HERAT – Taliban suicide bombers launched simultaneous attacks on three government buildings in southwestern Afghanistan earlier this week, killing four people, including a government official, the interior ministry said.
The Taliban has launched a series of attacks in the Afghan south in recent weeks, targeting government buildings and officials in an attempt to weaken the government and drive foreign forces out of the country.
The attacks come only weeks ahead of an offensive in southern Kandahar province, being billed as the central objective of US and Nato commander Gen Stanley McChrystal’s plan to turn the tide in the war. – (Reuters)