A round-up of today's other world news in brief
Court rules Musharraf actions illegal
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s supreme court ruled yesterday that former president Pervez Musharraf violated the constitution when he imposed emergency rule two years ago and that all actions taken by him then were illegal.
Mr Musharraf, who came to power in a coup in 1999, quit as president almost a year ago to avoid impeachment and has been living in London for the past two months. – (Reuters)
Tourists killed in Spanish bus crash
AMSTERDAM – Six Dutch tourists were killed in a bus crash late on Thursday near Barcelona and 44 people were injured, according to Dutch tour operator Sundio Group.
The bus, carrying 65 passengers, left the road when exiting a highway and overturned, Sundio said in a statement.
Some of the survivors were badly injured, and a spokesman for Dutch emergency assistance group SOS International group did not rule out the possibility that the death toll might rise. – (Reuters)
US senator Dodd has cancer
WASHINGTON – Democratic senator Christopher Dodd, a leading force for US healthcare reform, said yesterday he had prostate cancer but still planned to run for re-election next year.
“I’ll be a little leaner and a little meaner but I’m running,” Mr Dodd (65) told a televised news conference in his home state of Connecticut.
Mr Dodd said that he planned to have surgery during the August Senate recess but he was confident the cancer had been caught at an early stage and that he would recover fully. – (Reuters)
Council workers in SA end strike
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s council workers’ union said yesterday it had agreed a pay increase almost twice the rate of inflation, ending a five-day strike that challenged South African president Jacob Zuma’s economic policies.
“We have agreed on it, it is just a question of signing it. They agreed on a 13 per cent [pay rise],” Samwu union official Dale Forbes said yesterday.
– (Reuters)
Crocodile on a plane
CAIRO – A baby crocodile wriggled out of an airline passenger’s hand luggage and caused chaos on a flight into Cairo yesterday.
A crew member on the EgyptAir flight from Abu Dhabi rounded up the foot-long creature and calmed passengers.
It was seized and given to Cairo zoo.
Transporting exotic animals in and out of the Egypt is illegal.
None of the passengers claimed ownership of the crocodile. – (AP)