A round up of today's other world stories in brief
Lisbon Treaty move seen as signal to court
After an "extensive review" by his own legal team, a spokesman said Mr Köhler had "no drastic constitutional concerns".
The move is being interpreted as a political signal to the constitutional court in Karlsruhe: earlier this year the judges urged Mr Köhler not to sign the Bill into law until they had reached their verdict on several constitutional challenges to the Bill.
Legal observers suggested yesterday that rulings before the end of this year were unlikely.
A ruling against the complainants would allow Mr Köhler to sign the Bill into law. The treaty can only come into effect as planned on January 1st if all 27 member states ratify - an outcome thrown into uncertainty after Ireland's rejection of the treaty earlier this year.
Dispute over dead husband's sperm
PRESTON- A widow is battling to use sperm taken from the body of her dead husband in a British legal first, lawyers said yesterday.
The mother of one wants another child by using the sperm taken from her husband, who died unexpectedly during a routine hospital operation a year ago.
But the law allows sperm only to be used with the written consent of the donor.
The woman, aged 42, cannot be named under a court order, and is known only as L. - (PA)
Plan to solve Macedonia row
UNITED NATIONS- A UN mediator presented a new proposal yesterday to resolve a dispute between Greece and Macedonia over the former Yugoslav state's name, a thorny issue that has halted Skopje's bid to join Nato.
The dispute dates to 1991, when Yugoslavia disintegrated. Greece objects to the name Macedonia because it is also the name of Greece's northernmost province.
UN mediator Matthew Nimetz said he had presented a new set of ideas for a settlement to ambassadors of both countries after meetings at UN headquarters in New York. - (Reuters)
Attack on police bus kills three
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey - Three police trainees and a civilian were killed and 22 others were wounded in an attack on a police bus in southeast Turkey yesterday, police said.
Unidentified assailants armed with guns and explosives attacked the vehicle on a busy street on the outskirts of the city of Diyarbakir. - (Reuters)
US admit higher civilian toll
WASHINGTON- An inquiry by the US military has concluded that US air strikes on an Afghan village in August killed more than 30 civilians, far more than US commanders have acknowledged, according to the New York Times.
The August 22nd air strike on Azizabad village outraged Afghans and opened up a rift between the coalition forces on the one hand and the Afghan government and the UN on the other, which
both said more than 90 civilians were killed. - (Reuters)
Gunman guilty of smoking murder
LONDON- A gunman was found guilty yesterday of murdering a former boxing champion who had asked a group of men to stop smoking in a bar.
Kanyanta Mulenga (23) shot James Oyebola, a former British heavyweight champion, in the neck and leg after an argument in the London bar, three weeks after a ban on smoking in enclosed public places came into force in July 2007. - (Reuters)