Today's world news in brief
Farc bomb kills seven in Colombia
BOGOTA- Seven people were killed and nearly 50 wounded in the most serious Colombian guerrilla attack this year when a bomb exploded in a town plaza as residents celebrated a festival, officials said yesterday.
Officials blamed the Thursday night explosion in Antioquia province on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, rebels who have been weakened by President Alvaro Uribes US-backed security campaign. - (Reuters)
Cash rolls in for McCain campaign
WASHINGTON -US presidential candidate John McCain's campaign fundraising continues to grow, with July's contributions hitting $27 million as his race against Democratic rival Barack Obama enters a crucial period, a top aide said yesterday.
The new monthly fundraising total for McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, compares to the $22 million he raised in June, when Obama collected more than $30 million. - (Reuters)
RB producer dies at 91
MIAMI -Music pioneer and record producer Jerry Wexler, who helped shape RB music with influential recordings of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and other greats, has died aged 91.
Paul Wexler said his father died at home in Sarasota, Florida, early yesterday of heart disease. Among the standards produced by Wexler were Aretha Franklin's Respect, Percy Sledge's When A Man Loves A Woman and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour. - (AP)
Arrests over Antigua killings
ANTIGUA -Eight people have been arrested in connection with the deaths of British honeymoon couple Ben and Catherine Mullany, police said last night.
They were in custody and being interviewed by officers on the Caribbean island, Inspector Cornelius Charles said. He said some of them "may be considered suspects" and that more arrests may be made as the day goes on. - (Reuters)
Texas teachers to carry guns
TEXAS -A Texas school district will allow teachers bring guns to class this year, the district's superintendent said yesterday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States.
The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt. - (Reuters)
Tourists killed in bus crash
SANTO DOMINGO -At least 18 people, including four Italians, died when two buses collided yesterday on a highway in the east of the Dominican Republic, an official said.
One of the buses plowed into the other, which was packed with foreign tourists and en route to the resort of Punta Cana, when it was hit while parked alongside the road, authorities and witnesses said. - (Reuters)
France lifts oyster ban
BORDEAUX -A ban on the harvest and sale of oysters from the Bay of Arcachon, one of France's prime shellfish producing regions, was lifted after tests eased fears over safety, authorities said yesterday.
The regional office that supervises the oyster and mussel industry said two consecutive tests had shown the oysters posed no health problems. - (Reuters)