A round-up of today's world news
Move to halt corruption inquiry 'lawful'
LONDON -Britain's highest court ruled yesterday that the Serious Fraud Office did not break the law when it halted a corruption investigation into arms deals with Saudi Arabia, overturning an earlier verdict.
In April, the High Court criticised the British and Saudi governments and said the office had been wrong to capitulate to threats from the Saudi royal family over arms deals with Europe's biggest defence company, BAE Systems Plc.
But the House of Lords upheld an office appeal, saying the anti-fraud agency's director had acted legitimately on fears that national security could be damaged by continuing the probe. - (Reuters)
Zimbabwe rejigs its currency
HARARE -Zimbabwe is knocking 10 zeros off its hyper-inflated currency to make 10 billion dollars become one dollar.
Central bank governor Gideon Gono said the high rate was preventing computers, electronic calculators and bank machines handling basic transactions. Last week Mr Gono introduced a new 100 billion dollar note that was not enough to buy a loaf of bread. - (Reuters)
Pope's waiver for president
ASUNCION -Pope Benedict granted Paraguay's president-elect a historic waiver to allow the former bishop to take office next month without violating church rules, a Vatican representative said yesterday.
The pope gave Fernando Lugo a special dispensation, downgrading him to laymans status, said Orlando Antonini, the Vaticans ambassador to Asuncion. Mr Lugo was elected president in April, ending more than 60 years of one-party rule. - (Reuters)
13 immigrants die in truck
ISTANBUL -Thirteen illegal immigrants, found dead in a field on the outskirts of Istanbul yesterday, suffocated in a packed truck, police said.
The truck was carrying 138 illegal immigrants through Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, local official Dogan Azat told the state-run news agency Anatolian. - (Reuters)
Hacker suspect vows to fight on
LONDON -A UFO enthusiast accused of the "biggest military hack of all time" vowed to keep fighting extradition yesterday despite unanimous defeat at Britain's top court.
Gary McKinnon, an unemployed 42-year-old from north London, faces a lifetime in jail if convicted in the United States of sabotaging vital defence systems in the wake of 9/11. Speaking after losing at the House of Lords, Mr McKinnon's legal team said their battle would carry on at the European Court. - (PA)
Al-Sadr opposes deal with US
BAGHDAD -Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on Iraq's leaders not to sign a security deal with the United States, offering to throw his support behind the government if the talks were scrapped.
Al-Sadr pulled the movement's six ministers out of the government last year when prime minister Nuri al-Maliki refused to set a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces. - (Reuters)
Adviser Rove found in contempt
WASHINGTON -A US congressional panel voted yesterday to find former presidential adviser Karl Rove in contempt for defying a subpoena to testify in its probe into suspected political meddling at the justice department. The House of Representatives judiciary committee approved the contempt citation. - (Reuters)