In Short

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Cheney released from hospital

WASHINGTON - US vice president Dick Cheney was released after 4½ hours from George Washington Hospital yesterday after experiencing shortness of breath, a spokeswoman said.

Doctors found his EKG, or electrocardiogram, unchanged and said he was retaining fluid because of medication he was taking for a foot problem. - (AP)

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Pinochet bailed after house arrest

SANTIAGO - Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet has been granted bail after seven weeks of house arrest on charges related to the disappearance and presumed death of three opponents during his 17- year rule. - (Reuters)

Stringfellows bouncer killed man

LONDON - A doorman at Stringfellows nightclub has been convicted of killing a stag-night reveller who touched a lapdancer.

Marcus Marriott (33) was found guilty of the manslaughter of George MacDonald (34), whose head smashed onto the pavement outside the club as he was punched.

Dancers at the club perform striptease, pole and lapdancing and even provide private shows but prosecutor Dorian Lovell- Pank said: "One strict rule must be adhered to - you must not touch the girls in any way." - (PA)

Iranian general killed in air crash

TEHRAN - The commander of the ground forces of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Gen Ahmad Kazemi, and 10 others died yesterday when a small military passenger jet crashed in northwestern Iran trying to make an emergency landing. - (AP)

Kelly insists children priority

LONDON - The British education secretary, Ruth Kelly, insisted yesterday that protecting children was her "first priority" after she was criticised for allowing a man on the sex offenders' register to work in a school.

Paul Reeve was given a job at the Hewett school in Norwich last month despite a caution for accessing banned images of children on the internet. - (PA)

Wild Bavarian boar is caught napping

BERLIN - A wild boar was found taking a nap in the guest bedroom in a Bavarian family's house after fleeing from hunters.

"The sow panicked and was completely disoriented after being chased," a police spokesman said yesterday. "It broke through a cellar window into a house. It fell asleep on a bed in the guest room." - (Reuters)

West accused over Africa poverty

NAIROBI - A senior UN envoy has accused Western donors of failing to respond to the plight of millions of Africans on the brink of starvation. The UN says at least six million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti need food, but only 16,400 of the required 64,000 tonnes have been made available. - (Reuters)

Woman at home 2 years after death

CINCINNATI - A dead woman dressed in white was positioned in a chair in front of a television set for more than two years because she told her friend she did not want to be buried and planned to return, a US coroner said yesterday.

Johannas Pope died in August 2003. Her carer and friend left her upstairs in the home with the TV and air conditioning on while the body slowly decayed, said authorities in Cincinnati. Some of the family continued to live downstairs. - (AP)

Pope warns of civilisations clash

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict has warned of a clash of civilisations caused by the "moral perversion" of terrorism, called for peace between Israel and Palestinians and urged cuts in arms spending to feed the poor. - (Reuters)