World Highlights

¤ Canada's fragile minority Liberal government, which has never managed to shake off the effects of a patronage scandal, was set to be defeated in a parliamentary vote after 17 months in power. Legislators will vote at about 6.45 p.m. (2345 GMT) on a non-confidence motion put forward by the three opposition parties, which control a majority of seats in the House of Commons. The opposition says the scandal - one of the main driving forces in Canadian politics - means Prime Minister Paul Martin must quit immediately.

¤ An independent watchdog said yesterday it would investigate claims that London's police chief lied to the public after the fatal shooting of an innocent Brazilian man suspected of being a would-be suicide bomber. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair, who is Britain's most senior officer, is to be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) after an official complaint from the family of Jean Charles de Menezes. "This is fantastic news and a great victory for our campaign," said his cousin, Alez Pereira.

¤ Rescue workers searched yesterday with helicopters and boats for 11 missing people after six others died in a ferry boat accident on a lake in southern Chile but officials said there was little hope of finding survivors. Six people, including students returning from a school trip, died on Sunday when a ferry capsized in bad weather on Maihue Lake, in Chile's lake region, some 900 km south of Santiago. Sixteen people survived.

¤ A Palestinian militant threw an explosive device at Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron yesterday, a Palestinian security source and witnesses said. The army had no immediate comment and Israel's ZAKA emergency service said there were no immediate reports of casualties at the roadblock, located near the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site holy to Muslims and Jews.

¤ An appeals court threw out terrorism charges against three North Africans yesterday, including Moroccan immigrant Mohammed Daki, whose trial was seen as a test case for Italy's fight against Islamist militants. Prosecutors charged Mr Daki and two Tunisians last year under international terrorism laws introduced by Italy in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on US cities. The men were accused of sending militants to Iraq and planning attacks in Europe, but in a highly controversial ruling in January, a judge said they were guerillas not terrorists.