World Briefs

Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama yesterday defended his visit to Denmark as apolitical after Beijing warned that his meeting with Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen could affect ties with Denmark.

The 73-year-old Dalai Lama, who was in Denmark as part of a European tour that will also take him to France, Iceland and Poland, said his visit was "not political, but spiritual and educational".

Rasmussen had qualified Friday's 45-minute meeting as private and not political. China yesterday denounced the meeting.

"Ignoring numerous formal approaches by China, Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen and Foreign Minister (Per Stig) Moeller persisted in meeting the Dalai Lama who came to Denmark to carry out separatist activities," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement.

Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of wanting to establish an independent Tibet. (AFP)

At least 25 killed in China mine blast

At least 25 miners were killed and 20 trapped by a gas explosion at a coal mine in southwest China yesterday.

The accident occurred at 5 p.m. when 131 miners were working underground at the Tonghua Coal Mine in Anwen town, Chongqing municipality, but 86 escaped, Xinhua news agency said, citing local officials.

Rescuers had recovered 25 bodies but had not yet been able to reach the 20 trapped miners due to the dangerous levels of gas, it said. (AFP)

Slumdog child stars offered new homes

Two child actors from the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire have been offered new homes by the ruling Congress party of India's western state of Maharashtra after their slum homes were torn down.

Yesterday's offer came days after a private trust said it was replacing the demolished shantytown dwellings of nine-year-old Rubina Ali and 11-year-old Azharuddin Ismail.

The flats offered by the Congress party in the western part of Mumbai cost around 400,000 rupees each ($8,500) and were earmarked for low-income families. (AFP)

Police, protesters clash in Kashmir

Police and demonstrators clashed in Kashmir yesterday during anti-India protests fueled by accusations that security forces had raped and murdered two Muslim women, police and witnesses said.

Dozens of people were hurt after police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse protesters who hurled rocks at security forces and ransacked a hospital and government offices.

Residents said the two women were abducted, raped and killed by security forces in south Kashmir on Friday. (Reuters)

Berlusconi blocks publication of photos

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has succeeded in blocking publication of photos of his New Year's Eve party after reports said guests included a teenage girl whose relationship with him has caused a scandal.

Judicial sources said the 72-year-old Berlusconi, who denies having an affair with 18-year-old Noemi Letizia, said publication of the images taken by a photojournalist without his permission would have violated his right to privacy.

A prosecutor in Rome granted the injunction and ordered the seizure of hundreds of photos taken by Antonello Zappadu using a powerful lens from outside Berlusconi's villa on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. (Reuters)

Critics twisting words

President Barack Obama pushed back yesterday at conservative critics of his Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, accusing them of twisting her words to score political points.

"There are, of course, some in Washington who are attempting to draw old battle lines and playing the usual political games, pulling a few comments out of context to paint a distorted picture of Judge Sotomayor's record," Obama said in his weekly radio address.

"But I am confident that these efforts will fail," he said.

Born to Puerto Rican parents who moved to New York during World War II, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court and the third woman. If confirmed by the Senate, she would join Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only other woman on the court.

Obama's nomination last Tuesday of the 54-year-old federal appeals court judge to the high court touched off a battle between conservative and liberal interest groups. (Reuters)