World Briefs

Burn marks are seen on the grass outside the home of Swedish artist Lars Vilks, outside Hoganas, southern Sweden, yesterday.

Police say the home of a Swedish artist whose drawing of the Prophet Muhammad offended Muslims has been subjected to a suspected arson attack.

Vilks was not at home during the attack and no injuries have been reported.

According to police reports, attackers smashed windows and left plastic bottles filled with gasoline behind them. A small fire broke out, but is thought to have fizzled out by itself. (PA)

Google phone offline

Google is to close an online store that it set up to sell its Nexus One phone and rely on traditional retailers instead.

The decision ends the internet search giant's attempt to develop a new sales model for the mobile industry.

Google had hoped to shake things up by establishing its online store as the only place to buy the Nexus One, which the company hailed as a 'super' phone when it debuted in January. But consumers did not embrace the idea of buying a phone without any hands-on experience. (PA)

Michael Jackson's blooming tribute

Sunflowers are now blooming outside King of Pop Michael Jackson's crypt.

Grower Jason Levin delivered a truckload of up to 2,000 sunflowers to the massive marble and concrete Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Mr Levin said he decided to donate the £2,000-to-£3,500 worth of bright yellow flowers after Jackson's former wife Lisa Marie Presley complained there were only a few bouquets, candles and gifts surrounding the tomb. Jackson, 50, died last June. (PA)

Greek Communist Party in protest march

About 6,000 Greek Communist Party supporters marched through central Athens yesterday to protest against austerity measures imposed by the socialist government.

'Workers' rights are the law' the flag-carrying crowd chanted before dispersing without incident.

Earlier, at a rally in a central Athens square, party general secretary Aleka Papariga attacked the government.

"They lie to you when they say this crisis will last just three or four years and then everything will be OK," she said.

Unions and most opposition parties oppose recently enacted pay cuts and tax hikes. Greece will receive billions of euro from the EU and the International Monetary Fund over the next three years to help stave off bankruptcy. (PA)

Anti-terror ticket

Parking attendants and meter maids could be America's latest line of defence against terrorists.

A new government programme aims to train thousands of parking industry employees to watch for and report anything suspicious, such as abandoned cars or people hanging around garages, taking photographs or asking unusual questions.

Organisers say parking attendants and enforcement officers are as important to thwarting attacks as the two Times Square street sellers who alerted police on May 1 to a smoking SUV that was found to contain a petrol-and-propane bomb. i

160 killed in Darfur clashes

Clashes between Sudan's army and Darfur's most powerful rebel group have left more than 160 people dead, officials said.

Army spokesman Captain Khalid al-Sawarmi said that government troops killed 108 fighters from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the Jebel Moon area of western Darfur.

Sudan's official SUNA news agency reported that government forces also battled JEM rebels near Nyala in south Darfur. SUNA quotes senior police official Mohamed Abdul Magid al-Tayeb as saying 27 police and 33 rebels were killed in those clashes.

JEM confirmed the south Darfur violence in a statement. The rebels broke off talks with the government on a permanent peace deal two weeks ago, accusing the military of conducting a new Darfur offensive.(PA)

Deadly rampage

A man stabbed three people to death and seriously injured six, including four children, in a rampage in a central Bosnian village.

Police spokeswoman Aldina Ahmic said the attacker was also injured, most likely by bystanders who tried to stop him. She said there were indications the man had a mental disorder.

The victims were injured in the attack in the village of Hlapici, 15 miles northwest of Sarajevo. A witness told Bosnian television that the man appeared to being going from house to house and that he was known to residents. (PA)