World Briefs

A tribute to Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, of the British Royal Military Police, killed in action at Blue 25, an Afghan National Police checkpoint in the Nad e-Ali district of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on November 3, during the dedication ceremony of 119 names of UK armed forces members, added to the Armed Forces Memorial in April and May, who lost their lives during the course of duty in 2009, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Obama unveils new intelligence chief

US President Barack Obama said he wants the Senate to act quickly to approve his nominee to head the nation's 16 spy agencies as he unveiled his choice yesterday.

He said Pentagon intelligence official James Clapper must not fall victim to Washington politics.

Mr Obama said he will be counting on Mr Clapper to ensure that the US has the most capable and efficient intelligence operations as possible.

The president said the US has struck blows to al Qaida's leadership. But he said the US needs to do even better - especially in light of the bombing plot against a Detroit-bound airplane at Christmas.

TV heart-throb on marijuana charge

US acting star Chace Crawford faces a marijuana possession charge after being arrested, police said yesterday.

Texas authorities said the Gossip Girl heart-throb was stopped in the Dallas suburb of Plano.

Police spokesman Rick McDonald said Crawford was arrested in a parked vehicle early on Friday morning. He was booked and later released on a misdemeanour charge of possessing less than two ounces of marijuana.

The 24-year-old actor plays hunky Nate Archibald on the hit teen drama. He's slated to star in an upcoming remake of the 1984 film Footloose.

Pinochet amassed $21 million fortune

Chile's late dictator Augusto Pinochet amassed a fortune of $21 million, of which less than 10 per cent is justified by his military salary, reports said yesterday.

That's the conclusion of a University of Chile study ordered by the country's Supreme Court to support an investigation into allegations of illegal enrichment.

Lawyers for dictatorship victims said the study supports allegations Pinochet took bribes or commissions from weapons sales.

US admits queen's birthday blunder

The US State Department has conceded committing a diplomatic faux pas by sending birthday greetings to the Queen a week early.

Spokesman PJ Crowley admitted that yesterday's message from US secretary of state Hillary Clinton wishing the Queen well on her 84th birthday and honouring the 'special relationship' between the US and Britain was premature.

Better a week early than a week late, he said.

The Queen's actual birthday is on April 21, but by tradition British monarchs celebrate a second so-called official birthday on a Saturday in June decided by the government - this year on June 12.

Canine music fans howl for more

Some in the audience howled with glee, others stood on trembling legs and a few drooled in delight as famed performance artist Laurie Anderson debuted her original Music for Dogs composition outside the Sydney Opera House.

Hundreds of dogs and their owners bounced around as Anderson entertained them with 20 minutes of thumping beats, whale calls, whistles and a few high-pitched electronic sounds imperceptible to human ears.

The performance was part of the city's Vivid art and music festival, which is being co-curated by Anderson and her husband, rock legend Lou Reed.

Farm workers killed

Al Qaida-linked militants fatally shot three abducted rubber farm workers after their families failed to pay a ransom, the Filipino military said.

The victims' bullet-riddled bodies were found by residents in a village outside Sumisip township on the Filipino island of Basilan, a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf militants, a military spokesman said.

Gunmen led by senior Abu Sayyaf commander Furuji Indama seized the three men from a passenger minibus on May 27. The abductions came two weeks after troops raided an Abu Sayyaf camp, killing a militant and capturing 14 others.