A Muslim cleric who once used a militia to resist the American invasion positioned himself as a big winner in Iraq’s months-long political deadlock when his party threw its support behind the beleaguered prime minister.
The hardline Shiite group led by Muqtada al-Sadr called it the start of its ascent to nationwide power – a spectre sure to alarm the US. Washington considers the cleric a threat to Iraq’s shaky security and has long refused to consider his movement a legitimate political entity. But prime minister Nouri Maliki may be unable to govern without him. (PA)
Probe after ‘bullied’ boy commits suicide
Texas prosecutors are to look into what led to the suicide of a 13-year-old Houston boy whose parents say was bullied relentlessly at school for two years.
Asher Brown’s parents, who claim school officials ignored their pleas for help, said they hoped “justice will be served” by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office probe.
Asher, who shot himself in the head with his stepfather’s handgun on September 23 at his family’s home, was said to have been ridiculed because he was small, a Buddhist, and did not wear designer clothes. Classmates also believed he was gay, his father said. (PA)
Stuttgart railway protest continues
More than 50,000 people protested over a disputed railway project in southwestern Germany, a day after scores of demonstrators were injured when police broke up a rally there.
Matthias von Hermann, a spokesman for the organisers, said more than 100,000 people attended the rally in Stuttgart against the £3.5 billion project, which foresees moving the city’s station underground.
“This is the biggest protest against the planned construction we ever had,” he said. But police spokesman Stefan Keilbach disputed that figure, saying about 50,000 people marched. There were no clashes or arrests, he said. (PA)
US singer to face cocaine charge
Bruno Mars, singer of the hit R&B song Just The Way You Are, is facing a cocaine charge following his arrest after a performance at a Las Vegas nightclub. The Clark County district attorney’s office filed a criminal complaint alleging the rising singer-songwriter had 2.6 grammes of cocaine when he was arrested on September 19 after being detained by a hotel security guard.
Mars, 24, whose real name is Peter Hernandez, is due in court on November 18 charged with possession of a controlled substance. If convicted he faces up to four years in prison and a £3,165 fine. (PA)
Venezuela airline resumes flights
Venezuela’s state airline has resumed domestic flights after a two-week suspension following a deadly crash.
Conviasa began its review after 17 people died when one of its planes crashed on September 13 in Venezuela and another airliner was forced to make an emergency landing three days later.
Arturo Gil, deputy minister of planning and infrastructure for Conviasa, said international flights had continued while domestic flights were suspended. (PA)
$100 bill delay
The US government has postponed the planned February release of the new high-tech $100 bill because of printing troubles.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which produces the government’s paper money, says the new bills have come out of some of initial printing runs with unwanted creases. The bills have been redesigned with sophisticated elements aimed at thwarting counterfeiters.
The Federal Reserve said the release of the bills, originally set for February 10, would be delayed until the problem was resolved. (PA)
Boss visits Niger staff kidnap site
The chief executive of French nuclear giant Areva visited the mining town in the north of Niger where seven foreign employees were kidnapped by an Al-Qaida-linked cell.
The visit came amid criticism in the French press that the company did not do enough to protect its workers.
Chief executive Anne Lauvergeon said the company would continue its mining operation in Arlit and said bosses were studying what security measures needed to be put in place. (PA)
Family distraught by toddler death
The family of a two-year-old girl who died in hospital in Edinburgh after she apparently fell from the second floor of a block of flats have said they are “devastated”.
Kayleigh Wotherspoon’s family described her as “full of life and a cheeky wee monkey”.
Officers were sent to the scene in Fair Isle Road in Kirkcaldy at around 2.45 p.m. last Friday after reports a child had fallen from the second storey of a block of flats.
Kayleigh was taken to Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline before she was transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh where she died. Police said yesterday there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances. (PA)