More world news in brief.
Mechanics may face charges over air crash
MADRID -Two mechanics who carried out repair work on a Spanair aircraft that crashed at Madrid airport on August 20th killing 154 people are being investigated for manslaughter.
Data from the Spanair McDonnell Douglas MD-82's flight recorder showed that the aircraft had faulty wing flaps and the take-off warning system had failed to sound, an initial report by Spain's Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Commission showed. - (Reuters)
Alleged Islamic extremists held
MADRID -Spanish police said they had arrested 12 suspected Islamist extremists in raids in Barcelona, Madrid and Cadiz yesterday.
The raids targeted networks suspected of hiding and aiding the escape of al-Qaeda members, a police statement said, including some linked to the 2004 Madrid train bombings. - (Reuters)
Couple sentenced for sex on beach
DUBAI -Two Britons were found guilty yesterday of having sex on a Dubai beach and sentenced to three months in jail followed by deportation.
Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer had pleaded not guilty to having sex in public and committing an indecent act in public, but admitted to an alcohol-related offence. - (Reuters)
Turkey blocks paper's website
ISTANBUL -The website of Turkey's third-largest-selling newspaper has been blocked after a complaint by an Islamic creationist.
Turkish internet users are now denied access to the Vatannewspaper's website, www.gazetevatan.com, after a court decided it had insulted Turkish writer Adnan Oktar, who disputes the theory of evolution. - (Guardian service)
Protests outside German mosque
BERLIN -About 200 people chanting anti-Muslim slogans demonstrated yesterday at the opening of the first mosque in the eastern part of Germany.
Attacks on the site and protests by residents and the far-right National Democratic Party have dogged the mosque's construction. - (Reuters)
