■ Malawi
Muslims attack Christians
Police and army units were deployed across Malawi on Sunday to restore order after Muslim crowds attacked Christian and western targets in protest at the deportation of five Muslim men said to be suspects from the terror network al-Qaeda. The government breached a high court ruling last week by spiriting the men into US custody, apparently after heavy pressure from Washington. Several Christian churches and the office of an American charity were damaged by mobs on Saturday, prompting the security presence at church services yesterday. At least three people were injured and 13 arrested.
■ United Kingdom
Gays get legal rights
Gays and lesbians in England and Wales would enjoy the same legal rights as married couples under proposals released yesterday by the British government. If adopted by parliament, the reforms will create civil partnerships to give homosexual couples pension and property rights, so long as they sign an official registration document. It would also give next-of-kin rights in hospitals, allow gays to benefit from a deceased partner's pension, and exempt them from inheritance tax on a partner's home. The proposals were backed by Prime Minister Tony Blair and a bill could be introduced into parliament this year.
■ Israel
Sperm saving doesn't work
Couples who abstain from sex in the hope of saving sperm until the woman is at her most fertile are wasting their time, a new study suggests. The research provides the strongest evidence yet that not only is abstaining of no benefit to couples with normal fertility, it can damage the chance of successful conception among couples seeking fertility treatment. A team lead by Eliahu Levitas, a fertility specialist at the IVF unit of Soroka University Medical Centre in Israel, looked at sperm samples from around 6,000 men who had abstained from sex for up to two weeks. Most had normal sperm counts, but roughly a third of their sperm counts were low.
■ Israel
Collapsed building kills 4
A two-storey building collapsed yesterday morning in Tel Aviv, killing at least four people, wounding three and trapping others in the ruins. One of the dead was a five-year old girl, said Moshe Mosco, a spokesman for the fire and rescue service. There were possibly five more people still trapped in the building, and army rescue teams were called in to help freeing those trapped under the rubble. "It is going to take us hours," said Mosco. The army brought in electronic equipment, dogs and heavy machinery in an attempt to find those still trapped. The building collapsed after a gas canister apparently exploded in the building.
Agencies
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