■ United Kingdom
Soldier under investigation
A member of the elite fighting squad the SAS is among 50 British soldiers being investigated after fresh allegations of the murder, manslaughter, and assault of Iraqis, it was disclosed Sunday. The SAS soldier faces the prospect of being charged with murder after shooting dead an Iraqi during a military operation in Basra in January last year, defense sources confirmed. It is understood that the soldier's commanding officer and the director of special forces are resisting a prosecution, arguing that no crime was committed. The disclosures follow the announcement on Friday by the head of the British army, General Sir Mike Jackson, of a wide-ranging inquiry into allegations of abuse by British soldiers serving in Iraq.
■ United States
More BTK victims expected
The man arrested in Kansas on suspicion of being the BTK serial killer confessed on the day of his arrest to six slayings, a source said. Investigators, who allege Dennis Rader committed a decades-old string of 10 slayings, also are looking into whether he was responsible for another three killings, the source said. Rader made the confession Friday, the day of his arrest, according to the source. Rader is being held on a US$10 million bond.
■ United States
Iran incentives considered
Washington is close to a decision on joining Europe in offering incentives to Iran in exchange for giving up plans to develop nuclear weapons, the Washington Post reported yesterday. The new willingness comes after President George W. Bush's talks with German and French leaders in Europe last week and a meeting with key cabinet members and Vice President Dick Cheney. "There's no timetable," a senior State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, "but we're looking for a decision." Officials told the Post that after "really good" meetings in Europe last week the White House "wants to move quickly to finalize a list of incentives to offer Tehran as part of European talks with Iran," the daily said.
■ France
Aristocrat's wife arrested
The wife and brother-in-law of a British aristocrat who disappeared on the French Riviera were arrested on suspicion of murdering him, judicial sources said Sunday. The 66-year-old Earl of Shaftesbury, whose full name is Anthony Ashley-Cooper, vanished from a Cannes hotel on Nov. 6. Police arrested his wife, Djamila M'Barek, 37, on Friday in Cannes. A judge put her under investigation for murder, a step short of formal charges, judicial sources said. The couple had been in the process of getting a divorce, police said. It was the third marriage for Ashley-Cooper. During questioning, the wife allegedly confessed to working with her brother to abduct her husband, officials close to the investigation said.
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