■ Uae
Pregnant maid to be whipped
A housemaid was sentenced to 150 lashes in the for getting pregnant out of wedlock, the local newspaper Gulf News reported. A Sharia, or Islamic Court, official quoted by the newspaper said the maid's UAE national sponsor filed a case with police accusing her of committing adultery and being pregnant. Her case, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven sheikhdoms that make up the UAE federation, was referred to the public prosecution department and she was ordered to take a pregnancy test, which came back positive. The news report did not say if the lashes would be administered during her pregnancy. The lashes would be done in two stages and she will then be deported, said the report. The maid, whose nationality was not given, refused to reveal the name of the child's father.
■ United Kingdom
Scientists find dyslexia gene
Welsh scientists claim to have discovered a gene they believe to be one of the causes of the reading disorder dyslexia. The gene -- KIAA0319 -- was found by a team of researchers led by Julie Williams and Michail O'Donovan at the department of psychological medicine at the Wales College of Medicine in Cardiff. They analyzed 300 families, in each of which at least one child had the disorder. Williams said the discovery could help in a better understanding of "one of the great mysteries of neuroscience" -- how people actually process language.
■ United States
Officer on trial for Iraq killing
The platoon leader accused of ordering soldiers to force two Iraqis into the Tigris River at gunpoint was set for his court-martial to begin Monday. Army 1st Lieutenant Jack Saville is charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and making a false statement. The 25-year-old West Point graduate faces a maximum penalty of 29 years in military prison if convicted. He is accused of ordering troops to push two curfew violators into the river near Samarra early last year, resulting in the drowning death of Zaidoun Hassoun, 19.
■ The Vatican
Pope back in Vatican
Pope John Paul II returned to the Vatican late on Sunday, ending an 18-day stay at Rome's Gemelli hospital during which he underwent throat surgery which leaves him breathing with a tube in his neck. Looking tired and drawn, but in reasonably good form, the 84-year-old pope blessed and waved to hundreds of pilgrims who cheered and applauded as his cavalcade, flanked by police motorcyclists, wound its way through northern Rome and back to the Vatican. Groups of people clapped and cheered as the cavalcade passed by, some shouting: "Long Live the Pope."
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