Foreign diplomats to London have been accused of a variety of serious criminal offences but escaped prosecution because of immunity, several newspapers reported yesterday. The Sunday Times, Sunday Express and Mail on Sunday all carried reports quoting British government statistics that overseas officials were accused of 122 serious criminal offences between 1999 and 2004. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett released the figures to members of parliament under Britain's Freedom of Information laws on Wednesday. Alleged offences included murder, rape, child abuse, bribery, fraud, possession of a firearm or offensive weapon, indecent assault, smuggling and money laundering.
■ Russia
Anti-G8 protesters arrested
Police detained 37 anti-globalization protesters yesterday who briefly blocked a road in St Petersburg, which is hosting this weekend's G8 summit, a protest organizer said. The demonstrators, who included EU nationals, sat down in the middle of the city's main thoroughfare and held up posters with the slogan "No G8!," said Olga Miryasova of campaign group the Anti-G8 Network. Police could not immediately be reached for comment. Demonstrations around the summit have been low-key, in sharp contrast to the mass rallies at past G8 gatherings. Activists say Russian police have used intimidation and arbitrary detentions to keep protesters away from the city.
■ United States
Beer boss drove drunk
Beer baron Peter Coors' driver's license has been revoked by a hearing officer who ruled the executive had been driving under the influence of alcohol, officials in Denver, Colorado, said. Hearing officer Scott Garber ruled Friday that Coors did not stop at a stop sign on May 28 and was driving intoxicated. Coors, 59, said he had consumed a beer about 30 minutes before leaving a wedding, the Rocky Mountain News reported on Saturday. "I made a mistake. I should have planned ahead for a ride," Coors said in a statement.
■ Italy
Spy chief questioned
The head of the country's military intelligence agency was questioned by prosecutors for the first time on Saturday on suspicion of helping the CIA kidnap a terrorism suspect in Milan, judicial sources said. The development makes Nicolo Pollari the highest ranking official connected to the Italian investigation -- which has already led to the arrests of his No. 2 and another leader of his Sismi intelligence agency earlier this month. Both were released from house arrest on Saturday, but were believed still to be under investigation, a lawyer for one of the men said.
■ United States
Judges can pack a pistol
It is certainly one way to assure order in the court. The New York state Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics has ruled that it is permissible for judges to wear a pistol beneath their robes while on the bench. "From an ethical standpoint, there is no prohibition ... barring you from carrying a firearm while performing your duties on the bench," the committee said in a decision published in this week's New York Law Journal. The committee was asked by one of the state's 3,400 judges whether it was "ethically permissible" to carry a pistol into the courtroom.
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