■ United States
Former Iranian leader sued
A group of Jewish Iranians who say their missing relatives were kidnapped and tortured by the Iranian government have sued the country's former president, delivering the summons to him directly while he was visiting New York. The seven families, who reside in Los Angeles and Israel, say their relatives were arrested at different times between 1994 and 1997 as they tried to leave Iran by crossing into Pakistan. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in Manhattan federal court, claims former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami instituted policies that prevented the relatives from having fair trials.
■ Lebanon
Syria disputes deployment
Syria said on Saturday it did not accept the deployment of European guards on the Lebanese side of the two countries' border to help prevent alleged arms shipments to Hezbollah. The official news agency SANA said "there is no truth to news reports of Syria's acceptance of European border guards to monitor the border from Lebanon." Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi earlier said Syria had agreed in principle to allow unarmed EU personnel to patrol its border with Lebanon. Prodi had said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who last month warned deployment of international forces on the border would be a "hostile" move, had approved the idea.
■ Canada
Clinton throws birthday bash
A litany of movies stars and musicians helped former US president Bill Clinton celebrate his 60th birthday in style at the posh Royal York Hotel in Toronto on Saturday night, according to local reports. The event, a veiled fundraiser for his charitable foundation with tables selling for up to US$200,000, attracted Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, David Letterman's sidekick Paul Shaffer, and comedian Billy Crystal, who joked about the fitful urinating habits of older men. Country music star Tim McGraw and legendary folk singer James Taylor paid the charismatic man from Hope, Arkansas, a musical tribute. His wife, US Senator Hillary Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea also attended.
■ Russia
All miners accounted for
The final death toll from a fire at a remote gold mine reached 25 yesterday as rescuers found the bodies of four men, the last of the miners trapped deep underground three days earlier. Relatives had been keeping vigil on the surface hoping the four might be brought out alive after eight survivors emerged from the pit on Saturday. All 33 men trapped when the fire broke out in the mine's main shaft on Thursday have now been accounted for, Interfax news agency said, quoting the local administration in the Chita region of Eastern Siberia. A rescue operation involving 300 people was being wound down.
RSS