■ United States
Journalist Ed Bradley dies
Veteran journalist and 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley has died of leukemia at the age of 65, the CBS TV network announced on Thursday. Bradley, who worked on the hard-hitting investigative news program for 25 seasons, joined the show in 1981. "Bradley's consummate skills as a broadcast journalist and his distinctive body of work have been recognized with numerous awards," the network said in a statement. Bradley joined CBS as a stringer in its Paris bureau in 1971 before working in Saigon toward the end of the Vietnam War. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Blanchet.
■ United Kingdom
Charges filed over files
London police on Thursday charged a 22-year-old woman with a series of offenses after they said they found terrorist handbooks and weapons manuals on a computer hard drive. Police said The Terrorists Handbook, The al-Qaeda Manual and The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook, as well as manuals for rifles, pistols and rocket-propelled grenades were found on the computer, which was seized late last month. They said other files included an operator's manual for pistols and a document on mines. Samina Malik, who police said is unemployed and lives in south London, was charged with four offenses under the Terrorism Act 2000.
■ United States
LA police probe beating
Los Angeles' police chief on Thursday said he had launched an investigation after an Internet video emerged of officers beating a man during an arrest earlier this year. Chief William Bratton announced the probe after the video showing two officers repeatedly punching the man was posted on video Web site YouTube. The film shows officers punching 23-year-old William Cardenas in the face six times while placing a knee on his neck during an arrest in Hollywood in August. "There's no denying that the video is disturbing," Bratton said. Both officers have been removed from their beats and are performing administrative roles.
■ United States
Four plead guilty to arson
Four environmental activists pleaded guilty in Eugene, Oregon, to arson and conspiracy for taking part in a wave of firebombings that caused US$30 million in damage over five years. Under the plea agreement, prosecutors said on Thursday they would ask for five years in prison for one of the defendants, and eight years for the others. Authorities said ecoterrorists committed firebombings around the Northwest between 1996 and 2001 to stop logging, wild horse roundups, genetic engineering of plants and the expansion of a Colorado ski resort. The defendants are expected to be sentenced in the spring.
■ Mexico
Another head found
A human head stuffed inside a plastic bag was found on Thursday near Acapulco. The head was found off the Sol Highway that links Acapulco and Mexico City. "We still do not know where the body is and the person's identity," Guerrero state prosecutor Eduardo Murueta said. Two heads were found last month in the mountains of Guerrero state, while in September, an unknown group tossed five heads on the dance floor of a bar in Michoacan state.
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