■ Iran
Detentions confirmed
Tehran said yesterday it has detained US-Iranian social science academic Kian Tajbakhsh on charges of spying, the same accusation leveled against another academic with dual nationality. Judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi confirmed that US-Iranian academic Haleh Esfandiari, who was detained on May 8, has been formally accused by the intelligence ministry of "acting against the security of the country through propaganda and espionage for foreigners." "The same goes for Mr Tajbakhsh. He is being kept in detention," said Jamshidi, confirming that Esfandiari was also still being held. An expert in urban planning, Tajbakhsh was arrested on May 11.
■ United States
Thief attempts romance
A thief found out the hard way that robbing a woman isn't the best way to capture her heart. Two men robbed a U-Haul truck rental store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Sunday afternoon, taking an unspecified amount of cash, according to the store's manager. But instead of fleeing, one man lingered and tried to strike up a conversation with the woman he had just robbed. "He stuck around and was trying to get the female employee's number," the manager. "She said he was just saying, `Hey baby, you're pretty fine.'"
■ Brazil
Politician claims innocence
The leader of the Senate, the latest politician to be snared in an unfolding scandal over kickbacks for government contracts, declared his innocence before fellow legislators on Monday. Renan Calheiros, a close ally of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is accused of taking cash from a lobbyist in exchange for favoring a construction firm. The allegations made in Veja magazine also involve payments to Calheiros' mistress for their three-year-old daughter. Calheiros said he was innocent: "This is a false scandal."
■ Canada
Police rock Vancouver
The Police kicked off their reunion tour before a sold-out crowd of 20,000 -- not bad for a group playing its first stadium in more than 20 years. Fans took to their feet and sang along as Monday night's show opened with Message in a Bottle, the group's 1979 smash hit. The trio of singer-bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland followed that up with a six-minute rendition of 1982's Synchronicity. The Police broke up in 1984 at the height of its success. Sting, 55, Summers, 54, and Copeland, 64, have since pursued individual careers.
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