Briefly World

Internationally acclaimed Russian pianist and conductor Mikhail Vasillievich Pletnev has been charged with raping a 14-year-old boy...

Russian pianist charged with child rape in Thailand

PATTAYA: Internationally acclaimed Russian pianist and conductor Mikhail Vasillievich Pletnev has been charged with raping a 14-year-old boy at a Thai beach resort,police said on Wednesday. Pletnev said the charges were the result of a misunderstanding. Pletnev,the founder of the Russian National Orchestra,was arrested on Monday evening at a restaurant in Pattaya and brought to court on Tuesday to face rape charges,said police Lt Col Omsin Sukkanka. He was released on Baht 300,000 bail,ordered to report to the court every 12 days and banned from contacting witnesses in the case. He could face up to 20 years in jail and a fine of up to baht 40,000 if found guilty.

NATO strike kills Afghan troops accidentally

KABUL: NATO mistakenly killed five of its Afghan Army allies in an airstrike on Wednesday while the Afghans were attacking insurgents in the countrys east,officials said. The Afghan soldiers were launching an ambush before dawn against insurgents in Ghazni province when NATO aircraft began firing on them without warning,Defence Ministry spokesman Gen Mohammad Zahir Azimi said.

No full-body X-ray scan at Dubai airport

Dubai: Dubai one of the premium world aviation hubs has said no to full-body scanners at the airports,saying it was violative of privacy of passengers. The use of these scanners hampers the movement of passengers and invades their privacy,Brigadier Ahmed bin Thani,Director of the Airport Security Department of the Dubai Police said.

Qaeda plotter held in UK on US warrant

LONDON: Police in Britain on Wednesday arrested the alleged ringleader of an al-Qaeda bomb plot after the US issued a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges. The Metropolitan Police said 24-year-old Pakistani national Abid Naseer was detained in northeast England. Naseer was among 12 people arrested last year in raids across northern England.

Suicide blasts kill 38 pilgrims in Baghdad

BAGHDAD: Militants struck across the Iraqi capital on Wednesday,killing 38 people,including 30 in a suicide bombing targeting pilgrims commemorating a revered Shiite saint,Iraqi police said.