Murder trial to be open to public

Moscow

Murder trial to be open to public

A judge ruled Monday the trial of three men accused of involvement in the killing of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya should be open to the public, responding to criticism from her family that secret proceedings would harm the case.

Politkovskaya covered the war in Chechnya and often criticized the Kremlin, and her shooting death in October 2006 brought widespread condemnation.

Authorities have acknowledged her assailant is still at large, but they have charged three men with providing logistical support.

The prosecution had sought to keep the proceedings closed to the public because it said some evidence is classified.

Madrid, Spain

Suspected ETA commando arrested

French and Spanish police arrested the reputed leader of ETA's commando units Monday — dealing a devastating blow to the armed Basque separatist group.

Mikel de Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, 35, is suspected of taking part in several killings, including the December shooting deaths of two Spanish guardsmen in France, according to French and Spanish officials.

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Aspiazu Rubina — known by the alias "Txeroki" (pronounced cher-OH-kee) — has been the operational chief of ETA's hit squads and bombing units for several years. He was being held in France, but he was expected to be handed over to Spanish authorities soon.

Athens, Greece

Police repel attacks during protest

Greek riot police fired tear gas to disperse protesters throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails outside the U.S. Embassy on Monday during an annual march to mark the anniversary of a student uprising.

Three police were injured in the clashes, while 11 protesters were detained, authorities said. Damage was reported at two bank branches in central Athens, a car showroom and to three vehicles.

About 10,000 people braved a thunderstorm to mark the 35th anniversary of the student uprising against the military dictatorship that ruled Greece from 1967-74. They marched to the U.S. Embassy to protest Washington's support for the junta at the time.

London

Panel rejects change in organ donations

Britain should not change its organ-donation law to automatically designate every person a donor unless they or their survivors opt out, an expert panel recommended Monday.

Under current law, every person is automatically designated to not be a donor unless they register as one or their family decides to donate their organs after death.

Britain has one of the lowest organ-donation rates in Europe, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown said his government might change the law despite the recommendation of the Organ Donation Taskforce, a panel of more than 20 medical professionals, lawyers and public health and government officials.

Douai, France

Court overturns Muslim annulment

A French appeals court Monday reinstated the marriage of a Muslim man who had sought an annulment because his bride lied about being a virgin.

The couple married in 2006 but the husband quickly sought an annulment after discovering his bride had lied about her virginity.

In April, a lower court in the northern town of Douai granted the annulment, saying the woman "acquiesced" to the man's demand for one "based on a lie concerning her virginity.

On Monday, the appeals court in Douai overturned the annulment. Both the woman and the man opposed the appeal, according to their lawyers.

Beijing

33 trapped miners pulled to safety

Flooding at a mine in central China killed one miner but rescuers pulled 33 other trapped workers to safety today after a 23-hour ordeal, a state news agency said.

The miners were lifted out of a flooded shaft around dawn, the official Xinhua news agency said. It was the third mine accident in as many weeks in the Henan province.

There were 42 people working underground when the mine shaft flooded shortly after dawn Monday at the Gaomendong Coal Mine in Jiaxian County, Pingdingshan City. The miners were working at an unauthorized part of the mine, and the number of workers in the pit surpassed the safety capacity, Li Hanwei, vice chief of the province's rescue headquarters, said late Monday.

The mine owner has been detained by police.

Also

An unmanned Russian spy plane crashed and exploded Monday near the separatist Georgian region of South Ossetia, killing two soldiers and wounding eight, Georgian officials said.

Seattle Times news services