World in brief: Man charged with killing prostitutes
Authorities charged a 48-year-old man with the murder of five prostitutes whose bodies were recovered near this English town earlier this month, police said Thursday.
Police identified the suspect as Steve Wright, who lived in the town’s red-light district and was taken into custody Tuesday. A 37-year-old man detained on Monday – identified by news reports as Tom Stephens – was released, police said.
Tehran, Iran
Leader continues rants against Bush
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called President Bush “the most hated person” in the world on Thursday, keeping up his tirades against the West despite elections that showed Iranians want him to focus on the country’s domestic problems.
In final results announced Thursday from local elections last week, moderate conservatives opposed to Ahmadinejad won a majority of seats. They were followed by reformists, making a comeback after being driven out of local councils, parliament and the presidency over the past five years.
In the capital Tehran, where Ahmadinejad was mayor before becoming president 16 months ago, his allies grabbed only three of the 15 council seats, while moderate conservatives won seven. Reformists won four, and an independent one.
Washington
Saudis appoint new ambassador
Saudi Arabia’s next ambassador to the United States will be Adel al-Jubeir, a young U.S.-educated diplomat who was drafted by the now-king in 2001 to repair a Saudi image in America that had been shattered by the Sept. 11 attacks.
A Saudi official, speaking anonymously, said Thursday that al-Jubeir, who was foreign affairs adviser to King Abdullah when he was crown prince, will be appointed at the end of January or early in February.
Saudi Arabia has had only two ambassadors in the past 23 years: Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who left 1 1/2 years ago after 22 years and now is the Saudi national security adviser; and Prince Turki al-Faisal, who quit this month after 15 months on the job.
Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Hamas, Fatah in fierce gunbattle
A fierce gunbattle broke out between Hamas and Fatah militants in Gaza City early today, underscoring the fragility of a two-day old truce that had largely ended factional violence there.
The street battle erupted when Hamas militiamen tried to free two kidnapped militants, including a senior member of the Islamic group. It died down after 20 minutes as Muslim clerics and other mediators worked to restore the cease-fire. Nobody was hurt despite the battle’s intensity, health officials said.
Hamas said its fighters exchanged fire with Fatah-affiliated militants behind the abductions.