News in Brief

Italy holds presidential election
Afp, Rome

Voting to choose Italy's new president began yesterday with a former trade unionist the frontrunner in an election which could herald the end of a two-month impasse over a new government.
If elected by lawmakers, Marini will face the unenviable task of trying to bring the bickering parties together to break a deadlock that has raised fears of instability in the eurozone's third-largest economy.
Marini is a former Christian Democrat and ex-leader of the Catholic CISL trade union, who was speaker of the Senate between 2006 and 2008.
Analysts say the outcome of the ballot is far from clear because the vote is secret and lawmakers sometimes do not follow their party leadership.

Mubarak sent back to prison
Afp, Cairo

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was transferred from a military hospital back to prison yesterday to await a retrial in May over his role in the deaths of protesters in 2011, a security source said.
Mubarak was taken by ambulance to Tora prison under heavy security escort, the source told AFP. Egypt's public prosecutor ordered Mubarak back to prison on Wednesday after his health was deemed stable.

Court upholds WikiLeaks trial secrecy
Washington

A US military court of appeals on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by journalists and a rights group seeking greater openness in the upcoming trial of WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning.
The court rejected the suit by a 3-2 vote arguing that because those filing the suit were not parties to the Manning.

Gitmo hunger strike grows
 Afp, Washington

More Guantanamo detainees have joined a growing hunger strike at the reviled US military prison, with nearly a third of the 166 war-on-terror suspects participating, a spokesman said.
The strike began on February 6, when the men claimed prison officials searched their Korans for contraband. Officials have denied any mishandling of Islam's holy book.

UAE breaks up 'Qaeda cell' of 7
Afp, Dubai

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have broken up an al-Qaeda cell comprising seven Arabs who were plotting attacks in the Gulf state, an official statement said yesterday.
The UAE is one of the most stable countries in the Middle East and has so far not seen any attacks by al-Qaeda.