World briefs

Saudi Arabia's most revered cleric said in a rare fatwa this week that two writers should be tried for apostasy and put to death if they do not repent.

Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak was responding to recent articles in al-Riyadh newspaper that questioned the mainstream Sunni Muslim view that adherents of other faiths should be considered unbelievers.

"Anyone who claims this has refuted Islam and should be tried in order to take it back. If not, he should be killed as an apostate from the religion of Islam," said the fatwa, or religious opinion, dated March 14 and published on Barrak's website (albarrak.islamlight.net).

Targets in Liechtenstein probe

Authorities investigating tax evasion by Germans using Liechtenstein banks are now in possession of four disks containing bank data which implicate people in other countries, a newspaper reported yesterday.

Bank customers from Austria, Spain and France would be implicated by the data, German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing unnamed government officials in the western state of North Rhine Westphalia.

"In Austria, in particular, there are going to be a couple of surprises," the newspaper quoted an observer to the probe as saying. "This collection of data is a real treasure trove."

The probe has already led to the resignation of the chief executive of mail group Deutsche Post.

International pressure has intensified on Liechtenstein to lift the cloak of secrecy from its banks. The principality has defended its secrecy rules and says it is co-operating with other countries.

Thousands in anti-war protest march

Thousands of anti-war protesters joined marches in Britain yesterday to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

They took to the streets in London and the Scottish city of Glasgow demanding that British troops pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

A spokesman for the Stop The War coalition, which organised the marches, said that five years after the invasion of Iraq, the world had become "a much more dangerous place."

"Estimates suggest as many as one million people have died violent deaths as a result of the occupation of Iraq," spokesman Paul Collins said.

He said Prime Minister Gordon Brown was sending more troops to Afghanistan and claimed "this hidden war is fast becoming a disaster mirroring Iraq."

But the Foreign Office disputed Stop the War's conclusions. "In Iraq, there is clear evidence we are making steady progress, particularly in terms of security," a spokesman told Reuters.

"In Afghanistan NATO forces are winning the struggle against the Taliban," he added.

Organisers estimated that the London march had attracted up to 40,000 protesters. Police put the figure at 10,000. In Glasgow the demonstration attracted several hundred protesters.

Putin escapes plot to kill him

A Russian newspaper said yesterday security forces foiled an attempt by a sniper to kill President Vladimir Putin near the Kremlin this month. Itar-Tass news agency cited a security source denying the report.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the report by popular Moscow tabloid Tvoi Den, which is known for its strong sources in law enforcement circles.

Tvoi Den quoted an unnamed source as saying a sniper was arrested shortly before Putin walked through the gates of the Kremlin on election night, to appear at a concert held next to the Red Square.

The concert was held to celebrate Putin's protegee Dmitry Medvedev's victory in a presidential election and although the two men walked through the gates together, the newspaper said Putin was the only target of the plot.

Medvedev is due to be inaugurated on May 7 and has pledged to follow the policies of his political mentor Putin, who will serve as a prime minister under Medvedev.