World in Brief

Burma releases 8,500 protesters

Rangoon The Burmese junta has freed more than 8,500 prisoners, including 20 oppostition members who were held after protests in September, state media and the opposition announced. The releases were aimed at “forging the national solidarity in the country”, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said. Among those released were ten members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. Eighty people, including 21 monks, remain in custody. (Reuters)

Protesters charged

Kuala Lumpar Twenty-six ethnic Indians arrested during a 10,000-strong rally protesting against alleged discrimination by the Muslim majority in Malaysia have been charged with the attempted murder of a police officer, their lawyer said. (AP)

Capsize deaths

Co Donegal A father and son died after their lobster boat capsized in heavy seas. The father, in his early forties, and the 19-year-old man were rescued in Donegal Bay, northwest Ireland, but could not be revived in hospital. (PA)

Pirate attack

Abuja Pirates attacked an ExxonMobil vessel in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria on Tuesday, killing a crew member and injuring another. Seven or eight gunmen boarded the vessel and ransacked it, security contractors said. (Reuters)

Mobile saints 'crass'

Rome Catholic Church leaders have condemned as crass a company offering Italians the chance to download “santinos”, or “holy cards”, to their mobile phones. The images, small pictures of saints, are often taped to car dashboards. (Reuters)

Holy smoke

Athens A Greek Orthodox nunnery was turned into a marijuana plantation by two men posing as gardeners, police said. Officers raided the nunnery in Filiro, near Salonika, acting on a tip-off. None of the nuns was arrested. (Reuters)