IN BRIEF

S Korea imposes new Iran sanctions

SEOUL: South Korea blacklisted yesterday 102 companies, including the Seoul branch of Iran's Bank Mellat, and 24 individuals accused of facilitating Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Bank Mellat has been at the heart of US demands for tougher South Korean sanctions, as it has been accused of facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions for Iranian nuclear, missile and defence entities.

18 killed in Honduras shoe factory attack

TEGUCIGALPA: Gunmen sprayed people with automatic weapons fire at a shoe factory in Honduras's second city San Pedro Sula last Tuesday, killing at least 18 people, authorities said. Two or three gunmen burst into the small factory where about 25 people usually work in San Pedro Sula, 240km north of the capital. The gunmen opened fire with AK-47 rifles, killing 13 people on the spot and leaving six others wounded, said Safety Ministry spokesman Leonel Sauceda.

Artists, protesters target Blair party

LONDON: Former British premier Tony Blair has been forced to postponed a party at the Tate Modern art gallery celebrating the launch of his autobiography because of threats from anti-war protesters, his office said yesterday. Demonstrators had planned to disrupt the evening reception and a group of celebrated artists including Tracey Emin and Vivienne Westwood had called on the gallery to cancel the "disgraceful" event.

Sarkozy defies French pensions protestors

PARIS: France's President Nicolas Sarkozy remained defiant yesterday after massive street protests against his plan to raise the retirement age from 60, vowing to push on with an "essential" reform. Opponents reacted angrily, with the opposition Socialists branding him a liar and unions warning of further action after Tuesday's strike disrupted transport, shut schools and brought more than a million into the streets.

New EU rules on animal testing ban use of apes

STRASBOURG: Europe banned the use of great apes in animal testing yesterday as part of drastically tightened rules to scale back the number of animals used in scientific research. After two years of heated debate on how to protect animal welfare without scuppering scientific research, the new limits, updating regulations from 1986, were adopted by the European Parliament.

Agencies