World news in brief

ITALY: A court in L'Aquila has convicted four people of involvement in the collapse of a university dormitory during the 2009 earthquake.

Eight students died in the collapse during the powerful quake which struck in the pre-dawn hours of April 6 2009.

The four Italian technicians were accused of carrying out shoddy reconstruction work in 2000 on the dormitory.

Protesters take on far right

BULGARIA: Human rights protesters targeted a march by far-right nationalists at the weekend accusing the rightwingers of promoting racism, xenophobia and antisemitism.

Hundreds of rightwingers marched through central Sofia. The march was organised by the far-right Bulgarian National Union to honour the memory of Hristo Lukov, a World War II general known for his antisemitic and pro-nazi activities.

Police target pro-Gbagbo activists

IVORY COAST: Police fired tear gas to disperse a march by supporters of the country's former president Laurent Gbagbo at the weekend.

The secretary-general for the youth wing of Mr Gbagbo's party, which organised the Saturday march, Justin Koua said that 16 protesters had been arrested and six others were wounded.

Hundreds gathered to call for Mr Gbagbo's liberation before the International Criminal Court makes a decision as to whether he will go to trial for crimes against humanity.

Brazil bids to stop gang attacks

BRAZIL: Elite police commando units fanned out across the streets on Saturday, in a bid to contain a wave of violent attacks over the past two weeks.

The attacks were ordered by criminal gangs from within Brazil's prisons and have seen buses and private passenger cars torched and police fired upon in around 30 towns in Santa Catarina state since January 30.

Seven get life for abuses in 1976

ARGENTINA: Seven retired officers were sentenced to life in prison at the weekend for rights abuses committed during the 1976-83 military dictatorship.

The seven were found guilty of kidnapping, torture and homicide in the case of 69 people held at navy bases in Mar del Plata.

The case was brought by relatives of victims and rights groups including the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Retired army general Alfredo Arrillaga and six retired navy officers were all sentenced to life in prison.

Radioactive leak at nuclear site

US: A tank at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is leaking radioactive liquids, the governor of Washington state said at the weekend.

The admission raised concerns about the integrity of other storage facilities at the most contaminated nuclear site in the US.

The Department of Energy said liquid levels are decreasing in one of 177 underground tanks at the nuclear reservation, which was created during World War II as part of a project to build the atomic bomb.