Wikinews Shorts: August 10, 2009

English Badminton team withdraw from World Championship because of terror threat
After what has been described as a "specific terrorist threat", the English national badminton team has withdrawn from the Badminton World Championship currently being held in, India.

The threat is believed to be linked to, a group linked to the  in 2008.

V.K. Verma president of the Badminton Association of India dismissed the "terror threats" as rumors spread by the media. The Welsh and Scottish teams will continue to compete in the tournament, with Anne Smillie chief executive of Badminton Scotland saying that the had "perhaps overreacted".

Sources

Nagasaki holds ceremony on 64th anniversary of atomic bombing
A ceremony was held in, Japan on Sunday to commemorate the 64th anniversary of the of the city in.

Speaking to an audience of 5000 the mayor of the city called for worldwide nuclear disarmament. In his speech Prime Minister Taro Aso again reiterated that Japan would never produce, possess or allow nuclear weapons on its soil.

A similar ceremony was attended by 50,000 in on Thursday.

Sources

British soldier killed in Afghanistan
A British soldier of has been killed by an  whilst on patrol in  in, Afghanistan.

The death brings the number to five, the number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan in this month alone and 196 since 2001, when British troops arrived in Afghanistan.

Sources

British contractor in Iraq faces death penalty for murder
A British contractor working for a in Iraq has been arrested for the murder of two colleagues in Iraq. ArmorGroup Iraq confirms that two of its employees, a Briton and an Australian, have been killed in a firearms incident.

The gunman is now in the custody of the Iraqi authorities and faces a charge of premeditated, a crime for which he may.

Sources

Former British child actor claims to be father of Michael Jackson's daughter
Former child actor, best known for playing the title role in the 1968 film , claims to be the father of Michael Jackson's daughter Paris. Talking to British tabloid the , Lester claims that Jackson asked him for a in the mid 90s and points to the resemblance between his own daughter and Paris.

Lester claims to be motivated by the desire to remain in contact with Paris, which he fears may be denied him by, Paris'. His claim is supported by Uri Geller, a friend of both Jackson and Mark Lester, who said "I am not surprised, I knew it all along simply because Michael told me."

Sources

Three bombs explode in Majorca
Three bombs have exploded on the Spanish holiday island of on Sunday. Targeted at tourism sites all the devices were small and there have been no injuries. group has claimed responsibility for the attacks which follow a car bomb that killed two  officers 10 days ago on the  island.

ETA's recent bombing campaign, which has also seen bombings and deaths on the mainland, comes on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the organisation.

Sources