World digest 08/10/05

Britain may set up secret anti-terror courts

LONDON -- Britain is considering setting up secretive courts to make it easier to prosecute terror suspects -- and to hold them without charge for longer than the current 14 days -- as part of the crackdown following the deadly London bombings, officials said Tuesday. The Home Office said it was weighing changing the pretrial process to deal with particularly sensitive terror cases. Currently, terror suspects can be held for two weeks without charge; after they are charged, police can no longer question them. Police have asked the government to extend this period to three months.

Suicide car bomber kills at least 17 people

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide car bomber struck a U.S. convoy near a crowded square as a wave of violence killed at least 17 people, including a U.S. soldier, in Baghdad. The suicide bombing occurred Tuesday afternoon when a driver detonated a vehicle packed with explosives as a U.S. convoy went by. Scores of Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers were wounded. Five civilian cars, one U.S. Army Humvee and an SUV were damaged in the attack near Tahrir Square, well-known for its shops. U.S. and Iraqi authorities sealed off the area.

-- From wire reports