World briefs 12/23/05

U.S. soldier investigated for killing of Italian agent

ROME -- A U.S. soldier is being investigated for his alleged role in the March killing in Baghdad of an Italian secret service agent, who had just secured the release of a journalist held hostage, a prosecutor and news reports said Thursday. Rome prosecutors are investigating the March 4 death of Nicola Calipari, who was killed by U.S. gunfire near a checkpoint as he headed to the Baghdad airport with Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, who was held hostage by militants for a month. Prosecutor Franco Ionta confirmed reports in Italian news agencies ANSA and Apcom that prosecutors are considering charging the soldier with murder. Prosecutors did not identify the soldier, who is believed to be the only one to fire at the car.

British police charge man linked to London bombing

LONDON -- Police investigating the failed July 21 London bombings charged a man Thursday with conspiracy to cause explosions. Metropolitan Police identified the man as Adel Yahya, 23, and said he had been charged with conspiring with four other men, who are awaiting trial over the plot to attack three subway trains and a double-decker bus in the British capital.

Seoul university: Scientist faked stem-cell lines

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean researcher Hwang Woo-suk faked results of at least nine of the 11 stem-cell lines he claimed to have created, his university said Friday in the first confirmation of allegations casting his purported breakthroughs under suspicion. An expert panel at Seoul National University, where Hwang works, said in its first report Friday it found that "the laboratory data for 11 stem cell lines that were reported in the 2005 paper were all data made using two stem cell lines in total." To create fake DNA results purporting to show a match, Hwang's team split cells from one patient into two test tubes for the analysis -- rather than actually match cloned cells to a patient's original cells, the university said. The panel said DNA tests currently being performed would confirm if the remaining two stem-cell lines it had found were actually successfully cloned from a patient. In light of the revelations, the panel said it would now also investigate Hwang's other landmark papers.

-- From wire reports