World briefs 5/29/08

French court convicts man of killing 7 females

CHARLEVILLE-MEZIERES, France — A man accused of seeking young virgins to rape and kill was convicted Wednesday of seven murders and sentenced to life in prison. Michel Fourniret, 66, was given the maximum sentence by the jury in northeast France. In a particularly severe sentence for a French court, he cannot be considered for parole before serving 30 years behind bars. The verdict closes a two-month trial that riveted France and neighboring Belgium, where one of the victims was killed. Investigators suspect Fourniret may also have been involved in several other murders.

Czechs apologize for soccer goof

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — The Latvian flag was in the game program along with a photo of the Latvian national soccer team. Before the match, Czech organizers played Latvia's national anthem. However, the Czech Republic was facing Lithuania on Tuesday night, not Latvia. The Czech Republic's soccer federation apologized Wednesday to its Lithuanian counterpart and to the Lithuanian embassy in Prague. The federation said in a statement the mistakes were inexcusable and measures will be taken not to repeat them in the future. Federation spokesman Vaclav Tichy took responsibility and resigned from his post. His deputy was fired and another federation official fined, the statement said.

— From wire reports