Briefly

ITALY

Muslims seek ‘reciprocal respect’

VIGEVANO — The Islamic community of this Italian city wrote a letter praising Pope Benedict XVI as he began a visit marred by a reported attack by Muslims on a Christian convert.

The 80-year-old Pope began a 24-hour visit yesterday to this city near Milan with a mass in Vigevano’s Piazza Ducale.

The visit was marred on Friday when a Moroccan man who had married a local Italian woman and converted to Christianity was beaten by Muslims and needed hospital treatment, according to Italian news reports.

In a letter given to the city’s bishop for the pope, the Muslim community told him they were committed to “a common path of understanding and reciprocal respect.”

UKRAINE

Suspects arrested in crime boss murder

KIEV — Authorities in Ukraine have arrested two suspects in the murder of a Russian man thought to have links to organized crime, who was shot by a sniper as he left a Kiev court, security officials said yesterday.

Maksim Kurochkin, known as “Mad Max,” was shot last month as he was getting into a police van in the inner courtyard of the court building. He had just been convicted of extortion.

Authorities did not release details of the suspects, including their nationalities.

RUSSIA

Space tourist lands safely

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