London

Condom-thrower fined for attack on Blair

A demonstrator was fined more than $1,000 Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to throwing condoms filled with purple corn starch at Tony Blair as the prime minister spoke in the House of Commons. Another man denied the same charge.

Guy Harrison, 36, acknowledged in a hearing at Bow Street Magistrates’ Court that he had tossed the powder at Blair during the prime minister’s weekly question session on May 19. He was fined $1,080 plus $99 in court costs.

The powder turned out to be harmless, but it forced an evacuation of the House of Commons and raised fears about security problems.

Patrick Ronald Davis, 48, pleaded innocent to the same charge of violating the Public Order Act. District Judge Timothy Workman set a hearing in his case for June 9.

Pakistan

Car bombs explode near U.S. Consul’s home

Two car bombs exploded minutes apart by a language school close to the U.S. Consul’s residence in Pakistan’s biggest city, killing a police officer and wounding 25 other people.

The attack came days after police in Karachi said they smashed an Islamic militant ring accused in a deadly bombing outside the U.S. Consulate two years ago and a failed assassination plot against Pakistan’s pro-American president.

No one claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s bombings on a leafy avenue in this city of 15 million people. The second and far more powerful blast, 25 minutes after the first, hit police and journalists who had gathered at the scene.

London

Catholics soften stance on same-sex unions

England’s Roman Catholic Church officially distanced itself Wednesday from Vatican doctrine on the “evil” of same-sex unions, declaring that some “remedy by law” might be necessary to remove barriers to gay partnerships.

The softer position on gay rights emerged Wednesday in a new, 103-page teaching document, “Cherishing Life,” outlining the views of the Catholic Church of England and Wales on life, morality and many of the controversial issues confronting modern society.

Endorsed by the church’s head, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the document adds heft to the pronouncements of senior Catholic officials in Spain and Belgium that the church needs to recognize same-sex relationships.

London

Fire destroys valuable works of art

A fire at an art storage warehouse is believed to have destroyed works by contemporary British artists worth millions of dollars, including part of a collection owned by former advertising guru Charles Saatchi, newspapers reported.

Among the pieces feared lost in Monday’s blaze were works by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and the Chapman brothers, leading members of the 1990s Brit Art movement known for often shocking creations.

Dinos Chapman said his tableau, titled “Hell,” was destroyed, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday. The work, which he produced with his brother, Jake, consists of thousands of model Nazi soldiers committing atrocities, and was sold to Saatchi for $900,000.

Firefighters were at the warehouse Wednesday, but it would be hours before they could assess the damage, said fire brigade spokesman Nick Comery.