WARSAW The Roman Catholic Church in Poland has been thrown into turmoil after reports that the new Archbishop of Warsaw collaborated with the communist-era secret police for more than 20 years.

Bishop Stanislaw Wielgus, who has denied collaborating with the secret police, is due to be installed on Sunday. The State Commission for Civil Rights, studying communist-era archives, said that it found “the allegations are not groundless”, and that there was evidence of co-operation with the intelligence service from 1973 to 1978.

The former Bishop of Plock denied collaborating after the allegations surfaced in the Polish weekly Gazeta Polska shortly before Christmas. In the past two days, two more newspapers have published similar claims. (AP)

Nuclear chief fired

WASHINGTON Samuel Bodman, the Energy Secretary, announced the dismissal of Linton Brooks, the head of the US nuclear weapons programme, because of security breakdowns at weapons facilities, including the Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico. Mr Brooks is a former ambassador. (AP)

Avalanche deaths

GRENOBLE Three off-piste skiiers have died in snowslides in Chamonix and the Queyras area of the French Alps, taking the avalanche toll in the region to four since the start of the week. With more snow expected yesterday, weather experts issued an avalanche warning of four on a five-point scale. (AFP)

Rapper charged

NEW YORK The rapper Busta Rhymes was charged with assault after a man said that the singer had punched and kicked him in a dispute over money. Rhymes, 34, who had turned himself in to police in Manhattan on Wednesday night, was released on bail and will appear in court again on February 20. (AP)

New head for WHO

GENEVA Margaret Chan, 59, became the first Chinese to head a UN agency when she took over as director-general of the World Health Organisation. The agency’s former assistant director-general for communicable diseases promised that she would focus on women’s health and Africa. (Reuters)

Wet pants charge

DANVILLE A 12-year-old girl with special educational needs has been charged with disorderly conduct after authorities in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania said that she deliberately wet her pants at school. Police have told the parents that they can avoid a fine if they agree that she do community service. (AP)

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