AP - The Vatican on Sunday raised the possibility of using behind-the-scenes diplomacy to try to spare the life of an Iranian widow sentenced to be stoned for adultery. In its first public statement on the case, which has attracted worldwide attention, the Vatican also decried stoning as a particularly "brutal" form of capital punishment.   Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the Catholic church opposes the death penalty in general.   Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was convicted in 2006 of adultery. In July, Iranian authorities said they would not carry out the stoning sentence for the time being, but the mother of two could still face execution by hanging for adultery and other offenses.

AFP - Kevin Pietersen was fined an "undisclosed amount" for his foul-mouthed Twitter tirade after being dropped from the England squad, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Monday.

Pietersen, never before axed when fit from England duty in a four-year international career, pre-empted last Tuesday's announcement by several hours that he'd been left out for the upcoming Twenty20 and limited overs matches against Pakistan with a post on social networking site Twitter.

The South Africa-born batsman would have been in trouble for that act alone.

(Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday he had cancelled a book-signing in London this week to mark the launch of his memoirs, over fears the event would be hit by protests.

Three people were arrested after eggs and shoes were thrown at Blair, 57, as he arrived to sign copies of "A Journey" at a bookshop in Dublin on Saturday and some of the 200 protesters clashed with police.

No injuries were reported and the missiles did not hit Blair.

Anti-war campaigners and the far-right British National Party had said they would protest on Wednesday at the Waterstone's branch in Piccadilly in central London over Blair's decision to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Natascha Kampusch, the Austrian woman who was kidnapped and held captive for more than eight years, has told of how she tried to kill herself after being beaten up to 200 times a week by her captor.

In her forthcoming autobiography Kampusch, 22, said Wolfgang Priklopil called her "my slave" and demanded she perform household tasks semi-naked after he kidnapped her as a 10-year-old in 1998.

Kampusch escaped from Priklopil's house in August 2006 and became a talk show host in Austria less than two years later, although a year ago she spoke of having almost reverted back to the life she had as a prisoner - suffering from anxiety attacks and spending most of her time in her Vienna flat.

Priklopil killed himself hours after Kampusch managed to escape while he was cleaning his car.