Tallinn - Herman Simm, a senior Estonian intelligence official awaiting trial on treason charges for allegedly spying for Russia, may have started selling his secrets in the mid-1990s, according to media reports Thursday.

Speaking in daily newspaper Eesti Paevaleht, the former commander of the Estonian defence forces, Johannes Kert, said he suspected Simm had set out to discredit him at that time.

"A rumour was leaked to Finland that I, as the then-commander of the Estonian defence forces, could not be trusted," Kert claimed.

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI appealed Thursday to lawmakers in Luxembourg not to pass legislation legalizing euthanasia, or doctor-assisted suicide.

Political representatives need to remember that a "deliberate decision to deprive innocent humans of their lives is always wicked from a moral point of view," Benedict said.

The pontiff made the remarks during a speech in which he accepted the credentials of Luxembourg's new ambassador to the Vatican, Paul Duehr.

Munich - Bayern Munich goalkeeper Michael Rensing has dismissed criticism of his performances from club president Franz Beckenbauer as nonsense amid speculation that the Bundesliga champions may be looking to sign a new man between the posts.

"His criticism is nonsense," Rensing told Thursday's edition of the Bild daily.

Earlier this week, Beckenbauer had named Rensing's performance in Saturday's league match at VfB Stuttgart "amateurish" and blamed him for Stuttgart's late 2-2 equalizer.

Barcelona - Albert Costa was on Thursday named as the new captain of Spain's Davis Cup team, replacing Emilo Sanchez Vicario who resigned after leading his country to the 2008 title 3-1 over Argentina last month in Mar del Plata.

Costa was favourite to take over the post and receives a one-year contract. Spain begin the defence of their Davis Cup title next year March 6-8 against Serbia in Benidorm.

"For me the nomination is a recognition of my total career," said the 33-year-old, who was part of Spain's Davis Cup winning team in 2000 and is believed to have beaten off competition from former player Alex Corretja.

Baghdad - Montazer al-Zaidi, the TV reporter who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush on Sunday, has not been tortured and has been well-treated during his detention, one of his lawyers said Thursday.

"Al-Zaidi is in good health and was not tortured during his detention," one of his lawyers told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency. The lawyer spoke spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Al-Zaidi, who has worked for the Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya since 2005, is being tried at the Iraqi Criminal Court for throwing his shoes at Bush during a press conference on Sunday as he shouted in Arabic: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."

Beijing - The Chinese government on Thursday cut fuel prices and announced a long-awaited fuel tax scheme, seeking to boost economic growth slowed by the global financial crisis.

The wholesale price of petrol will be reduced by 900 yuan (132 dollars), or about 14 per cent, to 5,580 yuan per ton from Friday, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.

The factory price of kerosene for airplane fuel will drop by 2,400 yuan per ton, or 32 per cent, to 5,050 yuan from Friday, the NDRC said in a notice.

The diesel price will also fall to 4,970 yuan, down 1,100 yuan, or 18 per cent.

Pump prices will fall by 0.91 yuan per litre for petrol and 1.08 yuan per litre for diesel.