Wen shoe thrower in court

LONDON: A German student appeared before a British court yesterday accused of throwing a shoe at Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a lecture at Britain's Cambridge University.

Prosecutors say Martin Jahnke, 27, threw the shoe while Wen was speaking to Cambridge students on Feb 2, the last day of his state visit to Britain. It landed about a meter away from him.

Jahnke also interrupted the lecture by blowing a whistle, and prosecutor Caroline Allison said the incident had caused Wen and students "harassment, alarm or distress."