Dutroux `a psychopath'.

Psychiatrists testified yesterday that Marc Dutroux, who is standing trial for kidnapping, abuse and murder involving six young girls, was a psychopath who knew exactly what he was doing.

Three psychiatrists told the court in Belgian town of Arlon that their evaluation of the former electrician found he was also a manipulator and narcissistic.

One of them, Walter Denys said he had studied 3,000 people over his career and Dutroux had some of the most severe symptoms of psychopathy, a mental disorder marked by egocentric, amoral and anti-social activity.

"This is the third psychopath that I have met in my career and likely the worst case," Denys told the court.

Dutroux is charged with kidnapping and abusing six girls and of murdering two of them.

Towering day

DEVELOPERS of the Freedom Tower will break ground on the 1,776ft skyscraper on the site

of New York's World Trade Centre on July 4 - Independence Day.

"On July 4, as we commemorate the founding of our nation, we lay the foundation for our resurgence," said New York state Governor George Pataki. The famous WTC twin towers were destroyed in the September 11 terror attacks.

Jackal's protest

CARLOS the Jackal, once the world's most wanted terrorist, is on a hunger strike to protest being transferred to solitary confinement at a high-security French prison.

The Venezuelan, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, stopped eating and drinking after prison authorities tried to move him from his Paris cell, said his lawyer.

Wildfires fear

AS acrid smoke from more than 18,000 acres of charred brush curled skyward yesterday, California officials feared the earlier-than-usual start of the summer wildfires season could make it the most dangerous ever.

Fire crews battled three major wildfires that topped 1,000 acres each and more than 1,000 people were ordered to evacuate at the two biggest blazes, both in Riverside County, an inland region east of Los Angeles.

pounds 15m Beckham

REAL Madrid and England star David Beckham, with an annual income of pounds 15m, is the best-paid footballer in the world, according to France Football magazine's annual list.

It is the second straight year that Beckham, 29, has topped the list. Two other Real Madrid players followed Beckham - Brazil's Ronaldo with an income of pounds 11m and French star Zinedine Zidane with pounds 9.3m.