world

Boats disappear in tropical storm

By Abdullah AlShihri · Wednesday, Nov. 13,2002 11:14 p.m.

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh -- Nineteen boats disappeared in a fierce storm off Bangladesh on Wednesday, and officials and witnesses said about 200 fishermen were missing and feared dead.

Israelis sweep West Bank

By Abdullah AlShihri and Mohammed Daraghmeh · Wednesday, Nov. 13,2002 11:13 p.m.

NABLUS, West Bank -- In the biggest sweep in months, Israeli troops hunting for militants stormed dozens of homes in this Palestinian city Wednesday, ordering residents to line up in the dawn chill as tanks blocked roads and helicopters hovered above.

Sniper suspect back in court

By Abdullah AlShihri and Matthew Barakat · Wednesday, Nov. 13,2002 11:12 p.m.

MANASSAS, Va. -- Sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad on Wednesday made a second appearance in a Prince William County court, this time with a lawyer experienced in high-profile cases. During the 10-minute hearing, Judge Leroy Millette appointed a second attorney for Muhammad and set a Dec. 12 hearing to consider a trial date. He is entitled to a trial by April 7. When Muhammad made his initial court appearance in Virginia on Friday, he was by himself. He seemed confused that the public defender appointed to represent him on federal extortion charges was no longer representing him. Since then, attorney Peter Greenspun has been appointed to represent him, and on Wednesday, the judge also appointed Jonathan Shapiro to the defense team.

US officials call bin Laden recording authentic

By Abdullah AlShihri and John J. Lumpkin · Wednesday, Nov. 13,2002 11:11 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. counterterrorism officials believe a new audiotape attributed to Osama bin Laden is probably authentic and are treating it as evidence the long-absent terrorist leader is still alive, a U.S. official familiar with the tape said Wednesday. President Bush said he was taking the tape "very seriously," though he was awaiting official word from advisers on its authenticity.

Food crisis causes hunger in Zambia

By Aida Sultanova and Dina Kraft · Tuesday, Nov. 12,2002 10:59 p.m.

KOOMA, Zambia -- In the village of Kooma, people compete with baboons and birds for nuts and wild fruit to survive. "We share with animals," said Elliot Magoloi, 68. "It's a shame." His face was gaunt. Frayed blue coveralls hung from his body. Drought has left as many as 14.4 million people facing possible starvation, according to U.N. estimates. Here, in Zambia's southern province, a flat landscape of sandy soil and crackling, dry, pale yellow grasses, the crisis has hit especially hard.

Afghan police fire at protestors

By Aida Sultanova and Kathy Gannon · Tuesday, Nov. 12,2002 10:58 p.m.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Helmeted police formed a cordon around Kabul University on Tuesday after deadly protests, guarding angry students as they returned to their darkened dorms. Student protests over a food shortage erupted in violence Monday when police fired on the unruly crowd. As many as four students were killed and dozens injured in the melee, which ended Tuesday when student representatives met with government officials. It was the first time since U.S. and British bombing ousted the Taliban one year ago that a university protest turned violent.

Top suspect in Bali identified

By Alyson Brodsy and Steven Gutkin · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 11:19 p.m.

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Investigators revealed Monday that the top suspect in the Bali blasts studied under the alleged spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, which has links to al-Qaida.

Head bishop pleads for unity

By Alyson Brodsy and Rachel Zoll · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 11:17 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- The head of the nation's Roman Catholic bishops pleaded for unity within the church Monday as he and his fellow prelates prepared to adopt a sex abuse policy that they promised will get offending clergy out of public ministry.

Iraqi parliament objects

By Alyson Brodsy and Sameer N. Yacoub · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 11:17 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's parliament condemned a new tough U.N. resolution as full of lies and ill intentions during a special session Monday in which a senior lawmaker urged rejection of the Security Council directive--a prospect that could prompt an attack by the United States and Britain. President Saddam Hussein has used the rubber-stamp parliament as cover for difficult decisions in the past, and the tough language does not necessarily mean parliament will reject the proposal.

Ramadan cannon no longer booms

By Alyson Brodsy and Jason Keyser · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 6:08 p.m.

NABLUS, West Bank -- One gun has fallen silent in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the century-old cannon that used to signal the end of the day's fast during Ramadan.

20,000 march in slain Palestinian officer's funeral

By Alyson Brodsy and Ibrahim Barzak · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 5:57 p.m.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Twenty-thousand police and militiamen marched in a funeral procession for a police colonel Thursday in the biggest Palestinian display force in years and a clear warning to the slain officer's Hamas killers to end their challenge to Yasser Arafat's government.

Bush discusses Iraq with Putin

By Alyson Brodsy and Scott Lindlaw · Friday, Nov. 8,2002 1:33 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush consulted Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of an expected United Nations vote on a resolution demanding that Iraq disarm. The White House reported no commitment from Putin on the tough measure the United States seeks. Bush's early-morning phone call to the Russian leader came amid a final diplomatic push for tough new weapons inspections, backed by threats of force if Saddam Hussein continues to skirt his disarmament obligations.

6 killed in missile strike

By Alyson Brodsy · Friday, Nov. 8,2002 12:02 a.m.

SAN'A, Yemen -- An American was believed to be among the six militants killed in a CIA missile strike this weekend, a security source said Thursday. The six men, including Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, al Qaeda's top man in Yemen, were killed Sunday when a Hellfire missile fired from a pilotless CIA spy plane destroyed the car they were riding in.

US presents final Iraq resolution

By Abdullah AlShihri and Edith M. Lederer · Thursday, Nov. 7,2002 12:18 a.m.

UNITED NATIONS -- The United States took a final revision of its Iraq resolution to the Security Council Wednesday in hopes of winning approval after eight weeks of tumultuous negotiations with wary allies concerned it could trigger a new war against Saddam Hussein. The draft has changed significantly since it was first introduced last month, but U.S. officials said the bottom line remains the same: tough new weapons inspections coupled with a threat of "serious consequences" if Iraq fails to comply.

Lawyers fire back in sniper case

By Abdullah AlShihri and Stephen Manning · Thursday, Nov. 7,2002 12:15 a.m.

GREENBELT, Md. -- The attorney for John Allen Muhammad denounced the government's case against the sniper suspect, saying federal prosecutors overreached in bringing extortion charges.

Sharon dissolves Israeli parliament

By Aida Sultanova and Laurie Copans · Tuesday, Nov. 5,2002 11:07 p.m.

JERUSALEM -- In a surprise move, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday dissolved parliament and called elections early next year after he failed to rebuild his crumbling government. Sharon's challenger in upcoming primaries for leadership of the Likud party, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then announced he would serve as Sharon's foreign minister until the election.

Political parties ally in Pakistan

By Aida Sultanova and Munir Ahmad · Tuesday, Nov. 5,2002 11:07 p.m.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Hardline Islamic parties and a pro-democracy block in Pakistan agreed to join forces Tuesday, giving them the parliamentary majority needed to form a coalition government and possibly choose a pro-Taliban cleric as prime minister. Political allies of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf refused to concede defeat and said they were also working to form a majority. In Pakistani politics, positions can be fluid and coalitions short-lived.

Missle strike kills al Qaeda operative

By Aida Sultanova and Josh L. Lumpkin · Tuesday, Nov. 5,2002 11:05 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Opening up a new front in the war on terror, U.S. forces launched a pinpoint missile strike in Yemen, killing a top al Qaeda operative in his car in the first such overt attack outside of Afghanistan, a U.S. official said. The strike, conducted by a CIA drone aircraft, killed Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. U.S. counterterrorism officials say al-Harethi was al Qaeda's chief operative in Yemen and a suspect in the October 2000 bombing of the destroyer USS Cole.

Ventura picks aide to replace Wellstone Wellstone

By Abdullah AlShihri and Ashley H. Grant · Tuesday, Nov. 5,2002 1:11 a.m.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A steaming-mad Gov. Jesse Ventura appointed a fellow independent to temporarily fill Sen. Paul Wellstone's seat Monday, while Walter Mondale went on the offensive against Republican Norm Coleman in the only debate of their compressed Senate campaign.

Engineers check Alaska pipeline

By Abdullah AlShihri and Dan Joling · Tuesday, Nov. 5,2002 1:10 a.m.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Engineers inspected the Alaska pipeline to determine the extent of the damage Monday after one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in the United States knocked out some of its supports and forced a shutdown in the flow of oil. Sunday's magnitude-7.9 quake was so strong that it opened cracks 6 feet wide in roads and rocked boats on lakes as far away as Louisiana. However, only one minor injury was reported -- a woman who broke her arm in a fall when she fled her home.