world

U.S. envoy in Middle East hopes to curb violence

By Alyson Brodsy and Barry Schweid · Thursday, March 7,2002 11:13 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush dispatched Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni back to the troubled region Thursday in hopes of halting widening violence, The Associated Press has learned. Bush made the decision after his national security team advised that the action could help break a rising cycle of Middle East violence, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Bush was announcing the move later Thursday.

Ample evidence for Clinton prosecution

By Alyson Brodsy and Pete Yost · Thursday, March 7,2002 12:43 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A final report by Independent Counsel Robert Ray concluded Wednesday that prosecutors had ample evidence for criminal charges against President Clinton in the scandal involving former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

U.S. deploys hundreds of reinforcements to end al Qaeda

By Alyson Brodsy and Steven Gutkin · Thursday, March 7,2002 12:42 a.m.

GARDEZ, Afghanistan -- Fierce fighting raged for a fifth day as the United States deployed hundreds of reinforcements Wednesday and gathered 5,000 Afghan troops for an offensive aimed at finishing off al Qaeda. The U.S.-led coalition mounted punishing, round-the-clock airstrikes above the rugged terrain in eastern Afghanistan and some U.S. officers predicted the operation could be wrapped up in days.

Terrorists may be trapped

By Kathy Gannon · Wednesday, March 6,2002 12:08 a.m.

GARDEZ, Afghanistan -- U.S. and coalition forces inched up the snow-covered mountains of eastern Afghanistan Tuesday, trying to reach hideouts believed to contain hundreds of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters. Some forces entered at least one cave complex, uncovering weapons caches.

Operation Anaconda pounds al Qaeda

By Kathy Gannon · Tuesday, March 5,2002 2:01 a.m.

SURMAD, Afghanistan -- U.S. warplanes pounded al Qaeda and Taliban mountain strongholds in eastern Afghanistan on Monday while hundreds of coalition ground troops scoured the rugged, snow-covered terrain for pockets of enemy fighters. The heavily armed defenders responded with bursts of mortars, grenades and machine gun fire.

Israeli warplanes bomb Palestinian targets, kill 16

By Greg Myre · Tuesday, March 5,2002 12:54 a.m.

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Israel sent warplanes and tanks against Palestinian targets Monday, killing the wife and three children of a Hamas militant in what the military said was a mistake. In all, 16 Palestinians died in retaliatory raids.

General wants prisoners released

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, March 4,2002 12:37 a.m.

HAVANA -- A retired U.S. Army general said Sunday he talked for 12 hours with Fidel Castro and encouraged the Cuban president to release 250 political prisoners in this island's jails in an effort to encourage dialogue with the U.S.

Detainees protest

By Alyson Brodsy · Friday, March 1,2002 12:22 a.m.

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- Incensed that two guards stripped a detainee of his turban during prayer, nearly two-thirds of the prisoners captured in the Afghan war refused lunch Thursday and chanted "God is great" in Arabic in their first mass protest since arriving at the base. In addition, some detainees pushed sheets, blankets, sleeping mats and other items through the small openings in the chain-link walls of their cells in protest, Marine Maj. Stephen Cox, the detention mission spokesman, told reporters.

Hindus respond to Muslim violence

By Alyson Brodsy and Ashok Sharma · Friday, March 1,2002 12:21 a.m.

AHMADABAD, India -- Angry Hindus set fire to homes in a Muslim neighborhood Thursday and then kept firefighters away for hours, dragging out one former lawmaker and burning him alive. At least 58 people died in revenge attacks triggered by a Muslim assault on a train.

Greenspan cites signs of ending recession, recovery

By Alyson Brodsy and Martin Crutsinger · Thursday, Feb. 28,2002 1:03 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress Wednesday that he sees increasing signs the country's first recession in a decade is coming to an end. He cautioned the rebound this year is likely to be a subdued one.

U.S. presence concerns Russia

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 27,2002 11:26 p.m.

TBILISI, Georgia -- Russia expressed concern Wednesday over U.S. plans to train troops in Georgia to fight rebels allegedly linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terror network. A Georgian defense official said a few American advisors were already in the former Soviet republic.

Doomsday clock moves closer to midnight

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 27,2002 11:25 p.m.

CHICAGO -- The hands of the Doomsday Clock, for 55 years a symbol of nuclear danger, were moved two minutes closer to midnight Wednesday, reflecting the possibility of terrorism, relations between India and Pakistan, and other threats. The symbolic clock, kept by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, had been set at 11:51 since 1998. It was moved to 11:53 p.m.

Lying not an option

By Matt Kelley · Wednesday, Feb. 27,2002 1:32 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon will close a new office that reportedly has proposed spreading false information abroad, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday. Rumsfeld denied that the Office of Strategic Influence would have spread misinformation but said news reports and commentary have made it impossible for the agency to do its job.

Sharon agrees to talk with Saudis

By Steve Weizman · Tuesday, Feb. 26,2002 11:45 p.m.

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told an EU envoy Tuesday he was willing to meet Saudi officials, publicly or behind the scenes, to explore their proposals for an overall Mideast peace, the European diplomat said.

Possible terror plot targets embassy

By Frances D'Emilio · Tuesday, Feb. 26,2002 1:39 a.m.

ROME -- A hole discovered in a tunnel adjacent to the U.S. Embassy in Rome was large enough to crawl through, and embassy officials said Monday that water pipes leading to the building were circled on a map that was seized along with a cyanide compound in a raid that led to nine arrests. However, the suspects, all Moroccans, have not been cooperating with Italian authorities who lack hard evidence that an attack was being planned on the embassy, the officials said.

GoldRUSH

By Alyson Brodsy and Eddie Pells · Monday, Feb. 25,2002 1:55 a.m.

SALT LAKE CITY -- With a big sigh of relief and a star-studded celebration, Utah and America bid farewell to the Olympics Sunday during a rollicking night of song and dance, a celebration of past athletic glory, and a quick glimpse into the future.

Reporter dead

By Alyson Brodsy · Friday, Feb. 22,2002 12:59 a.m.

NEW YORK -- Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was taken hostage by Islamic extremists in Pakistan, is now believed to be dead, the newspaper said Thursday. "We now believe, based on reports from the U.S. State Department and police officials of the Pakistani province of Sind, that Danny Pearl was killed by his captors. We are heartbroken at his death," Peter Kann, publisher of the Journal, said in a statement.

China last stop for Bush

By Alyson Brodsy and Ron Fournier · Thursday, Feb. 21,2002 11:28 p.m.

BEIJING -- President Bush failed to persuade China Thursday to halt sales of missile technology, an issue of rising importance as the United States fights its war on terrorism. Bush was ending his six-day Asian tour Friday with a visit to the Great Wall and an appeal to Chinese young people to embrace human rights and religious tolerance.

Rebels bombed

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Feb. 21,2002 11:28 p.m.

SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Colombia -- The government launched airstrikes and ordered 13,000 troops to advance on a main rebel stronghold Thursday as Colombia's 38-year-old civil war entered a potentially new and bloodier phase with the collapse of peace talks. Bombs were falling on rebel territory just hours after President Andres Pastrana -- angered by a rebel hijacking of a civilian airliner -- broke off the peace talks and condemned the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Court revisits execution issue

By Alyson Brodsy and Gina Holland · Wednesday, Feb. 20,2002 11:46 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- When the Supreme Court last considered executions of the mentally retarded, only two states banned the practice. Now, 18 states prohibit it, and that math will weigh on the court as it reconsiders the issue and the fate of a condemned man with an IQ of 59.