world

Australian Prime Minister reelected

By Alyson Brodsy and Mike Corder · Monday, Oct. 11,2004 12:13 a.m.

SYDNEY, Australia -- Prime Minister John Howard's conservative alliance handily won a fourth term in Australia's parliamentary elections Saturday, overcoming widespread anger at his decision to send troops to Iraq last year and his pledge to keep them there.

Afghan election officials deal with charges of voter fraud

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, Oct. 11,2004 12:12 a.m.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan election officials agreed Sunday to create an independent commission to probe opposition charges of fraud in this nation's first-ever presidential poll, while ballot-boxes stuffed with the aspirations of the people of this war-ravaged land started to stack up in counting centers.

Iraq disk found with U.S. school data

By Alyson Brodsy and Ben Feller · Friday, Oct. 8,2004 2:22 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Federal law enforcement authorities notified school districts in six states last month that a computer disc found in Iraq contained photos, floor plans and other information about their schools, two U.S. officials said Thursday.

Afghanistan prepares for national election

By Rami Chami · Friday, Oct. 8,2004 12:55 a.m.

Nearly three years after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan for harboring al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, the nation is slated to hold its first ever national elections tomorrow. The interim president Hamid Karzai is largely expected to win the election against the 17 other candidates on the ballot. Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures M. Nazif Shahrani, who recently returned from Afghanistan in August, said he has several concerns about the upcoming election. Shahrani cited poor security throughout much of the country and evidence of mass voter registration irregularities.

Presidential candidates tackle issues of minimum wage, wildlife

By Alyson Brodsy · Friday, Oct. 8,2004 12:55 a.m.

The following are President George W. Bush's and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry's responses to issue questions posed by The Associated Press. Minimum Wage Q: What increases, if any, do you favor in the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage?

Bombing kills 39 in Pakistan

By Alyson Brodsy · Friday, Oct. 8,2004 12:29 a.m.

MULTAN, Pakistan -- A bomb attack on Sunni Muslim radicals in central Pakistan Thursday killed at least 39 people, wounded more than 100 and prompted the government to ban religious and political gatherings nationwide. Two bombs planted in a car and motorcycle exploded at a pre-dawn gathering of about 3,000 Sunnis in the city of Multan in what police suspected was a sectarian attack.

Health officials urge voluntary flu vaccine rationing in face of nationwide shortage

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Oct. 7,2004 12:52 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A top federal health official, lamenting "a very fragile vaccine production system," urged healthy people Wednesday to defer getting their influenza shots so medication will be available for those most at risk. "We really need a long-term solution so we don't end up in this year-to-year situation where we don't have a reliable supply," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, after the supply of vaccine to the United States was abruptly cut in half.

U.S. inspector finds no evidence Saddam made weapons after 1991

By Alyson Brodsy and Ken Guggenheim · Thursday, Oct. 7,2004 12:51 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Contradicting the main argument for a war that has cost more than 1,000 American lives, the top U.S. arms inspector reported Wednesday that he found no evidence that Iraq produced any weapons of mass destruction after 1991. The report also says Saddam Hussein's weapons capability weakened during a dozen years of U.N. sanctions before the U.S. invasion last year. Contrary to prewar statements by President George W. Bush and top administration officials, Saddam did not have chemical and biological stockpiles when the war began and his nuclear capabilities were deteriorating, not advancing, according to the report by Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group.

Suicide car bomb kills 16 Iraqis at checkpoint

By Alyson Brodsy and Robert H. Reid · Thursday, Oct. 7,2004 12:28 a.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide car bomber plowed into an Iraqi military checkpoint northwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 16 Iraqis and wounding about 30, as U.S. and Iraqi forces sealed off roads south of the capital in a campaign to curb the insurgency before January's elections. There were hopeful signs, meanwhile, that talks may produce a cease-fire agreement with a Shiite militia headed by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. A negotiator also reported progress in talks to end the military standoff in Fallujah.

Adviser calls plan to withdraw from Gaza a ploy

By Alyson Brodsy and Karin Laub · Thursday, Oct. 7,2004 12:25 a.m.

JERUSALEM -- The real objective of Ariel Sharon's offer to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank is to freeze Palestinian statehood indefinitely, with U.S. blessing, the prime minister's point man with the Bush administration said in an interview published Wednesday. The Haaretz daily also quoted the adviser, Dov Weisglass, as saying Israel is avoiding negotiations with the Palestinians because it does not want to discuss thorny issues such as the future of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Running mates clash

By Alyson Brodsy and Tom Raum · Wednesday, Oct. 6,2004 1:47 a.m.

CLEVELAND -- Sen. John Edwards accused the Bush administration Tuesday night of bungling the War in Iraq and presiding over a historic loss of jobs. "Your facts are just wrong," Vice President Dick Cheney shot back in a crackling campaign debate.

9-11 bill could cost $15 billion

By Alyson Brodsy and Jesse J. Holland · Wednesday, Oct. 6,2004 12:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A House Republican bill to implement the Sept. 11 panel's recommendations could cost almost $15 billion over five years, congressional budget officials said, as the Senate moved Tuesday to finish its version of the legislation.

Powell urges Israel to end Gaza operation

By Alyson Brodsy and Barry Schweid · Wednesday, Oct. 6,2004 12:29 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell urged Israel Tuesday to end its retaliatory incursion into Gaza, while U.S. diplomats at the United Nations vetoed an Arab resolution designed to end the operation. Powell, while flying to Brazil, said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon found a need to respond to rocket attacks.

Bremer wanted more troops at conflict start

By Alyson Brodsy and Scott Lindlaw · Wednesday, Oct. 6,2004 12:27 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The White House refused to say Tuesday whether the top U.S. civilian official in Iraq after Saddam Hussein's ouster had asked the president for more troops to deal with the rapid descent of postwar Iraq into chaos.

U.N. envoy says Sudanese not doing enough in Darfur

By Alyson Brodsy and Edith M. Lederer · Wednesday, Oct. 6,2004 12:25 a.m.

UNITED NATIONS -- The top U.N. envoy to Sudan said Tuesday the Sudanese government has failed to improve security for the embattled people in Darfur or brought to justice the perpetrators of atrocities during the 19-month conflict.

Iraqi forces launch anti-insurgent operation

By Alyson Brodsy and Alexandra Zavis · Wednesday, Oct. 6,2004 12:22 a.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- More than 3,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a major operation Tuesday against insurgent strongholds just south of Baghdad, their second mission in five days to wrest control from militants whose attacks threaten national elections seen as crucial to stabilizing this turbulent country.

SpaceShipOne wins $10 million prize with second space flight in 5 days

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 5,2004 2:03 a.m.

MOJAVE, Calif. -- A stout, star-spangled rocket plane broke through the Earth's atmosphere to the edge of space Monday for the second time in five days, capturing a $10 million prize aimed at opening the final frontier to tourists.

Particles

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 5,2004 1:42 a.m.

Lunar eclipse will be visible in October Stargazers in most of North America, South America, western Europe and Africa will be able to observe a full lunar eclipse as the moon passes through Earth's shadow on the night of Oct. 27 and 28.

Iran's top dissident cleric turns attention to Iraq

By Alyson Brodsy and Brian Murphy · Tuesday, Oct. 5,2004 12:51 a.m.

QOM, Iran -- These are pilgrims of a different kind. Several times a week, Shiite Muslim clerics and community leaders from neighboring Iraq climb stairs to a little office in this Iranian city of shrines and Islamic seminaries. There, an aged and hunched figure sits on a swivel chair fitted with an electric blanket.

Bush, Kerry vie for critical undecided vote

By Alyson Brodsy and David Espo · Tuesday, Oct. 5,2004 12:50 a.m.

HAVERTOWN, Pa. -- Put Barbara White down as undecided in the race for the White House. "The economy makes me afraid of Bush, but I'm scared of Kerry because of security," she said, standing in the doorway of her home outside Philadelphia.