world

Eastward expansion: The changing face of Europe

By Sheeba Madan · Wednesday, May 26,2004 10:05 p.m.

Ten countries joined the European Union May 1, increasing its membership to 25 countries. The EU is now one of the world's largest regional markets in population terms.

Severe floods afflict Dominican Republic, Haiti kills hundreds

By Alyson Brodsy and Peter Prengaman · Wednesday, May 26,2004 9:34 p.m.

JIMANI, Dominican Republic -- Rescue workers with dogs and shovels searched muddy villages Wednesday for victims of deadly floods in the Dominican Republic and neighboring Haiti. The death toll rose to more than 550, with hundreds still missing. U.S.-led troops returned to stricken Haitian towns early Wednesday, bringing drinking water, medical supplies and food. The troops are from a multinational force sent to stabilize Haiti after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted Feb. 29.

FBI warns of Al Qaeda activity, threat

By Alyson Brodsy and Curt Anderson · Wednesday, May 26,2004 9:30 p.m.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Al Qaeda is determined to launch a U.S. attack in the next few months that could be linked to a major event such as the upcoming international economic summit or the summer political conventions, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Wednesday, citing "credible intelligence from multiple sources." Ashcroft noted that following the March 11 train bombings in Madrid, an al Qaeda spokesman said the terrorist organization's plans for an attack on America were 90 percent complete.

Israeli official's comments draw harsh rebukes

By Alyson Brodsy and Josef Federman · Sunday, May 23,2004 9:31 p.m.

JERUSALEM -- Causing an uproar, an Israeli Cabinet minister and Holocaust survivor said Sunday that Israel's offensive in a Gaza refugee camp -- including TV images of displaced Palestinians searching the rubble for their meager belongings -- brought back memories of his family's suffering.

Gadhafi walks out of Arab summit

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, May 23,2004 9:30 p.m.

TUNIS, Tunisia -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi walked out of an Arab League summit Saturday, shattering attempts at unity on the opening day of the gathering expected to fashion a response to democratic reforms advocated by the United States.

Germany selects new president

By Alyson Brodsy and Tony Czuczka · Sunday, May 23,2004 9:27 p.m.

BERLIN -- Horst Koehler, a former head of the International Monetary Fund who advocates bolder economic reforms in Germany, was elected Sunday as the country's ninth postwar president. Nominated by opposition conservatives, Koehler defeated Gesine Schwan, a university professor backed by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government who sought to become Germany's first female head of state.

Soldier sentenced in Iraq abuse

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, May 19,2004 10:17 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits received the maximum penalty Wednesday -- one year in prison, reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge -- in the first court-martial stemming from mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison. Sivits, who pleaded guilty to four abuse charges, broke down in tears as he expressed remorse for taking pictures of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated.

Democracy budding in Asia

By Alyson Brodsy and Tim Sullivan · Wednesday, May 19,2004 9:58 p.m.

NEW DELHI, India -- In India, more than 380 million people turned out. So did tens of millions in Sri Lanka, Taiwan, the Philippines and South Korea. In staggering numbers, Asia has taken to voting this year. And if casting ballots doesn't equal quality governance, the spree of elections does highlight a dramatic change on the continent over the last 20 years: the spread of democracy.

Britain opens world's 1st national stem cell bank

By Alyson Brodsy and Jane Wardell · Wednesday, May 19,2004 9:57 p.m.

POTTERS BAR, England -- Britain opened the world's first national stem cell bank Wednesday, hoping to establish a lead in promising but controversial medical research. Citing the "tremendous potential" of stem cells, Health Minister Lord Norman Warner said, "We expect to bring breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of disease."

Giuliani questioned at 9-11 commission hearings

By Alyson Brodsy and Michael Weissenstein · Wednesday, May 19,2004 9:09 p.m.

NEW YORK -- Outraged relatives of World Trade Center victims heckled former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani Wednesday as their hopes that he would be grilled by the Sept. 11 commission faded in the face of gentle questioning and effusive praise from panel members. "My son was murdered because of your incompetence!" shouted Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son died in the trade center. Seated three rows behind Giuliani, she jabbed her finger at the former mayor and waved a sign that read "Fiction" as he gave the city's emergency response a glowing review.

A DECADE IN Africa

By Rami Chami · Sunday, May 16,2004 10:20 p.m.

The 10-year anniversary of two monumental events in African history passed last month with little international attention. In 1994 South Africa held its first general elections after the end of apartheid, bringing to an end nearly a century of institutionalized racism and discrimination.

Gay couples to wed in Massachusetts

By Alyson Brodsy and David Crary · Sunday, May 16,2004 9:29 p.m.

For better or for worse, depending on which side of the ideological aisle one chooses, a divided America crosses a historic threshold Monday as state-approved marriages of same-sex couples take place for the first time.

New Indian prime minister anticipated

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, May 16,2004 9:25 p.m.

NEW DELHI, India -- After all the pundits had written off the family dynasty that dates back to the birth of modern India, the legendary Nehru-Gandhi clan has captured the kingdom once again. And its matriarch, Sonia Gandhi, is likely this week to become India's first foreign-born prime minister, further burnishing the family name.

Sea Change

By Kieran Dunn · Wednesday, May 12,2004 10:17 p.m.

My experiences studying and travelling abroad have made me realize, above all else, how much the continent of Europe scapegoats America. If you have not been paying attention, much of the world seems to be in utter chaos -- and for better or worse -- the rationalization that America is in part to blame predominates over here. In Paris, right after the Madrid, Spain bombings, I read a story with a headline reading 'Has Bush's War on Terror Made Us All Targets?'

Syria criticizes U.S. sanctions

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, May 12,2004 9:49 p.m.

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria denounced U.S. economic sanctions Wednesday and other Arab countries -- including close U.S. allies joined in the criticism. Europe ignored the penalties by dispatching a trade delegation to Damascus.

Nigerian rioters rage on for second day

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, May 12,2004 9:46 p.m.

KANO, Nigeria -- Mobs of Muslim men brandishing machetes and clubs attacked Christians in the streets of Kano Wednesday as security forces struggled to quell a two-day rampage to avenge a recent massacre of hundreds of Nigerian Muslims.

Genetically-modified food shipment halted in Brazil

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, May 9,2004 9:33 p.m.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- A freighter left Brazil's southern port of Paranagua after Greenpeace environmental activists tied themselves to mechanical loaders Saturday to prevent the ship from mixing conventional soybeans with genetically modified grain.

Burundi cease-fire sought

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, May 9,2004 9:32 p.m.

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania -- Regional leaders urged the international community Saturday to fulfill pledges to help finance the implementation of a peace process intended to end more than a decade of civil war in Burundi. Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye, who held talks with his counterparts from Tanzania and Uganda, told reporters that $1.5 billion was needed to complete the peace process, but he gave no details about what it was needed for or how much has been pledged by donors.

Chechen president killed

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, May 9,2004 9:31 p.m.

GROZNY, Russia -- A bomb ripped through a stadium in the Chechen capital during a Victory Day ceremony Sunday, killing provincial president Akhmad Kadyrov, the Kremlin's point man for efforts to control separatist violence in the war-wracked region.

Sharon postpones U.S. visit

By Alyson Brodsy and Ravi Nessman · Sunday, May 9,2004 9:27 p.m.

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon canceled a planned trip to the United States Sunday for next week, saying he intended to focus his energies on patching together a new blueprint for withdrawing from the Gaza Strip after his party rejected his original plan. Sharon told his cabinet ministers during a stormy meeting that he will present them with a revised version of his "disengagement plan" in the next three weeks. He did not reveal what changes he is contemplating or how he would satisfy his deeply divided coalition.