world

Edwards, Kerry full of 'Washington talk'

By Alyson Brodsy and Nedra Pickler · Monday, March 1,2004 12:12 a.m.

NEW YORK -- Democratic presidential underdog John Edwards dismissed John Kerry's ideas as "the same old Washington talk" in a feisty debate Sunday, two days before the 10-state slate of contests known as Super Tuesday.

Aristide resigns; Bush sends U.S. Marines to Haiti

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, March 1,2004 12:08 a.m.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned and flew into exile Sunday, pressured by foreign governments and a bloody rebellion. Gunfire crackled as the capital fell into chaos, and Washington, D.C., dispatched Marines.

N. Korea says U.S. stalling nuclear talks

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Feb. 26,2004 11:13 p.m.

BEIJING -- North Korea put an offer of nuclear disarmament on the bargaining table Thursday then struck a characteristically tough stance by accusing the United States of blocking progress in six-nation talks on its weapons program.

Macedonian president presumed dead after plane crashes in Bosnia

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Feb. 26,2004 11:12 p.m.

BITONJA, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Macedonia state radio switched to classical music as the government declared a day of mourning after President Boris Trajkovski was missing and presumed dead in a plane crash Thursday in southern Bosnia.

Rebels converge on capital

By Alyson Brodsy and Paisley Dodds · Thursday, Feb. 26,2004 11:11 p.m.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Rebel fighters moved closer to the capital Thursday and awaited an order to attack, their leader said, as pressure mounted for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign and for the deployment of international peacekeepers. Haitians and foreigners fled the capital, which was expected to fall easily to the insurgents since hordes of Haiti's small, ill-equipped police force have been deserting their posts without a rebel in sight.

6 nation nuclear talks begin in Beijing

By Alyson Brodsy and Audra Ang · Thursday, Feb. 26,2004 1:33 a.m.

BEIJING -- U.S. and North Korean top envoys held rare, face-to-face talks Wednesday on the sidelines of six-nation negotiations on the North's nuclear program, in which South Korea offered the North compensation to abandon its atomic weapons ambitions.

2 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq helicopter crash

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 25,2004 11:43 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Two American soldiers were killed Wednesday when their helicopter crashed in a river west of Baghdad, and gunmen assassinated the deputy police chief in the northern city of Mosul.

Swiss air traffic controller murdered

By Alyson Brodsy and Ernst E. Abegg · Wednesday, Feb. 25,2004 11:42 p.m.

ZURICH, Switzerland -- An air traffic controller who ordered a passenger plane into the path of another aircraft over Germany -- a crash killing dozens of Russian children -- was stabbed to death Wednesday in front of his wife. The attacker was a heavily built man aged 50 to 55, possibly Eastern European, with graying hair and a three-day stubble. He showed up at the controller's home Tuesday night, spoke briefly to the controller in broken German, killed him, and fled on foot.

Rebels threaten Haitian capital as foreigners flee

By Alyson Brodsy and Michael Norton · Wednesday, Feb. 25,2004 11:38 p.m.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Foreigners tried to flee Haiti on Wednesday, some guarded by U.S. Marines, as looting erupted in the capital and pressure mounted for international intervention in the 3-week-old uprising against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Panic overtook the city, although there was no sign of the rebels who have overrun half of Haiti and are threatening Port-au-Prince.

Kerry hits back at Bush as 'walking contradiction'

By Alyson Brodsy and David Espo · Wednesday, Feb. 25,2004 1:11 a.m.

Democratic front-runner John Kerry fired back at President Bush on Tuesday, depicting him as a "walking contradiction" who has presided over job losses, a deficit increase and frayed international alliances despite promises to the contrary.

Earthquake strikes Moroccan villages

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 25,2004 12:23 a.m.

RABAT, Morocco -- A powerful earthquake struck northern Morocco early Tuesday, toppling mudbrick and stone houses and killing at least 300 people, the Red Cross said. Many of the victims were women, children and the elderly.

Putin dismisses staff 1 week before election

By Alyson Brodsy and Vladimir Isachenkov · Tuesday, Feb. 24,2004 11:28 p.m.

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin fired his prime minister Tuesday -- less than three weeks before the Russian presidential election -- in a surprise stroke riding the Russian leadership of a top holdover from the Boris Yeltsin era.

U.S. to expand VISIT program to improve land border security

By Thomas Bender · Tuesday, Feb. 24,2004 11:20 p.m.

With the new U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security hopes to improve the U.S. entry and exit system at the borders. The initiative involves collecting travel information and biometric identifiers, such as fingerprints, in order to identify visitors.

Around The World

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, Feb. 23,2004 11:22 p.m.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Conservatives formally reclaimed control of Iran's parliament Monday after disputed elections that were boycotted by reformists who called the vote a "historical fiasco" that denied citizens a free choice.

US-VISIT bolsters border security

By Thomas Bender · Monday, Feb. 23,2004 11:16 p.m.

The United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, which was implemented by the Department of Homeland Security Jan. 5 to enhance the nation's border security, comes at a price. For the financial year of 2003, Congress appropriated $380 million to cover the costs of the program. The funding mainly included the purchasing of new computers and other equipment at 115 airports and 14 seaports.

UN says Iraq election possible by 2004

By Alyson Brodsy and Nick Wadhams · Monday, Feb. 23,2004 11:15 p.m.

UNITED NATIONS -- Iraq could hold elections for a new government by the end of the year or early 2005 if preparations were to begin at once, a United Nations envoy said in a report released Monday. Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. secretary-general's envoy to Iraq, said there was broad consensus for a provisional government to be formed by June 30.

U.S. marines to protect embassy

By Alyson Brodsy and Paisley Dodds · Monday, Feb. 23,2004 11:13 p.m.

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti -- Fifty Marines headed Monday to protect the U.S. Embassy and its staff after rebels overran Haiti's second-largest city and threatened to attack the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Suicide bombing kills 8, wounds 59

By Alyson Brodsy and Ravi Nessman · Sunday, Feb. 22,2004 11:16 p.m.

JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up on a crowded Jerusalem bus Sunday, killing eight passengers one day before the world court was to begin hearings on Israel's disputed West Bank barrier.

Anti-Aristide rebels capture second-largest city

By Alyson Brodsy and Paisley Dodds · Sunday, Feb. 22,2004 11:14 p.m.

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti -- Rebels captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haitien, after just a few hours of fighting Sunday, claiming their biggest prize in a two-week uprising that has driven government forces from most of the country's north.

Nader announces plans to run for president

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Feb. 22,2004 11:12 p.m.

The WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Consumer advocate Ralph Nader announced Sunday he is again running for president, this time as an independent, and rejected claims a longshot candidacy would merely siphon enough votes from the Democrats to ensure President Bush's reelection.