world

Paraguay head faces assassination threat

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, Jan. 26,2004 11:05 p.m.

ASUNCION, Paraguay -- Paraguay's president returned home Monday from a vacation in neighboring Brazil amid reports of a possible assassination attempt against him. Government and intelligence officials refused to comment on reports Monday by newspapers ABC Color and Ultima Hora that President Nicanor Duarte had delayed his return by a day because of security concerns.

Thai boy is bird flu's seventh fatality

By Alyson Brodsy and Daniel Lovering · Monday, Jan. 26,2004 11:04 p.m.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- A 6-year-old Thai boy became Asia's seventh confirmed bird flu fatality -- making this the deadliest outbreak since 1997 -- and the government said Monday it was awaiting lab results on four other people who died in a northern province. The World Health Organization said the search for a vaccine had been set back because the virus had mutated. A previous strain detected in Hong Kong in 1997 can no longer be used as the key to producing a vaccine, so an international effort has become necessary, WHO said.

Fighting in western Sudan continues

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, Jan. 26,2004 11:03 p.m.

TINE, Chad -- Sudanese planes dropped bombs in western Sudan Monday, sending hundreds of people fleeing across the border into Chad where aid workers scrambled to provide them with food and shelter in the barren desert. Loud explosions echoed across the frontier as terrified refugees told of government planes bombing their homes and an Arab militia raiding their villages earlier in the day.

Georgian President Saakashvili sworn in

By Alyson Brodsy and Steve Gutterman · Monday, Jan. 26,2004 12:47 a.m.

TBILISI, Georgia -- Mikhail Saakashvili took office as Georgia's president Sunday, hoisting the nation's new flag and urging people to help him realize the high hopes raised by the swift and bloodless change that brought him to power in the struggling ex-Soviet republic. Secretary of State Colin Powell attended the inauguration and pledged financial aid to Georgia, a sign of Washington's interest in stability in the small Caucasus nation -- the site of a planned pipeline for Caspian Sea oil and part of a volatile region surrounded by Russia, Turkey and the Middle East.

Students watch Opportunity land

By Jen Hiatt · Monday, Jan. 26,2004 12:46 a.m.

"Welcome to Mars… again." The quiet crowd in Swain Hall burst into applause when the live feed images from NASA's Mars Rover Mission Control were broadcast over the lecture hall screen early Sunday morning. With the news of the second land rover, Opportunity, landing successfully, students, faculty and Bloomington community members watched intently and cheered along with the NASA crew.

Adventures on Mars

By Alyson Brodsy and Andrew Bridges · Monday, Jan. 26,2004 12:44 a.m.

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Opportunity rover zipped its first pictures of Mars to Earth early Sunday, delighting and puzzling scientists just hours after the unmanned spacecraft successfully landed on the Red Planet three weeks behind its identical twin.

Around The World

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Jan. 25,2004 11:33 p.m.

More effective bird flu vaccine not likely for 6 months BANGKOK, Thailand -- Asia's bird flu virus is resistant to key anti-influenza drugs, and an effective vaccine is probably more than six months away, the World Health Organization said Sunday, as Indonesia confirmed it had become the seventh country in the region with an outbreak.

U.S. reaches free trade agreement with Costa Rica

By Alyson Brodsy and Martin Crutsinger · Sunday, Jan. 25,2004 11:31 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration reached an agreement with Costa Rica on Sunday that will allow that nation to join four of its neighbors in creating a Central American Free Trade Area with the United States, officials of the two countries announced.

People jump from windows to flee motel fire

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Jan. 25,2004 11:30 p.m.

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Fire broke out in a five-story motel early Sunday while guests were asleep, killing six and forcing others to leap from windows or climb down bed sheets to safety, authorities said. At least a dozen people were injured, including at least five in critical condition at a burn unit in Augusta, Ga. Guests and authorities said smoke filled the motel quickly, sending guests in their pajamas into a chaotic scramble for the exits and a cold rain outside.

U.S. soldier dies of injuries in Iraq

By Alyson Brodsy and Paul Garwood · Sunday, Jan. 25,2004 11:29 p.m.

TIKRIT, Iraq -- A U.S. helicopter crashed in the Tigris river while searching for a missing soldier on Sunday, and the aircraft's two crew members were missing, the military said. It did not say what caused the crash of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter, attached to the 101st Airborne Division.

Outburst of violence in Iraq leaves 9 people dead

By Alyson Brodsy and Vijay Joshi · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 11:17 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers killed nine people in an outburst of violence, including four Christian women headed to jobs at a U.S. military base, and two American soldiers. South of the capital, the security chief of Spanish troops in Iraq was shot in the head during a raid.

Former Enron accountant indicted

By Alyson Brodsy and Kristen Hays · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 11:16 p.m.

HOUSTON -- A former Enron Corp. accountant described as "a principal architect" of a scheme to mislead government regulators and investors turned himself in Thursday, and pleaded innocent to federal fraud charges related to the energy giant's 2001 collapse.

Mars rover stops sending data

By Alyson Brodsy and Andrew Bridges · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 11:16 p.m.

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Spirit rover stopped transmitting data from Mars for more than 24 hours, mission managers said Thursday, calling it an "extremely serious anomaly." NASA received its last significant data from Spirit early Wednesday -- its 19th day on Mars. Since then, it has sent either random, meaningless radio noise or simple beeps acknowledging it has received commands from Earth, said Firouz Naderi, manager of the Mars exploration program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The last such beep was received Thursday morning, Naderi said.

Iran's election crisis worsens with resignations

By Alyson Brodsy and Ali Akbar Dareini · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 12:30 a.m.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's worst political crisis in years deepened Wednesday, with the government saying most of its ministers and vice presidents have submitted resignations to protest the barring of thousands of would-be candidates from upcoming elections. Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi warned unless the candidates are reinstated, "the country will face many problems, both at home and abroad."

Court indicts real estate developer on bribe charges

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:36 p.m.

TEL AVIV, Israel -- An Israeli businessman was indicted Wednesday on charges of bribing Ariel Sharon with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Justice Ministry officials said they were considering indicting Sharon as well. The indictment against real estate developer David Appel complicates the prime minister's clouded legal situation. The Supreme Court has ruled that an indictment would compel Sharon to leave office pending the outcome of a trial.

Crews attempt to contain Norwegian oil spill

By Alyson Brodsy and Doug Mellgren · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:35 p.m.

OSLO, Norway -- Salvage crews worked Wednesday to limit the environmental damage from a freighter that capsized in an inlet along the west coast of Norway, killing 18 people aboard. Crews sought to contain oil and fuel leaking from the 544-foot MS Rocknes, which overturned Monday with 30 people on board. Only 12 were rescued. Ole Arvesen, spokesman for the Norwegian coastal service, said air was being pumped into the wreck to keep it afloat in their search for the bodies of the 15 who remain missing and presumed dead.

Bush sets campaign themes

By Alyson Brodsy and Terence Hunt · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 12:27 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, wrapping the themes of his re-election campaign in his State of the Union address, asserted Tuesday night America is strengthening its economy and successfully combatting terrorism. "We have not come all this way -- through tragedy and trial and war -- only to falter, and leave our work unfinished," he said. In a stay-the-course appeal to a joint session of Congress, Bush said the nation faced important challenges and choices.

Search for victims continues

By Alyson Brodsy and Hassane Meftahi · Tuesday, Jan. 20,2004 11:27 p.m.

ALGIERS, Algeria -- Searchers discovered ten more bodies at a natural gas complex rocked by an explosion, raising the death toll to 23, an official said Tuesday. Seventy-four people were injured and rescuers said as many as a dozen workers were believed missing. The cause of Monday evening's explosion in the Mediterranean port city of Skikda was still under investigation, Algeria energy minister Chakib Khelil told state radio.

Scientists attempt to trace bird flu

By Alyson Brodsy and Tini Tran · Tuesday, Jan. 20,2004 11:25 p.m.

HANOI, Vietnam -- International health experts tried to trace the lines of transmission of a bird flu that has killed five people and millions of chickens across Asia, as China shut trade ports along its border with hard-hit Vietnam Tuesday.

Politicians, media and students flock to Iowa caucus

By Tony Sams · Monday, Jan. 19,2004 11:30 p.m.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA -- The lands of Iowa are flat, with barren fields under the ugly frost of January. The highways are long and scenic, though Iowa is a state with nothing special to look at and provides little in the way of recreational enjoyment.