world

Students campaign, show support in Iowa contest

By Josh Sanburn · Monday, Jan. 19,2004 11:21 p.m.

When I decided to travel across two states to campaign for someone I had never met and a candidate almost no one had heard of a year ago, I still wasn't exactly sure what drove me to volunteer for former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

Initiative to vaccinate 250 million children by 2005

By Alyson Brodsy and Naomi Koppel · Thursday, Jan. 15,2004 11:05 p.m.

GENEVA -- Health ministers from six countries where polio is still endemic announced plans at the World Health Organization Thursday to immunize 250 million children during 2004 and wipe out the final reservoirs of the disease.

Hundreds protest Bush visit to King's tomb, police arrest 2

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Jan. 15,2004 10:56 p.m.

ATLANTA -- Hundreds of people pushed past Secret Service barricades Thursday to protest President Bush's visit to the tomb of Martin Luther King Jr. on what would have been the civil rights leader's 75th birthday. Two people were arrested as the protesters pushed toward the street in front of King's tomb, abandoning a designated area several hundred yards away.

Bomb injures 15 in Pakistan

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Jan. 15,2004 10:56 p.m.

KARACHI, Pakistan -- A car bomb exploded outside of a Christian Bible society in southern Pakistan Thursday, leaving 15 people injured and damaging the wall of a nearby church, officials said. The attack in the port city of Karachi occurred after police received an anonymous phone warning that the Pakistan Bible Society would be targeted, police said. Shortly after the officers arrived, assailants in a car drove up and lobbed a small explosive device at them.

U.S. troops close to capturing Saddam's former right-hand man

By Alyson Brodsy and Paul Garwood · Thursday, Jan. 15,2004 12:40 a.m.

SAMARRA, Iraq -- U.S. forces moved a step closer Wednesday in their hunt for the most wanted man in Saddam Hussein's former regime, detaining his four nephews in a pre-dawn raid in the central city of Samarra. Hours later, a car bomb exploded in front of a police station in the central Iraqi city of Baqouba, causing an undetermined number of casualties, police said.

First female suicide bomber kills four

By Alyson Brodsy and Ibrahim Barzak · Thursday, Jan. 15,2004 12:40 a.m.

EREZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip -- A Palestinian mother of two blew herself up Wednesday at the main crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, killing three Israeli soldiers and a private guard and wounding seven other people. It was believed to be the first time the Islamic militant group Hamas has sent a female suicide bomber, possibly signaling a change in tactics aimed at piercing Israeli security, which mainly focuses on male suspects.

Bush shoots for moon by 2015

By Alyson Brodsy and Paul Recer · Thursday, Jan. 15,2004 12:39 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush beckoned the nation "forward into the universe" Wednesday, outlining a costly new effort to return Americans to the moon as early as 2015 and use it as a waystation to Mars and beyond. Bush said he envisioned "a new foothold on the moon ... and new journeys to the world beyond our own," underscoring a renewed commitment to manned spaceflight less than a year after the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and a crew of seven.

Ex-Enron chief pleads guilty

By Alyson Brodsy and Kristen Hays · Thursday, Jan. 15,2004 12:38 a.m.

HOUSTON -- Andrew Fastow, the chief architect of the shady, off-the-books deals that brought down Enron, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of conspiracy in a deal that could take prosecutors to the top of the corporate ladder at the scandal-ridden company. The plea by the former Enron finance chief called for a 10-year sentence and for him to help prosecutors who have targeted -- but not charged the executives who once occupied the most opulent offices on the company's top floor: former Chairman, Kenneth Lay, and former CEO, Jeffrey Skilling.

Girl killed in North Carolina collision

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2004 1:02 a.m.

MAXTON, N.C. -- A tractor-trailer slammed into a stopped school bus Tuesday, killing a 5-year-old girl who was boarding, and injuring the girl's mother and more than a dozen other students, officials said. About 20 to 25 children were aboard the bus, which was bound for Townsend Middle School and R.B. Dean Elementary School, said Henry Byrd, assistant superintendent of Robeson County schools.

Bush to advocate trip to Mars

By Rami Chami · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2004 12:57 a.m.

President Bush will give a much-anticipated speech outlining a new long-term vision for NASA today. The speech will include the proposals for a permanent research station on the Moon and a manned mission to Mars. The proposed plans have already begun to draw a lot of praise and criticism from various camps in the field of astronomy. Professor Richard Durisen, chairman of the astronomy department, supports both the lunar project and the manned Mars mission.

O'Neill denies statements on Bush

By Alyson Brodsy and Martin Crutsinger · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2004 12:28 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on Tuesday denied that classified documents were used in a controversial new book in which he paints an unflattering portrait of President Bush. He softened some of his criticism in the face of a strong counterattack by the administration. The Inspector General's Office at Treasury confirmed that it had begun an investigation into whether any laws or regulations had been violated when Treasury employees turned over 19,000 documents to O'Neill after he was fired by Bush in December 2002.

Top British murderer commits suicide

By Alyson Brodsy and Beth Gardiner · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:47 p.m.

LONDON -- The once-respected family doctor who became Britain's worst serial killer was found hanged in his prison cell Tuesday, cheating his victims' relatives of the one consolation they had hoped for -- an explanation of his 23-year murder spree. Officials are investigating why there was no suicide watch on Dr. Harold Shipman, who was convicted in 2000 of killing 15 patients and later was found to have murdered at least 200 more, mostly by lethal injection. He always maintained his innocence.

Ohio Muslim leader arrested

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:46 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A prominent Islamic clergyman was arrested Tuesday on charges he concealed his links to anti-Israeli terrorist groups when he applied for U.S. citizenship a decade ago, officials said. Imam Fawaz Mohammed Damrah, who leads the Islamic Center of Cleveland, Ohio's largest mosque, withheld information on his membership or affiliation with several groups, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, U.S. Attorney Gregory White said.

Airliner caught in fog crashes near Uzbek capital

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:46 p.m.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- A domestic airliner crashed Tuesday approaching the airport in Uzbekistan's capital, the Interior Ministry said. At least 36 people, including the top U.N. official for Uzbekistan were aboard, and no survivors were reported. The plane was an Uzbekistan Airways Yakovlev-40 en route from Termez, in the country's far south along the Afghanistan border, said an Interior Ministry duty officer who declined to give his name. He gave no further details.

Americas agree to support free trade zone

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:44 p.m.

MONTERREY, Mexico -- Leaders from 34 American nations agreed Tuesday to support a hemisphere-wide trade area without setting a firm deadline, a concession to Brazil and Venezuela. The United States had sought a 2005 deadline for the Free Trade Area of the Americas in the summit's final declaration. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez instead pushed for a humanitarian fund that could be used to help countries during financial and natural disasters, but said he would sign the document with reservations.

Military accused of war crimes

By Alyson Brodsy and Jim Krane · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:43 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A top human rights group accused the U.S. military of committing war crimes by demolishing homes of suspected insurgents and arresting the relatives of Iraqi fugitives Tuesday. The military denied the charges by Human Rights Watch, saying it only destroyed homes that were being used to store weapons, or as fighting positions, adding all Iraqis detained were suspected of taking part in attacks on coalition forces.

Israel builds wall to encircle Jerusalem

By Alyson Brodsy and Ravi Nessman · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:16 a.m.

ABU DIS, West Bank -- With the thud of tons of concrete hitting soft earth, Israel worked Monday to build a 25-foot-tall wall on the edge of Jerusalem, signaling that Israel's encirclement of the city is becoming permanent. The wall, running down the center of a main road in the Palestinian neighborhood of Abu Dis, separates thousands of residents from Jerusalem, a city they consider home.

U.S. troops to stay longer than scheduled

By Alyson Brodsy and Robert Burns · Monday, Jan. 12,2004 11:31 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is extending tours of duty in Iraq for about 1,500 soldiers, mainly helicopter and other transportation support personnel, defense officials said Monday. It is the latest in a series of adjustments to a plan for replacing the approximately 125,000 troops who have served in Iraq nearly a year with a slightly smaller, more mobile force. In this case, commanders determined that allowing the 1,500 soldiers to leave as originally scheduled would create an unacceptable gap in capability. So they will remain in place -- some for as few as five extra days, others for as much as 60 more days, officials said.

Drug lord finally captured

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, Jan. 12,2004 12:55 a.m.

PANAMA CITY, Panama -- Panamanian police have captured a top Colombian drug kingpin believed responsible for "huge volumes" of narcotics entering the United States, and Colombian officials said Sunday they will seek his extradition.

U.S. enacts new foreigner entry policy

By Rami Chami · Monday, Jan. 12,2004 12:52 a.m.

IU students returning to the United States after winter break were among some of the first people to be processed through the new U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, known as US-VISIT. US-VISIT was developed by the Department of Homeland Security and is designed to help immigration officials verify and track visitors to the United States through the collection of biometric identifiers, such as photographs and fingerprints.