world

Greenspan's assessment of the economy optimistic

By Alyson Brodsy and Jeannine Aversa · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan offered his most optimistic assessment of the U.S. economy in more than a year, telling Congress Thursday that the country is now recovering from its first recession in a decade. Greenspan's testimony to the Senate Banking Committee was more upbeat than his outlook just a week ago.

U.S. troops inside border

By Abdullah AlShihri and Matt Kelley · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

The United States has a "modest number" of troops inside Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday in the Pentagon's clearest acknowledgment yet of the American ground presence in the anti-terror war. The troops are doing liaison work with anti-Taliban fighters and helping with resupply for those groups, as well as pinpointing targets for U.S. bombers.

Armed men kill students

By Alyson Brodsy and Glenn McKenzie · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

Armed men stormed a university hall in Nigeria, and opened fire on engineering students taking examinations, killing at least 15 people, witnesses and police said Wednesday.

Qatar air base upgraded

By Alyson Brodsy and Robert Burns · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar -- If President Bush ordered airstrikes on Iraq, this vast, remote and little-publicized base in the central Persian Gulf would be a critical hub for U.S. warplanes and their aerial pipeline of bombs and supplies.

House OKs guns in cockpits

By Alyson Brodsy and Jonathan D. Salant · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

Airline pilots could carry guns in the cockpit to defend their planes against terrorists under a bill the House passed overwhelmingly Wednesday despite the opposition of the White House.

Church attacked in Pakistan

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said he was outraged by the church attack Sunday in Pakistan that killed a U.S. Embassy employee and her daughter. He pledged to help bring those responsible to justice. Two attackers hurled grenades into a Protestant church filled with worshippers in Islamabad, Pakistan. Five people, including the Americans, were killed, and more than 45 others were injured, police and U.S. officials said. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad identified the Americans as Barbara Green, who worked in administration at the embassy, and her daughter Kristen Wormsley, a senior at the American School in Islamabad. Green's husband works in the embassy's computer division.

Kentucky public health board to vote on contraception funding

By Alyson Brodsy and Bruce Schreiner · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Both sides in the nation's abortion debate will be watching on Wednesday when a Kentucky public health board decides whether to turn down federal family-planning money that is used to dispense birth control pills to women.

Police stop attempt on Chirac's life

By Alyson Brodsy and John Leicester · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

PARIS -- A man described as an emotionally disturbed neo-Nazi allegedly tried to assassinate French President Jacques Chirac on Sunday, pulling a rifle from a guitar case and firing off a shot before being wrestled to the ground during a Bastille Day parade. There were no reported injuries. It was not immediately clear how close the shot came to Chirac, who was passing about 130 to 160 feet away in an open-top jeep near Paris' Arch of Triumph as he reviewed troops in a military parade to celebrate France's national holiday.

Around The World

Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

Ecuador plane crashes in Colombia QUITO, Ecuador -- An Ecuadorean jetliner carrying 94 people, including seven children, crashed in Colombia on Monday in the fog bound mountains of the Andes. The Boeing 727-100 from Ecuador's TAME airline originated in the capital, Quito, and was headed to the Ecuadorean border city of Tulcan, 110 miles to the northeast.

West Bank civilian suffering colossal

By Alyson Brodsy and Jamie Tarabay · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

JENIN, West Bank -- Despite the stench of death, Palestinian refugees searched for loved ones and possessions Thursday in the devastation left by the Israeli incursion. A U.N. envoy said the attack caused "colossal suffering" and was unjustified. Near Nablus, the Israeli military said it captured Husam Ataf Ali Badran, a leader of the Hamas militant organization who the army said was responsible for the deaths of more than 100 Israelis in some of the worst suicide bombings in the last year. He reportedly had a hand in the March 27 Passover suicide bombing in Netanya that triggered the Israeli drive into Palestinian cities and towns. An army statement said his capture "is a significant blow" to Hamas. Witnesses said he was captured and three others were killed in a raid by helicopters firing rockets and machine guns outside the village of Beit Hassan.

France re-elects Chirac in landslide

By Roxanne Geyer · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

The controversial ultra-right wing National Front Party presidential candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen, unexpectedly won the presidential primaries April 21, pitting him against incumbent president Jacques Chirac, the moderate right wing contender. Although it was a landslide victory for Chirac, winning 81 to 83 percent of the vote with an 80 percent voter turnout, Chirac's road to victory captured international headlines. Le Pen won 17 to 18 percent Sunday.

India vows to take revenge for attacks

By Ashok Sharma · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

India warned it will be ruthless in dealing with Islamic militant infiltrators entering from Pakistan, as the nations' forces exchanged fire Tuesday across the volatile border dividing Kashmir. Tuesday's gunfire came after the nuclear rivals exchanged the heaviest mortar and rocket fire of the year Monday night. It accompanied a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region to calm tensions and shore up support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Bush passes legislation intended to rebuild

By Alyson Brodsy and Sandra Sobieraj · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush signed into law Tuesday a $40 billion package to rebuild after last week's terrorist attacks. He also put his signature to the congressional resolution authorizing him to use military force against those responsible.

U.S. releases 27 Afghan prisoners

By Alyson Brodsy and Robert Burns · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- American authorities in Afghanistan have released 27 people taken prisoner during a raid last month on what U.S. forces mistook as a hide-out for al Qaeda terrorists. An investigation by U.S. Central Command is trying to determine whether some or all of the estimated 19 people killed also were innocents, Maj. Ralph Mills, a spokesman for the command, said Wednesday.

Serbian special forces arrest Milosevic

By Troy Barratt · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

Former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was detained by local police and escorted to Belgrade's Central Prison Sunday morning. Milosevic's 13-year rule of Serbia was marked by bloody genocidal wars and the economic and political collapse of the former Yugoslavia. The Associated Press reports that he faces charges of abuse of power and corruption. If convicted, he would face a maximum of five years in prison.

Carter travels to Cuba

By Alyson Brodsy and John Rice · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

HAVANA -- Flashing his trademark smile, Jimmy Carter arrived in Cuba Sunday and became the first U.S. president -- in or out of office -- to visit this communist country since the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power.

Corporations in the spotlight

By U Jae Kang · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

Some lawmakers and experts think that it is not only the corporations that are to be blamed for recent scandalous accounting transactions, but also accounting rule making process or makers.

Cabinet position created

Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- It will be the daunting task of President Bush's new Office of Homeland Security to ensure terrorists can't take advantage of the nation's ease of movement to carry out attacks. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, the head of the new agency, will be "sitting at the right hand of the president," a senior Bush administration official said Thursday.

Powell plays peacemaker

By Alyson Brodsy and George Gedda · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell headed to Asia Sunday on a diplomatic mission intended to keep tensions between Pakistan and India from further complicating the U.S. anti-terror campaign in neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan has been supporting Islamic militants who seek an end to Indian rule in the predominantly Muslim region of Kashmir. A terrorist attack last week in the Indian sector of Kashmir killed about 40 people. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said last week that Powell would try to see if there were a way "to lower the temperature" between the two countries.

Senate readies for campaign finance bill

By David Espo · Thursday, July 25,2002 4:23 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Moving swiftly, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle pledged Thursday to seek passage of sweeping legislation to rewrite campaign spending rules "the minute we receive it" from the House. He said any filibuster was doomed. "This is the year we're finally going to pass campaign finance reform," Daschle, D-S.D., said at a combination news conference and celebration arranged by jubilant supporters of the measure less than eight hours after the House approved it.