2 killed, 34 injured as trains collide

BRAMBERG -- Two people were killed and 34 injured yesterday when two trains collided in Austria's Alpine province of Salzburg. Fire officials said each train had two cars and three of the four

cars had derailed. Austrian Railways said it was too early to say if the collision resulted from a technical failure or human error. (Reuters)

UNITED NATIONS

UN agency cites polio case in Angola

GENEVA -- A case of polio has been found in Angola, the first discovered in the country in four years, the UN health agency said yesterday. The case, in which a 17-year-old girl developed paralysis in both legs, is linked to a virus circulating in India, the World Health Organization said. The disease, which spreads through dirty water, usually infects children. It attacks the nervous system and causes paralysis and muscular atrophy. (AP)

WEST BANK

Abbas confirms a bid to Hamas

RAMALLAH -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has asked Hamas militants to join his Cabinet to improve prospects of a peaceful takeover of the Gaza Strip after Israel's withdrawal this summer, Abbas's office confirmed yesterday. Hamas's West Bank leader, Hassan Yousef, said the group was considering the offer. Israel and the United States have demanded that Abbas disarm Hamas and other militants, a step he has so far refused to take. (AP)

SPAIN

Gay marriage legal as of today

MADRID -- The law legalizing gay marriage in Spain cleared its last bureaucratic formality Friday by being published in an official government registry, and will take effect today. The Socialist-sponsored bill passed Thursday by the lower house of parliament. The law gives same-sex couples the right to wed, adopt children, and inherit each other's property, the same rights as heterosexual couples. (AP)