64 held in raids on opposition

March 5, 2008

CAIRO - Police arrested 64 members of Egypt's largest opposition movement yesterday, the first day for registration of candidates for key local council elections, the group and police said. The Muslim Brotherhood has accused the government of seeking to prevent it from running in the elections with a wave of arrests in recent weeks. The arrests were made in dawn raids in five provinces, a police official said. Brotherhood spokesman Gamal Nassar said the new arrests included some potential candidates for the April 8 local council elections. (AP)

BAKU - Ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces exchanged fire for hours yesterday near the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, officials in the neighboring former Soviet republics said. A spokesman for Nagorno-Karabakh's military force said eight Azerbaijani soldiers were killed, but Azerbaijani officials declined to comment on casualties. A local media report in Azerbaijan said three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed. The clashes occurred as Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliev, issued his latest suggestion that his country could use force to regain control over Nagorno-Karabakh. The region is inside Azerbaijan but has been under ethnic Armenian control since a 1994 cease-fire ended a six-year war. (AP)

VIENNA - Many people, especially those in developing countries, needlessly suffer during childbirth or cancer because of insufficient painkiller use, a global watchdog said yesterday. Governments should take steps to improve the availability of opioid analgesics - narcotic drugs used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain, the UN-affiliated International Narcotics Control Board said in its annual report for 2007. (AP)

SAN JOSE - Costa Rican police detained 14 people yesterday, including a family court judge and a lawyer, on suspicion of participating in a scheme in which mothers allegedly were paid to give up their babies. Police estimated that Costa Rican adoptive parents may have paid the group an average of $10,000 per child. There was no immediate evidence that any of the babies were sent abroad, but police said investigations are continuing. The case involves at least three babies who changed hands since 2006, but police suspect there may be more. (AP)

VANCOUVER - Three times in less than a year, three right feet inside running shoes have been found near separate islands in the Strait of Georgia. Police don't know if there are any links between them. Speculation in the region is rife, including that the feet were from slaying victims or they were the remains from drownings. Police haven't reached any conclusions. "It is very unusual," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Annie Linteau said yesterday. The first right foot was found by beachcombers on Jedidiah Island in August. A few days later, a foot was found inside a man's sneaker on Gabriola Island. The third was found on the east side of Valdez Island on Feb 8. (AP)