Chilean is elected OAS secretary general
UNITED STATES
WASHINGTON -- Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza was elected yesterday to a five-year term as secretary general of the Organization of American States. Insulza had been locked in a close battle to lead the group with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez, but Derbez dropped out of the race on Friday, citing the need for hemispheric unity. Insulza is a former foreign minister who spent 10 years in exile during the military rule of Chile from 1973 to 1990. (AP)
KUWAIT
Lawmakers stall on women's voting rights
KUWAIT CITY -- A push to allow women to participate in Kuwait's local elections stalled yesterday when Islamist and conservative lawmakers abstained en masse from a key vote in parliament, leaving the measure short of the number of votes needed for passage. The matter is expected to be taken up again tomorrow. The measure, which had won preliminary approval, would let women run for seats and vote in elections for local councils. (AP)
JORDAN
Assassination plot dogs Saddam, lawyer says
AMMAN -- Saddam Hussein's chief lawyer accused Iranian-backed Iraqi politicians of plotting to assassinate the ousted dictator in prison and said yesterday that he held the United States responsible for Hussein's safety. Ziad al-Khasawneh said he based his information on a message purportedly sent by a former Iraqi government official he identified as Hazem al-Obeidi, addressed to Saddam's legal team and posted on a pro-Saddam website. Its authenticity could not be verified. (AP)
UNITED NATIONS
Australia says it's doing all it can for hostage
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday that his country was doing all it could to win the release of an Australian held hostage by Iraqi militants but would not pay a ransom or withdraw its troops from the country. The government does not yet know the location or condition of Douglas Wood, 63, but has sent a team of investigators to help free him. ''We won't be changing our policies," Downer said. (Reuters)
DENMARK
Not guilty pleas entered in prisoner abuse case
COPENHAGEN -- A Danish army captain and four military police sergeants pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of mistreating Iraqi detainees. The charges stem from a 2004 interrogation of four Iraqi detainees at Camp Eden in Basra, where the 530-strong Danish contingent in Iraq is based. Prosecutors said the four were force to kneel in uncomfortable positions, verbally humiliated, and denied water during questioning about alleged participation in riots. (AP)
JAPAN
Emergency brake said factor in derailed train
AMAGASAKI -- Japanese investigators have concluded that the driver in last week's fatal train crash applied the emergency brake to slow the train as it entered a curve at excessive speed, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The action contributed to derailment and the rollover of the train, investigators said. The driver, Ryujiro Takami, 23, died in the accident, which killed more than 100 people. (Knight Ridder)
NORWAY
Norwegian plans rival to Nobel science prizes
OSLO -- Nobel science prizes will face a rival starting in 2008 with new awards for research in astrophysics, neuroscience, and nanotechnology. Fred Kavli, a physicist who left Norway in 1955 with $300 and turned it into a $340 million fortune in California, said yesterday the three prizes would be awarded every other year starting in 2008. (Reuters)
