Kurdish leader elected president by legislators
Two months after elections, Iraq's new government finally began to take shape yesterday as lawmakers elected as president a Kurdish leader who promised to represent all ethnic and religious groups in a session broadcast across the country -- and shown to Saddam Hussein in his jail cell.
MEXICO
Radio crime show host in border city is shot
MEXICO CITY -- A radio reporter in Nuevo Laredo on Mexico's border with Texas was in serious condition after being shot several times by an unknown gunman, the latest journalist to be attacked along the border in recent months. Guadalupe Garcia Escamilla, 39, was hit by nine bullets as she arrived at Radio Stereo 91 to do her regular show on crime and public safety, according to the prosecutor's office in the Tamaulipas border state. Officials were investigating whether the attack was motivated by her work, said Miguel Chavez, spokesman for the prosecutor's office. (Reuters)
SUDAN
Security forces raid opposition party office
KHARTOUM -- Security forces stormed the headquarters of Sudan's main opposition party yesterday, arresting scores of its members and top officials, apparently because of celebrations marking an antigovernment uprising nearly 20 years ago, the party said. Police surrounded the headquarters of the Umma National Party in Omdurman, the sister city of the Sudanese capital, said Mohamed el Mahdi Hassan, a top party official. When student supporters tried to enter the building, security forces launched tear gas and arrested dozens of students, beating some of them with whips, he said. Police then entered the building, arresting senior party members inside, including the party's vice president, Adam Madibu. (AP)
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Probe cites suspect in killings of eagles
VANCOUVER -- Investigators believe they know who is responsible for the slaughter of dozens of bald eagles near Vancouver in a poaching operation that sold talons, feathers, and other parts across North America, officials said yesterday. No arrests have been made in the case, which has drawn international attention, and conservation officials issued an unusual public appeal for the ''prime suspect" -- a person they declined to name -- to cooperate with the probe that involves both Canadian and US investigators. ''Our understanding is that eagles were being killed by more than one person, and being collected by this individual, and that individual was responsible for the distribution of eagle parts," said Lance Sundquist, a B.C. Conservation Service officer. (Reuters)
CHILE
Court upholds freezing of Pinochet assets
SANTIAGO -- A Chilean judge investigating Augusto Pinochet for tax evasion scored a victory yesterday when an appeals court upheld his decision to freeze some $5 million of the former dictator's assets. The Santiago Appeals Court also dismissed a bid by Pinochet's lawyers to have the judge, Sergio Munoz, removed because of bias. Munoz is looking into whether Pinochet improperly paid taxes and misused public funds. A US Senate report last year showing Pinochet and his family stashed up to $15 million in secret accounts sparked the probe. (Reuters)
JAPAN
South Korea summons envoy over textbook
TOKYO -- A diplomatic dispute over new Japanese textbooks escalated yesterday with South Korea summoning Tokyo's ambassador to complain about them and Japan calling Seoul's reaction ''extreme." South Korea's latest objections centered on an ethics textbook which stakes Tokyo's claim to a group of disputed islands in the Sea of Japan held by South Korea. (AP)
