BANGKOK, Thailand – The suspect in the murder of American child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was treated at a Bangkok clinic specializing in sex-change operations and cosmetic surgery, clinic officials said Sunday. A doctor at the Pratunam Polyclinic confirmed that he had treated the suspect, 41-year-old former schoolteacher John Mark …
Read More »Experts: Indonesia's Tsunami-Warning System Not Ready for Prime Time
BALI, Indonesia – A tsunami warning system is now in place for Indian Ocean countries, but experts said Wednesday there is still room for improvement in methods to convey the alerts to coastal communities. A tsunami that killed 600 people in Indonesia two weeks ago exposed some shortcomings in a …
Read More »Annan Asks France to Lead Lebanon Force
PARIS – U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Europe had agreed to provide close to 7,000 troops for a U.N. force in Lebanon that he hoped France would lead. Speaking at an emergency meeting of European foreign ministers, Annan also said he had “firm commitments” from Malaysia, Indonesia and …
Read More »Three Filipino Oil Workers Released in Nigeria After 10 Days of Captivity
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – Three Filipino oil workers taken hostage in southern Nigeria were released in the presence of reporters early Monday after being held by unidentified captors for more than a week. The men, kidnapped last Friday, were handed over to the Filipino ambassador in Nigeria’s oil hub of …
Read More »Hezbollah Misfires Rockets Into Palestinian Town in West Bank
JENIN, West Bank – Five Hezbollah rockets landed near a Palestinian town in the West Bank on Wednesday, but caused no casualties, Palestinian security officials said. • CountryWatch: Israel | Lebanon | Syria | Iran The rockets landed near the village of Arabani, which sits along the Israel-West Bank frontier, …
Read More »Israeli PM to Appoint Panel to Investigate Recent Lebanon Fighting
JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday he would appoint a panel to review the performance of the government and army during the recent fighting in Lebanon, officials said. Critics have accused the army and government of overseeing a messy war with an unclear outcome and wavering when …
Read More »Intel Launches New Processors for Business
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Chip maker Intel is introducing a series of new processors designed especially for business and e-commerce uses. The company said its eight new Dual-Core Intel Xeon 7100 series processors are designed to perform better than their predecessors, and include lower-power options to help cut energy costs. …
Read More »Holocaust Denier Booted From Alabama Democratic Party
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Democratic Party leaders want a former candidate for attorney general who denies the Holocaust occurred to stay out of their future primaries. The party’s executive committee passed a resolution Saturday informing Larry Darby that “he is not welcome in the Alabama Democratic Party.” Darby, the founder of …
Read More »Bush OK With FDA's Morning-After Pill Ruling
WASHINGTON – President Bush appreciates the “exhaustive review” conducted by drug regulators before signing off on new access to the morning-after pill, a White House spokeswoman said Thursday. Hours after the Food and Drug Administration approved over-the-counter sales for women 18 and older, spokeswoman Dana Perino said the president approves …
Read More »FEMA: Future Hurricane Victims Won't Get Spending Cards
NEW ORLEANS – People displaced by future hurricanes will probably not get the $2,000 federal handout that went to Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees last year, a top official in the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Sunday. The elimination of that post-hurricane financial aid is one of many changes in …
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