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Fighting terror notebook
Compiled from Times wires House acts to pay '98 embassy victimsWASHINGTON -- The House voted Tuesday to compensate about two dozen Americans, the wounded and relatives of the dead, from the 1998 terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Money would come from the government fund set up to compensate victims of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. Members of the al-Qaida terror network were convicted of the embassy bombings, which killed 224 people, 12 of them U.S. citizens. Another 12 to 14 Americans were injured. Like Sept. 11 victims, those seeking compensation for the embassy attacks must agree not to sue the government or other entities. In return, those who qualify will receive minimum payments of $250,000 and perhaps much more, depending on lost earnings and other factors. The House passed the bill 391-18. The Senate has not considered it. The Bush administration announced it will oppose the bill. A White House budget office statement said that, except in unique circumstances such as Sept. 11, crime victims should receive a set amount of compensation. The administration is developing principles for compensating victims of international terrorism, the statement said. Prosecutors speed up trial in Pearl killingHYDERABAD, Pakistan -- Prosecutors in the trial of four Islamic radicals charged in the death of Daniel Pearl attempted Tuesday to speed up the case by dismissing 13 witnesses. The decision came as investigators sought to determine the identity of a body thought to be that of the Wall Street Journal reporter. Dismembered remains were found Friday in a shallow grave near a shack where Pearl is believed to have been held. Forensic experts obtained samples Monday from the remains to be used for DNA testing. Results are expected within a week. Raja Quereshi, chief prosecutor in the case of British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three other defendants, said the trial will end "very soon." Prosecutors have called 20 witnesses and had planned to call 18 more. But Quereshi said the prosecutors now anticipate taking testimony from only five more witnesses, including Pearl's widow, Mariane. Congress to gather in N.Y. on Sept. 6WASHINGTON -- House leaders indicated Tuesday they have settled on Sept. 6 to hold a special session in New York City as a show of support in the wake of the terrorist attacks. But the visit is being scaled back from original ideas for a full-blown session to a more symbolic gathering to which each state would send at least one member from its House and Senate delegation. Congress last convened in New York in 1789-90, when the city was the first U.S. capital. Congress held a ceremonial meeting in Philadelphia in 1989, the bicentennial of its first session. Consulate employee took bribes for visasNEWARK, N.J. -- A former employee of a U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia where most of the Sept. 11 hijackers got their visas admitted Tuesday that he took money and gifts to provide fraudulent visas to foreigners. Abdulla Noman had no connection to any of the hijackers, 15 of whom got visas legally through the consulate in Jeddah, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Vilker said. "There's no evidence whatever linking him to terrorism." Noman pleaded guilty to bribery Tuesday. About 50 to 100 visas were improperly issued by Noman from September 1996 until last November, when he was arrested in Las Vegas. Noman, 54, a Yemeni citizen, said he got bribes worth thousands of dollars for making it appear foreigners were legitimate members of trade delegations. Noman faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced Sept. 4.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
