Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

World in brief

President says Iran will resume nuclear talks

By wire services
Published August 25, 2005

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's conservative president promised Wednesday to offer new proposals soon for negotiations with Europe over Tehran's controversial nuclear program. The Bush administration responded by saying the European diplomatic process "still has legs."

The comments by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggest he wants to launch a new dialogue in hopes of persuading Europe to recognize Iran's right to enrich uranium. They came on a day when Parliament approved most of the president's hard-line nominees for key Cabinet posts, including the foreign and interior ministers.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Ex-Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman faces civil trial in the United States over allegations he purchased U.S. bank certificates with money stolen from Nicaragua's government, the American Embassy said Wednesday.

Spokesman Preeti Shah confirmed a report that first appeared in Wednesday editions of La Prensa newspaper. Court documents indicate the trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 6 in Miami before U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno in a civil case.

The certificates in U.S. banks total almost $700,000 and were issued in the name of Aleman or family members, according to the civil complaint.

Aleman was sentenced to 20 years in prison on fraud and money-laundering convictions in Nicaragua more than two years ago. He currently is under strict house arrest.

MADRID - Fierce winds caused the deadly crash of a Spanish military helicopter last week in Afghanistan, Spain's defense minister said Wednesday, finally ruling out hostile fire.

Defense Minister Jose Bono told a parliamentary commission that strong gusts of tail wind caused the low-flying chopper to hit the ground Aug. 16 shortly after it cleared the peak of a hill, killing all 17 soldiers aboard.

A Spanish helicopter flying behind the one that crashed had to pull up abruptly, flying almost vertically before making a rough emergency landing that injured five men aboard, Bono said.

Bono based his testimony on a technical report by crash-site investigators from the Spanish military and accounts from people near the crash site.

Investigators ultimately ruled that there was no evidence of an attack or that the two helicopters had hit each other, the minister said.

NAIROBI, Kenya - A judge Wednesday ordered an investigation into claims that police interrogators tortured six suspects in the murder of an Italian-born Roman Catholic bishop.

The men alleged police beat them, withheld food and water for several days, hung some of them upside down, and burned them with cigarettes. One of them was kept in a mortuary among bodies, said one of their lawyers, Ojwang Agina.

Prosecutor Jacob Ondari, speaking on behalf of the police, denied the claims.

The six suspects, including a Kenyan Catholic priest, are accused of killing 76-year-old Bishop Luigi Locati in July in a plot to gain control of church funds. The men have pleaded innocent. A trial date has not been set.

REUTHE, Austria - Flood victims waded into their homes Wednesday to shovel out mud, and cleanup crews cleared the debris from streets after heavy rains deluged central and southern Europe.

The storms have killed 34 people across Europe this week, authorities said Wednesday, warning the number could climb as the missing are accounted for. Worst hit was Romania, with 25 dead and thousands of homes inundated. Austria, Bulgaria and Switzerland reported a total of nine dead.

Meanwhile, southern Europe was coping with forest fires. Hundreds of firefighters from across Europe were battling a dozen fires in Portugal, which has had little or no rain for 10 months. Spain and Italy also reported scorching forest fires.

ISABELA, Puerto Rico - The oldest person in the world celebrated his 114th birthday Wednesday. About 100 people joined Emiliano Mercado del Toro, who was born when Puerto Rico was part of the Spanish empire, for the celebration in Isabella, where he lives with a niece.

The party took place three days after his birthday. He was born Aug. 21, 1891, in the southwestern town of Cabo Rojo, seven years before the United States seized Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American war.

Mercado del Toro was declared the oldest man in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records in January, replacing an American man who died in his sleep at 113.

MIAMI - The Coast Guard suspended its search Wednesday for 31 Cubans believed thrown into the Straits of Florida when their boat capsized during an apparent smuggling run to the United States.

Three people were rescued Sunday by a merchant vessel north of Matanzas, Cuba, according to the Coast Guard. Those survivors, two women and a man, were being treated in Cuba for burns and dehydration after five days at sea.

The survivors and Cuban border agents told U.S. officials that 14 people were initially able to cling to the hull of the overturned speedboat after it turned over Aug. 16. Eleven of those eventually drifted away, leaving the three who had life jackets.

The Coast Guard found an overturned 28-foot boat about 16 miles from the three survivors' location. Investigators were still trying to determine if it was the one used in the smuggling attempt.

[Last modified August 25, 2005, 01:23:19]