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World in brief

Israel suspects deadly bird flu strain killed 11,000 turkeys

By wire services
Published March 18, 2006

JERUSALEM - Israeli officials on Friday ordered tens of thousands of turkeys destroyed as they awaited final word on whether the country has experienced its first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

About 11,000 turkeys have died in recent days, and after preliminary tests, Health Minister Yaakov Edri said there was a "very high chance that this is avian flu."

No cases of human illness have been reported, Edri said. If deadly avian flu is confirmed, and in the unlikely event it spreads to humans, Israel has vaccinations for half a million of its 7-million people, he said.

Five people admitted to a southern Israeli hospital were being observed for signs of bird flu, Israeli media reported, but Israeli government veterinary officials said they did not think they had contracted the disease.

Health officials fear H5N1 could evolve into a virus that can be transmitted easily between people and become a global pandemic. At least 97 people have died from the disease worldwide, with most victims infected directly by sick birds.

LONDON - Britain's transport minister said Friday that the government has found no evidence linking six aircraft, which made dozens of journeys through Britain, to the so-called "extraordinary rendition" program.

Opposition lawmakers claim the six planes were used by the CIA to transfer terror suspects to third countries.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said that the six planes made 73 flights through Britain since 2001 on journeys to Afghanistan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.

But he said the government had no evidence to support allegations that the flights were involved in the transfer of terrorist suspects.

Critics charge that in the "extraordinary rendition" program terrorism suspects are transferred to third countries where some allegedly are subjected to torture.

WASHINGTON - The White House on Friday accused the authoritarian president of Belarus of being "among the most corrupt leaders in the world," and administration officials said they will consider new sanctions assuming this weekend's elections are manipulated as expected.

In a report sent to Congress on Thursday night and posted Friday on the Web, the White House alleged that President Alexander Lukashenko "has created a repressive dictatorship on the doorstep of the European Union," sold arms to rogue states and enriched himself at the expense of his people.

The report was released amid a prevote crackdown on dissent in the former Soviet republic. Authorities in Belarus have shut down newspapers, raided civil society organizations, stifled anti-government rallies, and beaten and arrested opposition figures, including a candidate running against Lukashenko.

TEHRAN, Iran - Gunmen posing as security forces killed 21 people on a highway in southeastern Iran near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, the national chief of police said Friday.

National police chief Gen. Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghaddam accused U.S. and British intelligence of being behind the attack on Thursday night, the official Iranian news agency reported. Iran has made similar accusations in the past.

JERUSALEM - Ariel Sharon, comatose since suffering a stroke in January, will be moved to Sheba Medical Center, a long-term care facility near Tel Aviv, after elections later this month, Israeli Channel 10 TV reported Friday, quoting hospital officials.

[Last modified March 18, 2006, 02:30:29]