The America's Intelligence Wire articles from March 2005

The America's Intelligence Wire archives from March 2005

International observers say Kyrgyzstan elections did not meet democratic standards.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JIM HEINTZ International election observers have criticized Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary elections as falling short of democratic standards and urged authorities to change their ways ahead of second-round...

Major Snowstorm Barrels Up East Coast.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: WAYNE PARRY Highway crews spread salt on roads and schools gave students an unplanned holiday Monday as a storm plowed along the East Coast with a threat of more than a foot of blowing snow. Storm watches...

AP: Would-Be Escapees in Ohio Made Ladders.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Two convicted killers who tried to escape from Ohio's Death Row used a ladder they made from blankets to climb out of a fenced recreation area before being caught short of the prison...

For 5th Day, No Clues on Missing Fla. Girl.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: MIKE SCHNEIDER The father of a missing 9-year-old girl pleaded again for her safe return Monday _ the fifth and final day of a full-scale search for Jessica Marie Lunsford. "Just drop her off. I'll come...

U.S. Pushes U.N. on Abortion Declaration.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: EDITH M. LEDERER The 10-year review of a landmark U.N. effort to achieve equality for women began in controversy Monday, with the United States accusing advocacy groups of trying to define its commitment to...

Ebbers, testifying in own trial, denies role in WorldCom fraud.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ERIN McCLAM Former WorldCom Inc. chief Bernard Ebbers took the witness stand and flatly denied he ever knew that accountants were cooking the books at the company. Under questioning Monday from his...

Vatican: Pope John Paul II getting speech, breathing therapy.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: FRANCES D'EMILIO Pope John Paul II has begun speech and respiratory therapy following last week's surgery to ease his latest breathing crisis, the Vatican said, without indicating when he might be able to...

Britain's House of Commons votes in favor of anti-terrorism laws.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: FRANCES D'EMILIO Controversial proposals for a new anti-terrorism law, which would allow Britain to place suspects under house arrest without the need for a trial, have cleared an important parliamentary...

Roman Catholic faithful pray and suffer alongside their stricken shepherd.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: WILLIAM J. KOLE Pope John Paul II's anguished flock, deeply moved by his second health crisis in less than a month, is suffering alongside its stricken shepherd. Around the world, the Roman Catholic...

Papal views on chronic illness offer hints of personal struggle.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: BRIAN MURPHY During a trip to Austria nearly seven years ago, Pope John Paul II shuffled slowly through a center for the chronically ill. He leaned heavily on his cane as he spoke to the staff. "Even...

International community to gather in London for conference on Palestinian reform.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: LARA SUKHTIAN Hoping to build on tentative progress in the Middle East conflict, top international officials are gathering at a conference in London on Tuesday to pledge the world community's renewed...

Montana Court to Rule on Colony Medicaid.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: SARAH R. CRAIG The 53 members of the King Colony Hutterite community live a communal, mostly self-sufficient life. They quietly farm the land, shun individual property ownership and shy away from most...

Top prosecutor for Sierra Leone's U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal resigns.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: CLARENCE ROY-MACAULAY The lead prosecutor at Sierra Leone's U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal announced his resignation on Monday, citing family obligations but expressing no regrets after more than two...

U.N. Atomic Agency Chief Chides Iran.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: GEORGE JAHN The chief U.N. atomic watchdog chided Iran on Monday for delays in divulging key information about its nuclear program, saying the onus is on Tehran to overcome a "confidence deficit" caused by past...

West African leaders travel to Togo to meet its latest leader.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: EBOW GODWIN West African leaders have met Togo's latest leader for talks on ensuring promised elections are free and fair following the military's failed attempt to install a president. Presidents...

Burundians vote on constitution detailing Hutu-Tutsi power-sharing.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ALOYS NIYOYITA Voters in Burundi turned out in large numbers to cast ballots on a constitution that enshrines Hutu control of parliament and government after decades of minority Tutsi dominance, officials...

Secretary of state says Tel Aviv bombing need not derail peace.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ANNE GEARAN Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the new Palestinian government must get tougher on terrorists like those responsible for a bombing that rattled the resurgent Middle East peace process....

Disney, Miramax close to a separation agreement.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: GARY GENTILE An agreement to end the 12-year partnership between independent film producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein and the Walt Disney Co. could come as early as this week, sources familiar with the...

Iran, North Korea at center of IAEA attention.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ANDREA DUDIKOVA As the chief of the U.N. atomic watchdog nuclear agency scolded Iran for delays in divulging nuclear information, the United States suggested it was considering joining Europe in offering...

U.N. report: Nordics have lowest child poverty, U.S. far behind.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: BRADLEY S. KLAPPER Nordic countries have the lowest levels of child poverty in the developed world, due in large part to their generous public spending on social benefits for families, according to a...

Biogen's drug debacle could beat down industry.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PAUL ELIAS The debacle over faulty drugs besetting the pharmaceutical industry has now spread to the biotech sector, with one of its best performing companies and a partner pulling their highly touted...

BTK Suspect's Career in Security Probed.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: DAVID TWIDDY For about 15 years, it was the job of the man police have accused of being the BTK serial killer to help keep people safe. Before he started as a city code enforcer in suburban Park City,...

Continental reaches tentative wage, benefit cuts with unions.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: KRISTEN HAYS Continental Airlines Inc. reached its goal of finding $500 million (A379 million) in annual savings with the announcement of tentative agreements for wage and benefit cuts with unions...

Airline workers chafe at cuts to pay and benefits, struggle to adjust long-held expectations.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ADAM GELLER The phone line in Dave Meyers' third-floor walkup has been turned off to save cash, and the brown velour sofas, bought second-hand, are bare in a few spots. Still, the modest apartment is...

Univision profits rise 14 percent in fourth quarter.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ALEX VEIGA Univision Communications Inc. said that profits rose 14 percent in the fourth quarter as the Spanish-language broadcaster saw increases in viewership and advertising sales. Net income was...

E-mail reliability at risk as spam controls get aggressive.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ANICK JESDANUN Sometimes the only way to know whether an e-mail got through is to call. Just ask Ashley Friedlein, who runs E-consultancy Ltd. in London. He never heard back from a correspondent in...

State Department gives a name to the uprising in Beirut.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: BARRY SCHWEID In the manner of Czechoslovakia's "Velvet Revolution" and a succession of colorfully named uprisings that followed elsewhere, the State Department decided that the anti-Syria street...

WORLD SPORTS at 0000 GMT.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: BARRY SCHWEID TENNIS: DUBAI WOMEN: Venus upset; Martinez, Farina Elia, Mirza advance DUBAI, United Arab Emirates _ Venus Williams loses a first-round match for the first time in four years when...

Cell-phone-only crowd a problem for pollsters, researchers.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: WILL LESTER They're mainly young, single and urban. They move frequently, usually renting rather than owning their homes. Pollsters call them "cell phone only" because they don't own traditional phones....

Island nearest quake's epicenter survived tsunami thanks to stories passed down over 100 years.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: MARGIE MASON The ground shook so hard, people couldn't stand up when the massive earthquake rattled this remote Indonesian island _ the closest inhabited land to the epicenter of the devastating temblor....

Schiavo Parents Seek Divorce for Daughter.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: VICKIE CHACHERE Terri Schiavo's parents asked a judge Monday to allow the severely brain-damaged woman to divorce her husband, accusing him of adultery and not acting in his wife's best interests. It was...

Fossett Starts Global Solo Flight Attempt.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: JOHN MILBURN Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett took off Monday night on his attempt to become the first person to complete a solo trip around the world in an airplane without making a single stop. ...

Continental reaches tentative wage, benefit cuts with unions.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: KRISTEN HAYS Continental Airlines Inc. reached its goal of finding $500 million (A379 million) in annual savings with the announcement of tentative agreements for wage and benefit cuts with unions...

Prosecution outlines child molestation case against Michael Jackson.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: LINDA DEUTSCH Jurors were given opposing images of Michael Jackson at the opening of the pop star's trial _ the prosecution portraying him as a perverted child molester and the defense saying he was the...

U.N. meeting on fight for women's equality opens in controversy over U.S. raising abortion issue.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: EDITH M. LEDERER The 10-year review of a landmark U.N. blueprint to achieve equality for women began in controversy with the United States accusing advocacy groups of trying to define its commitment to...

Intelligence nominee Negroponte promised to sell stock in companies with Iraq business.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: KATHERINE SHRADER John Negroponte, chosen by President George W. Bush choice to head the nation's redesigned intelligence apparatus, is a multimillionaire who promised last year to sell stock in companies...

Fossett takes off on attempt at first nonstop, solo flight around the world.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JOHN MILBURN Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett has taken off on his attempt to become the first person to complete a solo trip around the world in an airplane without making a single stop. ...

Japan's unemployment rate unchanged at 4.5 percent in January.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JOHN MILBURN Japan's unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in January, unchanged from the month before, the government said Tuesday. The result was slightly worse than the market forecast. Economists...

Northern Cook Islands hammered by cyclone.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JOHN MILBURN Cyclone Perry hammered the Cook Islands, destroying or damaging all but 10 buildings on two northern atolls and ripping up banana plantations and wrecking gardens in the South Pacific islands...

Telecommunications entrepreneur arrested on charges of $200 million (A[euro]151 million) tax evasion.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: MARY DALRYMPLE The government announced the indictment and arrest of a telecommunications entrepreneur accused of evading $200 million (A151 million) in federal and local taxes, the largest U.S. criminal...

Two Teen Kayakers Found Dead in Fla.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: MARY DALRYMPLE Rescuers found two 14-year-old boys dead Monday in the Gulf of Mexico, two days after they became separated from their school group during a kayaking and canoeing trip off the coast of Florida,...

Pope Begins Speech and Respiratory Therapy.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: FRANCES D'EMILIO Pope John Paul II has begun speech and respiratory therapy following surgery to ease his latest breathing crisis, the Vatican said Monday, without indicating when he might be able to speak in...

New Zealand makes 233, batting first in fourth one-dayer.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: FRANCES D'EMILIO New Zealand failed to capitalize on a sound opening partnership Tuesday and was held to 233, batting first in the fourth limited-overs international against Australia at the Basin Reserve....

New Zealand-Australia scoreboard.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: FRANCES D'EMILIO Scoreboard Tuesday after New Zealand's innings in the fourth limited-overs cricket international against Australia at the Basin Reserve: Australia won the toss New Zealand...

Tokyo stocks open lower; dollar down against yen but up vs euro.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: FRANCES D'EMILIO Tokyo stocks opened slightly lower Tuesday after shares declined on Wall Street overnight. The U.S. dollar was down against the Japanese yen but up against the euro. The Nikkei Stock...

Supreme Court asked to question president on corruption comments.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: FRANCES D'EMILIO Brazil's main opposition party formally requested that the Supreme Court ask President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to explain a recent speech in which he said he chose not to investigate...

U.N. report will recommend peacekeeper suspects be tried in country where claims originated.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: NICK WADHAMS An upcoming United Nations report investigating sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers will suggest that foreign soldiers accused of wrongdoing be court-martialed in the country where the claims...

Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee increases lead at top of Asia Tour.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: MARGIE MASON Thailand's golf veteran Thongchai Jaidee, who finished third in last weekend's Myanmar Open, has increased his lead as the top moneymaker on the Asian Tour, organizers said Tuesday. The...

No Fires Expected in Southwest for Now.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: BETH DeFALCO Ravaged by wildfires in recent years, the Southwest could see a quieter fire season in 2005 because of rain storms that have drenched the region this winter, according to a government forecast. ...

Malaysia launches crackdown on illegal workers with pre-dawn raids; 40 caught in first hours.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JASBANT SINGH Malaysian police raided workplaces in darkness early Tuesday in a nationwide crackdown on illegal workers, mostly Indonesians, arresting at least 40 people at a construction site shortly...

Hong Kong leader to go to Beijing to join advisory body to China's legislature.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JASBANT SINGH Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa will visit Beijing starting Wednesday to assume his new role as a member of the main advisory body to China's national legislature, the government said. ...

Qantas overhaul may result in job cuts, newspaper says.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: MERAIAH FOLEY Australia's largest airline, Qantas Airways Ltd., could cut as many as 3,000 jobs _ 10 percent of its work force _ in the next two years in streamlining aimed at boosting profits, a newspaper...

U.N. Report to Address Sex Abuse Claims.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: NICK WADHAMS An upcoming United Nations report investigating sex abuse by U.N. peacekeepers will propose that foreign soldiers accused of wrongdoing be court-martialed inside the country where the claims were...

Conn. Hypnotist Gets 90 Days in Sex Case.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: NICK WADHAMS A British hypnotist charged with having sex with patients under his spell and secretly videotaping the encounters was sentenced Monday to 90 days in prison and faces possible deportation to...

AP Newsbreak: Three star general appointed to lead Guantanamo Bay abuse investigation.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: FRANK GRIFFITHS The U.S. military appointed a three-star general to lead an investigation into abuse allegations at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, clearing the way for investigators to question a...

Shiites, poised to assume power, refuse to be baited into striking back at Sunni insurgents _ for now.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PATRICK QUINN Shiite mosques, politicians and civilians willing to work for the government have been the target of repeated attacks by the Sunni-based insurgents. So far, at least, the Shiite parties have...

Malaysia's economy grows a robust 7.1 percent in 2004 despite slower 4th quarter.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PATRICK QUINN Malaysia's economy expanded 7.1 percent in 2004, the highest annual rate since 2000, according to the central bank, in a boost for the new government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi...

Japan monitoring effect of shipping ban on North Korea.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PATRICK QUINN A new law took effect Tuesday that bars most North Korean ships from Japanese ports, with officials watching to see whether it squeezes a major lifeline to the impoverished communist country....

Opposition, monitors say Tajikistan parliamentary election tainted by fraud.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA The party of strongman President Emomali Rakhmonov appears headed for an easy victory amid allegations of vote-rigging and other breaches during weekend parliamentary elections in the...

Amid international outcry, unheard clamor in Nepal: Give King Gyanendra a chance.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: NEELESH MISRA From Washington to New Delhi, governments have demanded that Nepal's King Gyanendra give up the absolute power he assumed last month when he declared emergency rule. But there is an unheard...

Report: Japan eyeing manned base on the moon, manned space shuttle.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: NEELESH MISRA Japan's plans to start building a manned base on the moon and a manned space shuttle within the next 20 years, a newspaper report said. Japan's space agency, JAXA, is drawing up plans to...

India's defense spending to rise 8 percent in next fiscal year, drawing criticism from rival Pakistan.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: RAJESH MAHAPATRA India plans to boost defense spending 8 percent in the fiscal year starting April 1, the finance minister said, drawing criticism from archrival Pakistan. Finance Minister P....

Suicide bomber kills at least 115, wounds 132 south of Baghdad.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ALI AL-FATLAWI In the deadliest single strike since the fall of Saddam Hussein, a suicide car bomber attacked mostly Shiite police and National Guard recruits lined up for physical exams at a medical...

Japan monitoring effect of shipping ban on North Korea.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON A new law took effect Tuesday that bars most North Korean ships from Japanese ports, with officials watching to see whether it squeezes a major lifeline to the impoverished communist...

U.S. authorities ban lighters on airplanes and secure areas in airports.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON Airline passengers can no longer bring cigarette lighters onto planes or in any secure areas, the Homeland Security Department announced. Lighters were added to the prohibited...

Australian police clash with rioters in fourth night of violence.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON Police arrested 19 rioters in a fourth consecutive night of clashes with residents of a run-down Sydney neighborhood, police said Tuesday. No serious injuries were reported. The...

U.S. research ship pays US$2 million fine for reef damage.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON Mexico announced Monday that a U.S. research ship has paid a fine of 2,221,720 pesos (US$20 million, A15 million) for having run aground on a coral reef and damaged it. Mexico's...

Japan's unemployment rate unchanged at 4.5 percent in January.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JOHN MILBURN Japan's unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in January, unchanged from the month before, the government said Tuesday. The result was slightly worse than the market forecast. Economists...

N.M. House Votes to Abolish Death Penalty.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: JOHN MILBURN The New Mexico House voted Monday to abolish the state's death penalty and replace it with a sentence of life in prison without parole. The bill passed on a vote of 38-31 and advanced to the...

Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi arrives in hometown to promote tour.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JOHN MILBURN Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi, who was recently released from prison, arrived in her hometown of Monterrey Monday to promote a tour that will put her back on a Mexican stage after a nine-year...

BTK suspect's history as security company worker being looked at.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: DAVID TWIDDY For about 15 years, it was the job of the man police have accused of being the BTK serial killer to help keep people safe. Before he started as a city code enforcer in suburban Park City,...

Major storm moves up East Coast, closing schools and making highways hazardous.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: WAYNE PARRY Highway crews spread salt on roads and schools gave students an unplanned holiday as a storm plowed along the East Coast with a threat of more than a foot (30 centimeters) of blowing snow. ...

British hypnotist gets 90-day prison term in Connecticut sex case.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: WAYNE PARRY A British hypnotist charged with having sex with patients under his spell and secretly videotaping the encounters was sentenced to 90 days in prison and faces possible deportation to England....

New York jury chosen for conspiracy, perjury trial of rapper Lil' Kim.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: WAYNE PARRY A jury was chosen for the trial of rapper Lil' Kim, who is accused of lying to a grand jury investigating a 2001 shooting at a Manhattan hip-hop radio station. District Judge Gerard Lynch...

Malaysia launches crackdown on illegal workers with pre-dawn raids; 131 caught in first hours.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JASBANT SINGH Malaysian police raided workplaces in darkness early Tuesday in a nationwide crackdown on illegal workers, mostly Indonesians, arresting at least 131 people shortly after a four-month-old...

Fossett takes off on attempt at first nonstop, solo flight around the world.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JOHN MILBURN Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett has taken off on his attempt to become the first person to complete a solo trip around the world in an airplane without making a single stop. ...

Schwarzenegger Shrugs Off Presidential Bid.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: JOHN MILBURN Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may have joked about becoming president, but he said in an interview broadcast Sunday that he's never seriously considered it. The Austrian-born Schwarzenegger said...

DeLay PAC Lawsuit Goes to Trial in Texas.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: KELLEY SHANNON A high-stakes political fund-raising trial began Monday as Democrats argued that the treasurer of a committee formed by House Republican Leader Tom DeLay broke the law by using corporate money...

Panama's president defends government job for daughter of former dictator.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ President Martin Torrijos defended on Monday his administration's granting of a consular job to a daughter of former dictator Manuel Noriega, on the grounds that "children cannot be made...

New Mexico House votes to abolish death penalty.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ The New Mexico House has voted to abolish the state's death penalty and replace it with a sentence of life in prison without parole. The bill passed Monday on a vote of 38-31 and...

WORLD at 0200 GMT.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ HIGHLIGHTS: Update: IRAQ _ Suicide bombing kills 115,deadliest insurgent attack since end of Iraq war. Update: US-MICHAEL JACKSON _ Prosecution outlines child molestation case...

U.N. Security Council condemns Tel Aviv suicide bombing.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ The U.N. Security Council has condemned last week's suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv nightclub, hoping to send a message on the eve of a conference in London that Israel and the Palestinians...

3 Wis. Police Officers Charged in Beating.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Online) Byline: JULIET WILLIAMS Three police officers were charged Monday in the beating of a man outside a house party in what witnesses have called a racially motivated attack. The charges come more than four months...

Annan appoints former Swedish ambassador to head U.N. mission in Ivory Coast.
March 1, 2005... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JULIET WILLIAMS Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Sweden's former U.N. ambassador, Pierre Schori, as his special representative in Ivory Coast, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Monday. Annan...