Four men killed in India after shootout
CALCUTTA, India – Gunmen riding as passengers on two motorcycles attacked the American Center in Calcutta about 6:30 a.m. Monday as the building’s security guards were changing shifts, police and U.S. Embassy officials said.
The attackers pulled out rifles from under their shawls and opened fire on police guards, killing four and injuring at least 21 other people.
No one was in the building when the shootings happened, police said. Gordon Duguid, the U.S. Embassy spokesman in New Delhi, the capital, said no U.S. staff members were hurt.
Anti-American protests by communists and labor unions are often held in the center, but this is the first violent attack against an American compound in India.
Thousands celebrate King Day in Atlanta
ATLANTA – Thousands of Americans gathered across the country Monday to pay tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and his message of equality within the nation.
A crowd of about 2,000 people packed Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King once preached. Assassinated in 1968 at age 39, King would have turned 73 last Tuesday.
“America’s history is unimaginable without him,” First Lady Laura Bush said. Bush was one of many important figures who attended Monday’s service.
At the White House, President Bush announced the creation of federal scholarships encouraging young people to study education and public policy.
The King scholarships will go to “promising students all across America.”
Japan tops aid for ailing Afghanistan
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told an international donors meeting on Monday that Japan would provide $500 million in aid to Afghanistan over the next two years.
“Japan will do its utmost to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan,” Koizumi said.
The United States promised $290 million as part of the international effort to rebuild the country. The European Union has said it also plans to donate at least $175 million this year.
“Japan’s aid will focus on facilitating the resettlement of refugees, improving education and health care, the empowerment of women, and the removal of land mines,” Koizumi said.
Out of the $500 million, half will be donated during the first year.
Science project gets student in trouble
KIOWA, Colorado – Police removed an inert bomb from a high school science fair last Wednesday and school officials suspended the teacher who assigned the project to a student.
“The device could not explode, but the student had the ingredients necessary to make a live bomb and instructions on how to use it,” said Mike Knight, a district attorney’s office spokesman.
According to the Kiowa School District, the teacher was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. A school investigation will determine whether punishment for the 17-year-old student is appropriate.
Brazil experiences power blackout
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – A power outage occurred in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, leaving many people in the dark while shutting down offices and stranding thousands of people in subways for about two hours.
As the region struggled back to order, officials said that the massive outage was not connected to Latin America’s energy shortage but to a temporary problem in the system. According to industry officials, the transmission problem made the whole system unstable and caused preventive automatic shutdowns of some generators.
Trading at the stock exchange and other financial markets continued without problems as backup power generators kicked in. Rio de Janeiro’s metro stopped again in the evening from an insufficient power supply.
Controversy over U.S. treatment of detainees
In preparation to expand jail facilities and organize questioning of captives, controversial Cuba-bound flights full of al Qaeda and Taliban “detainees” were suspended Wednesday amidst harsh critisism from civil rights groups and foreign lawmakers regarding the treatment of those onboard.
Several groups have criticized the United States’ refusal to designate “detainees” prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention and questioned the treatment of the shackled captives on flights to the Guantanamo Bay Navy Base.
More than 150 “extremely dangerous” captives are being held in small, guarded outdoor cells on the base awaiting interrogations.
Officials said flights could resume as early as next week.
Second gene linkedto prostate cancer
NEW YORK – Scientists have identified a second gene that appears to make some families prone to developing prostate cancer.
The new study was done by researchers nationwide ranging from institutions like the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Md.
Further study of the gene could help shed light on the biology of prostate cancer which might give hints for developing new treatments.
“The RNASEL gene was previously known to make cells destroy themselves under some conditions,” said study co-author Robert Silverman of the Cleveland Clinic. The new work appears in the February issue of the journal “Nature Genetics.”
Volcanic eruption kills 50 in Congo
GOMA, Congo – Lava flows from a volcanic eruption ignited a gas station Monday morning, killing about 50 people.
The Congolese were at the station trying to steal gas and diesel fuel when the tanks ignited, killing 50 in the initial explosion. Residents of Goma fled to neighboring Rwanda after Thursday’s eruption, which sent three lava flows that destroyed 40 percent of the town.
“I want to return home because my house is still there and I have heard that the lava has stopped,” said Augustin Mirenge, a Goma school teacher. “The weather is so cold, we can’t go to (the camp) … it’s in a forest, so the conditions are harsh and there are many mosquitos.”
The Nyiragongo volcano in Goma last erupted in January 1977.
Cyber cafes threaten G.G. community
GARDEN GROVE – The City Council in Garden Grove has decided to regulate cyber cafe businesses by imposing a moratorium that went in effect starting Tuesday.
The ordinance will reduce hours, require surveillance cameras and restrict the number of computers to reduce overcrowding. The crackdown stems from a series of crimes, mostly in parking areas surrounding the cafes.
The most serious case was on Dec. 30, when a 20-year-old man was stabbed to death while standing outside the PC Cafe on Garden Grove Boulevard. A 21-year-old suspected gang member has been charged with murder in that death.
Under the proposed rules, cyber cafes would be required to close at midnight.
January 24, 2002