|
Church looks for sex abuse policy to be approved
(AP)
The president of the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops’ conference
said Wednesday that molestation scandals involving priests will
end only when church leaders take definitive steps to restore parishioners’
trust.
Bishop
Wilton Gregory gave few specifics, but left the door open to asking
the Vatican to approve a binding sex abuse policy for American clergy.
The
conference serves as the church’s national voice on social
and religious issues, implementing policies set in Rome. As president,
Gregory can influence — but cannot decide — what actions
the bishops take.
About
10 years ago, the conference proposed guidelines for handling sex
abuse cases involving clergy, but bishops have been free to set
their own policies.
If
the bishops wanted to take stronger action, such as imposing rules
for handling sex abuse cases that would be binding in all U.S. dioceses,
they would need the Vatican’s approval.
Longest-serving
political prisoner released in China
ZHENGZHOU,
China (AP) — China has released its longest-serving political
prisoner, a 76-year-old former elementary school teacher imprisoned
since 1983 for campaigning against Chinese rule in Tibet, human
rights activists announced Wednesday.
Tanak
Jigme Sangpo, a Tibetan, was released Sunday afternoon from Drapchi
Prison in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, said John Kamm, president
of the San Francisco-based Duihua Foundation. Chinese officials
said he was released on medical parole, Kamm said.
Jigme
Sangpo was arrested in September 1983 and sentenced to 15 years
in prison on charges of “counterrevolutionary incitement and
propaganda” for campaigning against Chinese rule in Tibet,
according to Kamm. His sentence was extended twice after that and
had been due to expire on Sept. 3, 2011, when he would be in his
mid-80s. Prison authorities exempted him from physical labor several
years ago because of his age, Kamm said.
Kamm
said the release was likely made “in order to improve relations
with the United States.”
Beijing
has made a practice in the past year of releasing prisoners when
it wants to curry favor with Washington over human rights —
the most persistent sticking point in China-U.S. relations.
Search
called off for bodies, helicopter after crash
ZAMBOANGA,
Philippines (AP) — The U.S. military called off search-and-recovery
operations Wednesday for a crashed Army helicopter with the bodies
of two American soldiers still missing.
A U.S.
military salvage team returned to a central Philippine military
base with the remains of five Americans and chunks of wreckage from
the MH-47E Chinook helicopter that crashed at sea off the Philippines
on Feb. 22.
After exhaustive efforts, officials “made the decision that
they have done all they could,” said Air Force Maj. Richard
Sater.
Ten
Americans were aboard the helicopter. The remains of three were
recovered shortly after the accident. Maj. Cynthia Teramae, spokeswoman
for American forces involved in a counterterrorism exercise in the
Philippines, said the two other servicemen “were lost at sea.”
The
helicopter’s flight recorder, which officials hope will help
determine the cause of the crash, was found last week.
Queen
Mother praised for uniting Britain, inspiration
LONDON
(AP) — Prime Minister Tony Blair praised the Queen Mother as
a figure who had united Britain and inspired widespread devotion
as Parliament held a special session Wednesday to honor the royal
matriarch.
Lawmakers,
most dressed in black or dark suits, bowed their heads and held
a minute’s silence at the opening of the House of Commons as
a mark of respect to the Queen Mother, who died Saturday at the
age of 101. Parliament returned early from its Easter break to hold
the special session.
Blair
said the Queen Mother had given unstinting and devoted service to
the country and British Commonwealth and “was a unifying figure
for Britain, inspiring love and affection in all she met.”
Torture
not being used on al Qaeda official, U.S. says
WASHINGTON
(AP) — Calling news reports “wrong and irresponsible,”
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld denied Wednesday that officials
are considering torture as a way to get information out of captured
al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah.
“Reports
to that effect are wrong, inaccurate, not happening and will not
happen,” he said. “He will be properly interrogated by
proper people who know how to do those things.”
Rumsfeld
was responding to reports that Abu Zubaydah, captured Thursday in
Pakistan, might be sent to a third country that uses more harsh
interrogation techniques than allowed in the United States.
He
declined to say where Abu Zubaydah is being held or who is questioning
him, but implied he was in the custody of some other U.S. agency
— such as the CIA or FBI.
Believed
to be the most important al Qaeda figure captured in the anti-terror
war, Abu Zubaydah is one of Osama bin Laden’s senior operational
planners and a recruiter and was said to be planning new terrorist
attacks.
Mideast
tension, economy blamed for rising gas prices
WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Bush’s spokesman blamed climbing U.S.
pump prices on Mideast tension, the recovering economy and seasonal
factors, but expressed no concern about a possible Iraqi-led oil
embargo against the United States.
Gasoline
prices have jumped 23 cents a gallon over the last month, and U.S.
crude prices have jumped by 36 percent since the beginning of February.
Motorists are likely to see higher prices at the pump as the peak
summer driving season approaches, energy analysts said Wednesday.
White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush “has noted” the
rising gasoline prices, and said escalating violence in Israel is
partly responsible. The fact that the economy is in the early stages
of a recovery is also to blame, Fleischer said, because it can drive
up demand, which can drive up prices.
And
he said this year’s increase follows similar spring spikes
in the last several years.
Fleischer
used the rising prices to renew his call for the Senate to pass
Bush’s energy plan, which stalled after House passage last
year. Bush’s proposal would expand domestic petroleum sources,
a step the White House says would decrease the nation’s reliance
on imported oil.
He
all but dismissed the threat of an oil embargo.
Insurance
policy for Golden Gate Bridge doubles in cost
SAN
FRANCISCO (AP) — Insurance coverage for the Golden Gate Bridge
will more than double in cost after threats in the wake of Sept.
11, and terrorist attacks won’t be covered anymore.
Chris
Ewers, the bridge’s insurance broker, said many insurance companies
were interested in taking on the policy, which expires Monday, but
only if acts of terrorism were specifically exempt from coverage.
The
bridge’s board of directors voted last month to keep its present
insurer, ACE USA, but to bow to demands for higher fees and reduced
coverage.
The
bridge district now pays about $500,000 a year for $125 million
in coverage, including terrorist attacks. As of next week, premiums
will be $1.1 million for $25 million in physical damage to the span
and $25 million in loss of toll revenue.
The
new one-year policy includes no coverage in the event of an attack.
|
