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Boston
Archdiocese turns over more documents
BOSTON
(AP) — The Boston Archdiocese turned over additional documents
to lawyers Thursday showing that church officials knew a priest
had publicly advocated sex between men and boys.
Church
officials discovered the papers last week during a review of another
priest’s records, said the Rev. Christopher Coyne, an archdiocese
spokesman.
They
were given to lawyers for Gregory Ford and his parents, who are
suing Cardinal Bernard Law and the archdiocese for allegedly failing
to protect Ford from abuse by the Rev. Paul Shanley.
The
lawyers were reviewing the papers, which were not expected to be
made public Thursday. The documents should have been turned over
earlier under an April 3 court order.
The
archdiocese had previously released about 800 pages of church records.
Those
documents showed church officials had been told of allegations of
abuse against Shanley as early as 1967; they would eventually receive
a total of 26 abuse complaints. Shanley was never charged in any
of those cases.
Ashcroft
calls to abolish immigration service
WASHINGTON
(AP) — Attorney General John Ashcroft called on the House Thursday
to abolish the Immigration and Naturalization Service, but said
the White House would likely work with the Democratic-controlled
Senate to get a plan more to its liking.
“This
is not the end of the journey,” the attorney general said as
debate began in the GOP-controlled House. “This is an important
first step essential to the journey’s end, but not sufficient
to get us there.”
Ashcroft
and the White House endorsed an INS breakup bill by the House Judiciary
Committee chairman, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, just before the debate
began on the House floor. The Wisconsin Republican predicted passage
by a huge bipartisan vote.
The
overhaul would scrap the INS and create one agency to enforce laws
and keep out unqualified people and another to smooth the way to
possible citizenship for legal immigrants. The new agencies would
stay under Ashcroft’s control at the Justice Department.
“We
are committed to ending the INS as we know it,” Ashcroft said.
Tribal
regions of Pakistan under search for al Qaeda
WASHINGTON
(AP) — U.S. government personnel are searching for al Qaeda
fighters in the rough tribal regions of Pakistan, which has agreed
to let American troops go after militants in the South Asian country,
four well-placed U.S. officials said Thursday.
The
covert operation will extend the U.S. conflict against Osama bin
Laden’s terror operation in Afghanistan across the border to
Pakistan as President Pervez Musharraf validates his support for
the Bush administration.
“We
have a shared concern with the Pakistanis,” one of the officials
told The Associated Press. But asked about reports the military
operation has begun, the official said, “I can’t say we’ve
gotten to that point yet.”
The
tribal areas, just over the border from al Qaeda’s Afghan strongholds
in Paktia and Paktika provinces, are historical rally points for
fighters fleeing Afghanistan, former officials familiar with the
region said.
U.S.
officials have said al Qaeda and Taliban fighters are believed to
be regrouping in the tribal areas.
Argentina’s
Senate approves key economic bill
BUENOS
AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s Senate handed President
Eduardo Duhalde a much-needed boost, giving its approval to a key
economic bill aimed at propping up the country’s tottering
financial system.
The
Senate approved the bill, which tightens a four-month-old banking
freeze, late Wednesday. It will now pass to the lower house, where
it was expected to become law Thursday.
The
legislation would prevent depositors who win lawsuits against the
banking freeze from collecting their money until the government
has had the chance to appeal.
Banks
in Argentina have been closed since Monday, leaving many Argentines
scrambling for ways to get their hands on cash. The freeze is meant
to keep depositors from yanking out their savings and causing a
financial meltdown.
The
Senate’s thumbs-up to the bill is a rare piece of good news
for Duhalde, who is facing the worst crisis of his four-month-old
administration after Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov handed
in his resignation Tuesday.
Second
space tourist orbits on Russian rocket
BAIKONUR,
Kazakhstan (AP) — The world’s second space tourist soared
into orbit Thursday on a Russian rocket, overcoming last-minute
jitters as he embarked on a $20 million ride to the International
Space Station.
Mark
Shuttleworth’s native South Africa watched the blastoff live
and cheered the first African to reach the cosmos. His family collapsed
in an embrace of exuberant tears on the Central Asian launchpad
where the Soviet Union inaugurated the space race.
In
a blast of heat and orange fire, the Soyuz TM-34 rocket took off
from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur launchpad, carrying Shuttleworth,
a 28-year-old Internet magnate, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko
and Italian Air Force pilot Roberto Vittori on a 10-day mission.
Rousing
applause rose from the launchpad and mission control outside Moscow
when officials announced the rocket had reached orbit about eight
minutes later. The 161-foot Soyuz is expected to dock with the international
station on Saturday morning.
European
Union Parliament asks for humane treatment
BRUSSELS,
Belgium (AP) — The European Union Parliament urged the United
States on Thursday to adhere to international laws in its treatment
of Taliban and al Qaeda suspects detained at the U.S. naval base
of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
The
European Parliament voted 439 to 10, with 59 abstentions to pass
its annual world human rights report, which highlighted the threats
to individual rights in the war against terrorism.
While
condemning all forms of terrorism, the EU assembly said in a statement
“terrorism must not in itself lead to breaches of human rights.”
“The
fight against terrorism can in turn lead to human rights violations,
be used as a pretext for governments to violate human rights, silence
critics or eliminate opposition,” the parliament said.
It
criticized a decision by President Bush to set up military-run courts
behind closed doors to try the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, who
now number 300. The legislature said such a move was “in contravention
of provisions for a fair trial as guaranteed by the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the U.S. is a party.”
Russia
plays down absence of arms control negotiator
MOSCOW
(AP) — Russia’s foreign minister on Thursday played down
the abrupt departure of a top U.S. arms control negotiator from
negotiations in Moscow and said complex talks were still under way.
Undersecretary
of State John Bolton left Russia on Wednesday morning after one
day of talks instead of the scheduled two. The U.S. Embassy said
it had no information about why he left when he did, though Russian
news reports said he would return this weekend for more discussions.
Bolton’s
Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov, said
after the departure that doubts remained about whether the sides
can agree on nuclear arms cuts before a presidential summit next
month.
Mamedov
met Thursday with Undersecretary of State Elizabeth Jones to discuss
a draft statement on the two countries’ strategic relationship,
which the presidents are due to sign in May, the Foreign Ministry
said.
Bush
and Putin are to hold a summit in late May in Moscow and St. Petersburg
and the sides have hoped an agreement could be signed then. Talks
have snagged on Moscow’s objection to the Pentagon’s decision
to stockpile decommissioned nuclear weapons rather than destroy
them.
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