World briefs 1/31/05

African leaders meet to combat fighting, poverty

ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo implored dozens of fellow African leaders Sunday to work together to overcome the poverty, disease and conflict afflicting the world's poorest continent. War took center stage at the opening of the African Union's two-day conference, where leaders planned to discuss ways they could help end fighting in Ivory Coast, Congo and Sudan's western Darfur region. "Let us show to the world that we can really tackle and solve African issues," said Obasanjo, who holds the group's rotating leadership.

Indonesia finds 5,000 more tsunami victims

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia -- Workers buried more tsunami victims in Aceh province Sunday as a premature end to cease-fire talks between the Indonesian government and separatist rebels dampened hopes for a quick resolution to a 30-year-old conflict in the devastated province. Five weeks after the tsunami disaster, the government said nearly 5,000 dead were found over the past week in Aceh, increasing the death toll to between 150,000 and 178,000 across 11 nations. Some 26,500 to 142,000 are missing, most of whom are presumed dead.

Afghans search for ammo from 1980s battles

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Authorities are launching a new push to collect U.S.-made Stinger missiles distributed to Afghans fighting Soviet troops in the 1980s in an effort to keep the weapons from terrorists and governments -- including Iran, an Afghan official said Sunday. The Afghan intelligence service is offering to buy the anti-aircraft missiles for an undisclosed sum, taking up a CIA program to recover weapons given to Islamic fundamentalists who battled the Soviets alongside Osama bin Laden in the 1980s.

British plane crashes in Iraq, killing 10

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A British C-130 military transport plane crashed Sunday north of Baghdad, scattering wreckage over a large area, officials said. At least 10 troops were killed, Britain's Press Association new agency said. The crash occurred at around 5:25 p.m. about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense. There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash, which occurred about a halfhour after polls closed in Iraq's elections.

Kuwati security, suspected terrorists clash; 3 dead

KUWAIT CITY -- Security forces stormed an apartment building and exchanged gunfire with suspected terrorists Sunday in a battle that killed three people, including a man identified as an extremist high on the Kuwaiti government's most-wanted list. A security officer and an uninvolved resident of the building also died in the fierce, hourlong battle, and four policemen were wounded and two suspects were arrested, the Interior Ministry said.