World briefs 10/3/04

Commerce returning to Haiti; violence continues

GONAIVES, Haiti --On the streets, vendors sold sacks of flour and avocados Saturday as commerce slowly returns to this flood-ravaged city -- with sharply higher prices that are putting a pinch on the desperately poor and hungry. Catastrophic floods from Tropical Storm Jeanne took a staggering human toll, killing more than 1,550. Meanwhile in Port-au-Prince, Haitians demanding the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide hurled stones and fired shots in the air Saturday as the death toll rose to 14. Five men were killed Friday at the home of an anti-Aristide community leader in Village de Dieu, residents said Saturday.

Shiites riot in Pakistan city after funeral

SIALKOT, Pakistan -- Thousands of minority Shiite Muslims rampaged through this eastern Pakistan city for the second straight day Saturday, burning a police station and the mayor's office after a mass funeral for 31 people killed by a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque. Investigators questioned survivors of Friday's blast and sifted through the carnage at the mosque for clues, but said it's not yet clear whether al-Qaida was involved. Hundreds of army troops and police commandos patrolled the streets, but initially struggled to contain rioting by youths that broke out after a mass funeral for victims of the bombing.

Hamas gunmen vow more attacks on Israel

JEBALIYA REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip -- Israeli troops hit hard at Palestinian militants Saturday, killing at least 11 on the third day of a massive Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip's largest refugee camp, as masked Hamas gunmen vowed more rocket attacks on Israeli towns. Soldiers have taken over a chunk of northern Gaza to counter militants firing homemade rockets into Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Saturday that the army's mission was to stop the rocket fire "completely." At least 50 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed during the offensive, launched after a Hamas rocket killed two Israeli preschoolers in a town near Gaza on Wednesday.

-- From wire reports

Nigerian president launches massive polio vaccination campaign

KANO, Nigeria -- Nigeria's president kicked off a mammoth effort to immunize 80 million children against polio in 23 African countries, described by international health experts as "the single-largest public health campaign" in history to wipe out the disease. President Olusegun Obasanjo led health workers in giving dozens of children oral vaccine drops in the mainly Muslim northern city of Kano, where until recently Islamic leaders had opposed immunization, inadvertently allowing the virus to spread in the region. The campaign is being coordinated by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which includes U.N. health agencies, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Rotary International.

-- From wire reports