World briefs 11/11/05

Al-Qaida claims bombings; angry Jordanians rally

AMMAN, Jordan -- Hundreds of angry Jordanians rallied Thursday outside one of three U.S.-based hotels attacked by suicide bombers, shouting, "Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!" after the terrorist's group claimed responsibility for the blasts that killed at least 56 people. At least one American was killed and two were wounded, the U.S. Embassy said. Authorities also reported arresting a number of Iraqis as security forces scrambled to capture anyone behind the attacks at the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS and Days Inn hotels before they could flee the country.

Boeing breaks record for longest nonstop flight

LONDON -- A Boeing Co. jet arrived in London from Hong Kong on Thursday, breaking the record for the longest nonstop flight by a commercial jet. The 777-200LR Worldliner touched down shortly after 1 p.m. (9 a.m. CST) at London's Heathrow Airport after a journey of more than 11,664 miles. The previous record was set when a Boeing 747-400 flew 10,500 miles from London to Sydney in 1989. A representative of Guinness World Records presented Boeing's Lars Andersen with a certificate confirming it was for the longest nonstop commercial flight.

Missing American student found safe in Brazil

BRASILIA, Brazil -- A 17-year-old Oregon exchange student missing since last weekend was found safe Thursday in northeastern Brazil, Brazil's Globo TV reported. The network reported that Mykensie Martin was being taken to a police station in the coastal city of Salvador, about 690 miles northeast of Brasilia. U.S. Embassy spokesman John Wilcock said he could not immediately confirm the report. Police in Salvador could not immediately be reached for comment. Martin, a senior at Summit High School in Bend, Ore., was last seen Sunday hitchhiking toward Brasilia, Brazil's capital, which lies in the interior of Latin America's largest country.

Syrian leader lashes out at Western criticism

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria's president Thursday reiterated his country's innocence in the killing of a prominent Lebanese politician. He pledged to cooperate -- for now -- with a U.N. investigation that implicated Syrian military officers but warned such cooperation will stop "when Syria is going to harmed." President Bashar Assad also disclosed that a U.N. investigator has turned down Syria's conditions set on the investigation cooperation. "We will play their game" and cooperate, Assad said in a speech at Damascus University. But, he warned, the country will "stop when Syria is going to be harmed."

Violence drops after France toughens stance

PARIS -- Violence in France fell sharply overnight, the police chief said Thursday, one day after the government toughened its stance by imposing emergency measures and ordering deportations of foreigners involved in riots that have raged for two weeks. In the past two nights, there was a notable decline in the number of car burnings -- a barometer of the intensity of the country's worst civil unrest in nearly four decades. National Police Chief Michel Gaudin said there was a "very sharp drop" in violence overnight. "There were practically no clashes with police," he said.

Liberia may soon have first elected female president

MONROVIA, Liberia -- A former finance minister and Harvard graduate claimed victory Thursday in Liberia's presidential election, a win that, if certified, would make her the first elected female leader ever in Africa. With 90.8 percent of votes counted, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had received 59.1 percent and former international soccer star George Weah 40.9 percent, the National Elections Commission said. There was no immediate word from Weah's camp on whether he was conceding defeat in the vote -- Liberia's first since the end of a 1989-2003 civil war and subsequent formation of a transitional government.

-- From wire reports

Rice may visit Jordan

SHANNON, Ireland -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned the bombings in Jordan as the work of indiscriminate killers and said she may visit the kingdom while in the Mideast this week to show solidarity with an Arab ally in the fight against terrorism. The nearly simultaneous attack on three Western hotels that killed at least 56 people -- including partygoers at a wedding celebration -- "underscores that these terrorists will attack innocent people without remorse," Rice said Thursday as she flew to the region. Rice's trip, scheduled before Wednesday's bombings, includes a stop in Bahrain for meetings on development and democratic progress in the Middle East. She will also visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank. Rice said she will talk to Jordanian leaders about whether to take a side trip to Jordan, saying she did not want to interfere with recovery efforts. She said street protests against the bombings by angry Jordanians show the terrorists' message does not resonate.