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NewsJanuary 4, 2004

Nigeria routs armed Islamic sect; eight killed LAGOS, Nigeria -- Nigeria declared Saturday it had put down an armed uprising by an Islamic movement seeking to create a Muslim state in Africa's most populous nation, after running battles that killed at least eight people. ...

Nigeria routs armed Islamic sect; eight killed

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Nigeria declared Saturday it had put down an armed uprising by an Islamic movement seeking to create a Muslim state in Africa's most populous nation, after running battles that killed at least eight people. Two police officers and at least six of the militants died in five days of clashes in three towns in predominantly Islamic Yobe state, including the capital, Damaturu, said Ibrahim Jirigi, a state government spokesman. The uprising was by a largely university-based Nigerian student group preaching Islamic revolution.

Israeli soldiers kill four Palestinians in clashes

NABLUS, West Bank -- Israeli soldiers patrolling the West Bank city of Nablus shot and killed three Palestinians during fighting Saturday that spilled over into the funeral procession later in the day, when troops killed a fourth Palestinian. The killings threatened to undermine a renewed Egyptian initiative to negotiate a cease-fire after 39 months of Mideast violence. The Israeli military said troops opened fire after being attacked. Palestinian witnesses said Israelis killed an attacker and two bystanders. Hours later, Israeli soldiers shot at Palestinians during the funeral procession for the three dead, killing one. The army said troops shot two armed men who walked in their direction during the gathering. Witnesses claimed the shooting was unprovoked.

Afghanistan's talks stall again over one word

KABUL, Afghanistan -- After a three-week roller-coaster ride marked by shouting matches, backdoor bargaining and boycotts, Afghanistan's constitutional council broke down again Saturday -- this time over a single word. Leaders called the last-minute hitch shameful, and vowed that today will be the final day for talks on the constitution. The missing word, delegates said, was "official" -- the status that speakers of Uzbek and Turkic languages want for their native tongues. The dispute has highlighted Afghanistan's enduring ethnic divisions.

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U.N., U.S. want to police Libya's nuke dismantling

VIENNA, Austria -- The United States believes it would be well within its rights to lead the effort to scrap Libya's atomic weapons program, but it wants the debate taken out of the public arena, diplomats said. The diplomats said Secretary of State Colin Powell has spoken with chief U.N. nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei about resolving differences with Washington. At issue is whether the International Atomic Energy Agency or Washington should police the destruction of Libya's nuclear arms program, which Tripoli disclosed publicly last month. ElBaradei told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the IAEA intends to "do it alone" in destroying Libya's atomic programs.

Parmalat probe turns to New York lawyer's office

PARMA, Italy -- U.S. authorities searched the New York offices of an attorney for Parmalat as Italian prosecutors pressed their investigation of the international food giant, an official said Saturday. Authorities have detained the lawyer, Gianpaolo Zini, in Milan in connection with the collapse of the company. The daily newspaper Il Sole-24 Ore reported that police, acting at the direction of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, took documents from Zini's Park Avenue law office.

Ecuador captures top Colombian rebel leader

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Ecuadorean authorities on Saturday captured one of the top seven commanders of Colombia's main rebel group, the most senior fighter taken into custody in nearly four decades of guerrilla warfare, Colombia's secret police said. Simon Trinidad, one of the seven members who make up the ruling secretariat of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was arrested at dawn in a medical clinic in Ecuador, an official with the secret police, known as the DAS, said on condition of anonymity. Trinidad, whose real name is Ricardo Ovidio Palmera Pineda, was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued to Interpol.

-- From wire reports

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