World briefs 3/1/05

First group of Saddam henchmen referred to trial

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Five former members of Saddam Hussein's regime will go on trial for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in retaliation for a failed attempt to kill the former dictator, a special tribunal said Monday. This is the first time the special court has issued referrals, similar to indictments, which are the final step before trials can start. The five include Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti, one of Saddam's half brothers, and former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan. The three others were senior Baath Party members.

Haitian police shoot two pro-Aristide protesters

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Police on Monday fired at peaceful protesters marking the one-year anniversary of the ouster of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and at least two people were killed and nearly a dozen were wounded. About 2,000 protesters waving Aristide pictures and chugging rum started marching toward the National Palace when they encountered a police vehicle blocking the road in Bel Air neighborhood, an Aristide stronghold. As crowds passed the vehicle, police fired tear gas, then bullets. With weapons drawn, U.N. peacekeepers surrounded the area. Residents carried off the body of one man who appeared to be shot in the chest, and police removed the second about an hour later, after firing shots in the air.

Rice: Tel Aviv bombing need not end peace plan

LONDON -- The new Palestinian government faces a challenge to its authority from terrorists, but the deadly bombing in Tel Aviv need not dim the best hope in years for a Middle East peace deal, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday. "There are going to be ups and downs in this process; it's not going to be a straight line," Rice said en route to a meeting in London with newly elected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. All sides have held their breath since Friday's suicide bombing outside a karaoke club in Tel Aviv, waiting to see if Israel pulled away from the peace process or if Abbas was powerless to stop further attacks.

Vatican says pope is recovering well

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II has started therapy to improve his breathing and speaking, and he is eating regularly and spending some time in an armchair, the Vatican said Monday. The Holy See gave no hint of when the 84-year-old pope would leave Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic, an indication that doctors see the need for an extended stay. "The Holy Father's postoperative phase is taking place without complications. His general condition and biological parameters continue to be good," the Vatican communique said. "The Holy Father is eating regularly, spends some hours in an armchair and has begun exercises to rehabilitate breathing and phonation." The Vatican said it would not issue another update until Thursday.

Vietnam alarmed about bird flu in northern area

HANOI, Vietnam -- A 14-year-old girl in Vietnam has become the third person in a week to contract deadly bird flu in the same northern province, health officials said Monday, prompting concerns over a larger outbreak. The bird flu has killed 46 people in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia since it surfaced in mass outbreaks on Asian poultry farms in 2003, then spread rapidly last year among poultry across a wide swath of the region, devastating the industry. Since bird flu re-emerged in Vietnam nine weeks ago, 14 people have died.