World briefs 9/14/05

Children found in cages were well-dressed

WAKEMAN, Ohio -- The 11 children removed from a house where authorities say some of them slept in cages are polite, well-behaved, well-dressed and appear to have been well-fed, neighbors and authorities said Tuesday. Their adoptive parents, Michael Gravelle, 56, and Sharen Gravelle, 57, denied in a custody hearing Monday that they abused or neglected the children, who have conditions that include autism and fetal alcohol syndrome. No charges had been filed as of Tuesday afternoon.

Italy to extradite bombing suspect to Britain

LONDON -- Italy's highest court on Tuesday upheld the extradition to Britain of a suspect in the failed July 21 London bombings, and Britain's top law enforcement official said evidence indicates the attackers in the July 7 bombings had international links. The official, Home Secretary Charles Clarke, also said that terror suspects are being closely monitored.

La. charges homicide in nursing home deaths

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The owners of a New Orleans-area nursing home where 34 patients died in Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters were charged with negligent homicide Tuesday. The owners of St. Rita's Nursing Home in St. Bernard Parish "were asked if they wanted to move [the patients]. They did not. They were warned repeatedly that this storm was coming. In effect, their inaction resulted in the deaths of these patients," Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti said. The owner and co-owner were jailed.

Islands empty as rains from Ophelia begin

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. -- Vulnerable islands were evacuated and mainland schools were closed Tuesday as Ophelia again strengthened to a hurricane and wobbled closer to land with a threat of flooding rain. The National Hurricane Center upgraded the storm's status Tuesday evening, saying maximum sustained winds had reached 75 mph, with higher gusts. The storm was graded a Category 1 hurricane, but the center said that further strengthening was possible. A hurricane warning extended from the South Santee River in South Carolina north to Oregon Inlet at Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, meaning hurricane conditions were expected within 24 hours.

-- From wire reports

Talks on North Korea's nuclear program resume

BEIJING -- North Korea insisted Tuesday it will not give up its right to civilian nuclear programs, raising questions about the possibility of a breakthrough as six-nation talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to abandon its atomic weapons resumed after a five-week recess. Envoys from China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas clasped hands together at a state guesthouse in Beijing before continuing the fourth round of talks since 2003. Last month, negotiators took a break after a record 13 days of meetings ended without agreement on a statement of principles on the North's disarmament. No end date has been set for this week's talks.