Kosovo’s president reveals he has cancer, vows to stay
Pristina, Serbia-Montenegro – Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova – the symbol of peaceful but dogged ethnic Albanian struggle against Serbian domination – said Monday that he had lung cancer, but he pledged to stay in office and lead talks seeking independence for his restive province.
In an address televised across the province, the former chain smoker dubbed the “Gandhi of the Balkans” said he would continue working toward his lifelong goal of Kosovo independence.
Six years ago, NATO intervened to end clashes between Kosovo Albanian rebels and Serb forces, leaving NATO and the United Nations in control.
“We will continue to work even harder for the recognition of Kosovo’s independence,” the 61-year-old Rugova said. “I am convinced that with the help of God, I will overcome this battle.”
Sitting in an armchair at his official residence, a pale Rugova, his trademark silk scarf wrapped around his neck, thanked the U.S. government for taking care of him.
Rugova returned Saturday to Kosovo after spending a week at the U.S. military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany after his health deteriorated suddenly.
Secrecy surrounded the president’s health for the past two weeks as he underwent tests and treatment. His associates offered no details on his illness.
If Rugova were to step down, it would leave Kosovo in political disarray at the most sensitive time since the war ended in 1999.
It would be difficult for another politician to replace Rugova because of his longevity and the international respect he won through his peaceful opposition to Serb dominance and repression.
MANAMA, Bahrain
U.S. sub slams into cargo ship; no injuries
A U.S. nuclear submarine collided with a Turkish cargo ship in the Persian Gulf before dawn Monday. Spokesmen for both vessels said nobody was injured and damage was minor.
The USS Philadelphia was traveling on the surface when it slammed into the Turkish- flagged bulk carrier M/V Yaso Aysen at about 2 a.m., said a statement from the 5th Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain.
Hours later, the vessels docked in Bahrain for a detailed assessment of the damage and repairs.
In July 2004, the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy collided with a dhow, a traditional Arab sailing boat, in the Gulf. Everyone on the Arab boat was killed. The Navy relieved the Kennedy’s commander after the incident.
ATLANTA
Critics plan suit over Georgia voter-ID law
Opponents of a new Georgia law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls are planning a federal court lawsuit challenging the measure, which they fear will lower voter turnout.
The bill requires voters to show photo identification at the polls. It eliminates the use at the polls of formerly accepted forms of voter identification, such as Social Security cards, birth certificates or utility bills.
The suit most likely will echo the complaints that several groups filed in objection letters sent to the Department of Justice before it approved the new law last month.
BENI SUEF, Egypt
Fire in theater leads to stampede; 29 killed
A fire that began when an actor knocked over a candle on the stage ripped through a crowded theater in the central Egyptian city of Beni Suef late Monday, sparking a stampede and killing at least 29 people, survivors and officials said.
Panicked audience members trampled each other trying to get out the one available exit door, which at one point was partially blocked by a piece of wood that fell during the blaze, survivors said.
MIAMI
Hurricane not seen as threat to Bermuda
Hurricane Maria continued to intensify Monday over warm water in the open Atlantic but remained only a threat to shipping, forecasters said.
Its top wind speeds were approaching 105 mph as the system neared cooler waters, which are expected to sap Maria of its strength later in the week.
The storm was centered about 475 miles east of Bermuda, moving north. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said a gradual turn to the northeast would keep Maria well to the east of Bermuda.
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico
Burned body is 3rd such case in 3 days
Police in this violent border city found the burned body of an unidentified man Monday, the third such discovery in as many days.
The man had been shot in the head and his body dumped in a residential area and set ablaze, said Eduardo Anaya, an investigator with Tamaulipas state, which includes Nuevo Laredo.
The man is the 12th person slain and burned since the beginning of the year in Nuevo Laredo, a city of 300,000 across from Laredo, Texas, where more than 100 people have been killed since January.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.
Telethon gets millions for MD, Katrina area
The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon raised $54.9 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and more than $1 million for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Lewis, 79, decided to devote the two-day telethon to children with muscular dystrophy and Katrina victims after seeing reports from the Gulf Coast.
The Katrina donations will go to the Salvation Army in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Tens of thousands of people are out of their homes, and many of those homes have been destroyed.
