Mexican, Venezuelan envoys called home in fit of pique
Mexico City – Mexico and Venezuela announced Monday that they will pull their ambassadors from each other’s capitals amid a war of words, including demands that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s government apologize after he warned Mexican leader Vicente Fox: “Don’t mess with me.”
The severing of diplomatic relations came after a week of verbal sparring that highlighted Latin America’s differences over free trade and U.S. relations. The conservative Fox tends to side with Washington on many issues, while Chavez, a socialist and populist, has been one of the hemisphere’s strongest critics of President Bush.
Venezuela’s president has repeatedly accused Fox of being a “puppy” of American interests and of disrespecting him after the pair took opposing positions during this month’s Summit of the Americas.
On Sunday, Chavez used his weekly radio and TV show to warn Fox: “Don’t mess with me, sir, because you’ll get stung.”
Venezuela called its ambassador home Monday rather than apologize for the remark, and Mexico responded by recalling its own envoy to Venezuela.
In an interview, Fox said his government was mulling over its next move. “We can’t allow people to offend our country,” he said.
LOS ANGELES
FBI to pay man jailed wrongly in SUV fires
The FBI will pay $100,000 and issue a letter of regret to an environmental activist who was mistakenly jailed in arsons and vandalism at four SUV dealerships in the San Gabriel Valley in 2003, his lawyers said Monday.
Josh Connole, who spent four days behind bars before being freed, sued the FBI, contending his civil rights had been violated and his reputation destroyed.
The attacks were carried out in the name of the radical Earth Liberation Front. A graduate student was later convicted.
AUSTIN, Texas
Attorney to request December DeLay trial
An attorney for U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay said Monday that he will request an early December trial for the former House majority leader, if the case gets that far.
Attorney Dick DeGuerin said in a letter that “time is of the essence” in the case, which has temporarily forced DeLay to step down from his top House post.
Judge Pat Priest has set a Nov. 22 hearing to consider requests to drop the charges against DeLay.
DALLAS
No charges for driver in hurricane deaths
A grand jury declined Monday to indict a bus driver in connection with the deaths of 23 passengers killed in a fire that destroyed the vehicle as they fled Hurricane Rita in September.
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office had forwarded to the district attorney 23 cases of criminally negligent homicide to consider against Juan Robles Gutierrez, 37, a Mexican immigrant.
The bus caught fire from a malfunctioning back wheel. After the fire started, oxygen tanks used by some on the bus began exploding.
Robles still faces immigration charges for being in the United States illegally.
BERLIN
Top 2 political parties agree to coalition
Germany’s two biggest political parties put aside decades of fierce rivalry Monday and approved a deal to form a coalition government that neither side really wants but that both concluded was the only way to run the politically divided country.
The coalition will be led by Angela Merkel, 51, a Christian Democrat who is scheduled to be sworn in Nov. 22 as Germany’s first female chancellor.
TOKYO
7.2-magnitude quake triggers small tsunami
A strong earthquake shook northern Japan early today, triggering a small tsunami that struck coastal areas about 200 miles from the epicenter. There were no reports of damage.
The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2, was centered off the east coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu.
A 12-inch tsunami wave hit the city of Ofunato, and two 4- to 8-inch waves struck two other towns in the area, the agency said.
BATON ROUGE, La.
Official urges delayed New Orleans election
A top state official recommended Monday that elections scheduled for Feb. 4 in New Orleans be delayed because of Hurricane Katrina, which displaced thousands of residents and demolished polling places.
Elections Commissioner Angie LaPlace told a legislative committee that the mayoral primary – which would also include City Council races and referendums – should be postponed.
