Egyptian police try to quell rioting Christians, Muslims
Alexandria, Egypt – Police fired live ammunition into the air and lobbed tear gas into rioting crowds of Christians and Muslims on Sunday in a third day of sectarian violence in Egypt’s second-largest city.
One Muslim reportedly died of wounds suffered a day earlier, and dozens more people were wounded and arrested.
Police fought back against Coptic Christians, who were encircled by a security cordon around the Saints Church in downtown Alexandria after hurling stones and bottles from inside the police line. Fellow demonstrators tossed Molotov cocktails from the balconies of nearby buildings.
The violence apparently was prompted by knife attacks that wounded as many as 16 people at three churches in Alexandria on Friday. Although it was Good Friday for many of the world’s Christians, the Copts and other Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Easter next week.
Police said Alexandria Gov. Mohammad Abdel Salam Mahgoub and local politicians were trying to calm the situation with the help of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood.
Coptic Christians are 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 73 million and generally live in peace with the Muslim majority, though occasional sectarian clashes occur.
WASHINGTON
Side air bags worth the cost, study shows
For motorists seeking greater protection in crashes, test results released Sunday by the insurance industry show the benefits of paying for optional side air bags.
Versions of the 2006 Toyota Prius and six minivans made by DaimlerChrysler AG and General Motors Corp. that were evaluated without side air bags got poor marks in side-impact tests.
When tested with the optional air bags, the same vehicles all showed improvements, and the Prius earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s top score in side protection. The options cost about $600.
HOUSTON
Fast work on cop cars lucrative in Houston
Prosecutors are investigating a police program that has paid more than $300,000 in bonuses to supervisors of department mechanics since 2004.
Mechanics who repair police vehicles earn bonuses if they complete their work faster than industry standards. Supervisors also get bonuses depending on how well their mechanics perform.
One shop manager got $47,000 in extra pay – the most among at least 12 fleet supervisors. Another got $32,000, and four others received more than $30,000 each, records show.
COMSTOCK PARK, Mich.
Scramble for cash leaves 2 kids injured
Two children were injured in a scramble to grab cash being dropped from a helicopter as part of a promotion after a minor-league baseball game.
About $1,000 in cash was dropped Saturday from the helicopter over Fifth Third Ballpark’s outfield as children lined the outfield fence.
After the cash was dropped, the children scrambled. A 7- year-old boy was trampled and taken to a hospital, while a 7- year-old girl got a bloody lip after being pushed onto the ground. The boy suffered bruises to his chest and back, said his grandmother.
ISTANBUL, Turkey
30 hurt in explosion near outdoor cafe
An explosion near a sidewalk cafe in an Istanbul suburb injured about 30 people Sunday, most by shattered glass sent flying by the blast, police said.
Police said they suspected the blast was caused by a percussion grenade, a type of explosive that usually makes a loud noise but causes limited damage.
Two of the wounded were seriously injured and hospitalized.
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro
Romania tries to keep flooding river at bay
Emergency crews and volunteers struggled to keep embankments and sand barriers from giving way Sunday amid record flooding along the Danube River.
The Romanian government ordered controlled flooding of thousands of acres of farmland to keep water out of populated areas. Hundreds of residents were evacuated in southern Romania after a dam collapse threatened more than 130 homes.
An emergency tent camp for 1,200 people was being set up just outside the city of Vidin, in northwestern Bulgaria, and authorities in Romania evacuated 600 people from several Danube communities.
MANILA, Philippines
All on death row spared in Philippines
The president of the Philippines said in an Easter announcement that she would commute the death sentences of some 1,200 convicts, including about a dozen al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said the death sentence would be commuted to life in prison for everyone on death row. Her justice minister said the government would commute all future death sentences as well.
