Two Germans freed in Iraq after 99 days of captivity
Berlin – Two German engineers held captive for 99 days in Iraq were released unharmed Tuesday, German officials said.
Rene Braeunlich and Thomas Nitzschke were receiving medical and psychological care from German specialists in a safe place in Iraq, said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The two men are to return to Germany today, he said.
“I am very relieved and pleased that both hostages are free and that their families can rejoice,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a televised statement.
Braeunlich, 32, and Nitzschke, 28, were kidnapped Jan. 24 on their way to work at an Iraqi-government owned detergent plant in Beiji, 55 miles north of Baghdad. Their employer, Leipzig-based Cryotec Anlagenbau AG, has a commercial relationship with the plant.
The abduction shocked Germany, which was still recovering from the kidnapping of Susanne Osthoff – an aid worker and archaeologist who disappeared with her Iraqi driver Nov. 25. The release of Osthoff, the first German taken hostage in Iraq, was announced Dec. 18.
The foreign ministry declined to comment on how Braeunlich and Nitzschke were freed, including whether a ransom was paid.
MOSCOW
Armenian plane crashes; all 113 dead
An Armenian passenger plane crashed in stormy weather early today off Russia’s Black Sea coast as it was headed in for landing, killing all 113 people on board, emergency officials said.
The Airbus A-320, which belonged to the Armenian airline Armavia, disappeared from radar screens just under 4 miles from the shore and crashed after making a turn and heading toward the Adler airport near the southern Russian city of Sochi.
Rescue officials said everyone aboard the plane, including six children, died.
Wreckage from the plane was found near the shoreline, and salvage workers said the fuselage was found at a depth of nearly 1,500 feet.
WASHINGTON
Kazakhstan, Lithuania highlight Cheney tour
Vice President Dick Cheney looked ahead Tuesday to a three-nation, six-day trip designed to nurture democracy and advance U.S. interests in lands where political change doesn’t always come easily.
Administration officials said a speech in Lithuania on Thursday to leaders of the Baltic and Black Sea regions would be the centerpiece of the journey, which also includes an unusual high-level visit to Kazakhstan.
The final stop was Croatia, where Cheney is to meet with leaders of three members of the Adriatic Charter, an organization founded by countries seeking admission to NATO.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.
Short week for jurors in Moussaoui trial
Jurors in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui completed their sixth day of deliberations Tuesday without deciding whether the Sept. 11 conspirator should be executed or sentenced to life in prison.
The nine men and three women went home after more than 6 hours of work Tuesday, bringing their total deliberation time so far to just over 35 hours. They were to return this morning.
The jurors decided to knock off work Thursday afternoon and skip Friday so one juror can attend his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary out of state and another juror can attend his daughter’s induction into the National Junior Honor Society.
UNITED NATIONS
Fund unlikely to meet goal to reduce hunger
Poor nutrition contributes to the deaths of some 5.6 million children every year and the world has fallen far short in efforts to reduce hunger by half before 2015, the U.N. Children’s Fund said Tuesday.
The finding, announced in a UNICEF report, was the latest evidence the United Nations will not meet the Millennium Development Goals, a series of targets set out in 2000 to spur development and reduce poverty and hunger worldwide.
In its report, UNICEF said one of every four children under age 5, including 146 million children in the developing world, is underweight.
WASHINGTON
10 states sue feds over gas-mileage targets
California and nine other states sued the federal government Tuesday, trying to force the Bush administration to strengthen gas mileage requirements for sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.
The lawsuit contends the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration failed to conduct a thorough analysis of the environmental benefits of fuel economy regulations and the impact of gasoline consumption on climate change.
MEXICO CITY
Pot, cocaine, heroin to be decriminalized
Mexican President Vicente Fox will sign into law a measure that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs for personal use, his spokesman said Tuesday.
Spokesman Ruben Aguilar defended the law, which was approved Friday by Mexico’s Senate, despite criticism in the U.S.s that it could increase casual drug use.
Under the new law, consumers may possess up to 25 milligrams of heroin, five grams of marijuana (about one-fifth of an ounce), or 0.5 grams of cocaine – the equivalent of about four “lines,” or half the standard street-sale quantity.
