Israeli missile kills three militants in northern Gaza
Gaza City, Gaza Strip – An Israeli helicopter fired a missile at Palestinian militants during a cross-border clash in northern Gaza early today, killing three and wounding four, Palestinian officials said.
The incident started with a gun battle across the border, and the helicopter responded by firing a missile, the officials said.
Islamic Jihad said the militants involved were its members.
The Israeli military said soldiers spotted Palestinian militants about to launch rockets at Israel, so they opened fire and called in aircraft, sparking an hour-long battle.
The area where the clash occurred is a frequent flashpoint because of infiltrations by Palestinian militants trying to carry out attacks and unarmed Palestinians seeking work in Israel.
Tensions have been running high since Friday, when an Islamic Jihad commander was killed in an explosion in south Lebanon. The militant group blamed Israel and threatened revenge, though Israel denied involvement.
MILWAUKEE
2 killed, 3 wounded in shooting at park
A man opened fire at a group of people Monday evening at a park packed with Memorial Day picnickers, killing two in the group and wounding three, police said.
Police were looking for the man, who argued with the victims at the park about 7:30 p.m., fired shots and fled in a vehicle, said police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz.
Witnesses said they heard at least 10 shots, prompting the hundreds of people in South Shore Park on the Lake Michigan shore to scatter, screaming.
The shooting happened next to a playground, Schwartz said.
“It was a very chaotic scene, a lot of people running around when we came,” she said.
A 31-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were killed, she said.
Two people – a 23-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man – were in serious condition, and a 21-year-old man was treated and released.
TITUSVILLE, Fla.
Wind-driven wildfire closes parts of I-95
Winds fanned a 1,000-acre brush fire Monday, forcing authorities to again close parts of Interstate 95.
A 5-mile section of southbound I-95 in Brevard County was closed about 4:30 p.m., said Kim Miller, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper. Memorial Day traffic was moving fairly well, despite a 12-mile detour.
The highway had been closed overnight Sunday and reopened early Monday, but the fire got worse, Miller said.
“It’s just kicking up,” she said.
The fire started Sunday afternoon, probably caused by lightning, said Dennis Neterer, Brevard Fire Rescue assistant chief. No damage or injuries were reported.
DILI, East Timor
More mob violence as leaders hold talks
More fighting and looting erupted in East Timor’s capital today as its leaders held urgent meetings to find a way out of the worst crisis in the young nation’s seven-year history.
A mob armed with machetes looted the attorney general’s office, and Australian peacekeepers struggled to keep order as thousands of desperate people crowded around a warehouse in Dili to receive free rice.
Tens of thousands of residents have fled their homes to escape the violence in the smoldering capital.
“We need more food. The situation is terrible,” said Daniel Afonso, who fled his destroyed home with his parents and four children and is staying at a church refugee center.
“It is dangerous to go out looking for food, and the shops are closed,” he said.
NAIROBI, Kenya
Banned pesticide may join anti-malaria fight
DDT is making a comeback in Africa.
Concerns over environmental damage led to a ban on the pesticide in the U.S. in 1972 and subsequently in many parts of the world, including several African nations.
But now, some leaders in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania say the ability of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane to kill mosquitoes is their last hope to stem the continent’s No. 1 killer: malaria.
Although AIDS receives far more international attention, malaria kills 1 million Africans annually, and the toll is rising. One African child dies every 30 seconds from malaria, three times Africa’s toll from AIDS.
“DDT is the answer to our problems,” said Dr. John Rwakimari, head of the national malaria program in Uganda.
TORONTO
Some residents linked to al-Qaeda training
Canada’s spy agency said Monday that some Canadian citizens or residents received terror training in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, providing official reinforcement to what security analysts have warned for years.
The deputy director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Jack Hooper, told a Senate committee studying Canada’s role in Afghanistan that there are people living in Canada who fought with al-Qaeda during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
The Senate hearings come as Canadians and some lawmakers voice growing concern over the deaths of Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan as part of a NATO force. Parliament voted this month to extend Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until 2009.
Canada has about 2,000 soldiers based in Afghanistan, most of them in Kandahar.
