Rumsfeld wants to convert missiles for anti-terror role
Fairbanks, Alaska – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made his strongest public case Sunday for a plan, opposed by some in Congress and by Russia, to convert Navy long-range missiles from a nuclear to a conventional role for potential use against terrorist targets.
Opponents argue that it could create a situation in which a conventionally armed U.S. missile would be mistaken for a nuclear launch, thus risking the possibility of a retaliatory strike.
At a joint news conference after talks with Russia’s defense minister, Rumsfeld said that “everyone in the world would know” that the U.S. missile was not nuclear “after it hit within 30 minutes” of launch.
“Or 10 minutes,” interjected Russian Sergei Ivanov, appearing to emphasize the short time frame in which a decision on retaliating would be made.
NEW YORK
Firefighter killed in basement blaze
A rookie firefighter died Sunday after the floor of a burning store collapsed, plunging him and four colleagues into the basement and burying them under a mountain of debris.
One of the injured firefighters was in critical condition, while three others were in serious but stable condition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
“I ask all New Yorkers to take a moment and say a prayer for the firefighter that we lost,” said Bloomberg, who recalled meeting the killed firefighter, 25- year-old Michael Reilly, at his graduation ceremony four months ago.
Scores of firefighters were called to the Bronx blaze. The five firefighters were trapped after the ground floor gave way while they were searching for victims, Bloomberg said.
The fire was extinguished by Sunday evening. No cause had been identified, but the fire was not deemed suspicious.
MEXICO CITY
Leftist ready to create parallel government
Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sunday that if he fails to be named the country’s legitimate president, he and his supporters will create a parallel government with him as head of the civil resistance.
His comments before thousands of supporters in Mexico City’s central Zocalo square came as the Federal Electoral Tribunal announced that it would meet today to resolve Lopez Obrador’s challenge to the results of the July 2 election.
A coalition of parties led by his Party of the Democratic Revolution lost the election by less than one-half of 1 percent, according to the official count.
Legal and political analysts have said they expect the tribunal to name ruling National Action Party candidate Felipe Calderon president-elect.
Because of ballot miscounts on election day, the tribunal ordered a recount of the votes from nearly 12,000 polling places, 9 percent of the 41 million votes cast. The PRD wanted a complete recount.
ANKARA, Turkey
Blast shakes resort; at least 21 injured
A bomb blast blew apart a minibus in a Turkish tourist resort late Sunday, injuring 21 people, including 10 British tourists, the local police chief said.
The explosion was in the popular Mediterranean resort town of Marmaris.
There were two other bomb blasts at the same time in garbage cans on the main boulevard in Marmaris, an area lined with bars, clubs, cafes and restaurants, the state-owned Anatolia news agency reported. There were no reports of injuries in those blasts.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts. Kurdish guerrillas have carried out such attacks against tourist resorts in the past.
None of the injured had life- threatening injuries, Anatolia reported.
The private Dogan news agency quoted local authorities as saying that the bomb was placed under a seat in the bus.
KABUL, Afghanistan
British soldier dies battling insurgents
Insurgent attacks in southern Afghanistan killed a British soldier and wounded seven other troops Sunday, while police killed 10 suspected Taliban militants who struck a government compound, officials said.
A NATO soldier and six Afghan soldiers were wounded when mortars hit their base in Kandahar province early Sunday, a NATO statement said. It said three women were killed when mortar rounds also landed in a nearby village.
Afghanistan is experiencing its worst violence since the late- 2001 ouster of the Taliban regime for hosting al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Much of it is affecting southern provinces patrolled by NATO-led forces.
JERUSALEM
Olmert accused of illegal conduct
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert illegally named political allies to a business authority when he was minister for industry and trade, officials said Monday.
Olmert named four officials from his political party to key positions in the Small and Medium Enterprise Authority, an official from the state comptroller’s office, Zvi Vertikovsky, told Army Radio. A report on Olmert’s involvement in the matter is slated to be released today, Verti kovsky said.
It was not immediately clear what criminal charges Olmert could face, if any, Vertikovsky said.
