NAIROBI, KENYA — African Union and United Nations officials are looking into reports of a new massacre in Darfur, in which witnesses said that Sudanese government troops and their allied militias killed more than 30 civilians, slitting the throats of several men praying at a mosque and shooting a 5-year-old boy in the back as he tried to run away.
According to several residents of Muhagiriya, uniformed government troops and dozens of militiamen surrounded the town on Oct. 8 and stormed the market.
Muhagiriya was a stronghold of one of Darfur’s many rebel factions, but witnesses said that there were few rebels there at the time and that government forces turned their guns – and knives – on civilians.
The Sudanese government denied any involvement.
Additional world news briefs:
Suspect says he killed girlfriend “accidentally”
MEXICO CITY — An aspiring horror novelist told investigators he accidentally killed his girlfriend but denied eating parts of her, authorities said Tuesday, a day after forensic experts said flesh found in a frying pan in his apartment was human.
Jose Luis Calva reportedly said he squeezed the life out of Alejandra Galeana, 32, on Oct. 5 while trying to restrain her during a violent argument.He claimed he was cooking the flesh to feed to his dogs to hide the body, authorities said.
Villagers defy volcano warnings
MOUNT KELUD, INDONESIA — Hundreds of villagers defied warnings of a major eruption at one of Indonesia’s deadliest volcanoes, leaving refugee centers today and returning to homes along its slopes to tend to crops.
Mount Kelud was placed on the highest alert level late Tuesday, meaning scientists believe an eruption may be imminent.
The 5,679-foot volcano last erupted in 1990, killing dozens. In 1919, a powerful explosion destroyed a hundred villages and claimed 5,160 lives.
Pliers, glue replace dentists
LONDON — A shortage of National Health Service dentists in England has led some people to pull out their own teeth – or use super glue to stick crowns back on, a study says.
Many dentists abandoned Britain’s publicly funded health-care system after reforms backfired, leaving a growing number of Britons without access to affordable care. Forty-five percent of dentists surveyed said they no longer accept National Health Service patients.
The survey of 5,212 patients and 750 dentists in England found 6 percent of patients resorted to self-treatment, including one person who extracted 14 of his teeth with pliers. Others reported using super glue on crowns after they popped off, the study said.
Egypt backs peace conference
CAIRO — Egypt expressed unusually strong support Tuesday for the Bush administration’s efforts to hold an international conference this fall to begin negotiating peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Egypt’s leaders have criticized aspects of the effort, but after meetings with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said he believed the administration was determined to have meaningful talks.
Rice is trying to lay the foundation for an international conference to be held in Annapolis, Md.
