France: Damage award rejected in smoker widow’s case
An appeals court denied a request Monday for damages by the widow of a
three-pack-a-day smoker, ruling that it was the state-owned tobacco
company’s job to make money for the government. The tobacco company,
Seita, “was not unaware of the correlation between smoking and the risk of
cancer, notably to the lungs,” the court said. But the court said Seita’s
status as a state-run company did not permit it to “make this information
known to the public.” “It’s extraordinary,” said Francis Caballero, lawyer
for Lucette Gourlain, whose 49-year-old husband, Richard, died of cancer.
She had sought $414,000 from Seita, the company that makes Gauloises and
Gitanes cigarettes.
Iraq: 8 civilians killed, 3 hurt in airstrike, report says
Iraq said Monday that eight civilians were killed in a weekend airstrike
by U.S. and British warplanes on southern Iraq. The Pentagon gave no word
of casualties. The official Iraqi News Agency said three others were
wounded in the strike Sunday night in the al-Salhiya area of Wasit
province, 100 miles south of Baghdad. The U.S. Central Command in Florida
said its planes attacked two or more surface-to-air missile sites Sunday
in southern Iraq in response to Iraqi threats against U.S. and British
aircraft.
Bermuda: First Atlantic hurricane expected to head to sea
After sideswiping Bermuda over the weekend, Hurricane Erin kicked up the
surf along the upper East Coast on Monday as it followed a course that was
expected to take it far out to sea. The first Atlantic hurricane of the
season swirled northward with sustained winds of 115 mph but was expected
to turn northeast, away from the United States. “Right now, it doesn’t
look like it’s going to affect land,” said Eric Blake of the National
Hurricane Center in Miami. “It may clip the far eastern tip of
Newfoundland, but it’s days away and it’s still hard to tell.”
East Timor: Assembly works on constitution
The United Nations on Monday certified the results of East Timor’s first
democratic election, and the newly chosen constituent assembly prepared to
start drafting a constitution that will set the stage for full
independence. The main independence party, Fretilin, won 55 of 88 seats,
putting it in a position to dominate the drafting, which is to be
completed within three months. A presidential vote could be set for early
next year, after which the United Nations would withdraw and leave East
Timor to rule itself, virtually for the first time in its history.
Bermuda: Hurricane Erin brings heavy rain but little else
Hurricane Erin strengthened on Sunday but veered away from Bermuda,
pelting the island with hard rain but not hurricane-force winds. The
storm’s center stayed 110 miles northeast of the British territory, and
there were no reports of flooding, wind damage or injuries. Erin’s
sustained winds reached 120 mph, up from 105 mph earlier on Sunday, making
it a Category 3 hurricane, which can cause extensive damage. Erin was not
expected to strengthen further but could still affect Canada within three
days, said Richard Pasch, a specialist with the U.S. National Hurricane
Center in Miami.
Cuba: U.S. representative meets with dissidents in Havana
A U.S. congressman visiting Havana as part of his campaign to end the U.S.
ban on most travel to Cuba met Sunday with dissidents, his spokesman said.
Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., has sponsored an amendment to a Treasury
Department spending bill that would bar the department from using funds to
enforce the travel ban. The amendment has passed the House of
Representatives, and a similar measure is planned in the Senate, but it is
unclear whether President Bush – who has said he supports existing U.S.
policy toward Cuba – would sign it. The spokesman declined to give details
of the meeting with dissidents.
Algeria: 10 killed when gunmen open fire inside mosque
Assailants wielding automatic weapons opened fire inside a mosque in
northern Algeria, killing 10 people and wounding nine others, security
forces said Sunday. The attackers were believed to be Islamic militants,
according to a statement issued by security forces. The massacre took
place during Saturday evening prayers in the city of Arzew, two miles from
the North African nation’s most important port for oil and gas exports.
Algeria’s ongoing violence is attributed largely to Islamic
fundamentalists who have waged a nine-year campaign against the
military-backed government.
Yugoslavia: Mass grave discovered at site near Belgrade
Authorities said Sunday that they have unearthed a mass grave they believe
contained the bodies of ethnic Albanians killed during a 1999 crackdown in
Kosovo province. Twenty-six bodies were exhumed Saturday near Lake
Perucac, 25 miles southwest of Belgrade. Police said they would disclose
the victims’ identities after conducting autopsies. Several mass graves
have been discovered far from Kosovo, where former President Slobodan
Milosevic’s troops are believed to have killed thousands of ethnic
Albanians.
