| Global update |
Today Thursday Friday
High: 62 High: 53 High: 51
Low: 40 Low: 40 Low: 20
Precip: 80% Precip: 90% Precip: 90%
Bells will tell world
there's a new pope
VATICAN CITY — Responding to
Pope John Paul IPs request, the Vati
can will depart from centuries-old
tradition by ringing bells in addition
to sending up white smoke to signal
the election of his successor.
Before he died Saturday at age 84,
John Paul also made his wish known
“to be buried in the ground” and not
placed in an above-ground tomb,
Archbishop Piero Marini said Tues
day. He will be buried in the tomb left
vacant after the remains of Pope John
XXIII were exhumed from the
cramped grotto under St. Peter’s
Basilica in 2001 and moved to the
main floor following his beatification.
John Paul will be laid to rest with
a white silk veil on his face, a rosary
in his hands and his body clad in
liturgical vestments and the white
miter. Following the centuries-old
custom for burying popes, his body
will be placed inside three coffins —
wood, zinc and wood — a design
meant to slow decomposition, the
Vatican confirmed.
Iraq prepares to name
its new president
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Ousted dictator
Saddam Hussein will watch from his
Baghdad jail cell as Iraq’s newly
elected parliament chooses a new
president today, the next step in
building Iraq’s first democratically
elected government in 50 years, Iraqi
officials said.
Lawmakers put the finishing
touches Tuesday on an agreement
making Kurdish leader Jalal
Talabani president and Shiite Adel
Abdul-Mahdi and interim President
Ghazi al-Yawer, a Sunni Arab, his
two vice presidents.
On Thursday, the 275 lawmakers
elected Jan. 30 likely will name Shi
ite leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari prime
minister, clearing the way for law
makers to begin focusing their atten
tion on writing a permanent constitu
tion by their Aug. 15 deadline.
The new, interim government
will lay the foundation for future
elections and a permanent govern
ment, both of which are key to an
eventual U.S. withdrawal.
Kyrgyz parliament fails to
accept Akayev's resignation
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Parlia
ment adjourned Tuesday without
considering the resignation of ousted
President Askar Akayev because not
enough lawmakers showed up, pro
longing the ex-Soviet republic’s two
week-old political crisis.
Parliament fell two lawmakers
short of the 50-person quorum, leav
ing Akayev still technically in power
and adding to the confusion that has
gripped this central Asian country
since protesters stormed the presi
dent’s office March 24, forcing
Akayev to flee to Russia.
Some of those who had helped ne
gotiate Akayev’s resignation were
among the legislators absent Tuesday.
Some observers attributed the no
shows to a lack of discipline rather
than political motives.
“We have not had quorum in a few
days,” lawmaker Soronbai Jeyen
bekov complained.
But Kyrgyzstan’s KOORT television
hinted at behind-the-scenes intrigues.
The station, in which Akayev’s
family owns shares, questioned the
delay and the uncertainty over when
the country will hear the 18-minute
farewell address recorded by Akayev
in Moscow.
The taped address, which was
given to the parliamentary delega
tion, was supposed to be played to
parliament first, then broadcast on
state television.
Omurbek Tekebayev, the parlia
ment speaker who led the delega
tion to Moscow, acknowledged the
delay meant Akayev held onto pow
er — albeit in exile — for another
day, but said the matter would be
handled Wednesday.
Saudi forces kill 14 in
biggest battle yet
RASS, Saudi Arabia — Security
forces stormed a walled compound
Tliesday where Islamic militants had
been barricaded for days, ending the
kingdom’s largest gun battle yet and
killing 14 armed extremists, includ
ing top leaders in the Saudi branch
of al-Qaida.
At least six others were captured
during three days of heavy firefights in
the desert town of Rass, state-run tele
vision said, reporting the death toll and
citing security officials after the battle
was over. Fourteen members of the se
curity forces were wounded.
“There was no chance for anyone
to escape. We got them all,” Interior
Minister spokesman Brig. Gen. Man
sour al-Tlirki said.
The standoff ended when security
forces stormed the partially built villa
compound Thesday night, but he
would not confirm the number of
people killed and captured.
The size and ferocity of the battle
in Rass, 220 miles northwest of
Riyadh, suggested the security forces
had uncovered a major cell of the al
Qaida-linked militant networks that
the kingdom has battled in a crack
down launched in 2003 following a
string of deadly suicide bombings.
For nearly 48 hours, up to 10 gun
men who survived initial fighting
Sunday were holed up in the villa
compound with a large arsenal of
weapons. Surrounded by hundreds
of Saudi special forces, they fired
heavy volleys of automatic weapons
fire and grenades.
— The Associated Press
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