Sanaa—Government forces reported more than 100 rebels killed in fighting Sunday, as battles in north Yemen intensified two days after the government urged a ceasefire.Yemen, an impoverished state of some 23 million people on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is battling al Qaeda militants and secessionist discontent in the south, as well as the rebellion in the mountainous north bordering Saudi Arabia.There has been a discovery of

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Athens—Fire burned through suburbs north of Athens early Sunday, destroying homes and forcing thousands to flee in nighttime evacuations, fire service and local officials said.Authorities announced they were evacuating the suburb of Agios Stefanos, 23 kilometers (14 miles) northeast of Athens, as flames closed in on the town center. Low-flying planes were seen pouring water on burning houses. Firefighters waged a titanic struggle on Sunday to contain a massive fire in Athens’ eastern suburbs that scorched a 30-kilometre (20-mile) swathe

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Berlin—German prosecutors are investigating about 100 professors across the country on suspicion they took bribes to help students get their doctoral degrees, authorities said late Saturday.The investigation is focused on the Institute for Scientific Consulting, based in Bergisch Gladbach, just east of Cologne, which allegedly acted as the intermediary between students and the professors, said Cologne prosecutor’s spokesman Guenther Feld

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Conakry—Guinea’s ruling junta has rejected a U.S. call for it stay out of elections in the West African state next year, adding to speculation that junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara is preparing to take part. Camara took power in the world’s biggest bauxite exporter when former President Lansana Conte died in December, pledging that he would step down and allow elections later this year. But the polls have since been delayed until 2010 and he has not ruled out standing for election then, a move which would be the latest in a string of

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Gwynne Dyer

ABDEL Basset Al-Megrahi was an intelligence agent. Since he worked for the Lib-yan government, he probably did some bad things. But he probably did not do the specific bad thing for which he was sentenced to 27 years in prison in Scotland. He only served eight years. He was released on compassionate grounds last Thurs-day by the Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, and flew home to Libya. He is dying of cancer, but his release outraged the Americans whose relatives died aboard Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988. They believe that

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Quetta

Muzaffarabad

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