■ United States
Christian makes threat
The US Department of State has condemned an on-air suggestion by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson that the agency ought to be blown up with a nuclear device. Robertson, who heads the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network, made the remark while interviewing author Joel Mowbray on The 700 Club television program last week. Mowbray wrote a book called Dangerous Diplomacy: How the State Department Endangers America's Security. "I read your book. When you get through, you say, `If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom, I think that's the answer.' I mean, you get through this, and you say, `We've got to blow that thing up,"' Robertson said during the interview. The State Department's headquarters are located in Foggy Bottom, a Washington neighborhood.
■ Brazil
Lack of tan ends in arrest
The pale complexion of a man who tried to check two surf boards on an international flight aroused the suspicion of Brazilian airport security officials, who said they found nearly 7kg of cocaine hidden in a package between the boards. Luis Alberto Faria Cafiero, 27, was arrested Friday in Sao Paulo before boarding a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, with a connection to Bali, Indonesia. "He did not look like a person who's always out on the beach," said federal police officer Isaias Santos Vilela. "He did not have a surfer's typical tan."
■ Austria
Vienna made UNESCO site
The UN's cultural arm on Saturday added the center of the Austrian capital Vienna with its many historic buildings to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites to assure its preservation, UNESCO's Francesco Bandarin said. The Austrian capital is "one of the most important examples of historic sites," which include the Habsburg dynasty's imperial palace -- part of which dates back to the Middle Ages -- Saint Stephen's cathedral and the home of Art Nouveau architect Adolf Loos, Bandarin said.
■ Bolivia
Two killed in protest
Demonstrators angry about a government plan to export gas through Chile clashed with the army and police near the Bolivian capital on Saturday, leaving a police officer and a child dead, witnesses and hospital officials said. Protesters shot and killed the police officer, court prosecutor Jimmy Pareja said. Witnesses told local radio stations that a 7-year-old boy was also killed. Another man was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head and was not expected to survive, hospital officials said.
RSS