■ Switzerland
Rescuers take cable car
Swiss rescue crews had to take cable cars to reach a blazing mountaintop hotel after strong winds grounded helicopters, police said yesterday. Six people were hurt and one person was missing in the fire at the Melchsee-Frutt hotel in the central Swiss canton of Obwalden. The hotel, a popular health spa, was still burning yesterday morning after the blaze broke out overnight. Firefighters were able to evacuate 68 people uninjured. They and the injured were ferried down the mountain by cable car. The cause of the fire was still under investigation.
■ Spain
Election date announced
Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar set national elections for March 14 and asked King Juan Carlos to dissolve Parliament. The date was announced more than a week ago, but it remained for Aznar to announce it officially at a final Cabinet meeting, after which he went to the Zarzuela Palace to ask the king to sign a decree dissolving the national legislature. Aznar, 50, has been prime minister for two four-year terms, and his conservative Popular Party is favored to win again. The party recently endorsed Aznar's hand-picked candidate, Mariano Rajoy, to lead its ticket.
■ United Kingdom
`Potter' book coins it
A draft copy of the first Harry Potter adventure which incorrectly named the author as J.A. Rowling sold for ?1,468 (US$2,642), auctioneers Bonhams said. An anonymous bidder purchased the proof copy of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, first published in 1997, the auction house said. The Monday sale generated interest from collectors across the globe because of the printing error on the title page. In December, a signed paperback first edition of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone sold for US$9,900 at Sotheby's in New York.
■ Algeria
Gas blast kills 20
Rescue workers searched for missing workers at Algeria's largest refinery yesterday after a huge explosion at its gas installations killed at least 20 people, state radio said. The blast at the petrochemical complex in Skikda, 500km east of the capital Algiers on Monday, caused at least 74 injuries and shut down all activity at the oil and gas refinery complex, state radio said. "We're working to remove debris and look for survivors and bodies," Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil told state radio. It was still not clear what caused the blast, which destroyed three of the refinery's liquefied natural gas units. But officials said they believed it was an accident.
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