■ United States
Iraq policy official to leave
The Bush administration's lead official on Iraq policy has told the White House he plans to leave in the coming weeks, US officials said on Saturday, ahead of Iraq's planned elections. Robert Blackwill had been mentioned in speculation about US President George W. Bush's second-term foreign policy team, with some observers pegging him as a possible successor to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. Blackwill told Rice several weeks ago he would leave soon after the US election, said a White House official who declined to be identified.
■ United States
Pilots disturb rare cranes
Wildlife researchers leading a flock of young whooping cranes south for the winter are warning people to stay out of their way after an apparently curious ultralight pilot disturbed the endangered birds. A team of pilots is leading 14 whooping cranes from Wisconsin to central Florida, using an ultralight plane and even wearing crane-like costumes to minimize the birds' contact with humans. Last month in Illinois, another ultralight flew about 30m behind the researchers' plane, without radio contact, scaring the birds, said Joe Duff, chief executive officer of Operation Migration, who was flying the research plane at the time. Researchers pick up cranes that drop out during the day by truck, and use portable pens to keep the birds together overnight.
■ United States
Suicide at trade center site
A young man who told his family he was distraught over the result of the presidential election was found dead on Saturday, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, inside the gated pit where the World Trade Center once stood, the authorities said. The man was identified as Andrew Veal, 25, of Athens, Georgia. It was not clear how Veal had entered the site, which is guarded by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police. Veal, who did not appear to have any ties to the victims of the attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, was pronounced dead from a single gunshot wound, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority.
■ Haiti
Police station fired on
An armed group fired on a police station in Haiti's third largest city, prompting officers to flee while an unknown number of prisoners escaped and more than 100 people started a flurry of looting, officials said. No one was reported killed in the clash early Saturday. Hours later UN troops were guarding the police station after looters broke in and carried away furniture and other items. Some police also had returned to the station by Saturday night. The attack happened several hours after the arrest of a suspected gang member for attacking and looting humanitarian aid trucks, said Captain Mamie Ward, spokeswoman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
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