■ United States
Briton convicted of rapes
A British man wanted for allegedly raping women in England more than 12 years ago has been convicted of attacking two women in Portland, Oregon -- thanks in part to authorities and alleged victims who traveled across the Atlantic to testify. Paul Edward Capener, 42, who eluded law enforcement by using at least seven aliases, was convicted Nov. 11 of attempted rape, burglary and sexual abuse in Oregon. The district attorney's office paid for detectives and forensics experts from England, as well as four of his alleged victims, to fly to Oregon to testify about the British cases. If the jury decides Capener is a dangerous offender, he could face up to 150 years in prison.
■ Chile
Bush signs spending bill
US President George W. Bush signed a stopgap spending bill that keeps the US government running while Congress sorts out remaining issues related to a more permanent federal spending package. Congress on Saturday approved the temporary legislation, which finances almost every domes-tic federal department and agency plus foreign aid until Dec. 3. The last such short-term spending measure expired at midnight Saturday; the new one was flown to Santiago overnight by military plane so Bush could sign it yesterday. Bush was in Chile over the weekend, attending the APEC summit.
■ Saudi Arabia
Jihad call prompts lawsuit
The father of a young Saudi fighter who died in Fallujah, Iraq, is planning to sue religious scholars who called for jihad against the US-led occupation of Iraq, a Saudi newspaper reported on Sunday. Majid Shabib al-Otaibi was launching his legal action to make a stand against preachers who tried to "corrupt the minds of young men," al-Madina reported. Otaibi had given his son money for the journey, believing that he was going on a pilgrimage to Mecca, not to Iraq, the paper said. The Otaibi case follows a call by Sheikh Saleh al-Laheedan, the chairman of the Supreme Judiciary Council, for a clampdown on scholars who incite young people to fight in Iraq.
■ Bahrain
King pardons activist
A human-rights activist was jailed on Sunday for one year on a charge of inciting hatred against the government -- and then pardoned on the same day by King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa. Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja, vice president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, had been arrested in September after making remarks critical of the govern-ment's management of the economy and calling for the prime minister's resignation. Khawaja's trial and the closing of his organization on the grounds that its activities violated the kingdom's law raised international concern and prompted protests outside the court.
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