■ United States
Ambulance joyrider jailed
A man apparently on a joyride drove off with an ambulance on Thursday, as its crew was outside helping an elderly woman, then led authorities on a 84km chase before getting stuck in a muddy field, officials said. When asked why he took the vehicle, clearly marked for emergency medical use, he said just because it was there, investigators said. Jesse Matthew Vasquez, 26, was jailed for investigation of felonies in Washington State and Idaho, Spokane County sheriff's corporal Dale Toliver said.
■ United States
Bones found at Ground Zero
About 300 bone fragments of victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks were found this week near Ground Zero in New York during preparations for a demolition, sparking an outcry on Friday from families. The remains were found on a work site preparing to tear down the Deutsche Bank skyscraper next to the location of the World Trade Center. Seventy-four human remains were discovered on April 1 on the building's roof. In a statement on Friday, The Skyscraper Safety Campaign, joined by other Sept. 11 family groups, said they were "shocked and horrified" to learn of the discovery of the 300 human remains nearly five years after the attacks, not from the medical examiner's office but from the New York media.
■ Iraq
Two US Marines killed
Two US Marines were killed and 22 wounded in enemy action in Iraq's western Al Anbar province, the US military announced yesterday. The latest casualties occurred on Thursday. The military said one Marine assigned to 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group died at the scene of the attack, while the other assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 died at a medical facility. Eight wounded Marines were evacuated by air to a medical facility in Balad. Ten other wounded Marines were evacuated to a medical facility at Camp Fallujah, the military said.
■ Peru
Garcia drops legal call
A former president with a tenuous lead in the race to win a spot in the presidential runoff called on his party on Friday to end legal challenges seeking to annul overseas ballots expected to favor his closest rival. Disqualifying votes to win in a tight race would not be worth it because Peruvians would always doubt the result, said ex-president Alan Garcia."I believe if you win, you have to win it right, and I have decided to ask the Aprista party to rescind all legal challenges that were presented," Garcia told Radioprogramas radio. "I want nothing to cloud what could be a close victory, but a victory." With 89 percent of votes tallied, Garcia maintained his second-place position with 24.4 percent, compared with former congresswoman Lourdes Flores' 23.4 percent.
RSS