Lesbian rumors reportedly spur call for Peru's leader to quit
Prime Minister Beatriz Merino, 56, reportedly lost Toledo's confidence when she went public in an attempt to refute what she called lies about her personal life.
Merino said a political rival told the head of Peru's Catholic Church she is a lesbian, a taboo in Lima's conservative society. Evidence presented was a property deed of a house she owns and shares with a longtime female friend.
"We must be mature and not turn politics into infantile acts," Toledo said. "Sometimes keeping your mouth shut is worth more than a thousand words."
Merino has been a popular member of Toledo's government since coming on board in June.
Palestinian gunfire wounds seven Jews after prayers at site
JERUSALEM — Seven Jews were wounded yesterday when they came under Palestinian gunfire in the West Bank after praying at a holy site despite Israeli government orders to stay away.
The pre-dawn ambush in Nablus came after the group, members of a Hasidic sect called Bratslav, visited a site said to be the burial spot of the biblical Joseph.
The group considers Joseph's Tomb to be sacred and has made repeated visits to the site in defiance of an Israeli military ban on travel by Israeli civilians into areas under Palestinian authority. More than once, the worshippers have required the assistance of Israeli forces to escape harm.
Claims of responsibility for the ambush came from two armed groups: Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is loosely tied to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah party, and Islamic Jihad, which has carried out numerous suicide attacks inside Israel.
Azerbaijan strongman, 80, dies at Cleveland clinic
CLEVELAND — Haydar Aliyev, former president of Azerbaijan, died yesterday at the Cleveland Clinic. He was 80.
Mr. Aliyev had been at the clinic since Aug. 6 for treatment of congestive heart failure and kidney problems. On Oct. 2 he said he would not seek re-election, and his son, Ilham Aliyev, won election Oct. 15 to succeed him as president of the oil- and gas-rich former Soviet republic. The election was marred by clashes between opposition supporters and police, and the State Department said it was "deeply disappointed" in the way it was carried out, calling for a probe into allegations of intimidation and ballot stuffing.
A former KGB officer, Mr. Aliyev had dominated politics in his country since the late 1960s, first as the Communist Party leader, then, after the Soviet Union broke up, as president since 1993. He had been expected to win a new term before his illness worsened.
Political stability in Azerbaijan is important to global oil giants such as Britain's BP, which have invested heavily in the country.
TV station in Ivory Coast is attacked; 19 killed
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — State security forces repulsed an assault near Ivory Coast's state television station yesterday after a two-hour battle that left 19 people dead, the defense minister said.
Bloodied bodies lay in the streets of Abidjan, the commercial capital, after the attack, which began shortly after midnight when armed men opened fire on military police.
Some officials blamed pro-government militias, which want French peacekeepers to leave the country so they can attack rebels who control the northern half of the country. Presidential spokesman Toussaint Alain blamed the rebels.
In a midday address on state TV, Defense Minister Rene Amani said the situation was under control and advised people to "go about their affairs normally."
Diplomats report setbacks in North Korea nuclear talks
PANMUNJOM, Korea — Hopes faded yesterday for a quick breakthrough in the North Korean nuclear crisis, with European diplomats saying the North shows no sign of compromise and South Korea indicating new six-nation talks won't happen until next year.
The developments came amid a flurry of attempts to breathe life into a new round of negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to dismantle its nuclear-weapons programs.
European diplomats, who held three days of talks in Pyongyang, reported the communist government was not easing up on its earlier preconditions.
"They cannot possibly dismantle their program until they have all the assurances they need for their security. They see the nuclear-weapons option as indispensable for their national security," said Percy Westerlund, director of external relations for the European Commission.
Russians open the door to outside aid in Chechnya
VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia — Russia would welcome international help stabilizing war-torn Chechnya, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
Meanwhile, rebel gunfire killed four Russian soldiers and two Chechen police in the previous 24 hours, an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen administration said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said "we welcome all steps from the international community full of sincere concern for stabilizing the situation in Chechnya."
On Thursday, the European Commission announced it was granting $11.6 million in humanitarian aid to help Chechen war victims, particularly refugees.
The European Commission's announcement, however, came with an appeal for Russia to do more to ensure that foreign aid workers gain access to the region.
Russian tanks rolled into Chechnya to crush its separatist leadership in 1994 but withdrew after a 20-month war.
Russian troops returned in 1999 after rebel incursions in a neighboring region and after a series of deadly apartment-building bombings in Moscow and other cities that the Kremlin blames on the rebels.