Suspect must be charged or freed
Washington A federal judge ordered the Bush administration Monday to charge terror suspect Jose Padilla with a crime or release him after more than 2 1/2 years in custody.
U.S. District Judge Henry Floyd, in Spartanburg, S.C., said the government cannot hold Padilla indefinitely as an “enemy combatant,” a designation President Bush gave him in 2002. The government contends Padilla was planning an attack with a “dirty bomb” radiological device.
A Justice Department spokesman said the government will appeal the decision.
Padilla, a Brooklyn-born convert to Islam, is one of two U.S. citizens designated as enemy combatants. The second, Yaser Hamdi, was released in October after the Justice Department said he no longer poses a threat.
Fossett makes bid for nonstop flight
Salina, Kan. Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett took off Monday night on his attempt to become the first person to complete a solo trip around the world in an airplane without making a single stop.
Fossett, the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon, launched his GlobalFlyer from the Salina Municipal Airport shortly before 7 p.m., beginning a 66-hour journey by climbing northeast into a darkening sky.
Hundreds of spectators gathered along the two-mile runway to watch the takeoff.
Fossett hopes to return to Salina on Thursday.
The 23,000-mile flight had been postponed several times because of shifting jet-stream patterns or poor weather at the airport.
Federal judge finds two bodies in home
Chicago A federal judge discovered two bodies in her home Monday night, police said.
U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow found the bodies when she returned home from work.
Authorities did not identify the bodies or disclose the cause of death.
Authorities gave no indication whether the two deaths are related to Lefkow’s involvement in the case of an Illinois white supremacist who was convicted last year of soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill her.
Two killed in protest on Haiti anniversary
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Police fired at peaceful protesters marking the first anniversary Monday of the ouster of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and at least two people were killed and nearly a dozen were wounded.
About 2,000 protesters had started marching toward the National Palace when they encountered a police vehicle blocking the road in a neighborhood with many Aristide supporters.
Many blame President Bush for Aristide’s Feb. 29 ouster. U.S. officials say Aristide left voluntarily. He is living in exile in South Africa.
Observers find faults in Kyrgyzstan election
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan International observers criticized Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections Monday as falling short of democratic standards and urged authorities to change their ways before second balloting.
In Bishkek, some opposition protesters scuffled with government supporters during a rally.
Early results from Sunday’s vote showed more than half the contests for 75 Parliament seats heading for runoffs, leaving the political future unsettled for the ex-Soviet republic in Central Asia.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Kyrgyzstan showed progress since the last parliamentary election five years ago. But it cited problems, mostly involving charges of interference with media.