Pinochet suffers heart attack
Gen. Augusto Pinochet, whose 17-year dictatorship was responsible for thousands of political killings and widespread torture, was fighting for his life in a hospital Sunday after suffering a heart attack. But doctors said his condition was improving after a procedure to restore blood flow to his heart.
Doctors initially said they planned bypass surgery Sunday on the 91-year-old former strongman but later ruled it out. Dr. Juan Ignacio Vergara, a member of the team treating Pinochet, said the surgery was not needed after an angioplasty performed in the morning to clear a heart artery obstruction “allowed improvement in his condition.”
But Vergara made clear Pinochet’s condition continues to be serious “and the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical to see whether other complications appear.”
Pinochet’s health problems helped him escape trial for the human rights abuses committed during his 1973-90 regime, with courts ruling out proceedings at least twice in recent years as victims of his rule pressed efforts to bring him to justice.
LONDON
Inquiry expands into ex-spy’s death
Britain’s senior law enforcement official said Sunday an inquiry into the death of a former KGB agent had expanded overseas, and a U.S.-based friend of the former agent said he told police the name of the person he believes orchestrated the poisoning.
Yuri Shvets said he had known the poisoned ex-spy, Alexander Litvinenko, since 2002 and spoke with him on Nov. 23, the day Litvinenko died following his exposure to a rare radioactive element, polonium-210.
Shvets, also a former KGB officer, declined to confirm the name of the person he believed was behind Litvinenko’s death because of concern it could disrupt the investigation. He also declined to offer details on a document he said he had given to the British officers.
A British police official who spoke on condition of anonymity said police were expected to travel to Russia in coming days to interview a number of people, including Andrei Lugovoi. Lugovoi is another former Russian spy who met with Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the day Litvinenko fell ill.
MEXICO CITY
Calderon orders pay cut for Cabinet
Newly sworn-in president Felipe Calderon decreed a 10 percent pay cut for himself and his Cabinet members on Sunday, echoing a central campaign promise of the leftist rival he beat by a razor-thin margin.
Calderon said in a televised speech that he also would slash government spending on everything from cell phone calls to foreign trips, and increase transparency to avoid corruption.
Calderon said the spending cuts he signed in the Sunday decree would save about $2.5 billion in the next year, or enough to build 2,500 schools. He also promised to send a public spending bill to Congress to make long-term savings.