World
By the hundreds, frightened tourists were streaming out of the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after the worst incident of terrorism in Egypt in 24 years. At least 88 people were killed and an estimated 200 others were wounded in a series of terrorist bomb explosions after midnight Friday that targeted hotels, a popular coffee shop, and a gathering point for taxis. Police detained more than 70 people for questioning, and President Hosni Mubarak said the attacks would only increase his determination to combat terrorism.
Even as they lamented the mistaken death of a Brazilian immigrant, British police Sunday defended their policy of shooting to kill in the case of suspected terrorist bombers. "These are fantastically difficult times," Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair told TV news outlets in the wake of two rounds of bombings this month in which 56 people have died. Electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot to death Friday by police after he failed to obey orders to stop inside a subway station.
At least 40 more people died in Baghdad when terrorists exploded a truck bomb outside a police station. The attack was the 21st of its type in the past 10 days. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said it was vital that momentum be maintained in the process of drafting a proposed constitution whether minority Sunni Muslims return to work on it or not.
Expectations are low for the resumption of negotiations Tuesday on North Korea's nuclear weapons program despite reports that the US and Japan would offer the Pyongyang government a package of aid, security guarantees, and diplomatic recognition. Still, analysts said the differences remaining to be bridged are so great that, as one put it, "I don't see any basis for compromise." The other participants at the talks in Beijing will be South Korea, Russia, and China.
A defiant Martha Beatriz Roque vowed she would not stop organizing protests against Cuba's communist regime until the government releases the dissidents in its jails. Roque, a leading dissident, was freed Sunday with two other women in Havana after being arrested Friday in what human rights groups said was a new roundup of political opponents. At least 21 others were seized before they could join a scheduled demonstration and remain behind bars, the rights activists said.
Despite a near-crash due to wet weather, American Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France bicycle race for the seventh straight time. His official time was not immediately available because organizers had stopped the clock after other racers fell on Paris's rain-soaked streets. Armstrong has said the race would be the last of his career.
