In brief: Senate hopefuls battle to the end
BOSTON – Nearly one year to the day after President Barack Obama was sworn into office as an agent of change, Massachusetts Senate candidates battled to the wire Monday in an election that threatened his agenda and reflected voters’ frustration with the status quo.
Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown scoured the state for votes on the eve of the special election to succeed the late Edward M. Kennedy, with the Democrats’ 60-vote Senate supermajority at stake.
Obama needs Coakley, the state’s attorney general, to win to deny Republicans the ability to block his initiatives – specifically the near-complete health care plan – with a filibuster-sustaining 41st Republican vote.
Americans allege torture by police
SARGODHA, Pakistan – Five Americans arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of terrorism told a court Monday that they had been tortured by police.
The men made the allegations during a hearing before a special anti-terrorism court in the eastern town of Sargodha. The session was held in order for police to submit a charge sheet alleging that the suspects had conspired in a terrorist act, a formal legal step that brings them closer to a possible indictment.
Prison authorities and police denied any ill-treatment. A U.S. Embassy spokesman said he had no immediate comment about the torture allegations, but noted consular officials have visited the men.
The five men, all young Muslims from the Washington area, were detained in December at a house in the Punjabi town of Sargodha, 120 miles south of Islamabad.
Police have publicly accused them of plotting terror attacks in Pakistan. Lawyers for the men say they wanted to travel to Afghanistan and had no plans for attacks in Pakistan.
Church torching starts daylong riot
JOS, Nigeria – Angry Muslim youths set a church filled with worshippers ablaze in northern Nigeria, starting a riot that killed at least 27 people and wounded more than 300 others in the latest religious violence in the region, officials said Monday.
About 5,000 people lost their homes as rioters also burned mosques and homes in Jos, a city that saw more than 300 residents killed during a similar uprising in 2008, said local Red Cross official Auwal Muhammad Madobi. Sani Mudi, a spokesman for the local imam, said 22 people died Sunday after rioters set fire to a Catholic church, starting a daylong wave of violence between Christians and Muslims. Five others died Monday from their wounds, and police and soldiers set up numerous road blocks throughout Jos.
Strong quake hits Central America
GUATEMALA CITY – A strong earthquake has rocked Guatemala and parts of El Salvador, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in either country.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.0.
The USGS said it hit Monday morning about 60 miles southwest of Guatemala City, where it was felt by many residents.