4 die in Taiwan high-rise fire
Taipei, Taiwan A fire raged through the top floors of a high-rise building Saturday in the central city of Taichung, killing at least four people before it was extinguished, officials said.
Rescue workers found the bodies of a 40-year-old security guard and three other employees of the Gold Plaza Tower, officials said.
Located close to the railway station, the 25-floor building is crowned by a revolving restaurant.
No information on what caused the fire was available, but officials said it apparently started on the 18th floor and moved upward. It was not known if the blaze began inside the disco on that floor. The club can contain more than 2,000 people but was not operating when the fire erupted, officials said.
Two helicopters rescued nine people from the roof, officials said.
People on the street fled the building covering their heads with bags to protect themselves from falling glass.
More violence hits Haitian neighborhood
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
One Brazilian peacekeeper was wounded Saturday and the charred body of a man apparently burned alive with a tire around his neck lay in the deserted street of a slum where shots rang out and people peered fearfully from barred windows.
It was the second day of violence in Bel Air, where at least two civilians were shot and killed Friday, allegedly by Haitian police, and the U.N. mission reported two Brazilian troopers were shot by snipers.
Bel Air is a warren of alleyways lined with tin-roofed homes on a hillside behind the National Palace where Haitian police have been struggling for months to regain control from armed militants loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Brazilian troops in armored cars with mounted submachine guns moved into the neighborhood early Saturday and came under fire, said Cmdr. Carlos Chagas Braga, a spokesman for the 7,400-member U.N. peacekeeping mission led by Brazil.
At least nine peacekeepers have been wounded since the mission began in June.
FBI to investigate slaying of U.S. nun
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Three FBI agents arrived in northern Brazil to investigate the killing of American nun Dorothy Stang, Brazilian media said Saturday.
The agents arrived Friday in Altamira, about 80 miles from the rural town where the 73-year-old Stang was killed on Feb. 12, said the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, Brazil’s largest.
The agents met with local police officers and interrogated the two suspected gunmen charged with the killing, Folha and other local media said. They were expected to report to the U.S. State Department after finishing their investigation.
Blind man allegedly bites his guide dog
Edinburgh, Scotland
A blind man who allegedly bit his guide dog has been charged with animal cruelty.
David Todd is accused of sinking his teeth into the animal’s head in a busy street, Scottish police said Thursday.
A police spokesman said: “Any attack on a defenseless animal, particularly one trained to help people, is appalling.”
An eyewitness reported seeing the 34-year-old bite the dog and kick it repeatedly at a shopping mall on Feb. 8, a spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Police said.
Officers arrested the suspect on Feb. 10 and charged him with animal cruelty and breach of the peace, the spokeswoman said.
Police took the Labrador retriever mix into protective care and handed it to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.
Colin Gallagher, a district team manager for the association, said: “This is the first case of its kind I have known of in 11 years in this job.”