Alleged al Qaeda members indicted
Madrid, Spain A Spanish judge indicted 13 suspected Islamic extremists today on charges of belonging to al Qaeda.
The indictment said the suspects, mostly Moroccans, formed two terror cells in 2002 in Morocco and Madrid and concluded that after Spain sent peacekeeping troops to Iraq that year, the country was “an enemy of Islam and therefore it was necessary to stage an attack” in Spain.
The 13 men were arrested in raids starting last October after police claimed to have foiled a planned suicide bombing to blow up the National Court, hub of Spain’s probe of Muslim extremism, including last year’s train bombings in Madrid.
Leftist rebels kill 11 in Colombia town
Bogota, Colombia Suspected leftist guerrillas swept into a southern Colombia town Tuesday and attacked government offices, killing six town councilors and five others, authorities said.
The guerrillas, believed to be members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, opened fire at a council meeting in the town of Puerto Rico, 200 miles south of Bogota, an official said.
President Alvaro Uribe began an offensive against the 12,000-strong rebels last year. It is funded by the U.S. government. It has reduced their numbers, but recent attacks show the rebels still can deliver blows to the armed forces and civilians.
Measure confuses many Egyptian voters
Cairo, Egypt As Egyptians head to the polls today for a key reform vote, many are confused about what they’re being asked to decide and others don’t like their choices.
Critics who say the ballot’s vague wording could mislead voters failed to stop the referendum on a consti- tutional amendment to pave the way for the country’s first multi-candidate presidential elections in the fall.
Some Egyptians also say a government campaign and posters urging “Yes to Mubarak” have led them to believe the vote is just another yes-or-no referendum on leader President Hosni Mubarak.
Mubarak urged Egyptians to vote at a “critical moment” in the country’s modern history. He said the amendment will open new venues of democracy and will “secure the safety and the independence of the nation.”
Peasant protesters clog Bolivian capital
La Paz, Bolivia Thousands of demonstrators blocked major roads in and around the Bolivian capital on Tuesday, isolating the city in a protest demanding the nationalization of the oil industry and opposing autonomy for an oil-producing region.
Police used tear gas and water cannons in the streets to disperse the demonstrators, mainly peasants who had marched for several days to La Paz to press for their demands and who were later joined by miners, students, and teachers.
Explosions could be heard throughout the city from the police tear gas canisters and dynamite sticks traditionally used by Bolivian miners in protests. There were no reports of injuries or arrests. Police sealed off Murillo Plaza, site of the presidential palace and Congress, preventing protesters from reaching the area.
A key leader of the protests is Congressman Evo Morales, whose Movement Toward Socialism party has demanded taxes on foreign oil companies higher than the 50 percent established in a law passed by congress.