From Deseret News archives:
World datelines
Austria: Chechen killed
VIENNA — A Chechen who had formally accused the president of Chechnya of participating in kidnappings and torture sessions was fatally shot Tuesday as he walked out of a grocery store in Vienna, Austria, according to his lawyer and family friends.
The shooting appeared to be another politically motivated killing of a Russian citizen who had criticized government conduct.
The slain man, Umar S. Israilov, 27, had been detained as a separatist rebel, then was given amnesty, and briefly became a bodyguard to President Ramzan A. Kadyrov of Chechnya. He ultimately fled Chechnya for Europe.
Brazil: Candidate makeover
BRASILIA — The ruling party's likely contender for Brazil's presidency in 2010 is putting a new face forward — literally, according to local news reports.
Brazil's major newspapers are running before-and-after photos of Dilma Rousseff, the president's chief of staff. They say she apparently underwent cosmetic surgery last month.
Rousseff was a Marxist guerrilla who was imprisoned for three years and tortured under Brazil's military dictatorship in the early 1970s.
Canada: Reward in bombings
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canada's top oil and gas producer is offering a cash reward of up to 500,000 Canadian dollars ($408,000) for information leading to the arrest of whoever is behind recent bombings of its pipelines.
Four EnCana Corp. sites have been attacked since October, putting a spotlight on local concerns over the industry's rapid growth, particularly of projects involving sour gas that contains the potentially deadly chemical hydrogen sulfide.
Mexico: Sculptures defaced
VILLAHERMOSA — A U.S. woman and two Mexican men were released on bail Tuesday after being charged with allegedly damaging pre-Hispanic Olmec sculptures by dousing them with grape juice, cooking oil and other liquids that stained the massive carved stone heads.
The three were arrested Sunday and face trial for allegedly staining a total of 23 porous stone altars and carvings located in a national park in the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco.
The woman's lawyer said his client's name is Wanda Aguilar. Prosecutors in Tabasco say she is resident of Miami, Fla.
Niger: Envoy kidnapped
NIAMEY — The president of Niger acknowledged Tuesday that a Canadian diplomat who disappeared during a U.N. mission to the West African nation last month was kidnapped by rebels.
His statement marked the first time authorities in Niger have publicly commented on the disappearance of Robert Fowler, the U.N. special envoy to Niger who went missing along with his assistant on Dec. 14.
Norway: Philosopher dies
