Monday, January 31, 2005, 12:56 A.M. Pacific
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World Digest
Tribesmen say riot led to police rampage
A representative of Beja tribesmen who clashed with police Saturday in the Red Sea coastal city of Port Sudan said yesterday that police went on a rampage, throwing grenades into homes miles from the riot. He said at least 25 people were killed and 196 injured.
Red Sea governor Gen. Hatim al-Wasilah said Saturday that 14 people had died and 16 were injured when police tried to stop widespread looting and vandalism.
The riot reportedly broke out among demonstrators who had gathered for a march to demand that the Sudanese government start negotiations with the Beja on sharing power and the country's resources.
The Beja have complained of neglect in eastern Sudan, a poor region where a low-intensity conflict has persisted for 16 years. Poverty-related illnesses, including tuberculosis, are common in the Beja area of Port Sudan, and illiteracy is a major problem.
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Festival cancels film by slain moviemaker
Citing security concerns, organizers of the Rotterdam Film Festival called off yesterday's screening of a short film by murdered Dutch moviemaker Theo van Gogh that has outraged some Muslims.
A suspected Islamic extremist allegedly shot and stabbed van Gogh to death in November shortly after the release of the film, "Submission," which is a fierce critique of the treatment of women under Islam.
Column Productions, which holds the rights to the film, said the decision to cancel the showing was made "on the basis of security concerns," but did not elaborate.
The decision drew criticism from some directors and artists at the festival, who argued that limiting free expression was giving in to terrorists. Another van Gogh film, "06/05," about the murder of Dutch anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002, premiered at the festival last night.
London
Lawmaker says he's long been HIV positive
Saying he was inspired by Nelson Mandela, Britain's first openly gay lawmaker revealed yesterday that he has been HIV positive for 17 years.Chris Smith, 53, the governing Labor party's former culture secretary, said he was responding to the former South African president's call earlier this month for more publicity about AIDS to fight the stigma attached to the disease.
Smith, who was first elected to the British parliament in 1983, went public with his homosexuality the next year. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1987, the Sunday Times reported.
Smith said Prime Minister Tony Blair had not known about his condition. "I didn't feel the need to tell people, except for a very, very few, as it was not in any way affecting my work," Smith said.
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Police say gunbattle with terrorists deadly
Kuwaiti police stormed a house of suspected terrorists today, setting off a shootout that killed several people, police said. It was the second straight day of clashes with Islamic militants.
Four police officers were wounded in today's clash in al-Qurain, a residential district of Kuwait City, said a police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
State-run Kuwait Television reported that militants killed a civilian in the shootout, but this could not be immediately confirmed.
Today's raid came a day after security forces battled militants in another residential district of the capital in a clash that killed three people.
Kuwait has been battling Islamic fundamentalists who oppose the presence of American forces in their country.
Denia, Spain
One injured in bombing by Basque separatists
A bomb exploded in a seaside hotel in southeast Spain yesterday, slightly injuring a tourist, after a warning call in the name of the Basque separatist group ETA, officials said.
The bomb, the second claimed by ETA in two weeks, was hidden in a backpack and left in a courtyard in the hotel in Denia, near the resorts of Benidorm and Alicante, the Interior Ministry said.
About 160 people, including several British tourists, were evacuated before the explosion, but one guest's eardrums were damaged by the blast, which ripped a 16-by-33-foot hole in an outside wall and shattered windows.
ETA has planted a number of small bombs in recent months in what analysts see as a bid to retain political influence despite high-profile arrests and arms seizures.
Karachi, Pakistan
Cleric, bodyguard killed outside mosque
Gunmen riding three motorcycles opened fire outside a Sunni Muslim mosque yesterday, killing a Sunni cleric who once belonged to an outlawed group suspected of committing sectarian violence. His bodyguard also was killed.The victims were Maulana Haroon Qasmi, 31, imam, or prayer leader, of the Jamia Mamoor mosque, and his bodyguard, identified as Mohammed Aqil, 26.
"They were attacked from three sides," said Qari Mohammed Shafiq, a spokesman for the cleric. A motive was not immediately known. The attackers escaped.
Qasmi was a member of the Sunni organization Sipah-e-Sahaba, banned in 2002 for its suspected involvement in killing hundreds of minority Shiite Muslims.
