Iraqi opposition stalled on new panel
LONDON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Despite pressure from Washington, Iraqi exiles meeting in London have yet to agree on the composition of a new council to oversee relations with the United States and other foreign governments because of differences over the role of an Iran-based Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution. The council's leader, Muhammed Baqr al Hakim, lives in Iran. Throughout the weekend conference, SCIRI claimed control of 13 seats designated for Shiite Iraqis. That number is based on a formula for representation initially forged in 1992 at the founding conference of the Iraqi National Congress, the umbrella group for those opposed to Saddam Hussein's government.
N. Korea blasts U.S. for aid-nuclear link
SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- North Korea Monday blamed the United States for using humanitarian aid to disarm the famine-hit country, saying it would not accept such aid if political conditions are attached. Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry also warned South Korea can "neither escape from disasters nor can the United States go safe" if a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula. Washington said this month food aid to North Korea will be linked to Pyongyang's willingness to open more of its territory to international workers to monitor distribution.
U.S. army officer attacked in Seoul
SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- An American army officer was attacked by knife-wielding South Korean men outside a U.S. army base while fierce anti-U.S. protests swept the country, U.S. military authorities said Monday. Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, chief public affairs officer for the Eighth U.S. Army, was assaulted Sunday night as he was walking home near the U.S. Army garrison in central Seoul, the U.S. military said. Police quoted the lieutenant colonel as saying three South Koreans pushed him to the wall of an underpass and stabbed him in the stomach twice with a 5-inch knife.
Sentencing trial starts for Serb leader
PARIS, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A parade of prosecution and defense witnesses testified Monday during the start of a 3-day sentencing hearing of former Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plasvic, who has pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity at a U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Now 72 years old, the one-time biology professor is the highest-ranking former Yugoslav official to admit playing a key role in Bosnia-Herzegovina's brutal 1992-95 civil war. If found guilty, she faces life in prison. Among the most prominent witnesses of the daylong hearing was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, who testified via an electronic hookup from Paris.
Court refuses Cincinnati menorah ban
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The full U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to allow Cincinnati to keep religious symbols out of the city's Fountain Square. Justice John Paul Stevens, acting alone, refused the city's request last month. Stevens oversees the 6th U.S. Circuit, which includes Ohio. When Stevens refused to comply, the city asked the full Supreme Court to allow the religious-symbols ban. The request was denied in a one-line order. In the underlying case, a Jewish organization asked the city's permission to erect a menorah on Fountain Square to mark the eight days of Hanukkah. The city refused, citing a ban on religious symbols in the public square.
Search for missing 5-year-old expands
CHANNAHON, Ill., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The search for 5-year-old Ashley Gleeson intensified Monday after the body of her 3-year-old brother, Joshua, has been pulled from the Des Plaines River. The two children were picked up on Nov. 22 by their father, Patrick Michael Gleeson, 48, from their mother's home in Dwight, 75 miles southwest of Chicago, for a routine weekend visit. Gleeson is jailed in Michigan on charges of killing his girlfriend, Dena Fuglseth, whose body was found Nov. 29 hidden in a basement beneath a trap door. Gleeson has refused to tell investigators anything about his children's fates.
Cruise ship leaves after cleanup
NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Carnival Cruise Line's Conquest was on a 7-day Caribbean cruise Monday after its departure was delayed several hours so crews could scrub the ship after about 230 people became ill on the previous trip. The Conquest departed the Port of New Orleans about Sunday night after the cleanup was completed, said Jennifer de la Cruz, a spokeswoman for Carnival Cruise Lines. She said there were "very few" cancellations for the trip. About 230 people became ill with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea during a 7-day cruise to the western Caribbean that ended early Sunday at New Orleans. The Norwalk-virus is believed to be the culprit but laboratory tests have not been completed.
Elephant handler in critical condition
MIAMI, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A zookeeper remained in critical condition Monday from multiple injuries suffered when he was attacked by a 3-ton elephant at Miami's MetroZoo, officials at Jackson Memorial Hospital said. Michael Embury, 31, suffered two broken shoulders, a broken arm, a damaged spleen and a bruised head when he was attacked by Flora, a 20-year-old retired circus elephant.
Venezuela turmoil drives up crude prices
NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- World crude markets were on the rise and appearing quite volatile Monday morning after another tumultuous weekend of political unrest in Venezuela. January futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were up more than 30 cents at midday after topping the $29 per barrel mark earlier in the day.
Stocks lifted by bargain hunting
NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market were higher in choppy trading Monday as investors moved cautiously back into the market after consecutive weeks of losses. This is usually the time of year stocks are on the rise -- the so-called 'Santa Claus' rally that makes December one of the best-performing months of the year. But the Dow Jones Average has been in a tailspin since Thanksgiving, following an eight-week run of advances. In early afternoon trading, the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which dropped 104.69 points Friday, was ahead 138.02 points, or 1.64 percent, at 8,571.73. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which lost 37.13 points in the previous session, was ahead 26.04 points, or 1.91 percent, at 1,388.46.
