Masses in anti-withdrawal rally
TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Right-wing activists Thursday staged one of the biggest demonstrations in Israel's history.
They were protesting the impending withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of four settlements in the northern West Bank. The pullback is scheduled to begin next Wednesday.
The settlers' council, which organized the demonstration, represents the settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It estimated 350,000 people took part.
The commander of the Tel Aviv police district, Maj. Gen. David Tsur, confirmed to United Press International it was one of the biggest demonstrations in Israel's history.
The demonstration was part of the right wing's attempt to delegitimize the pullback and press for a referendum or early elections. It was intended to rally support for an attempt to bring tens of thousands of people to the Kissufim Road and block it.
Zviki Bar-Hai, who heads the settlers' operational staff urged supporters to assemble Monday in Ashkelon, Sderot, Netivot and Ofakim.
"We shall not stop at a roadblock," he said. "We'll overtake it from the right or from the left."
Police Inspector General Moshe Karadi told UPI his men were preparing for Monday's move.
"So far we've managed to block them," he said, "and we shall prepare to block them this time too."
Tennessee fugitives face extradition
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Tennessee fugitives George and Jennifer Hyatte were slated for an extradition hearing in Columbus, Ohio, Friday after their peaceful motel surrender.
The pair was arrested Wednesday night with nearly two dozen federal, state and local law enforcement officers taking part in the well-coordinated raid, the Cincinnati Enquirer said. An extradition hearing originally set for Thursday was put off until Friday.
They were the targets of a wide-spread manhunt after a jailbreak and ambush in Kingston, Tenn., in which a guard was killed. Authorities allege that Jennifer Hyatte helped her husband escape from jail with a shooting spree.
The cab driver who unwittingly drove the fugitives to Columbus Wednesday, dropped them off at the motel and then called police, was a sudden celebrity.
Mike Wagers stood before TV cameras and reporters Thursday and described his famous fare as a relaxed, routine drive. He didn't know they were the focus of a n nationwide manhunt.
"I don't want to be a hero," he said. "I'm really more concerned that they got the bad guy."
Man kills Georgia police officer, self
PINE LAKE, Ga., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A Pine Lake, Ga., police officer was shot and killed at a post office Thursday by a man who held him hostage briefly and then, apparently, killed himself.
WSB-TV reported the incident began when the police officer pulled the suspect over for a traffic stop in the suburban Atlanta town. At some point during the stop, the suspect pulled a gun, but it was not immediately clear whether it was his own gun or whether he took the police officer's gun.
A witness told the TV station she saw the suspect holding the police officer at gunpoint, while another officer trained his gun on the suspect. She said the suspect fired first, other officers returned fire and then the suspect shot his hostage.
The suspect ran inside the post office where, police said, he shot himself.
The police officer who was shot was rushed to DeKalb Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The dead were not immediately identified.
Bird flu deaths of poultry stops in Russia
OMSK, Russia, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Poultry have stopped dying from bird flu in the Omsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen and Altai regions of Russia.
Russia's Interfax news agency reported Thursday the area of bird flu infection remains the same, but birds have stopped dying from the flu, according to a statement posted on the Web site of the Russian Consumer Control Service.
The report also said there were no new recent cases of deaths from bird flu among the humans who had contacts with infected birds.
