Bombs kill 23 at Egyptian resort
DAHAB, Egypt, April 24 (UPI) -- Deadly explosions rocked a hotel, restaurant and a market Monday in Egypt's popular Red Sea resort of Dahab, killing at least 23 people.
Authorities said that 62 people were wounded. Three of the dead and 20 of the wounded were reported to be foreign tourists, CNN said.
The resort, popular with backpackers and skindivers, was crowded because Sunday was Easter for Coptic Christians. Three bombs went off, apparently timed for early evening, when many tourists would be in restaurants and cafes, the BBC said.
"We heard the explosion and a very big white cloud in the sky ... it was a sort of firework in the air," a witness told Britain's Sky News.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called the bombing "a wicked terrorist act" and the Palestinian government issued a statement describing it as a "criminal act which flouts our religion, shakes Palestinian national security and works against Arab interests."
The government of Israel advised all Israeli tourists to leave the Sinai.
Scores of people died in bombings in nearby resorts in 2004 and 2005.
Moussaoui defense seeks 'long, slow death'
ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 24 (UPI) -- Jurors in Virginia began deciding Monday whether admitted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui deserves a quick execution or a "long slow death" behind bars.
In his closing statement, defense attorney Gerald Zerkin said the U.S. government was offering Moussaoui up as a "sacrificial lamb" and asked the jurors to deny him the martyrdom he wants, The Washington Post reported.
In his closing, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Raskin said "there is no place on this good earth" for the al-Qaida operative who did not speak up to prevent "mountains of deaths."
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema then gave the jury their instructions and deliberations began at 2:30 p.m.
A death sentence would have to be unanimous; otherwise he will be sentenced to life in prison for the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida terror attacks.
Prosecutors allege many of the nearly 3,000 deaths that day could have been avoided if Moussaoui had not lied or stayed silent after his immigration arrest and detention a month earlier.
Moussaoui, 37, a French citizen of Arab descent, is the first person the U.S. government has put on trial for the attacks.
U.S. Embassy in Nepal sends families home
KATHMANDU, Nepal, April 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department ordered families of diplomats and non-essential employees Monday to leave Nepal.
The embassy also warned U.S. citizens in the country that anti-government demonstrations are growing and the response to them is sometimes violent, The Hindu reported.
The Australian government renewed a similar advisory for its citizens.
At least 14 protestors have been killed during demonstrations against King Gyanendra. The king, who assumed absolute power last year in a move he said was needed to overcome the Maoist rebellion, has made a number of concessions that have so far failed to placate his opponents.
Push for national gay-marriage ban
WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- Roman Catholic leaders and evangelical Protestants, joined by other religious groups, are pushing to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
As a kickoff, the group signed a petition in support of an amendment, The New York Times reported. Those who added their names included seven Catholic cardinals, a number of archbishops, some Orthodox Jewish rabbis and at least one official of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
One Catholic group -- the Knights of Columbus -- plans to distribute 10 million postcards at Catholic churches for congregants to send to their congressional representatives.
"The personal involvement of bishops and cardinals is significantly greater this time than in 2004," said Patrick Korten, a spokesman for the lay Catholic group.
In 2004, proposed amendments to state constitutions on homosexual marriage helped bring out conservative voters and may have contributed to President George W. Bush's victory over Sen.. John Kerry.
But some political observers say that the public attitude toward the issue has shifted with a recent poll finding 51 percent of respondents opposed, compared to 63 percent in 2004.
