World News Digest

SANAA: Ten Yemenis suspected of involvement in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole escaped from a jail yesterday in the …

SANAA:Ten Yemenis suspected of involvement in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole escaped from a jail yesterday in the southern port of Aden, local authorities said.

The men broke out of a window at about 5 a.m. and the jailers realised about an hour later they were gone, the officials said.

Among those who escaped was Jamal Badawi, one of the principal suspects in the attack, for which Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network claimed responsibility. - (AFP)

Cuba executes three hijackers

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HAVANA: Cuba has executed three hijackers who commandeered a Havana ferry last week in the hope of reaching the US, the government said yesterday. An official statement said the hijackers had been tried and convicted and their appeals rejected by the Supreme Court and Council of State.

The form of execution was not mentioned but Cuba generally uses a firing squad. - (Reuters)

'Ricin' find seems to be barley mix

PARIS: French officials said yesterday a stash of powder initially believed to be the deadly toxin ricin when discovered in Gare de Lyon train station in Paris last month appeared to be a harmless mixture of ground barley and wheatgerm.

Officials from the state prosecution service said more tests would be carried out to confirm this. - (Reuters)

Hungary set to vote on EU

BUDAPEST: Hungary is expected to give a resounding Yes in an EU membership vote today, one of the last steps to fulfilling the central European nation's main foreign policy goal.

Slovenia and Malta have already approved membership. - (Reuters)

Nine foreigners treated for SARS

SHANGHAI: About nine foreigners suspected of having contracted Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome are being treated in a Shanghai hospital, said the US consulate. Among them are two US citizens, it said. - (AFP)