Carbon dioxide jumps past worst forecast
WASHINGTON: The world pumped up its pollution of the chief man-made global warming gas last year, setting a course that could push beyond leading scientists' projected worst-case scenario, international researchers said yesterday. The new numbers, called "scary" by some, were a surprise because scientists thought an economic downturn would slow energy use. Instead, carbon dioxide output jumped 3 percent from 2006 to 2007. The pollution leader was China, followed by the United States, which past data show is the leader in emissions per person in carbon dioxide output.
Germans search for 2 men tied to terror plot
BERLIN: German authorities are searching for two men linked to a group of terrorist suspects whose alleged plot to blow up American targets in Germany was foiled in 2007. The two may be on their way back to Germany, federal prosecutors' spokesman Frank Wallenta said yesterday. Eric Breininger, 21, and Houssain Al Malla, 23, are believed to have been training at a terrorist camp in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for the pair in April but did not release their names at that time. The two are thought to be linked to the al-Qaida-affiliated group that is alleged to have plotted attacks within Germany that were intended to kill as many Americans as possible, Wallenta said.
Shooting jitters spread in Finland, Sweden
KAUHAJOKI, FINLAND Panic spread among students in Finland yesterday as threatening text messages and Internet postings raised fears of new attacks mimicking a deadly school rampage. Worried children and parents jammed telephone help lines, and scores of children stayed away from class after threats popped up against schools and students. While most appeared to be hoaxes, police were taking every threat seriously to avoid a repeat of Tuesday's shooting, in which a 22-year-old gunman killed 10 people and himself at a vocational school in this town in western Finland. The jitters spread to neighboring Sweden, where one school was evacuated.
Tour group kidnappers move captives to Libya
CAIRO, Egypt: A group of kidnappers who abducted a 19-member European tour group during a desert safari moved their captives from Sudan to Libya yesterday in a new complication to the week-old hostage ordeal, the Sudanese government said. Sudanese troops "monitored" the kidnappers as they drove in three 4x4 vehicles from the Oweinat Mountain area in northwest Sudan and crossed the border into Libya, Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Youssef told the Associated Press. The kidnappers, believed to be desert tribesmen, are demanding a ransom of up to $15 million.
