Senate should seat Franken, Schumer says
MINNEAPOLIS: New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer said yesterday that Democrat Al Franken is the clear winner in Minnesota's Senate race and should be seated as soon as possible. But a leading Republican lawmaker said calling the race for Franken would be premature. Schumer, who until recently was the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, made his statement a day after Minnesota elections officials completed the recount. The latest numbers showed Franken with a 225-vote lead over the Republican incumbent, Norm Coleman. The state Canvassing Board is expected to certify the results of the recount today, and then there will be a seven-day waiting period before an election certificate is completed. If any lawsuits are filed during that waiting period, certification is conditional until the issue is settled in court.
9/11 mastermind faces French trial in absentia
PARIS : The self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks goes on trial in absentia in France today for allegedly ordering a deadly Tunisian synagogue bombing less than a year after the assault on New York and Washington. The proceedings in Paris are expected to highlight the reach and complexity of al-Qaida-linked networks in North Africa, although they are unlikely to directly affect the fate of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is being held by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay. Also on trial in France are Christian Ganczarski, a German who converted to Islam, and Walid Naouar, the brother of the suicide bomber who drove a propane-laden truck into an ancient synagogue on the island of Djerba on April 11, 2002, killing 21 people. Ganczarski and Naouar are charged with complicity in the murders and complicity in attempted murder in the synagogue attack, and they could face life sentences if convicted in the Paris trial, which is expected to last until Feb. 6.
