World Digest
50 corpses linked to ritual killings in Nigeria

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Two religious leaders and 28 others have been arrested in connection with the cult, which was feared and obeyed by people living near wooded areas where the 20 shrines were located, police said.

Investigators are searching near the town of Okija in case there are more remains, a police spokesman said.

All of the dead were adults, and at least one body and four skulls appeared to be from those killed recently, he said. Some of the bodies were in coffins, and some were headless.

Police think some of the victims — businessmen, civil servants and others — were poisoned. The cult, known as Alusi Okija, is believed to practice a ritual in which people involved in disputes, often over business deals, are exhorted to settle them by drinking a potion they are told will kill only the guilty.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Avalanche kills 6 attempting climb

Six mountaineers — five Czechs and a Russian — trying to conquer one of Kyrgyzstan's highest peaks were swept to their deaths yesterday in an avalanche, a tour operator said.

A sixth Czech climber and a Russian were injured. Two Russians and three Ukrainians were missing.

Moscow

Bill approved to end Soviet-era benefits
 
A bill to end an array of Soviet-era benefits for the elderly and disabled, including free transportation and medicine, won quick approval in the lower house of Russia's parliament yesterday, making it almost certain to become law.

The measure calls for replacing such benefits with monthly cash payments, but critics say the promised stipends won't make up for the lost benefits and question whether the payments will be made properly by Russia's notoriously inefficient bureaucrats.

Maaleh Adumim, West Bank

Israel readies road despite peace plan

Israeli bulldozers churned across a West Bank hill yesterday, gouging a rough road needed for a government plan to build housing in an area it hopes to make a permanent part of the Jewish state. The move comes despite strong objections from both the Palestinian leadership and the Bush administration.

The road would link the sprawling Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim to Jerusalem, four miles away, and officials confirmed they foresee thousands of new homes along the route — despite a provision of the internationally supported "road map" peace plan that calls for a halt to growth of Israeli settlements.

In another development, Israeli officials decided to allow Palestinian police to carry weapons again, which could help shore up the prestige of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and improve security in Palestinian areas.

Also

The United States has determined that North Korea is working on new ballistic-missile systems designed to deliver nuclear warheads and that it is testing the technology by proxy in Iran, a Bush administration official said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Rwanda said yesterday it will use international aid to offer free generic drugs by year's end to 90,000 people infected with HIV and AIDS, a 20-fold increase in the number of people receiving treatment.