Troops try to quell violence after killing in Brazil

Belem, Brazil

Brazil sent 2,000 troops into the region of the Amazon rainforest yesterday where an American nun was killed amid escalating violence among poor settlers, loggers and ranchers vying over coveted land.

The slaying by hired gunmen of U.S. missionary Sister Dorothy Stang, 74, is linked to local land barons in Para state. She spent decades fighting for land rights of the poor settlers. Two rural workers have been killed in the last four days.

Quito, Ecuador

Competing marchers flood streets of capital

Opposition groups and supporters of Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutierrez staged competing marches yesterday that brought at least 100,000 people into the streets of this capital.

The marches came amid international criticism of Gutierrez's efforts to gain control of the Supreme Court and fears that the country's increasingly tense and polarized political climate could degenerate into violence.

Gutierrez is a former military colonel who participated in a successful 2000 uprising against President Jamil Mahuad. He was elected president two years later amid high hopes that he would rid the country's political system of corruption, but he has since split with many of the Indian leaders who helped bring him to power.

Pago Pago, American Samoa

Powerful hurricane crosses main island

Hurricane Olaf, packing winds of up to 190 mph, passed within 60 miles of the U.S. territory's main island of Tutuila yesterday and then blew directly over a nearby group of smaller islands.

Telephone service to the Manua Islands of Ta'u, Ofu and Olosega was interrupted and officials were waiting for reports of damage after the storm crossed the area.

Also

Hong Kong collision: China-bound hovercraft carrying more than 160 people collided with a Chinese freight boat in Hong Kong waters today, injuring 94, with four people in serious condition, the government said.

Kidnap victim's body found: Cecilia Cubas, daughter of Paraguay's former President Raul Cubas, was found dead yesterday underneath a house nearly five months after she was kidnapped.

GM food fears: Environmental group Friends of the Earth said yesterday genetically modified corn never approved for human consumption is being handed out as U.N. food aid to Guatemala.

Rabies passed in organs: Three hospital patients in Germany appear to have been infected with rabies through organ transplants and are in critical condition, a medical foundation said yesterday.