MOSCOW – A concrete roof over an indoor swimming pool in Russia's Ural Mountains region collapsed yesterday, killing at least eight people – including two children – and injuring 11 others, officials said.
The incident occurred in the village of Chusovoi about 750 miles east of Moscow. The cause is under investigation.
Associated Press
Ukraine takes birds in flu outbreak
NEKRASOVKA, Ukraine – Soldiers moved from house to house yesterday in five villages where a virulent strain of bird flu has been detected, removing domestic birds for a mass cull.
Villagers will receive compensation – about $3 – for every bird. Ukrainian authorities imposed tough measures Saturday to contain the outbreak, the first in the former Soviet state.
Associated Press
Ex-energy chief is PAN's nominee
MEXICO CITY – President Vicente Fox's former energy secretary, Felipe Calderón, accepted the National Action Party's nomination for the presidency yesterday, quickly branding his chief adversaries in next summer's election as products of corrupt governments of the past.
Associated Press
Longtime Kazakh leader re-elected
ASTANA, Kazakhstan – President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled oil-rich Kazakhstan since Soviet times, was re-elected yesterday by an overwhelming majority, according to preliminary results released today.
The Central Elections Commission said that Nazarbayev had won 91 percent of the vote in yesterday's elections, according to the initial count. His closest challenger, Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, got 6 percent.
Associated Press
U.N. set to dismiss elections official
UNITED NATIONS – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to fire the chief of the office that promotes free elections around the world for harassing staff and management failures.
A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because an announcement is not expected until today, said Carina Perelli was being dismissed from the United Nations.
Associated Press
Face transplant patient doing well
PARIS – The recipient of the world's first partial face transplant was thriving medically and psychologically a week after her groundbreaking surgery, one of her doctors said yesterday.
The woman, 38, whose face had been partially disfigured by a dog, appeared relatively normal after the operation and doctors were happy about her mental state, Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard said.
"Psychologically, she is doing very well," Dubernard said.
Associated Press
