Washington
Overflights aid U.S. search
The United States is conducting reconnaissance flights over Somalia to help determine whether the al-Qaida terrorist group is rebuilding in the largely lawless East African country.
"We are working to ensure that Somalia is not a haven for terrorists," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday, acknowledging that the country could be a potential hideout.
Al-Qaida members, probably numbering in the dozens, have arrived in Somalia after fleeing the fighting in Afghanistan, officials said Thursday. Al-Qaida previously had a presence in the country, and also has ties to al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, a native Islamic fundamentalist movement.
Other officials said there was no convincing evidence of a substantial al-Qaida presence in Somalia.
New York
Women victims may net less than male victims of attacks
Women killed or injured in the Sept. 11 attacks may get lower payments than men from the federal compensation fund, because the fund could factor in statistics showing women typically work fewer years than men.
Michael Rozen, deputy special master of the fund, confirmed Thursday that final payments will be based partly on sex.
"When we are presented with individual facts, we will certainly take into account differing work life expectancies between men and women," Rozen said. But he emphasized that individual factors would be considered in every case.
The work life statistics would be used to estimate how much income a victim might have earned during a lifetime. Statistics show that women generally work about five years less than men, in part because they stay home with children, but that the gap has narrowed in the past two decades.
Rozen's comments came as a panel of economists said the fund's preliminary rules, announced last month, had "glaring errors in methodology" and treated female workers unfairly.
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