Netherlands

Yugoslav war crimes tribunal gives first life sentence

The U.N. war crimes tribunal for Yugoslavia imposed its harshest punishment to date Thursday, sentencing a Bosnian Serb politician to life in prison for exterminating or deporting thousands of Muslims and Croats in 1992.

Though acquitted of genocide, Milomir Stakic was convicted of being a leading figure in a campaign of persecution “to achieve the vision of a pure Serbian state,” according to a summary of the verdict read in court.

Stakic, a 41-year-old doctor, was convicted of directly planning and coordinating war crimes and was held responsible for subordinates who killed 1,500 people and forced at least 20,000 non-Serb civilians from their homes in the northwestern Bosnian municipality of Prijedor, where he was mayor.

Washington, D.C.

North Korea set to accept U.S. proposal for talks

North Korea has dropped its insistence on one-on-one talks with the United States and is ready to accept a U.S. proposal for six-nation negotiations on ending its nuclear weapons programs, the State Department said Thursday.

Officials said they expected the United States and North Korea to be joined by China, South Korea, Japan and Russia to discuss the issue soon.

The Bush administration has sought such six-way talks, but North Korea had insisted on a bilateral meeting with the United States to negotiate a nonaggression treaty.

Officials said President Bush learned of North Korea’s acceptance Wednesday from Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Washington, D.C.

U.S.-Mexican crackdown targets large drug ring

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft Thursday announced indictments against the leaders of one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels, the Zambada-Garcia organization, which allegedly has funneled cocaine and marijuana into U.S. cities and has ties to the 1985 killing of a U.S. undercover agent.

As part of the investigation of the drug ring, authorities arrested at least 67 suspected drug traffickers Thursday in the United States and Mexico, bringing to about 240 the number of people taken into custody during the 19-month multinational effort dubbed Operation Trifecta.

During the operation, authorities seized almost 6 tons of cocaine, more than 12 tons of marijuana, 100 pounds of methamphetamine and more than $8 million from the alleged smugglers.

Washington, D.C.

Senate passes energy bill

A deadlock in the Senate about energy legislation ended Thursday, when Republican leaders abruptly agreed to shelve their proposal in favor of a measure passed last year under Democratic leadership.

Senate Republicans said they agreed to adopt last year’s bill because they planned to write provisions of their choosing when they meet with House negotiators later to work out differences between House and Senate energy bills.

Democrats, who had been losing votes on their energy proposals this week, agreed to the switch as the best deal they could get.