Haiti

Thousands demonstrate for ouster of Aristide

Thousands of Haitians took to the streets Friday demanding the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, while his supporters marched outside the National Palace pledging to defend the government.

At least three people were reported shot and wounded by Aristide supporters, according to witnesses including reporters. Government supporters also threw stones at the marchers, trying to break up the demonstration.

Four radio stations resumed news broadcasts with police posted outside their offices. Radio Vision 2000 and Radio Metropole were among four radio stations that suspended broadcasts Thursday amid death threats from government supporters.

CLEVELAND

Ex-Azerbaijan leader dies in U.S. at 80

Former Azerbaijani President Geidar Aliev, an ex-KGB general and Communist Party chief who brought stability to a nation plagued by insurgencies, died Friday at the Cleveland Clinic. He was 80.

Aliev was admitted to the hospital Aug. 6 with congestive heart failure and kidney problems.

Aliev was one of a number of Soviet-era leaders who shed their Communist mantles after the Cold War.

His son, Ilham Aliev, succeeded him in office after Oct. 15 presidential elections.

Ivory Coast

Police put down attack by gunmen; 18 killed

Armed men in black T-shirts attacked Ivory Coast military police near the state television headquarters Friday, sparking a two-hour battle that the defense minister said killed 18 people.

Military police guarding the station put down the attack, a journalist at state TV told The Associated Press.

A journalist said the attack was an attempt to take control of the TV station, a standard step in uprisings in the troubled West African economic hub.

ROME

Mineral water sabotage scare spreads in Italy

Several people fell ill across Italy on Friday after drinking apparently tainted bottled mineral water, the latest in a scare that has prompted prosecutors to launch investigations.

The case centers on a series of apparent sabotages in which bottles of mineral water have been injected with household bleach just below the cap.

Since the first reported case on Nov. 19, reports of tainted water have multiplied, with concern spreading to other bottled and canned drinks including milk and fruit juice.

Italian hospitals have treated some 50 people for digestive tract irritation, though none of the cases has resulted in serious illness.