Briefly

New York

Baby survives after father tosses her from seventh floor

A Peekskill man was arrested Monday and charged with tossing his baby daughter out a seventh-floor apartment window, police said.

The 10-month-old girl survived the 80-foot fall, crashing through several tree branches before landing on the ground. She suffered only cuts and bruises.

Police said Willie Williams barged into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment late Saturday in a bid to persuade her to get back together with him.

Police said they argued and Williams dangled the baby out a window. The mother called 911 and Williams dropped the girl, police said.

Williams then left the apartment, grabbed the baby and drove her to a nearby hospital.

Williams was charged with attempted murder, assault and unlawful imprisonment. He was in jail awaiting arraignment late Monday.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong off SARS list

The World Health Organization removed Hong Kong from its list of SARS-infected areas Monday. But health officials warned the territory to keep up its guard against future outbreaks that might put it back on the list.

WHO officials urged Hong Kong to avoid a repeat of what happened in Toronto, where a new outbreak was discovered after Canada’s largest city was taken off the WHO list. Two people died of SARS Sunday in Toronto.

Only Beijing, Taiwan and Toronto remain on the list after the ebbing worldwide of the SARS crisis since its peak in March and April. Mainland China said Monday it had recorded no new SARS cases for 12 days and Taiwan said it had no new cases for six days — while neither had any new SARS deaths.

Jordan

Global business leaders make little progress on Mideast

Rich and powerful business leaders brought their can-do attitude this weekend to the Middle East. But the entrepreneurs fared no better than the politicians in making a dent in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

No breakthroughs emerged from the World Economic Forum, which Monday ended its first annual session in the Middle East.

A much-anticipated peacemakers’ meeting during the three-day summit produced only another plea to Israelis and Palestinians to work harder for peace.

Florida

Flames from engine prompt evacuation of jet

Flames shot from an engine of a Delta Air Lines jet as it pushed away from the gate Monday at Tampa International Airport, causing some passengers to deploy the emergency evacuation chute in a scramble to get off the plane. Twelve people suffered minor injuries.

Delta flight 1036 to Atlanta was leaving the gate about 7:15 a.m. when some passengers saw the flame come out of the Boeing 757’s right engine, said Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes.

The fire was believed to be the result of a “hot start,” which happens when fuel accumulates in the fuel line and ignites when the engine starts, Estes said. She said the engine did not malfunction on the plane, which had 167 passengers.