Washington: Peace advocate remembered

Mourners said prayer in the Muslim, Jewish and Christian fashion Saturday in Olympia as they remembered an American student and peace activist who was killed last week in a Palestinian refugee camp.

More than 1,800 family, friends and faculty attended the memorial for Rachel Corrie at The Evergreen State College, from which the 23-year-old senior had been on leave.

Corrie was an international observer and activist for the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led group that uses nonviolent methods to challenge Israeli occupation.

She died March 16 when a bulldozer driven by an Israeli soldier ran over her as she protested in front of a Palestinian home he was demolishing. The Israeli Army said it was an accident, but Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told President Bush that Israel will investigate thoroughly.

Denver: Civilian prosecutors probe alleged rape at academy

For the first time since a sexual assault scandal broke within the Air Force Academy, civilian authorities are investigating an allegation, a prosecutor said Saturday.

The El Paso County district attorney has concurrent jurisdiction at the academy, and the sheriff’s department also has an agreement allowing it to investigate cases there.

The Air Force has two investigations under way at the academy into allegations that female cadets were reprimanded or ostracized for reporting sexual assaults. The Defense Department’s Inspector General plans to start its own investigation next week.

The Air Force says there have been at least 56 reports of sexual assaults of female cadets in the last decade.

Beijing: Mine explosion kills 28

A gas explosion killed 28 people and trapped 45 others in a coal mine in northern China, an official said today.

Eighty-seven people were working in the Mengnanzhuang mine in Shanxi province when the blast occurred Saturday afternoon, said a rescue official, who only gave his surname, Zhang. Fourteen miners survived the accident in the city of Xiaoyi, he said.

Officials were still investigating the cause of the explosion.