Northern Ireland

Hard-liners surge ahead in election for legislature

Hard-liners at opposing extremes of Northern Irish politics surged ahead of moderates Thursday in the election for a new legislature, undermining hopes of reviving a Catholic-Protestant government in this British territory.

Partial returns from Wednesday’s vote showed strong gains for both Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein, the party linked to Irish Republican Army — a near-impossible combination for reviving power-sharing.

Washington, D.C.

Researchers discover first heart attack gene

The first gene linked directly to heart attacks has been isolated from an extended Iowa family that has been plagued for generations with rampant coronary artery disease.

The gene, called MEF2A, plays a role in protecting the artery walls from building up plaque that can impede blood flow and lead to heart attacks, said Dr. Eric J. Topol of the Cleveland Clinic, head of a team that discovered the gene.

“This is the first heart attack gene,” Topol said. “Everyone who has this gene mutation is destined to have the disease. If you don’t have this gene in this family, you appear to be free from developing this disease.”

A report on the discovery was in today’s edition of the journal Science.

Congo

Ferries collide killing 160, leaving 100 more missing

Two boats overloaded with fishermen and traders collided on a stormy lake off the Congo River, killing at least 160 people and leaving more than 100 others missing.

Reports of causalities emerged Thursday from one of the deadliest ferry disasters ever in Africa, where inadequate roads make crowded, dilapidated riverboats a prime means of transportation.

Villagers in wooden canoes rescued many of what authorities said were 222 survivors from the accident, which happened late Tuesday, saving them from waves as high as eight feet.

“When the boat split, everyone fell in the water, searching for something to hold onto,” passenger Bienvenue Mwanku, a 23-year-old student, said.

News of the collision reached the capital, Kinshasa, 275 miles to the south, late Wednesday.