Briefly

Denmark

Nearly 4 million lose power in blackout

A power outage struck the capital of Denmark and southern Sweden on Tuesday afternoon, leaving nearly 4 million people without electricity, authorities said.

Utility officials said the outage was caused by a faulty transmission line between the two countries. Police did not suspect sabotage or terrorism.

Traffic signals and lights in offices, shops and homes went dark just after noon in Copenhagen, a city of 1.8 million people.

Sture Larsson, technical director of the Swedish National Grid, described efforts to bring power back up.

“We’re reconnecting the electricity from the national grid to the local and regional network,” he said.

Jerusalem

Israeli spending on settlements tallied

The Israeli government spends at least $560 million a year on subsidies, infrastructure and education for 220,000 Jewish settlers living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to a report Tuesday in the Israeli daily Haaretz.

The figure does not include military spending in those areas.

Since capturing the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, Israel has spent at least $10.1 billion on settlements, Haaretz said.

According to the Haaretz report, the amount of money spent on the settlements amounted to more than $2,200 per person. The money included spending on roads, housing, electricity, education and recently canceled tax breaks for settlers.

The spending on the settlements equals more than 1 percent of the total Israeli budget of $48.7 billion.

Haiti

Fugitive killed after year on run

The bullet-riddled body of Amiot Metayer has been found, more than a year after he escaped from prison and allegedly went on a rampage terrorizing government opponents.

Metayer, 39, a longtime supporter of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and leader of the “Cannibal Army,” was found Monday night in St. Marc. He was shot once through each eye and once through the heart, Daniel Jean-Charles, the central government’s representative, said Tuesday.

Metayer was arrested on arson charges on May 21, 2002, in connection with an alleged attack on a rival gang in Gonaives. He broke out of prison in August 2002 with help from supporters.

Authorities failed to recapture Metayer, saying they did not want to raid his seaside shantytown stronghold of Raboteau and risk sparking a violent confrontation.

Witnesses said Metayer and the Cannibal Army spent months burning down houses and assaulting Aristide opponents.