Kansas

Fort Riley soldier becomes post’s 21st death in Iraq

A Fort Riley soldier from Nebraska died New Year’s Day in Baghdad, becoming the post’s 21st soldier to be killed in Iraq.

The Department of Defense said Sgt. Dennis A. Corral, 33, of Kearney, Neb., died when traveling in a convoy to Baghdad International Airport. Officials said Corral’s vehicle went out of control and rolled over. The incident is under investigation.

Corral was assigned to Company C, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.

Corral is the first soldier to die in Iraq in 2004.

Washington, D.C.

President Bush upholds sanctions against Libya

President Bush refused to lift U.S. sanctions against Libya on Monday, saying Moammar Gadhafi must take concrete steps to fulfill a pledge to scrap his chemical and nuclear weapons programs.

Bush said he was keeping in force a declaration of national emergency first issued by President Reagan in 1986 when the United States blocked Libyan assets in the United States, accusing Gadhafi’s regime of sponsoring terrorism.

Bush, in a written notice, said Libya’s promise last month to abandon weapons of mass destruction marked “an important and welcome step toward addressing the concerns of the world community.”

“As Libya takes tangible steps to address those concerns, the United States will in turn take reciprocal tangible steps to recognize Libya’s progress,” Bush said.

Belgium

Additional letter bombs sent to European lawmakers

Two more letter bombs addressed to senior members of the European Parliament burst into flames and another was intercepted Monday — the seventh since Dec. 27 — leading to a security review at the European Union.

The latest bombings scorched furniture, leaving the letter-openers frightened but unharmed. Investigators suspect an Italian anarchist group — the Informal Anarchic Federation — as the likely source for the string of bombs, which have caused no injuries.

“This has to be taken very, very seriously because we don’t know whether there is a terrorist background to this or some kind of warning, in whatever form — or whether it is just a bad joke,” said Hans-Gert Poettering, the head of the conservative faction in the European Parliament who was one of those targeted Monday.

Egypt

Bin Laden tape authenticated

The White House confirmed that the voice on an audiotape calling on Muslims to keep fighting a holy war in the Middle East was probably that of Osama bin Laden’s.

The voice on the audiotape, broadcast Sunday on the Al-Jazeera satellite channel, referred to recent events — including the Dec. 13 capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

“Our intelligence team has analyzed it to determine whether it is authentic or not, and they have determined that it is likely that the voice on the tape is bin Laden’s,” said White House press secretary Scott McClellan.