Paris

‘Sasser’ worm spreading to millions of computers

Millions of computers have already been infected by a new Internet computer worm that caused disruptions over the weekend and may spread rapidly when businesses resume work this morning, experts warned.

The worm, named Sasser, began to spread on Saturday, and unlike a virus does not travel through e-mails or attachments. It can spread by itself to any unprotected computer linked to the Internet, the Associated Foreign Press reported.

It attacks through a flaw in recent versions of Microsoft’s Windows — Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP — and causes the computer to shut down, then reboots it, repeating the process several times. But it appears to do no lasting damage.

The anti-virus company Panda Software said Sunday slightly more than 3 percent of the world’s computers were infected.

Information on the worm is available at www.microsoft.com.

Washington, D.C.

Panel develops policies to end Castro regime

A government commission is recommending to President Bush a series of measures to cut U.S. dollar flows to Cuba as part of a broader policy to hasten the end of the country’s communist system, an administration official said Sunday night.

A commission report, in preparation for six months and overseen by Secretary of State Colin Powell, also calls for steps to overcome Cuban jamming of U.S.-government sponsored radio and television broadcasts to Cuba, the official said.

The official, asking not to be identified in advance of the report’s public release, said it urges increased support for Cuban dissidents and families of political prisoners and also calls for measures to encourage foreign governments to distance themselves from the Cuban regime.

Last October, Bush announced the creation of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba and set a May 1 deadline for completion of a report.

Panama

Late dictator’s son wins presidential race

Martin Torrijos, the son of a former dictator, on Sunday won the nation’s first presidential vote since the handover of the Panama Canal and withdrawal of U.S. troops in December 1999.

Ex-president Guillermo Endara, his main rival, conceded defeat to Torrijos, whose father, Gen. Omar Torrijos, ruled Panama from 1968 until his death in 1981.

During the campaign, the candidates, both heavily linked to Panama’s troubled history, had vowed not to revive its authoritarian past. Still, Torrijos said in his victory speech: “If my father were here, he would be proud of what we accomplished today.”

Campaign officials said the U.S.-educated Torrijos would focus on tax and spending reform, negotiating a free trade agreement with the United States and improving the canal.

With 40 percent of the vote counted, Torrijos had about 47 percent of balloting; Endara, 30 percent.