United Nations

U.N. official urges Iran, N. Korea on nuclear decisions

The chief of the United Nations nuclear agency urged Iran and North Korea on Monday to prove their nuclear programs were peaceful and also called for tighter controls to halt the globe’s “extensive illicit market” in nuclear materials.

In his annual report to the U.N. General Assembly, Mohamed ElBaradei said Iran should suspend its uranium enrichment program “as a confidence building measure” and North Korea should dismantle its nuclear weapons program or at least allow inspections to ensure it was “exclusively peaceful.”

ElBaradei, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, also stressed the importance of resuming U.N. nuclear inspections in Iraq “as soon as the security situation permits” to ensure that items with both civilian and military applications were not being misused.

China

Thousands of police patrol town after deadly rioting

Police by the thousands patrolled Langchenggang on Monday, and residents hunkered down in their homes after deadly street fights between members of the country’s main ethnic group and a Muslim minority.

As many as 5,000 people fought with sticks and burned several houses over the weekend in violence between Hui Muslims and members of the Han ethnic majority, according to Langchenggang residents interviewed by phone.

The fighting killed seven people and injured 42, according to residents and the government. Langchenggang residents could not confirm a report by The New York Times of 148 deaths, including 18 police officers.

Kansas City, Mo.

Underground rapper killed in highway shooting

A San Francisco Bay area underground rap star, who police say was also a member of a gang of robbers, was killed when a gunman shot into a van in which he was riding.

Andre Hicks, 34, known as Mac Dre, was killed about 3:30 a.m. Monday when another vehicle pulled up beside the driver’s side of the van he was in on U.S. Highway 71 and began shooting, police said.

The van swerved across the highway median, across the southbound lanes and down a steep embankment.

The driver crawled from the wreckage and walked for help.

Hicks had performed Friday night at a concert in Kansas City, Kan., and stayed in the area for the weekend.