Geneva

U.N. cites Gitmo torture reports, urge inspections

U.N. human rights investigators, citing “persistent and credible” reports of torture at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, urged the United States on Thursday to allow them to check conditions there.

The failure of the United States to respond to requests since early 2002 is leading the experts to conclude Washington has something to hide at the Cuban base, said Manfred Nowak, a specialist on torture and a professor of human rights law in Vienna, Austria.

Washington’s response is delayed because the U.S. review process is “thorough and independent” and involves the Bush administration, Congress and the judicial system, said Brooks Robinson, spokeswoman for the U.S. mission to U.N. offices in Geneva.

Uruguay

11 die in ship fire

Firefighters on Thursday recovered the badly burned remains of eleven men killed aboard a Ukrainian-flagged fishing vessel that caught fire in the port city of Montevideo.

The “Simeiz,” carrying a crew of 39, caught fire before dawn Wednesday in the harbor alongside the Uruguayan capital. But authorities said they had to wait until flames were out to board the vessel for fear that flammable refrigerants used in onboard freezers might explode.

A spokesman for the firefighters, Jorge Roqueta, said the victims were found in their bunks and that the bodies were so badly burned that it was difficult to identify the remains.

Roqueta said the dead included nine Chinese, an Indonesian and a Ukrainian.

Toronto

Canada eyes restrictions for online pharmacies

Canada will soon announce measures aimed at restricting Internet pharmacies from selling mail-order prescription drugs to U.S. consumers, Canada’s Health Minister said on Thursday.

Such a move would cut into a $700 million industry that has become increasingly popular with underinsured patients in search of cheaper medicine.

The U.S. government has argued that reimporting U.S.-made drugs from Canada would put consumers at risk because U.S. regulators could not guarantee their safety. The pharmaceutical industry vehemently opposes the practice, which undercuts U.S. sales.

Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh has been studying options to restrict the practice for at least six months.

“I am concerned and we’re acting on it. There will be news soon,” Dosanjh said Thursday.

Beijing

Death toll in summer flooding surpasses 500

Flooding and landslides have killed 536 people over the past two weeks, forcing the evacuation of 1.4 million and making this one of the deadliest summer rainy seasons in a decade, the government said Friday.

Damage was worst in the south, where torrential rains and mudslides have killed at least 97 people this week and left another 41 missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.