Senior al-Qaida leader captured
The United States has captured a senior al-Qaida leader who is providing interrogators with information about the terrorist group's plots and also may possess clues to the whereabouts of its top leadership, senior U.S. officials said Thursday.
( By WARREN P. STROBEL, Knight Ridder Newspapers, 11/21/2002 04:49 PM PST)

Witnesses: Congo government troops kill 100 civilians
Government troops killed at least 100 civilians in a town in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo, witnesses and a human rights group said on Thursday.
( By MARK DUMMETT, Reuters, 11/21/2002 12:38 PM PST)

Blast paralyzes cargo handling at Lagos airport
An explosion ripped through the cargo wing of Lagos airport on Thursday, killing at least one person and paralyzing cargo handling at West Africa's busiest air terminal.
( By KINGSLEY IGWE, Reuters, 11/21/2002 12:35 PM PST)

Strike plan threatens to worsen Venezuela conflict
Foes of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who are pressing for an early referendum on his rule said on Thursday they would call a nationwide strike, but the government dismissed the threat as a desperate bid to force the leftist leader from power.
( By PASCAL FLETCHER, Reuters, 11/21/2002 11:48 AM PST)

U.S.: Al-Qaida's Gulf Chief Caught
U.S. counterterrorism officials are interrogating a newly captured top operative of Osama bin Laden in hopes of gaining information that might thwart terrorist attacks.
( JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press, 11/21/2002 11:38 AM PST)

50 killed over Miss World article
Angry mobs stabbed and set fire to bystanders Thursday in rioting that erupted after a newspaper suggested Islam's founding prophet would have approved of the Miss World beauty pageant. At least 50 people were killed and 200 injured.
( By GLENN McKENZIE, Associated Press, 11/21/2002 11:34 AM PST)

Studies seek origin of domestic dogs
Domesticated dogs originated from wolves in East Asia nearly 15,000 years ago, then traveled with humans through Europe and across the Bering Strait to America, according to a pair of studies presented Thursday.
( By KARL RITTER, Associated Press, 11/21/2002 11:31 AM PST)

No Serb consensus on war crimes handovers, says PM
Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said on Thursday that the country's ruling coalition could not agree whether to arrest and hand over men indicted for war crimes by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague.
( Reuters, 11/21/2002 11:29 AM PST)

Mediators present new Ivory Coast peace plan
West African mediators handed rebel and government negotiators a new plan to end war in Ivory Coast on Thursday as the United Nations appealed for money to help nearly four million people suffering because of the crisis.
( By JOHN ZODZI, Reuters, 11/21/2002 11:26 AM PST)

S.Africa prison gangs use AIDS rape as punishment
South African prison gangs are using HIV infection as punishment, ordering gang members carrying the AIDS virus to rape disobedient inmates in a ritual known as "slow puncture," officials said Thursday.
( Reuters, 11/21/2002 11:22 AM PST)

Rocket slams into Kabul neighborhood
A rocket fired by unidentified attackers slammed into a northeastern neighborhood of Kabul about a mile from the U.S. Embassy, police and witnesses said. There were no injuries.
( TODD PITMAN, Associated Press, 11/21/2002 11:15 AM PST)

Chief inspector to brief council
Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix will brief the Security Council about his talks in Baghdad with Iraqi officials and the impending resumption of inspections, a U.N. spokesman said.
( EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press, 11/21/2002 11:10 AM PST)

Rumsfeld reacts to Kuwait attack
The shooting of two U.S. soldiers in Kuwait is not necessarily related to the threat of military action against neighboring Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said.
( MATT KELLEY, Associated Press, 11/21/2002 11:04 AM PST)

Nigeria airport explosion hurts 8
Two explosions ripped through the cargo wing of the international airport in this sprawling West African city, injuring eight people.
( Associated Press, 11/21/2002 10:58 AM PST)