Fire ignites five vehicles on St. John’s Queens campus
A fire occurred on the St. John’s Queens campus at approximately 1:40 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14, according to Public Safety.
The fire involved five cars, belonging to four students and one University employee, parked in the lane near St. Thomas More Church. The fire began with a red Ford Mustang and then leapt to the other vehicles nearby: a beige Nissan Altima, a black Saturn, a green Mazda, and a red Volkswagen.
The Mustang suffered the most damage. Because the fire was contained early, the other vehicles suffered significantly less damage, according to Public Safety.
Public Safety responded to the scene and attempted to contain the fire. Engine 315 and Ladder 152 of the Fire Department of New York put the fire out.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, Office Michael Campbell said.
Terror in Jordan leads to arrest of
Iraqi woman
Three suicide bombings occurred in Amman, the capital city of Jordan, last week, leaving at least 57 dead. At least four Americans died in the blasts. The Radisson SAS Hotel, the Grand Hyatt Hotel and the Days Inn Hotel were all directly attacked by the suicide bombers.
Investigators believe that two of the suicide bombers entered the Hyatt and Radisson hotels and set off explosives that were strapped to their torsos. At the Days Inn, the explosive device was detonated outside the lobby.
In an Internet posting on Nov. 10, Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks claiming that these hotels were “the backyard garden for the enemy of religion: Jews and crusaders.”
However, on Sunday night Jordanian security officials announced the arrest of an Iraqi woman who had ties to the suicide bombing team responsible for the attacks.
Officials hope the arrest will lead to further information on Al-Qaeda and its insurgents.
Liberian election ends with victory for first
female president
In a vote on Friday, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf defeated former soccer star George Weah in Liberia’s presidential election. Sirleaf took the election with an overwhelming 59 percent of the vote.
Sirleaf is an economist and graduate of Harvard University who formerly served the World Bank. She has become the first woman ever elected to be the head of a modern African state.
Her opponent has submitted a formal complaint to the Supreme Court of Liberia to investigate the results of the election for any signs of irregularities or foul play.
Milosevic’s lawyers plead for postponement in war crime trial
Slobodan Milosevic, former president of Serbia and of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, has been examined by an international medical team following complaints from Milosevic of pain in his neck, ears and head.
The team has stated that Milosevic is unstable and may experience further complications if not on complete bed-rest for at least six weeks.
As a result of the report, lawyers requested a postponement of trial proceedings. However, there is no law in the tribunal about trial proceeding despite absentia. If the request is granted, the trial will be most likely put off until January 2006.
Milosevic is on trial for charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide during a decade of war.
-Compiled by Rachel Besharat
from New York Times and Associated Press sources
