Milosevic opens defense at his war crimes trial THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Former Yugoslav

Milosevic opens defense at his war crimes trial THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic opened his long-delayed defense at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal today, describing the battles of his Serbian people as self defense against internal rebellions and external attacks by Islamic warriors. Milosevic, charged with genocide and crimes against humanity in the Balkans, portrayed the Serbs as victims rather than aggressors: victims of a plan supported by the United States and Europe to break up Yugoslavia, of an attempt to wipe out Croatia's Serb minority, and of a Saudi-financed plot to create an Islamic state in Bosnia. Milosevic's statement, launching the second half of the most important war crimes trial since World War II, began with a complaint to the judges that he was allotted only four hours to make his opening argument, while prosecutors were given three days to outline their case when the trial began in February 2002. But presiding judge Patrick Robinson ordered Milosevic to proceed, saying that the defense case had repeatedly been delayed by his frail health. U.S. bombs Afghan village KABUL, Afghanistan -- U.S. warplanes bombed a village in eastern Afghanistan, killing eight people and destroying the camp of a Danish relief group after assailants rocketed a nearby government office, Afghan officials and the international aid group said today. The American military said the airstrike late Monday in Kunar province was launched to counter an attack on U.S. troops and killed several militants. The military accused rebels of injuring 10 civilians but did not rule out harm being done to villagers by American fire. The Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees, or DACAAR, said at least one of its aid workers was injured in the bombing 2 jailed in disappearance of child missing 35 years SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Three-year-old Michelle Pulsifer was never seen again after her family got in their car and left California 35 years ago. But no one ever filed a missing person report -- or so much as spoke of the girl, prosecutors say. Now, authorities will search for the girl's body, and her mother and an Illinois man have been arrested in her killing. The Orange County district attorney's office said Monday it spent a year looking into the case after a private investigator hired by the girl's aunt told them he could find no public record of her after July 4, 1969. Days after Michelle Pulsifer was last seen, her family suddenly moved to Illinois from their home south of Los Angeles. Her mother, Donna J. Prentice, and Prentice's former boyfriend, James Michael Kent, insist she was left with a relative in California, investigators say. Prentice, 57, of Genoa, Wis., has been arrested. She refused to waive extradition to California on Monday, and will remain in custody pending a Sept. 22 hearing in Wisconsin. Kent, 62, of Lakemoor, Ill., was arrested in Illinois last week and was being held in the Orange County jail on $1 million bail. He appeared in court Monday. State of emergency in Va. RICHMOND, Va. -- A state of emergency was declared as Tropical Storm Gaston poured nearly a foot of rain on central Virginia, flooding streets with several feet of rushing water that floated cars and trucks and smashed them into buildings. At least three people were killed. At the same time, Hurricane Frances grew to a Category 4 storm with 135 mph wind today as it headed past Puerto Rico on a course that could bring it ashore in hard-hit Florida or somewhere else in the Southeast this weekend, the National Hurricane Center said. Gaston surprised forecasters who had expected the storm to move through more quickly as it came north from the Carolinas. The deluge turned Richmond streets into rivers and trapped people in buildings. Motorcycle builder dies CONCORD, N.C. -- A custom motorcycle builder known for his appearances on cable's Discovery Channel died Monday at a hospital of head injuries suffered during a stunt, officials said. "Indian Larry" fell off a motorcycle Saturday while performing before 8,000 people at an arena outside Charlotte. He was not wearing a helmet, the officials said. Indian Larry was standing on the moving bike when it began to wobble and went out of control, said Mike Downs, Cabarrus County deputy manager. His full name was not immediately known. Indian Larry, who appeared in movies and television shows, was featured on a Discovery Channel series in which motorcycle builders design and build bikes from scratch, then have them judged by motorcycle aficionados. Associated Press