Circumcision in prison

Circumcision in prison

RIMONIM PRISON, Israel — Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin celebrated the birth of his son with a circumcision ceremony inside his heavily guarded prison Sunday, the 12th anniversary of the former leader’s death. Yigal Amir, an Orthodox Jew, shot Rabin dead after a peace rally Nov. 4, 1995, because he opposed the prime minister’s policy of ceding land for peace with the Palestinians. Amir was sentenced to life in prison and has been held in isolation since. But over the past year, he has been permitted conjugal visits with his wife, Larissa Trimbobler, whom he married while in prison. The boy was born last week, and according to Jewish tradition, a healthy Jewish male is circumcised eight days after his birth. Israeli media said the boy was named Yinon Elia Shalom Amir.

Prince leaves Citigroup

NEW YORK — Citigroup Inc. said Sunday Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Prince, beset by the company’s billions of dollars in losses from investing in bad debt, has retired and is being replaced as chairman by former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. In an announcement after an emergency meeting of Citi’s board, the nation’s largest banking company also said Sir Win Bischoff, chairman of Citi Europe and a Member of the Citi management and operating committees, would serve as interim CEO. Prince’s resignation, which was secured at an emergency meeting of the Citi board Sunday, was expected after the nation’s largest banking company revealed it had to write down billions of dollars in bad debt. He joined former Merrill Lynch & Co.

Glitch on time change

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Most of the country moved their clocks back one hour when daylight saving time ended Sunday, but some Alltel Corp. customers saw their cellular phone clocks jump forward an hour instead. Alltel spokesman Andrew Moreau said the glitch affected some customers in Little Rock; Panama City and Tallahassee, Fla.; Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C.; and Richmond, Va. He said those using phones operating on the carrier’s high-speed EVDO wireless network experienced the jump ahead. Moreau said the problem rested with the switches that handle calls or send new software to the cellular phones.

Kucinich’s conference call

WASHINGTON — In a nationwide conference call at 7:30 tonight, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said he will explain why and how he plans to force an up-or-down vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on the impeachment resolution against Vice President Richard B. Cheney. Last week, the Ohio Congressman announced that he will be offering a “privileged resolution” on Tuesday that will require House members to vote on what to do with the impeachment measure, which has 22 sponsors.

Shuttle heading home

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Still on “a major high” from their successful solar wing repair, the 10 astronauts aboard the linked shuttle Discovery and international space station cried as they hugged goodbye Sunday and closed the door between them. The most tears came from the two men who traded places on the space station: Clayton Anderson, who is headed home after five months in orbit, and Daniel Tani, who is starting a two-month mission. They repeatedly wiped their eyes during the farewell ceremony, held a day before Discovery undocks for its return to Earth. The two commanders, the shuttle’s Pamela Melroy and the station’s Peggy Whitson, also were teary-eyed as they hugged each other. After pulling away early today, the shuttle will fly a full lap around the station, primarily for picture-taking. Engineers are particularly interested in seeing how the newly mended solar wing is affected by the vibrations of undocking. Discovery’s 15-day mission will end with a Wednesday touchdown.

Kurds release Turks

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Kurdish rebels released eight Turkish soldiers Sunday on the eve of a meeting between the Turkish prime minister and President Bush that aims to avert a cross-border offensive against guerrilla bases in northern Iraq. The soldiers’ plight had featured daily in Turkish newspapers, and their release removed a key source of domestic pressure on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to send troops into neighboring Iraq. But Turkey was unlikely to ease demands for tough action against the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK, which is believed to have several mountain hideouts along the Iraq-Turkey border.

Combined dispatches