Violence rages in capital city of Chad

Violence rages in
capital city of Chad

NAIROBI, Kenya — Tanks rolled through Chad’s capital, Ndjamena, Sunday, turning the streets into a body-littered battle zone between the government and rebels. Fighting also raged in an area where some 420,000 refugees live near the border with Darfur.

Chad and its former colonizer, France, accused Sudan of masterminding the coup attempt in the oil-rich Central African nation. Sudan has repeatedly denied any involvement in the fighting.

Hundreds of rebels penetrated the capital of Chad on Saturday. The violence has endangered a $300 million global aid operation supporting millions of people in Chad, a country about three times the size of California. It also has delayed the deployment of a European Union peacekeeping mission to both Chad and neighboring Central African Republic.

Iraq bill would return jobs
to Saddam-era officials

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s presidency council issued a law Sunday that will allow thousands of Saddam Hussein-era officials to return to government jobs, legislation viewed by the Bush administration as central to mending deep fissures between minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds and the majority Shiites who now wield power.

The measure, which was passed by parliament Jan. 12, was the first of 18 key U.S.-set benchmarks to become law after months of bitter debate. But it was issued without the signature of the Sunni vice president, and the presidency council cited reservations and plans to seek changes in the bill, clouding hopes it would encourage reconciliation.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, said a soldier had been killed Thursday in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Baghdad, raising to at least 40 the number of troop deaths reported in January, nearly double the 23 recorded in December and the largest monthly toll for the Americans since 65 in September.

A U.S. soldier also died of noncombat causes in Ninevah province in northern Iraq, the military said Sunday. At least 3,945 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Search for missing skiers
in Lake Tahoe area

SAN FRANCISCO — Search teams scoured snow-covered slopes Sunday for two missing skiers who were last seen at a Lake Tahoe resort during a storm that dumped up to 2 feet of snow.

Meanwhile, a new round of rain and snow arrived Sunday in Southern California, where days of heavy rain and snow last week led to avalanche and traffic deaths, minor floods and landslides.

The skiers were reported missing Saturday night at the Alpine Meadows resort just north of Lake Tahoe, said Placer County sheriff’s Sgt. Allan Carter.

Authorities have not released the names or hometowns of the missing men, ages 32 and 35, but described them as expert skiers.

Writers union, 4 indie
filmmakers reach pacts

NEW YORK — Striking writers have reached interim contract agreements with four New York-based independent filmmakers, ending their 12-week walkout, the two sides said Sunday in a joint announcement.

The settlement appeared to be another step toward ending the national work stoppage by the Writers Guild of America that has brought film and television production on both coasts to a virtual standstill.

The announcement did not offer details of the agreements but said they were “similar” to agreements reached earlier between the WGA and 13 other film and TV production companies.

The latest agreements with the Writers Guild’s east and west units enables the four indie producers, GreeneStreet Films, Killer Films, Open City Films and This is That Corporation to “resume business immediately,” the statement said.

Spears to stay in hospital

LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears got her stay in a psychiatric ward extended Sunday, as doctors decided to keep her hospitalized an additional 14 days, someone close to the pop star told The Associated Press.

Spears was to be released from UCLA Medical Center’s psychiatric hospital Sunday, but doctors and a medical officer at the ward determined that she should remain, said the person, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

Spears was committed Thursday for a 72-hour hold for evaluation. Paramedics, flanked by a police escort of about a dozen officers on motorcycles, in cars and a helicopter, took Spears from her home to the psychiatric hospital before dawn.