Nation & World digest

hProtests as inquiry into UK’s role in war begins

LONDON — An inquiry into Britain’s role in the Iraq war kicked off Tuesday with top government advisers testifying that some Bush administration officials were calling for Saddam Hussein’s ouster as early as 2001 — long before sanctions were exhausted and two years before the U.S.-led invasion.

Critics hope the hearings, which will call ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair and are billed as the most sweeping inquiry into the conflict, will expose alleged deception in the buildup to fighting.

As the inquiry began, a small group of anti-war demonstrators gathered near Parliament. Three wore face masks of George Bush, Blair, in photo, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown — their hands and faces covered in fake blood.

Doctor was involved in botched execution

COLUMBUS — As an Ohio execution team tried to find a vein during an unsuccessful lethal- injection attempt, prison staff sought help from a doctor — a move generally discouraged by ethical and professional medical rules — federal court papers show.

Dr. Carmelita Bautista said in a deposition filed in U.S. District Court that she had never before been involved in an execution.

Bautista said she tried to insert an IV catheter into Romell Broom’s foot during the execution attempt on Sept. 15 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. Gov. Ted Strickland postponed it after several hours because a usable vein could not be found.

The American Medical Association prohibits its members from participating in executions.

But some doctors feel it’s ethically permissible to participate in executions because they are helping inmates avoid pain and ensuring a peaceful death, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center.

Rendell blasts operators of Three Mile Island plant

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Naturally occurring radon and a power glitch caused radiation monitors to sound false alarms Monday night and Tuesday morning at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant — and caused a fresh round of criticism for the plant’s operators, Exelon Corp., from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.

Though tests showed no abnormal radiation, Rendell said Exelon had again failed to notify state emergency-management officials quickly. He said the company did not tell the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency until about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday — nearly 13 hours after the first alarm.

Heterosexual sex spreads HIV quickly in China

SHANGHAI — The virus that causes AIDS is now spreading fastest in China through heterosexual sex, a trend demanding new strategies to stave off a rebound in the epidemic after years of progress in containing it, a United Nations report said.

Data show that 40 percent of new HIV infections diagnosed in China were acquired through heterosexual contact, with homosexual sex accounting for 32 percent and most of the remainder related to drug abuse, which was previously the main source of infections and the government’s main focus for prevention.

Church robber: Forgive me

ELLENWOOD, Ga. — Someone made off with loot from a Georgia church but also left behind an apology.

A note scrawled on the wall said: “Sorry but I’m poor. Forgive me Lord.”

The Rev. Roger Davis tells WSB-TV that expensive equipment including microphones and a laptop containing important records were stolen over the weekend from Berean Baptist Church. The robber broke locks and the church’s safe, but it was empty.

Combined dispatches