African Union to disregard warrant

African Union to disregard warrant

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea

The body representing nations in Africa called on its members to disregard the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Moammar Gadhafi, an official confirmed Saturday, in a move that seriously weakens the tribunal’s ability to bring the embattled Libyan leader to justice.

The decision passed by the 53-member African Union late Friday states that the warrant against Gadhafi “seriously complicates” efforts by the organization to find a solution to the Libyan crisis.

AU executive Jean Ping also told reporters that the ICC is “discriminatory” and only goes after crimes committed in Africa while ignoring those he says were committed by Western powers in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Fierce storm sweeps through Wis., Minn.

GRANTSBURG, Wis.

A fierce thunderstorm swept through a rural Wisconsin county that was packed with holiday campers, toppling trees that killed an 11-year-old girl, blowing boats ashore and injuring more than three dozen people, officials said Saturday.

The storm moved across Minnesota and Wisconsin on Friday, packing winds approaching 80 mph and hail as large as softballs.

In northwestern Wisconsin’s Burnett County, at least 39 people went to hospitals after the storm toppled hundreds of trees and left several thousand utility customers without power. Authorities said three were in critical condition Saturday afternoon.

Exxon oil spill fouls river in Montana

LAUREL, Mont.

An ExxonMobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River in Montana ruptured Saturday and leaked hundreds of barrels of oil into the waterway, causing a 25-mile plume that fouled the riverbank and forced municipalities and irrigation districts downstream to close intakes.

The break near Billings in south-central Montana led to temporary evacuations of hundreds of residents along a 20-mile stretch. Cleanup crews deployed booms and absorbent material as the plume moved downstream at an estimated 5 to 7 mph.

The river has no dams on its way to its confluence with the Missouri River just across the Montana border in North Dakota. It was unclear how far the plume might travel.

50 Yemeni troops missing after battle

SAN‘A, Yemen

Some 50 Yemeni troops went missing after a battle with al-Qaida-linked militants at a sports stadium in the country’s increasingly lawless south, a military official said Saturday, describing a new setback for a weakened regime already facing an array of opponents.

Meanwhile, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been treated in a Saudi hospital since an attack on his palace a month ago, remains bedridden and has difficulty breathing and talking, Yemeni officials said, revealing new details about the extent of his injuries.

Lavish religious wedding in Monaco

MONACO

Monaco’s Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene promised each other love and fidelity in an extravagant religious wedding Saturday attended by international celebrities and royalty, bringing new allure to the tiny principality known for its luxurious casinos and as stomping ground for the rich and famous.

The Catholic service followed a civil ceremony Friday, which saw Charlene officially transformed from commoner into royalty. The marriage of the 53-year-old prince and the 33-year-old Charlene Wittstock, a one-time Olympic swimmer from South Africa who is now known as Princess Charlene, ended a three-decade wait for a new princess.

Associated Press