Yasser Arafat was reportedly fighting for his life Thursday at a French military hospital after losing consciousness, as anxious Palestinian officials transferred some of their 75-year-old leader’s powers to Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia. Doctors at Percy Military Training Hospital outside Paris, where Arafat was airlifted last Friday after more than two years of confinement in the West Bank, quashed reports that he had died. But the doctors would not say much else, and confusion ruled as Palestinians issued conflicting reports about Arafat’s condition and how close to death he was.
Guatemala: U.S. travel warning
The U.S. State Department is warning Americans about the dangers of street crime in Guatemala after a series of recent attacks on tourists. The warning is in effect through May. “Violent criminal activity on the highways in Guatemala has increased,” it said. “Crimes against foreigners have included murder, rape, and armed robbery, increasingly in conjunction with highway banditry. … Armed robbers have intercepted vehicles on main roads in broad daylight,” it said, later adding, “Recent cases of highway banditry have included the rape of women and female minors.”
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