The world in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It is correct there is much in this area that needs to be pondered and expressed in new ways.”

Pope Benedict XVI,

on sexual ethics, saying condom use can be justified

in some cases to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS Article, 1AMexicans charge reputed drug kingpin

MEXICO CITY - Mexican authorities said Saturday that they have filed formal charges against purported drug kingpin Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villareal and are weighing a request to extradite him to the United States.

The Texas-born Valdez, considered one of Mexico’s top drug traffickers in recent years, faces charges including drug trafficking, kidnapping and arms possession, according to a statement issued by the Mexican attorney general’s office.

He also now faces a formal extradition process tied to a U.S. warrant for drug-trafficking charges in Louisiana, the statement said.

Valdez, who had been held pending charges since his Aug. 30 arrest, is described by authorities as a former ally of Mexico’s most-wanted kingpin, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and he purportedly had been fighting for control of the Beltran Leyva gang after Mexican marines killed its leader in late 2009.

Patient stable, got liver saved in crash

LONDON - Rescuers saved a donated liver from a fiery plane crash in central England and rushed it to a nearby hospital, where it was successfully transplanted, officials said Saturday.

The private jet carrying the organ clipped an antenna as it was landing at Birmingham Airport in thick fog Friday afternoon and caught fire as it hit the ground.

Two crew members were injured, but rescuers managed to put out the fire and take the organ to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital on a police motorbike.

The liver was undamaged and was successfully implanted in a patient during a four-hour operation, the hospital said in a statement. The hospital praised the rescuers for their quick thinking.

The patient was stable, but the hospital declined to release any further details, citing medical confidentiality.

Investigators are looking into the cause of the crash.

Condemned Pakistani hopes for pardon

ISLAMABAD - The family of a Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy against Islam said Saturday that they are hoping for a presidential pardon that could return her home in time for Christmas.

The case against Asia Bibi - which started with a spat over a sip of water - has renewed calls for changing Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which critics say has been used to settle grudges, persecute members of minority groups and fan religious extremism.

President Asif Ali Zardari has asked for a report on the case and could issue a pardon even before a court issues its decision on an appeal against the verdict, said Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s minister for minority affairs.

The 45-year-old mother of five appeared in a tearful televised briefing for reporters Saturday at the prison in Punjab province, declaring her innocence and maintaining that the case stemmed from personal disputes that led to a false accusation.

Bibi has been in prison for 1 1/2 years, and on Nov. 8 she became the first woman sentenced to hang for blasphemy over accusations that she insulted Islam’s Prophet Muhammad during an argument.

Bibi’s husband, Ashiq Masih, said Bibi was picking fruit in an orchard in 2009 and went to fetch some water for the group. When she returned, some of the Muslim women refused to drink from a container touched by a Christian, he said.

Offended, Bibi exchanged heated words with the women. Five days later dozens of Muslims appeared and dragged her away, her husband said.

Little Mermaid back in Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN - Denmark’s Little Mermaid received applause and trumpet fanfares Saturday as the famous statue was reinstalled at its home perch in Copenhagen harbor after spending six months in China.

The landmark had left Denmark for the first time in its 97-year history in April to become the centerpiece of the Danish pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.

The move raised controversy because some Danes considered it disrespectful to ship a cultural treasure and major tourist attraction across the globe in a public-relations gesture. But the statue also has repeatedly been vandalized in Copenhagen.

At Saturday’s installment ceremony, the city’s mayor, Frank Jensen, reassured the welcoming crowd of nearly 200 people that the statue’s voyage had been “a once in a lifetime trip” and that there are no near-term plans to do so again.

“Now she is back and is going to have some rest on her stone,” he said, adding that it had felt like a family member leaving for a long journey when the statue was sent away.

The statue was inspired by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale about a mermaid who falls in love with a prince and must wait 300 years to become human.

Front Section, Pages 12 on 11/21/2010

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