WASHINGTON, D.C.
Officials accused of shielding documents Homeland Security Department and other federal officials responsible for BioWatch, the nationwide system for detecting biological attacks, have withheld key documents from Congress, according to the Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the leaders called for her to comply with their original request for documents, which was triggered by a July 8 Los Angeles Times article that disclosed shortcomings in BioWatch's performance.
Clinton will testify on Libya attack Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to appear before Congress to answer questions about the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. A State Department spokesman said Clinton will testify after an independent Accountability Review Board presents its findings. That is report is expected in December.
NEW YORK
Lawyer: Patz suspect will plead not guilty The suspect accused of killing Etan Patz in 1979 appeared in Criminal Court in Manhattan, saying nothing as he faced the presentation of an indictment against him in the boy's kidnapping and murder. Lawyer Harvey Fishbein said Pedro Hernandez, 51, would enter a plea of not guilty when he is formally arraigned, which is scheduled for Dec. 12.
GREECE
German diplomat hit with coffee, water Demonstrators surrounded a German diplomat in the city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece and hurled cups of coffee and bottles of water at him, the latest reflection of growing anger in Greece against what is widely seen as a crippling austerity plan being imposed largely by Germany. The incident flared a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel's special envoy, Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, a deputy labor minister, said studies showed that 1,000 local government officials in Germany could do the work of 3,000 Greek officials.
UKRAINE
Jailed leader will end 2-week hunger strike Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko will call off her 2-week-old hunger strike after discussions with her German doctors. The former prime minister was to end her strike for 18 days, according to local media reports, citing specialist Lutz Harms from Berlin University Clinic Charite. The strike was in protest of the Oct. 28 elections, which she claims were fraudulent.
MYANMAR
Prisoners released ahead of Obama's visit In an apparent goodwill gesture days before a visit by President Obama, Myanmar's president released 452 prisoners. It wasn't clear, however, how many had been jailed for their political views and how many were common criminals.
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