Continued: World/nation briefs

AFGHANISTAN

Eight Afghans who ate an infected camel as part of a religious celebration died of what may be a rare case of naturally occurring anthrax. The deaths, in the southwestern province of Nimroz, included two women and an infant, said an adviser to Afghanistan's health minister. Ten others were sickened. The outbreak began after two men tried to sell a sick camel; nobody bought it, and the men instead killed it and distributed the meat to needy families, as is the custom during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. The two men were the first victims.

CROATIA

Croatia's interior minister resigned after being photographed on a hunting trip with a high-ranking war crimes suspect accused in the 1995 slayings of dozens of Serb rebels. Ivica Kirin expressed his "regrets and apology" to President Ivo Sanader after photos published in Croatian papers showed him posing with retired Gen. Mladen Markac and their catch, a dead wild boar.

CHINA

Police have detained a prominent Chinese human rights advocate in Beijing. They gave his wife a warrant stating he was suspected of "incitement to subvert state power." If indicted and convicted, Hu Jia, 34, could face a long prison term. Hu became well known for helping people with AIDS get treatment despite official attempts to cover up China's AIDS crisis. Recently, he has acted as a clearing house for information about lawyers, protesters and labor and human rights advocates.

ANTARCTICA

A Norwegian cruise ship carrying some 300 people lost engine power during an electrical outage and struck an Antarctic glacier, smashing a lifeboat but causing no injuries. The MS Fram hit the ice late Friday near Browns Bluff in the Antarctic, according to the Hurtigruten cruise line company in Norway. Robert O'Connor, a 26-year-old American passenger, reported a jarring impact that bent the railing and buckled the lifeboat. The captain and crew checked the ship and calmed nervous passengers, and after that "there were free drinks on the house," he said. The power outage lasted 40 to 50 minutes before power was restored and the liner continued to King George Island for an inspection.

TENNESSEE

A customer who was upset over his tab fired several shots into a Hooters restaurant in Knoxville, killing one person and seriously wounding a manager. Police were searching for the man, who left on foot, police said. Managers asked the man to leave after he refused to pay his bill. He then went outside and started firing a .40-caliber handgun at the building, police said. The shots hit a customer who died later at a hospital. The other victim, the 24-year-old Hooters manager, was hospitalized in serious condition.

TEXAS

Bush OKs extension of child health plan

President Bush has signed legislation that extends the State Children's Health Insurance Program after twice vetoing attempts to expand it. The extension is expected to provide states with enough money to cover those enrolled through March 2009. Bush and some Republican lawmakers say the program will still serve those it should: families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance.

CALIFORNIA

Police radio transcripts from the night of a deadly tiger attack revealed a chaotic scene at the San Francisco Zoo. Zookeepers struggled to sedate the animal and medics refused to enter until they knew they would be safe. Zoo employees also initially questioned whether early reports of the Dec. 25 attack were coming from a mentally unstable person, according to the log of communications from police dispatchers to officers and emergency responders. Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, died in the attack. Two of his friends suffered bite and claw injuries. Paul Dhaliwal, 19, and Kulbir Dhaliwal, 23, were released from the hospital on Saturday.

NEWS SERVICES

INDIA

Christians flee hard-line Hindus

Nearly 700 Christians, fearing more clashes with Hindu nationalists, fled to government-run camps Saturday where authorities were providing food, medicine and security. Clashes left at least four people dead last week, including three killed when police fired on hard-line Hindus who had torched a police station. The Hindus had complained that the police were failing to protect them from Christians.

The killings and subsequent flight of Christians to four relief camps are the latest in a series of religious and political power struggles in the secular but Hindu-dominated India's eastern state of Orissa, which has one of the worst histories of anti-Christian violence.