World briefs 5/27/05

Egyptian referendum on election reforms passes

CAIRO, Egypt -- Voters overwhelmingly cleared the way for Egypt's first contested presidential election, according to referendum returns released Thursday. Government opponents dismissed the results. Six opposition groups had called for a boycott of the referendum, but the Interior Ministry said 54 percent of the 32 million registered voters -- about 16.4 million Egyptians -- participated. Of that, 83 percent approved the referendum. A high turnout was important to the government, which has been trying to portray opposition groups as a small minority of Egyptians. There was no independent, outside monitoring of results or turnout estimates.

Nuclear conference comes to end with no plan

UNITED NATIONS -- All but paralyzed on its next-to-last day, the global conference on the nonproliferation treaty was reduced Thursday to quibbling over a footnote, having failed to agree on any concrete new steps to deal with growing nuclear fears in the world. In closing sessions today, after a month's work, the delegations of more than 180 nations will have no final document to approve, or recommendations for action. At best, they may adopt a statement endorsing nonproliferation principles. The members of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty convene only once every five years to identify weaknesses in implementing the 1970 treaty, and to forge political agreement on steps to remedy them.

Plane crashes in eastern Congo, 26 feared dead

KINSHASA, Congo -- Twenty-six people were missing and feared dead after a plane crashed in eastern Congo, an aviation official said Thursday. The plane, which disappeared shortly after takeoff Wednesday, was found Thursday by a government-led search team near Bunyakiri, a village located in forests and mountains, officials said. The missing plane had crashed into the side of a cliff, with pieces of the plane and clothing scattered in the valley below, officials said. A search for any survivors and recovery of the dead will begin today.