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Ottawa
New premier sworn in: Paul Martin took over as Canada's new prime minister this week, promising to send frayed relations with the U.S. The traditionally close allies drifted apart this year after outgoing prime minister Jean Chretien opposed the war in Iraq.

Somerville, New Jersey
Nuurse confesses: A nurse charged with murdering a critically ill New Jersey priest told prosecutors this week that he had killed more than 30 “very sick” people since 1987 to end their misery.

Columbia, South Carolina
Thurmond's secret daughter: The family of Strom Thurmond, the late South Carolina senator who was once the nation's leading segregationist, confirmed this week that a retired California teacher was Thurmond's illegitimate, half-black daughter.

West Palm Beach, Florida
The price of leniency: A man convicted of drunken driving got three years shaved off his prison term last week after he paid the victim's family $100,000.

Lima
Premier ousted: Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo this week fired his prime minister, Beatriz Merino, after she accused rivals of spreading rumors that she was a lesbian.

South Windsor, Connecticut
Governor under fire: Connecticut Governor John Rowland admitted that a major state contractor paid for improvements at his lakeside summer cottage, prompting Democrats to call for his resignation.

Brussels
E.U. Bitterly divided: The first E.U. Summit to include the 10 prospective new members collapsed in disarray last weekend after the countries couldn't agree on a constitution.

Paris
No head scarved, yarmulkes: An independent commission has recommended that French schools forbid “conspicuous” religious symbols, such as head scarves on Muslim girls, yarmulkes on Jewish boys, and large crosses worn by Christians.

The Hague, Netherlands
Clark takes the stand: Retired general Wesley Clark testified against Slobodan Milosevic this week at the former Serbian president's war-crimes trial in The Hague.

Halsa, Norway
Willy free at last: Keiko, the killer whale that starred in the hit film Free Willy, died last week of acute pneumonia.

Hamburg, Germany
9/11 suspect losse: A German judge ordered that a Moroccan man suspected of involvement in the 9/11 attacks he freed, saying the U.S. Government's refusal to allow the testimony of a jailed al Qaida operative left him no choice.

Nicosia, Cyprus
Deadlock on unification: Voters in northern Cyprus couldn't agree this week on whether to reunify their Turkish-dominated republic their Turkis-dominated republic with the Greek-dominated rest of the island.

Addis Abada
Dictator's endless trial: Nine years into the genocide trial of former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam, the defense this week spoke for the first time.

Baku, Azerbaijan
Old leader dies: Heidar Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan from 1991 until he stepped down this year due to ill health, died this week at age 80.

Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Assassination attempt: A massive, remote-controlled bomb blew up a bridge less than a minute after Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, had crossed it in his presidential motorcade.

Lagos, Nigeria
Illegal ivory trade: Elepyhants are being slaughtered across Africa because Nigeria, Senegal, and Ivory Coast have ignored the global ban on the ivory trade, environmental groups said this week.

Nairobi
The fleecing of Kenya: Government officials stole at least $1 billion and possibly as much as $4 billion in taxpayer money during the 1990s, Kenyan investigators said this week.

Kabul
New constitution: A loya jirga, or grand council, of 502 delegates met in Kabul this week to finalize Afghanistan's first post-Tabliban constitution.