In Iran, government forces killed a number of protesters and arrested hundreds Sunday. Government officials denited the reports of deaths, and continued to bar all foreign reporters. The number of those killed was reported variously as five, eight or ten, including the nephew of the main opposition leader. The New York Times reports:
Unlike the other protesters reported killed on Sunday, Ali Moussavi appears to have been assassinated in a political gesture aimed at his uncle, according to Mohsen Makhmalbaf, an opposition figure based in Paris with close ties to the Moussavi family.
Mr. Moussavi was first run over by a sport utility vehicle outside his home, Mr. Makhmalbaf wrote on his Web site. Five men then emerged from the car, and one of them shot Mr. Moussavi. Government officials took the body late Sunday and warned the family not to hold a funeral, Mr. Makhmalbaf wrote.
According to BBC, Sunday’s clashes were “the worst violence since last June’s contested presidential elections.”
Foreign reporters and news agencies are barred from reporting on the protests from inside Iran. The New York Times is carrying reports from a number of Iranian blogs.
Mark Dayton, former U.S. Senator and current gubernatorial candidate, told the Star Tribune about his struggle with depression and, as a recovering alcoholic, a brief relapse in 1987. While he’s getting ahead of the curve with full disclosure, it’s not clear how the disclosure will affect the race. (Star Tribune)
Minnesota native Lindsay Vonn, heading for her third Winter Olympics, injured her arm in the World Cup giant slalom in Austria on Sunday. Vonn was down for 10 minutes before skiing downhill with her arm in a sling. She said she thought her arm was broken. According to MPR:
The 25-year-old Vonn, who lives and trains in Vail, Colo., has been considered a threat to medal in all five Alpine events during the Olympics: downhill, super-G, slalom, GS and super combined (one downhill run and one slalom run).
Highly drug-resistant TB has arrived in the United States, with the first case reported in a 19-year-old Peruvian exchange student in Florida. (AP)
Mary Turck
News Day 