The World Health Organization says two Vietnamese women who died as a result of bird flu may be the first known victims infected by the deadly virus through human-to-human contact.
At least 50 Muslim pilgrims have been trampled to death in Saudi Arabia at the highpoint of the annual pilgrimage known as the hajj. The state-run Saudi Press Agency quotes the Saudi Interior Ministry as saying an unknown number of people slipped and fell during the ritual stoning of Satan at the Jamarat Bridge in Mina, near Mecca.
U-S envoy James Kelly is in South Korea to discuss a new diplomatic effort to end the international community's nuclear stand-off with North Korea.
Hear details of these stories and more in our World News for today, 2/1/04.