Benin

Benin has reported its first outbreaks of bird flu in fowl and said the virus might have been introduced into the West African nation by illegal poultry imports from Ghana. Test results to determine the strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus are pending, according to a report to the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris.

A gasoline tanker exploded after running off the road in Benin, killing 39 people and injuring about 80 who had rushed to collect fuel pouring from the vehicle, police and doctors said. A doctor said the death toll was certain to increase, with about a dozen people believed unlikely to survive.

Cardinal Bernardin Gantin of Benin, 86, a prominent churchman whose influence was felt in Europe and in his native West Africa, died Tuesday at George Pompidou Hospital in Paris of complications caused by severe dehydration, said Jean-Yves Riocreux, the bishop of Pontoise. Gantin was archbishop of Cotonou in Benin before going to Rome. He worked closely with Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. One of the last cardinals to be named by Pope Paul VI, Gantin spent more than 30 years in the Roman Curia.

Two suspected stowaways from Nigeria were found aboard a container ship bound for Los Angeles and taken into custody, authorities said Monday morning. Federal authorities boarded the freighter Zenit about 6:30 a.m. Sunday and detained the two men, who are believed to be Nigerian nationals, said Lt. j.g. Stephanie Young of the U.S. Coast Guard. The men, according to Young, had been hiding in the rudder compartment in the back of the ship. They were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for questioning, Young said.

San Diego-based defense contractor Titan Corp. pleaded guilty Tuesday to three felony counts and agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle allegations that it tried to influence elections in the West African nation of Benin. Titan pleaded guilty to one count of bribery under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, one count of falsifying company books and one count of filing a false tax return, the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego said.

Dozens of people died after a Boeing 727 struggled to take off from an airport in the West African country of Benin on Thursday, hit a building at the end of the runway, exploded and crashed nose down into shallow water. Most of the dead were Lebanese immigrants who were on their way to Beirut for vacations. Several of the victims were children. The plane's capacity was 141, but there were conflicting reports about the number of passengers on board. Some reports said at least 90 people died.