Last Week in the World of News

10/8,

Oklahoma City

Michael Fortier, who earlier pleaded guilty to knowing in advance about the 1995 Oklahoma city bombing, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a federal court judge.

Judge G. Thomas Van Bebber acknowledged that the term is well above sentencing guidelines, but stated that the magnitude of the attack, which killed 168 people, warranted the harsh penalty.

10/9,

Denver

The parents of Isaiah Shoels, one of 12 students killed by two teen gunmen in April's school massacre, have announced that they will sue the makers of the gun that killed their son.

The Shoels allege that Navegar, Inc., the manufacturers of the semi-automatic TEC-DC9, marketed the weapon in a way that made it attractive to criminals.

10/10, New York City

CIA officials are reportedIy looking into statements _f made by an alleged Iraqi defector that the recent outbreak of encephalitis in the New York area might have been an attempt at bioterrorism.

The alleged defector told the CIA that Saddam Hussein has been planning an attack on the U.S. with a strain of the virus that could be capable of killing up to 97 percent of all life in an urban area.

The disease, which is spread by mosquitoes, has killed five people and sickened at least 27 others.

10/11, Pristina, Kosovo

A member of the U.N.'s ,international peacekeeping team was shot and killed just hours after arriving for his j mission. J

He was the first member of the peacekeeping team killed since the end of NATO's air attack against Serbian forces in the former Yugoslavia.

The man was not identified pending family notification, but sources say that a U.S. driver's license was found on the body.

10/12,Sarajevo

A boy born in the early morning hours was symbolically named the world's six billionth person in a special ceremony held at a Sarajevo hospital.

U.N. Secretary-General

Kofi Annan honored the baby's mother, Fatima Mevic, with flowers and a U.N. peace medal, saying that he hoped that the child's birth would help restore tolerance in a country plagued by violence since the end of a devastating war in 1995.

The U.N. had estimated earlier in the year that the world's population was nearing six billion, and that the six billionth person would probably be a male born in Yugoslavia on Oct. 12.

-Laura Casamento