Shell oil executive slain in Rio de Janeiro home

From Journal Sentinel wire reports Tuesday, December 2, 2003

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- An American executive with the Shell oil company was found slain in his Rio home, and the city's top police official said Monday that investigators were trying to determine how attackers entered the heavily guarded house.

Todd Staheli, 39, vice president for joint ventures in the Southern Cone gas and power unit of oil giant Shell, was found dead Sunday morning by one of his four children.

His wife, Michele Staheli, suffered face and head wounds and remained in critical condition Monday at the Copa D'Or Hospital after emergency brain surgery.

Death toll rises: The government Monday raised the death toll from a plane crash in central Congo to 33, including 13 people on the ground who were killed when the military plane skidded into a crowded market at the end of a runway.

Mafia link found: A Lithuanian Parliament investigation concluded Monday that President Rolandas Paksas' office has links to organized crime that "menace the national security," prompting calls for his resignation and a possible impeachment vote.

Produce investigation: U.S. inspectors visiting the Mexican state of Baja California on Monday began investigating four onion exporters linked to a hepatitis outbreak that killed three people and sickened more than 600 in Pennsylvania.

Attack in Abidjan: A mob of government supporters attacked the main French military base Monday in Ivory Coast's commercial capital, demanding that peacekeepers withdraw and allow the government to resume attacks on rebels.