Haiti

Nineteen University of California students who were studying abroad in Egypt have been evacuated and transported to Barcelona, university officials said. As of right now, UC Irvine believes no UCI students were in the country. Although it's easier to see how many students are traveling abroad, it's hard to find out if students have traveled independently to the region, a school spokesperson said. The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Americans, and school officials decided to temporarily stop the study abroad program in Egypt this week.

Richard Dunn COSTA MESA - Unseeded Wesley Whitehouse of South Africa upset top-seeded Ronald Agenor of Haiti, 6-1, 6-2, in the quarterfinals Friday of the $15,000 Costa Mesa Pro Classic at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center. Agenor, a former top-20 player in the world who surpassed the $1 million mark in career prize money in 1991, began his comeback at age 33 in 1997. Jason Cook, who received a berth in the main draw as the "lucky loser" from the qualifier, also advanced to today's semifinals after upsetting fourth-seeded Jeff Williams, 6-2, 6-3, in the quarters of the United States Tennis Association Futures event.

-- Jennifer Kho Norman Ball, a 58-year-old man who lives for half of the year in Toronto, Canada, and the other half in Scottsdale, Ariz., will walk through Costa Mesa today as part of his Walk of Hope goal to cover 8,250 miles. Ball, who has already walked more than 400 miles and raised between $20,000 and $30,000 in pledges and donations, said he is walking to bring attention to orphaned children living in streets and sewers around the world.

Sherilyn F. Schneekluth In his work as a genocide investigator for the United Nations, Gary Haugen has seen some of the greatest atrocities against the people of India, Rwanda and other places where human rights are violated on a daily basis. But, Haugen says, a strong faith in God can provide hope and courage and help find a peaceful solution to these and other cruel acts against humanity. Haugen also directed the U.N. genocide investigation in Rwanda and worked in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department.

Hope in Sight Aisha Simjee, MD White Spruce Press ; 240 pages Aisha Simjee is a tough cookie. On her first mission trip as an ophthalmologist, the Newport Beach resident flew to Guyana and set up her equipment in an unused school building. Shortly after, a volunteer came running from the bathroom and screamed that there was a snake inside. Instead of being frightened, Simjee was intrigued - and walked into the bathroom to see what kind of snake it was. Recounting that story in her memoir "Hope in Sight," the doctor notes that she had grown accustomed to the species in her native Burma, "a land full of snakes.

I met with Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor this week over a cup of coffee, and we talked a lot about issues affecting the city and his primary race for the 68th Assembly District against Assemblyman Van Tran. Full disclosure: I consider Allan a friend, and I would support him in anything he does. With that out of the way, let me give you a little background about the 68th Assembly District. It encompasses all of Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley, 83% of Stanton, 70% of Westminster, 65% of Garden Grove and 10% of Anaheim and Newport Beach.

with Day Barry Faulkner COSTA MESA - Eugene Day, who coached the Costa Mesa High boys frosh-soph soccer team the last five seasons, will replace departed varsity coach Mike Dunn, Mesa Boys Athletic Director Kirk Bauermeister has announced. Day, 44, is a walk-on with years of soccer coaching experience, though this will be his first varsity job. "I guess Mike decided he'd done as much with the program as he could," said Day, whose son Louis will be a senior on next year's squad and whose daughter, Sharon, was a freshman standout on the Mesa girls team last season.

A Southern California improv comedy troupe, Cherry Spitz, plans to perform for free at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Atlantis Lounge in the Campus Village Housing Community Center at UC Irvine, 1061 W. Peltason Drive. “We are hungry,” said member Eric Wargo, “hungry to perform and hungry for food. They will be feeding us.” Wargo is unemployed, but he and the other troupe members usually have regular jobs. The group usually charges $5 at the door, and most of the earnings go toward furthering the troupe and supporting the theater, said Tim Gale, one of the group’s founders.

Ally Simpson and Chelsea Davis have a ways to go before they learn the names of every country in the world. Actually, they have about 23 bars left. Last week, Girls Inc. of Orange County launched a geography unit to acquaint students with the far reaches of the globe. As a learning device, teacher Angela Hartwig provided the girls with the lyrics to a song from the "Animaniacs" cartoon series that lists every country in the world — or most of them, anyway — with occasional compromises made for rhyme and meter.

As Sandy Ryan lay on the table Wednesday morning, with her arm being prepared for its first blood donation, she remembered a young donor she worried would die. With that fear still lurking in her mind, the Costa Mesa resident looked out the window from the Newport Beach Police Department. “At least I have a view,” she said. As she may have envisioned her last moments, Ryan made a donation that will likely keep up to three other people from experiencing theirs.