World digest
www.billingsgazette.com Last modified March 21, 2003 - 12:34 am News in brief Friday, March 21, 2003
South Korea puts military on alert SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea put its military on heightened alert for any North Korean attempt to raise tension on the Korean Peninsula while the world is distracted by the outbreak of war in Iraq. "We expect North Korea to be cautious, but we have strengthened our alert status and our early warning status in response to possible North Korean attempts to increase tensions," presidential spokeswoman Song Kyoung-hee said. The North said it also was boosting its military readiness, saying it feared a U.S. attack. "We will strengthen our readiness in every possible way to meet whatever military options the U.S. imperialists will take against us," said Rodong Sinmun, the North's most prominent state newspaper. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high since October, when U.S. officials said the North admitted having a program to enrich uranium.
Norwegian police arrest Kurdish leader OSLO, Norway -- Mullah Krekar, the leader of a Kurdish guerrilla group suspected of links to al-Qaida, was arrested by Norwegian police Thursday on kidnapping charges. Police arrested Krekar at his home in Oslo. Spokesman Erling Grimstad said authorities were looking into widening the charges against him but did not elaborate. Krekar was questioned by Norway's intelligence agency last month when the rebel leader admitted to briefly holding nine men in Iraq in December 2001. Police had released Krekar pending further investigation but confiscated his passport to keep him in the country. Norwegian prosecutors can charge suspects for crimes that took place outside the country's borders, even if the suspect is not a Norwegian citizen. Krekar, who commanded the Kurdish Ansar al-Islam group in northern Iraq, has denied the allegations. If convicted he faces up to 10 years in prison.
Venezuelan court frees strike leader CARACAS, Venezuela -- An appeals court on Thursday ordered the release of a businessman who has spent nearly a month under house arrest for leading an unsuccessful strike to oust President Hugo Chavez. The Caracas court ruled that prosecutors have not presented enough evidence to keep Carlos Fernandez in custody on charges of rebellion and instigation, Judge Luis Lecuna told Globovision television. Fernandez, 52, was arrested by secret police on Feb. 20. He was placed under house arrest three days later in the central city of Valencia, about 70 miles from Caracas. Fernandez helped organize a two-month strike to demand Chavez's resignation or early elections. The strike paralyzed the world's fifth-largest oil exporting industry and cost Venezuela $6 billion. But it fizzled last month with Chavez firmly in power. Chavez's opponents -- labor leaders, the business community, and much of the local news media -- accuse him of grabbing too much power in his self-described "revolution" to help Venezuela's many poor. Chavez counters the opposition is trying to overthrow a democratically elected leader and restore power to two corrupt traditional parties.
Tribunal dismisses 'dirty war' charges MEXICO CITY -- A military court dismissed most of the homicide charges against two generals during their alleged activities in Mexico's so-called "dirty war" in the 1970s, a newspaper said Thursday. The Supreme Military Court reduced the number of charges against Gen. Francisco Quiros and Gen. Arturo Acosta from 143 to 22, Reforma newspaper reported. It was unclear why the charges were thrown out. The two are accused of ordering the killings during a government campaign against leftist activists in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. A government investigation found evidence of least 275 disappearances nationwide in the campaign.
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