In the World
Chavez foes demonstrate
BOGOTA, Colombia - Thousands of opponents of Hugo Chavez marched against the Venezuelan president across Latin America yesterday, accusing him of everything from authoritarianism to international meddling.The protests, coordinated through Twitter and Facebook, drew more than 5,000 people in Bogota, and thousands in the capitals of Venezuela and Honduras. Smaller demonstrations were held in other Latin American capitals, as well as New York and Madrid.
The Honduras march was led by Roberto Micheletti, who became president when Chavez ally Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a June coup.
Chavez, traveling in Syria, ridiculed the protests. Chavez supporters held smaller counterdemonstrations. - AP
Freedom for last of 'Grenada 17'
ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada - A former deputy prime minister is scheduled to be freed as early as today after serving nearly three decades for the slaying of Grenada's leader and other officials in a 1983 coup that triggered a U.S. invasion.Bernard Coard and six other men are the last of the "Grenada 17" still in prison for the killings of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, four cabinet ministers, and six supporters on Oct. 19, 1983.
Extremists in Bishop's leftist party ordered soldiers to kill him because they felt he was too moderate. Nearly a week later, U.S. troops seized control of the Caribbean island, with President Ronald Reagan saying he ordered the invasion to protect American medical students and end Grenada's alliance with Cuba. - AP
S. Africa general gives reassurance
PRETORIA, South Africa - A recent clash between about 1,000 soldiers and police in the heart of South Africa's capital does not signify wider unrest in the military's ranks, the commander of the army said yesterday.President Jacob Zuma also condemned the army protests in a statement, saying that "lawlessness and anarchy will not be tolerated from any segment of our society, regardless of the grievances."
Lt. Gen. Solly Shoke said the Aug. 26 protest about pay and conditions that escalated into running battles with police bordered "on mutiny." Shoke said there was no reason to fear wider unrest, but he acknowledged that conditions for soldiers needed to be improved. - AP
Elsewhere:
A Myanmar court agreed to hear an appeal by detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi of the criminal conviction that extended her house arrest by 18 months, her lawyer said.
The black boxes from a Yemenia Airways flight that crashed into the Indian Ocean in June are damaged, an official said.
Karst Tates, a recluse, was acting alone when he tried to slam his car in April into a bus carrying Queen Beatrix, Dutch police said. Tates and seven bystanders were killed.
