Bombing ends hope for peace process

Spain

MADRID -- The peace process to end Spain's Basque separatist conflict ended abruptly with the weekend car bombing at Madrid's international airport, the interior minister said yesterday. The blast leveled a five-story parking lot at the airport, injuring 26 people . ETA has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but a caller who warned authorities before the explosion said he represented the group. (AP)

Saudi Arabia

JIDDAH -- Muslims circled the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, for a final time yesterday, bringing to a close what may have been the largest hajj pilgrimage ever. There were none of the deadly stampedes that have marred past pilgrimages. Hundreds of thousands of the faithful returned to Mecca from a holy site outside the city to perform the "farewell" circling of the Kaaba, a stone structure that Muslim's around the world face during daily prayers. (AP)

Venezuela

CARACAS -- Rival gangs battled for control of a prison in eastern Venezuela, killing 16 inmates and injuring three, authorities said yesterday. National Guard troops restored order after the riot broke out before dawn at Uribana Prison near the city of Barquisimeto, said Fanny Marquez, a federal prison official. (AP)

Georgia

TBILISI -- President Mikhail Saakashvili visited Georgian villages near the capital of the breakaway South Ossetia region yesterday, calling for a swift and peaceful resolution of the government's dispute with separatist leaders but stoking their anger with his trip. Saakashvili has vowed to bring South Ossetia and another breakaway region under control. (AP)