Death penalty referendums eyed

LIMA -- Peruvian President Alan Garcia said he wants to change the constitution to allow referendums on making the death penalty legal. In a statement, Garcia said he would seek a referendum to change Article 32 of the constitution, which says cases limiting basic rights are not subject to referendums. Simultaneously, a referendum would be held allowing capital punishment for child rapists. Earlier last week, Garcia proposed a nationwide poll on capital punishment to be applied for terrorists. (Reuters)

Brazil

SAO PAULO -- Rescue crews searching for a minibus feared buried under tons of earth and rubble after the collapse of a subway station construction site may have found the vehicle yesterday, officials said. The walls of a huge hole being excavated for the station collapsed on Friday, creating an enormous crater. Witnesses said the minibus, carrying a driver, fare collector, and two passengers, fell into the hole. ( AP)

South Korea

INCHEON -- The chief US negotiator in free trade talks with South Korea said the two sides need to make progress this week toward achieving an agreement. Assistant US trade representative Wendy Cutler told reporters upon arrival yesterday that the key objective of the sixth round of negotiations -- set to begin today in Seoul -- is "to get an agreement, a good agreement." ( AP)

Syria

DAMASCUS -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, on the first trip to Syria by an Iraqi head of state for 30 years, met President Bashar al-Assad yesterday during a visit expected to focus on stabilizing Iraq and preventing insurgents crossing their long border. Talabani, who lived in exile in Syria in the 1970s, wants to use his six-day trip to discuss ways to stem the violence in Iraq and stop what the United States says is a flow of men and arms across the border to help the insurgency in Iraq. (Reuters)

Ecuador

ZUMBAHUA -- Anti-US leftists behind a South American nationalization drive stood together yesterday as presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia feted Ecuador's incoming leader Rafael Correa. The radical leftist leaders flanked the 43-year-old economist while Indian medicine men performed a cleansing ritual before thousands of poncho-clad peasants on the eve of Correa's formal swearing-in ceremony. (Reuters)

Malaysia

SERI MEDAN -- Fears of disease gripped Malaysia's flood-devastated south early today, and more than 100,000 evacuees were crammed into emergency shelters. Two people have died from leptospirosis, which is caused by exposure to water contaminated with the urine of animals such as rats, bringing the death toll from the floods to 15. Health workers planned to step up typhoid jabs and fumigate mosquito-prone areas to guard against diseases such as dengue fever and malaria. Warnings have also been issued about cholera. (Reuters)