Tehran warns US on military strike
IRAN
TEHRAN -- Iran said yesterday a US military strike against it would be a "strategic blunder," but brushed aside tough talk from Washington as psychological warfare rather than a real threat. Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi called US threats a bluff but warned that Washington would make a big mistake if it attacked Iran. "The Americans are stupid, but not so much to make the same mistake which they made in Tabas," said Yunesi, referring to a failed US military operation in 1980 to rescue hostages held in Iran, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. President Bush said yesterday his administration will not exclude the possibility of using military force against Iran over its nuclear program, which the United States believes is aimed at producing weapons. (AP)
CHINA
Group setting off alarm seeks asylum, aide says
BEIJING -- Eight people believed to be North Korean refugees clambered over the wall of a Japanese school in Beijing today seeking asylum, a Japanese Embassy official said. The group broke in at 4 a.m., setting off a security alarm and guards alerted the embassy, the official said. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said five women, two children, and a man were involved. A brief struggle took place but the eight had remained inside the grounds and were asking to travel to South Korea, Yonhap said. "There were eight of them. The security at the school told the embassy, and they are now inside the embassy grounds," the embassy official said. (Reuters)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Navy intercepts boat, detains 6 after chase
SANTO DOMINGO -- Authorities detained four Venezuelan nationals and two Colombians after intercepting their boat and finding a shipment of marijuana aboard, the Dominican Navy said yesterday. A Dominican naval vessel intercepted the 30-foot boat Saturday night after a brief chase about 180 miles southeast of Santo Domingo, the capital, navy Captain Felix Pimentel said. Authorities seized a package containing 220 pounds of marijuana, but said the six men tossed another suspected shipment into the sea before being caught. (AP)
IVORY COAST
Rebel says fleet repairs won't aid peace process
BOUAKE -- Ivory Coast's rebel leader said yesterday that a United Nations and French decision to let the government repair its crippled military aircraft would not help the country's peace process. "You can't talk about disarmament and allow one side to repair and buy weapons," Guillaume Soro, leader of the rebel New Forces, said at a news conference in their stronghold of Bouake. French forces destroyed or badly damaged the West African country's small fleet in November after Ivorian jets killed nine French peacekeepers during a bombing raid on the rebel-held north. A UN spokesman said Saturday that UN and French troops policing a cease-fire in Ivory Coast had agreed to an Ivorian Army request to repair the disabled aircraft, but only on condition they would not be rearmed. (Reuters)
VENEZUELA
Supporters, foes mark democratic anniversary
CARACAS -- Supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chavez held separate marches yesterday, marking the anniversary of the end of Venezuela's last dictatorship in 1958. But while supporters praise Chavez for championing national sovereignty and social justice, critics say his growing power is threatening democracy. Chanting pro-Chavez slogans and carrying banners reading, "Colombia, Stay Out of Venezuela," thousands of government supporters danced to traditional folk music booming from speakers on flatbed trucks as they marched through the city. Opponents of Chavez staged a much smaller march in the city's upscale Chacao district to protest what they perceive as an increasingly authoritarian government that poses a threat to democracy. (AP)
