International briefs

Humanitarian workers wounded in Darfur

EL FASHER, Sudan -- Armed men ambushed an aid convoy in Darfur, wounding three humanitarian workers, the U.N. mission to Sudan said Saturday. The convoy from U.S.-based World Vision International, which included eight staff members, was attacked some 25 miles south of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, on Thursday, the U.N. said. All three wounded aid workers were Sudanese. Two were shot in the head and one in the arm, World Vision said. Two are in stable condition, and one is serious condition, the group said. It did not provide more information. The attackers have not been identified but the U.N. statement said Arab tribes have been regularly clashing in the area. Attacks against humanitarian workers have increased by 150 percent from June 2006 to June 2007, according to the U.N. Since the start of the year, 105 humanitarian workers were temporarily taken hostage and 66 were physically or sexually assaulted in Darfur. Meanwhile, 61 convoys have been ambushed and looted, and 98 vehicles hijacked.

N. Korea's No. 2 leader meets with Syrians

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea's No. 2 leader met with a Syrian delegation in Pyongyang on Saturday, the North's media reported, amid suspicions of a secret nuclear connection between the two countries. Kim Yong Nam, head of the North's rubber-stamp legislature and titular head of state, had "a friendly talk" with the Syrian delegation, led by Saaeed Eleia Dawood, director of the organizational department of Syria's Baath Arab Socialist Party, the North's Korean Central News Agency reported. The Syrian official expressed satisfaction that the "friendly and cooperative ties" between the two countries "are growing stronger under the deep care" of Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, KCNA said. Andrew Semmel, acting U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, said last week that North Koreans were in Syria, and that Syria may have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to obtain nuclear equipment. Semmel did not identify the suppliers.

Pakistani police arrest opposition party leaders

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Police swept the Pakistani capital on Saturday to arrest the leaders of opposition parties vowing to obstruct President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's re-election bid, officials said. A security official said police in Islamabad had orders to take some 35 opposition leaders into preventive custody. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. A leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, an Islamist party opposed to Musharraf's alliance with the United States, said police had detained him at his residence. He said it was unclear whether he would be confined there or taken away. "This government will do anything to clear the way for the presidential election," Hafiz Hussain Ahmad said. "They are using the state machinery to curb the opposition." Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman for the party of exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said he had heard of raids on the homes of party leaders but didn't know if anyone had been seized. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N and a coalition of religious parties are spearheading opposition to Musharraf's plan to seek a new five-year term in a vote by federal and provincial lawmakers on Oct. 6.

-- From wire reports