World briefs 01/02/03

Unmanned U.S. drone crashes in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- An unmanned U.S. drone aircraft crashed Wednesday during a routine surveillance mission over southwestern Pakistan, not far from a facility used by American troops for operations in Afghanistan, police said.

The small drone crashed in the remote village of Bashir Khan Jikhrani, a few miles northeast of the Jacobabad air base, the police chief at Jacobabad, Rana Fateh Sher, told The Associated Press.

The crash apparently was caused by technical problems, Sher said.

The wreckage was recovered by police and handed over to U.S. experts at Jacobabad, Sher said.

Drones are remote-controlled by soldiers on the ground.

Pope:'Senseless' Middle East conflict can end

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II opened the new year Wednesday by pleading for an end to the "fratricidal and senseless" conflict in the Middle East as the church celebrated its World Day of Peace.

"Despite the serious and repeated attacks to the serene and joint cohabitation of peoples, peace is possible and right," the pope said, to rare applause interrupting his homily during a New Year's Day Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.

"Indeed, peace is the most precious good to invoke from God and to build with every effort."

Later Wednesday, he issued his traditional New Year's Day greetings in several languages to thousands of people gathering under a brilliant warm sun in St. Peter's Square.

He urged them to make a small "gesture of peace" -- to their families, at work, in their communities-- to broaden a global culture of peace.

New year violence leaves six dead in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India -- Indian soldiers discovered a huge explosives cache Wednesday at a rebel hideout in Kashmir as police reported six people died in violence in the disputed territory on New Year's Day.

Army soldiers raided the rebel position in the border village of Trehgam, about 60 miles south of Srinagar, the state's summer capital, and recovered 597 pounds of deadly RDX explosive, said army spokesman Lt. Col. Mukhtar Singh. The haul was the biggest by Indian soldiers since 2001, he said.

Separate attacks on civilians in villages just south of Srinagar killed two people. Police said it was not clear whether the slayings were part of the separatist fighting or not.

In two other attacks, two Indian paramilitary soldiers were gunned down by suspected Islamic rebels in Srinagar, police said. The outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammad rebel group claimed responsibility in a phone call to a news agency.

Revelers wounded by stray bullets, police say

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- At least 15 people were wounded by stray bullets apparently fired during New Year's celebrations in Puerto Rico, police said.

One of the wounded was a 12-year-old girl who was struck in the head. She was hospitalized in serious condition, police said. Most of the other injured were in stable condition and no one was reported to have life-threatening injuries.

Some islanders shoot guns into the air on New Year's Eve about midnight to ring in the New Year, although police have warned against the practice. Some bystanders are injured every year in the U.S. Caribbean territory.

Pakistan, India exchange lists of nuclear facilities

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Nuclear rivals Pakistan and India exchanged lists Wednesday of each other's nuclear facilities -- which they must do under a 12-year-old agreement, officials said.

The two countries, which came to the brink of war last year, have traded similar details each year on Jan. 1 since 1992, one year after they signed an agreement not to attack each other's nuclear facilities.

Officials said the lists included the exact location of their respective nuclear installations.

India and Pakistan carried out nuclear tests in 1998, ignoring the pleas of the international community and prompting economic sanctions on both countries. They've since been lifted.

-- From wire reports