World briefs 02/23/03

Bolivia's president may legalize coca

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- The president of Bolivia is considering a plan to resume cultivation of the raw ingredient in cocaine in a remote jungle basin -- a move the U.S. government fears would undermine what is viewed as its most successful anti-drug program in South America.

President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada is studying a proposal to allow cultivation of coca in the Chapare region of central Bolivia to help calm unrest among growers who have blockaded major highways and put their support behind his political rival.

Ernesto Justiniano, the vice minister of social defense, said Saturday that the program would hurt drug traffickers by giving the government more control over what is now a clandestine industry in the jungle lowlands.

Protestant extremist group calls Belfast truce

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- The Ulster Defense Association, an outlawed paramilitary group known for slaying Catholics and selling drugs on its own Protestant turf, pledged to halt both activities Saturday in a surprise cease-fire declaration.

The move follows a murderous internal feud that left one UDA commander dead and supporters of its most notorious leader, Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair, on the run.

In a statement read by political representative Tommy Kirkham, the six-person UDA command said the group's approximately 3,000 members "have begun to observe a 12-month period of military inactivity."

Police seek arrests in South Korean subway fire

DAEGU, South Korea -- Police said Saturday they will seek the arrest of several subway officials for negligence in a devastating subway train fire that killed at least 133 people in South Korea's third-largest city.

The widening investigation comes as victims' relatives visited the burned-out station in Daegu.

It was the first time victims' relatives were allowed onto the charred platforms since Tuesday's disaster.

Police said Saturday they will seek a homicide warrant for the mentally disturbed man who allegedly ignited the fire in attempt to commit suicide.

A Daegu police investigator said police will also pursue the arrests of six subway officials, including the drivers of the two trains that caught fire. Police intend to file warrants on charges of homicide by negligence, the investigator said.

Senator criticizes U.S. policies, Cuban system

HAVANA -- North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad criticized Cuba's centralized economy and one-party rule Saturday and argued that ending U.S. travel and trade restrictions would bring positive change to Cuba.

"I am leaving with a strong feeling that this is an economic system that is not working as well as it should," the Democrat told an afternoon news conference. "It falls short."

As for communist Cuba's political system, "it is a one-party state that does not enjoy the freedoms and the democracy that has contributed to the United States' success," Conrad said.

Iran to provide information on new nuclear facilities

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran has agreed to provide early information about any proposed nuclear facility's design, the top U.N. nuclear inspector said Saturday.

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency who is in charge of nuclear inspections in Iraq, also said Iran will consider letting his agency inspect undeclared nuclear facilities without prior announcement.

"It is a sign of greater transparency from Iran regarding its nuclear programs," he told reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Iran.

ElBaradei's visit to Iran included a tour of an incomplete nuclear plant in Natanz, about 200 miles south of Tehran.

-- From wire reports