World briefs 06/04/03

Despite infirmities, age, pope plans 100th tripVATICAN CITY -- He has shuffled to tribal music, stared down dictators and taken on journalists anxious to hear the views of St. Peter's successor.

Almost nothing has defined Pope John Paul II's pontificate as much as his foreign tours. And despite his age and infirmities, John Paul sets out Thursday on No. 100, five days in Croatia, a Roman Catholic stronghold in the Balkans.

With the Croatia trip, the 83-year-old pope will have been on the road for an amazing 575 days -- nearly 1 1/2 years of his pontificate, according to Vatican Radio, which keeps statistics on papal travel.

From the start of his papacy, he made clear that global travel was required. Almost immediately upon his election in October 1978, he accepted an invitation to the Dominican Republic and Mexico for a trip his predecessor, John Paul I, had turned down. That was trip No. 1 in January 1979, the start of travel to 129 countries.

DNA tests fail to prove origin of infected cow

TORONTO -- Another 650 cattle in Canada will be slaughtered and tested for mad cow disease after DNA testing failed to confirm the origin of the lone cow infected so far, an investigator said Tuesday.

The animals from five Alberta farms will be killed and have samples of their brains checked in laboratories, said Brian Evans, chief veterinary officer of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The new tests will likely delay by several days the conclusion of the investigation into any possible spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. Evans had said Monday the investigation could be finished by the end of the week.

That is bad news for the Canadian beef industry, which wants the United States and other countries to lift bans on Canadian beef imports as soon as possible. Sales and production have slowed since the bans began as far back as May 20, and industry figures say the impact increases each day that product cannot be moved.

Zimbabwe opposition vows more strikes

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- A general strike shut down much of Zimbabwe's already crippled economy Tuesday, but security forces prevented efforts to organize massive street protests against President Robert Mugabe.

Most banks, shops, and other businesses remained closed across the troubled southern African country on the second day of a weeklong show of anti-government sentiment by an increasingly defiant opposition.

The opposition said it hoped the strike and weeklong protest would be a "final push" to force Mugabe to step down after 23 years in office.

Security forces reacted swiftly to crush street demonstrations.

Rather than risk confrontation with troops and police, many Zimbabweans stayed home. The general strike halted commerce in major cities, putting more pressure on a national economy near collapse.

The opposition blames Mugabe for sinking the country into political and economic ruin. There are shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and currency. Annual inflation is at 269 percent. Widespread starvation has been avoided only with international aid.

Court pushes back date of stoning appeal

KATSINA, Nigeria -- An Islamic court in northern Nigeria on Tuesday postponed the appeal of a woman condemned to death by stoning for sex outside marriage.

Shariah Appeals Court registrar Dalhat Abubakar said Amina Lawal's case was being deferred until Aug. 27 as two of the panel's four judges would be unavailable until then.

The 31-year-old single mother was convicted in March 2002 after she had a child -- now 2 years old -- outside wedlock. She was sentenced to be buried up to her neck in sand and stoned to death.

Officials of Katsina State -- one of a dozen in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north to have adopted strict Islamic law, or Shariah -- have insisted the case go through the judicial appeals process despite requests by Nigeria's government that Lawal be freed.

-- From wire reports