World briefs 1/26/04

Break-dancers perform for the pope at Vatican

VATICAN CITY -- In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided Sunday over a performance of break-dancers who leaped, flipped and spun their bodies to beats from a tinny boom box. The 83-year-old pontiff seemed to approve, waving his hand after each dancer completed a move, then applauding for the entire group. He watched the performance from a raised throne. "For this creative hard work I bless you from my heart," he said. During the show, one dancer -- part of a Polish group that helps poor and marginalized youths -- planted his head on the inlaid marble floor of the Vatican hall and spun to loud applause from his group and from Vatican officials.

Georgia's Saakashvili sworn in as president

TBILISI, Georgia -- Mikhail Saakashvili took office as Georgia's president Sunday, hoisting the nation's new flag and urging people to help him realize the high hopes raised by the swift and bloodless change that brought him to power in the struggling ex-Soviet republic. Secretary of State Colin Powell attended the inauguration and pledged financial aid to Georgia, a sign of Washington's interest in stability in the small Caucasus nation -- the site of a planned pipeline for Caspian Sea oil and part of a volatile region surrounded by Russia, Turkey and the Middle East. His hand on Georgia's constitution, the 36-year-old Saakashvili took the presidential oath outdoors on a sunny afternoon, standing in front of the parliament building where two months ago he led street protests that brought down longtime President Eduard Shevardnadze.

Bird flu hits Indonesia; drug resistance a concern

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Indonesia became the seventh country in Asia to confirm an outbreak of deadly bird flu, as the World Health Organization warned Sunday the virus could be resistant to basic human influenza drugs. The disease has already affected millions of chickens in Indonesia, said Sofjan Sudardjat, a senior agriculture official. But the virus has not yet crossed over to humans, he said. Indonesian officials had earlier denied the diseases' presence, but the Indonesian Veterinarians Association said several independent investigations had revealed that bird flu had already killed millions of chickens over the past several months.

Castro gives Orthodox patriarch key to church

HAVANA -- President Fidel Castro, whose communist Cuba was once officially atheist, on Sunday gave the key for a new Byzantine cathedral to the spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. Consecrating the new St. Nicholas cathedral, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in turn honored Castro with his church's Cross of St. Andrew the Apostle, which is given to supporters of the Orthodox faith. Balancing a heavy golden crown encrusted with jewels on his head, the white-bearded patriarch circled the new cathedral in a swirl of Greek chants and pungent incense. Castro, dressed in a gray suit, looked tired after reportedly staying up all night with a visiting foreign delegation. He left quietly after the exchange of gifts outside the small sanctuary of cream-colored stone with brick trim, about halfway through more than four hours of ancient ritual.

-- From wire reports