World briefs 10/1/05

Hamas suffers setback in West Bank vote

JERUSALEM -- The Islamic militant group Hamas, the main threat to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' rule, suffered a setback in local elections in dozens of West Bank towns and villages, final results indicated Friday. The outcome -- 54 percent of Thursday's vote for Abbas' Fatah movement and 26 percent for Hamas -- was in line with a modest rise in support for Fatah following Israel's pullout from Gaza earlier this month.

U.S. views on N. Korea prevail in resolution

VIENNA, Austria -- The U.N. atomic watchdog agency took North Korea to task Friday for breaching the nuclear arms control treaty but welcomed its pledge to give up atomic weapons in a resolution that highlights U.S. priorities for future talks with Pyongyang. China refrained from co-sponsoring the text in a reflection of its displeasure with a text focusing on Washington's priorities. Still, diplomats noted that the resolution was submitted to the 139-nation International Atomic Energy Agency's General Assembly only after Beijing indirectly signed off on it. Four other nations did not co-sponsor the text, including Russia.

Hurricane Otis moves toward Baja peninsula

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico -- Newly formed Hurricane Otis had maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph late Friday and was about 120 miles southwest of the city of Los Cabos, at the tip of the Baja California peninsula, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The storm slowed down a bit Friday night, but was growing and the center said it could become a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 96 mph or above by Saturday. It was moving at 7 mph. Otis was not expected to hit Cabo San Lucas directly, but rains and winds from the storm's outer bands were battering the coastline.

Brazil now Latin America's largest economy

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The hefty appreciation of Brazil's currency against the dollar over the last two years has helped Brazil overtake Mexico as Latin America's largest economy in dollar terms. Brazil had gross domestic product of $794.4 billion for the four quarters ending June 30, according to a report issued Thursday by the Brazilian Census Bureau, known by its Portuguese acronym IBGE. Mexican GDP stood at $765.7 billion for the same period, Mexico's government reported earlier. The biggest reason behind Brazil's move up is the rapid advance of Brazil's currency, the real, against the dollar -- driven by huge demand for Brazilian exports and massive influxes of dollars into Brazil from foreign investors.

-- From wire reports