World briefs 11/19/04

'Irreconcilable differences' get attention in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile -- A 48-year-old woman became the first person in Chilean history to file for divorce Thursday, ushering in a new era for this heavily Roman Catholic country that had been the last in South America with no divorce law. The justice minister called the new law a historic step, but Maria Victoria Torres said it was far more personal -- "a window that opens to look at a new life with dignity, without fear."

U.S., N. Korea bridge differences in MIA search

BANGKOK, Thailand -- U.S. and North Korean officials agreed Thursday to conduct recovery missions for remains of American servicemen missing from the Korean War for a 10th consecutive year. The missions, in which personnel from the United States carry out search operations in the communist state, are a rare example of cooperation between the two nations, which have been at odds over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Foxes get new lease on life in Britain

LONDON -- Britain's House of Commons moved to outlaw fox hunting Thursday, winning a dramatic standoff with the House of Lords to ban a popular country sport that is despised by many urbanites. Royal assent to the measure, making it law, was expected within hours. Hunting supporters have vowed to defy the ban, which would be effective in three months, and to fight it in court.

-- From wire reports

Egyptian officers killed by Israeli army along border

JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops mistook three Egyptian police officers for Palestinian militants and shot them dead Thursday along the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, increasing tensions between the neighbors. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to express his "deepest apologies" for the incident and promised a quick investigation. But Egypt did not appear satisfied, issuing a rare statement lambasting Israel.

Thatcher's son formally charged in coup plot

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea -- Equatorial Guinea prosecutors confirmed Thursday that they have charged Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in an alleged coup plot in the oil-rich west African nation. Thatcher is accused of having helped finance the coup attempt, Attorney General Jose Olo Obono said.

Countdown begins to begin Kyoto Protocol

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Russia formally notified the United Nations on Thursday of its acceptance of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, starting a three-month countdown for the long-debated 1997 pact on cutting greenhouse gas emissions to come into force. President Vladimir Putin signed the protocol into law earlier this month, allowing it to take effect in 128 nations that ratified it, said U.N. environmental agency spokesman Eric Falt. The United States has refused to join.

U.N.: Ivory Coast media slant helped spur mobs

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- As club-wielding mobs surged through Ivory Coast's largest city hunting for foreigners, national figures urged them on: "Rise up against French imperialism." "Sever the umbilical cord." "If I find my French man, I will eat him." The hatred broadcast on television and radio -- even cell phone text messages -- poured out incendiary viciousness not heard since Rwanda's 1994 genocide, U.N. officials and Western diplomats say. The hate messages were banned by U.N. Security Council decree this week, but the government defends them as the cries of a people under attack.

High yields expected for Afghan opium crop

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Afghanistan is on its way to becoming a "narco-state" and U.S. and NATO-led forces in the country should get more involved in fighting the drug trade as well as terrorists, according to a U.N. report released Thursday. The agency found that this year's cultivation of opium -- the raw material for heroin -- was up by nearly two-thirds. Bad weather and disease kept production from setting a new record, although it still accounted for 87 percent of the world supply, up from 76 percent in 2003.

Foreign ministers hope to get back on the 'road map'

JERUSALEM -- Sponsors of an internationally backed Mideast peace plan will send their foreign ministers to the region next week in hopes of restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will go to the West Bank next week, after Monday's visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell. The Spanish and German foreign ministers also are expected in coming weeks, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said.

Macedonian prime minister resigns

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Macedonia's parliament Thursday formally accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Hari Kostov, who stepped down earlier this week following tensions with minority Albanian politicians in his government. A deal to share power between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians in this Balkan country was a key provision of a Western-brokered agreement ending a six-month conflict in 2001 that killed about 80 people.

-- From wire reports