World briefs 11A

Thousands voice support for President Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela -- More than 100,000 people rallied Saturday in support of President Hugo Chavez's so-called "peaceful and democratic revolution."

Chavez has gained popularity since April 11, when dissident generals briefly ousted the Venezuelan leader. Loyalists -- joined by tens of thousands of protesters in the street -- returned Chavez to power two days later.

But opposition to Chavez is still strong, and government adversaries hope to remove him from office with an amendment to the Constitution.

Belfast Catholics riot after Protestant parade

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Police fired water cannons at Catholic rioters Saturday after Protestant hard-liners paraded through west Belfast.

An independent Parades Commission had given approval for about 1,000 people from the Orange Order brotherhood to march near Ballymurphy, a hostile Catholic district.

Several hundred Catholics tried to block the route but were held back by riot police with shields as the Protestants marched to the beat of a lone drummer.

Catholics began throwing stones, bottles and other objects once the parade passed. Police responded by dousing the crowd with water jets.

Earlier Saturday, two officers were injured and a Protestant home was destroyed by gasoline bombs when Catholics and Protestants traded salvos over another wall separating rival districts in east Belfast.

Albanian police seize weapons from royal family

TIRANA, Albania -- Police have seized 11 cases of weapons brought to Albania by the son of former King Zog, a police spokesman said Saturday.

Leka Zog, son of the former Albanian monarch, returned to Albania Friday after decades in exile. The police seized the weapons Friday and were still counting them Saturday.

Police said the Zog family presented documents stating that the weapons were legal, but police held them in customs until the paperwork was verified.

Aleksander Marku, a police official at the airport, said the cases contained 84 weapons, including Kalashnikovs, grenades and hunting arms.

Clinton backs U.S. aid against Colombian rebels

CARTAGENA, Colombia -- Former President Clinton said Saturday that he backs broadening military aid from Washington to battle insurgents in Colombia.

At a conference on how the private sector can help resolve the nation's 38-year conflict, Clinton described Colombia as a crucial "battleground in humanity's war against terror."

He made the comments in this steamy Caribbean coastal city of Cartagena as Congress considers lifting restrictions on U.S. counterdrug money to fight insurgent groups in Colombia. Clinton pushed through $1.7 billion in drug-fighting aid during his presidency.

The conflict sets two main rebel groups against a right-wing paramilitary army and the government. The U.S. State Department has placed all three illegal groups on its list of terrorist organizations.-- From wire reports

Leftist candidate's rise cause economic turbulence in Brazil

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Just a year ago, Brazil was a star among emerging markets with billions of dollars in investment pouring in along with praise for its market-friendly policies.

But now its stocks and currency are plunging as investors are unnerved by leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's commanding lead in the polls ahead of Oct. 6 presidential elections. He leads government-supported candidate Jose Serra.

Many investors fear that if elected, Lula, as he is known here, would default on Brazil's burgeoning public debt and replace years of market-friendly policy with deficit-swelling populism.

A week ago, Brazil's currency, the real, dropped to an all-time low of 2.84 to the U.S. dollar and the stock market fell partly because of a poll reaffirming Lula's lead.

The plunge was also influenced by a downgrade of Brazil's credit ratings by Moody's Investor Service and Fitch Ratings on June 20. Its risk premium for investors has soared to the second highest in the world after neighboring Argentina, which has defaulted on its $141 billion debt.