World briefs 12A

U.S., North Korea leave six-party talks divided

Six-nation talks on ending North Korea's alleged nuclear weapons program made more progress than expected, a top U.S. delegate said Saturday as the meeting ended. Pyongyang said it would never give up its peaceful nuclear program. North Korea gave no ground on U.S. demands that it completely give up its nuclear ambitions and insisted on keeping technology and equipment used to generate electricity. Washington claims North Korea has admitted producing a nuclear bomb, an allegation the North denies.

Venezuelan summit continues amid violence

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Clashes between police and thousands of protesters pressing for the recall of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez overshadowed a summit of developing nations, with at least two people killed and dozens injured. The confrontation came Friday as Chavez opened a two-day summit with the leaders of 18 other developing nations in Caracas, urging them to reject free-market policies imposed by industrialized nations. Near the summit site at the downtown Hilton Hotel in the capital, guard troops fired dozens of tear gas canisters at the jeering crowd of anti-Chavez protesters, who responded by throwing rocks. Some in the crowd set trash and tires ablaze and blocked a highway.

Israeli airstrike on Gaza car kills two Palestinians

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- An Israeli helicopter fired missiles at a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing three people -- including an Islamic Jihad militant -- and wounding 15 others, doctors said. The two missiles targeted a small gray Subaru traveling on a road linking Gaza City with the Jebaliya refugee camp. The car was pulverized, and Palestinian security officials strained to keep order around the scene as surging crowds jumped on the wreckage and called for revenge. The airstrike was carried out in a densely populated residential area, and three children were among the wounded, said doctors at Gaza's Shifa Hospital.

Task force: Some charities need tighter control

PARIS -- Governments should consider tighter controls on religious groups and charities to stop them from being used to fund terrorists, a global task force on money laundering said. At the end of a three-day meeting in Paris, the Financial Action Task Force called on its 31 member countries Friday to re-examine the way they regulate charities -- including the sensitive area of faith-based groups. Delegates reviewed case studies compiled by FATF experts, showing that charities were still being used to fund extremists.

Germany's chancellor sees year of tough elections

BERLIN -- He's the butt of Carnival jokes, resented for cutting social programs and saddled with rock-bottom approval ratings for his party. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder could sorely use a success when Hamburg voters kick off a year of regional elections this weekend. Schroeder's Social Democrats ruled the liberal port city of 1.7 million for decades until they were ousted by conservatives and an upstart law-and-order party in 2001. Polls suggest they will be hard-pressed to return to power in today's vote. Though Schroeder's party lags the conservatives in polls, Hamburg could offer the best chance of a morale-boosting success in a year that features 13 more elections at local, state and European level.

-- From wire reports