World briefs 2/21/05

Lebanon to work with U.N. in bomb inquiry

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Lebanon, facing mounting domestic and international pressure to find the assassins of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, said Sunday it will cooperate with U.N. investigators but stuck to its rejection of a full-fledged international inquiry. Hariri was killed a week ago in a massive bomb explosion as he was driven through central Beirut. The blast killed 16 others and wounded more than 100.

New videotape comes from al-Qaida deputy

CAIRO, Egypt -- Al-Jazeera television aired a videotape Sunday purporting to show al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri denouncing U.S. calls for reform in the region and urging the West to respect the Islamic world. Al-Zawahri, who appeared sitting on the ground and in front of a brown background, said the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "explains the truth about reforms and democracy that America alleges it wants to impose in our countries."

Bangladesh ferry capsizes; at least 81 on board dead

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- A double-decker passenger ferry capsized and sank during an overnight tropical storm in Bangladesh, leaving at least 81 people dead and more than 100 missing, rescue officials said Sunday. The MV Maharaj was carrying about 200 people when it capsized Saturday night on the Buriganga River just outside the capital, Dhaka. Divers found 44 bodies inside the sunken ferry, while 37 others were plucked from the river, said Nurul Islam, a fire brigade official supervising the rescue work.

Pope appears well at Sunday address

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II appeared in good form and spoke in a strong, relatively clear voice during his Sunday address at St. Peter's Square, his second since being released from the hospital 10 days ago. From his window at the Vatican, the 84-year-old pontiff read his entire address, stopping briefly to cough and skipping a Latin prayer but continuing to the end with no apparent problems. It was a marked contrast from recent speeches in which the pontiff has struggled to catch his breath, often forcing aides to finish for him.

China slams U.S.-Japan statement on Taiwan

BEIJING -- China expressed "serious concern" Sunday about military cooperation between the United States and Japan, attacking a recent joint statement on Taiwan as an unwelcome intrusion into Beijing's affairs. U.S. and Japanese officials meeting in Washington on Saturday listed "the peaceful resolution" of the Taiwan issue as a strategic objective and reaffirmed the two countries' security arrangements. Washington and Tokyo said in a statement that they put "the peaceful resolution of issues concerning the Taiwan Strait through dialogue" on a list of 12 strategic objectives.