World briefs 4/22/05

Brazil grants asylum to ousted Ecuador president

QUITO, Ecuador -- Brazil's decision to grant asylum to Ecuador's deposed president Lucio Gutierrez provoked outrage on Thursday among many Ecuadoreans who said he shouldn't be allowed to escape into exile without being held accountable for alleged abuse of power. Gutierrez, who was fired by Congress on Wednesday after a week of street protests calling for his removal, was waiting at the Brazilian Embassy residency for a flight to Brazil, officials said. After a meeting between government officials Thursday night, the ambassador said Ecuador was not ready to grant permission for Gutierrez to leave the country. Lawmakers swore in vice president Alfredo Palacio to replace Gutierrez on Wednesday.

Two militants, two Saudi police killed in clashes

MECCA, Saudi Arabia -- Islamic militants clashed with Saudi security forces in Islam's holiest city of Mecca and nearby Jiddah, killing two militants and two policemen Thursday as the kingdom held a final round of municipal elections. The bloodshed was the latest in the Saudi Arabia's two-year crackdown on al-Qaida-linked militants opposed to the ruling family, a campaign that authorities have said they were winning with the killings of several high-level suspects over the past month.

Planned Gaza pullout likely to be delayed

JERUSALEM -- Israel's defense minister on Thursday recommended briefly delaying Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the strongest indication yet that the summer pullout will be pushed back. The recommendation by Shaul Mofaz, which is expected to win government approval, came as Israel and the Palestinians held their first talks on coordinating the pullout. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon insisted that despite the delay and strident settler opposition, the evacuation would be carried out. The Defense Ministry said Mofaz agreed to the delay, sending the matter to a ministerial committee headed by Sharon. The July 25 start date of the forced evacuation of settlers falls within a three-week mourning period leading up to Tisha B'Av on Aug. 14, when Jews mark the destruction of the biblical temples. The proposed date would be Aug. 15.

Military kills more than 12 rebels in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- U.S. forces poured fire from artillery and warplanes onto militants launching rockets at an American base, killing more than 12 rebels in Afghanistan's volatile southeast, the military said Thursday. The rebels were killed late Tuesday when U.S. troops responded to four rockets fired at the American base in Khost province, close to the Pakistani border, a military statement said. There were no injuries or damage. A-10 ground attack aircraft and an AC-130H gunship dropped two 500-pound bombs and fired more than two dozen rockets and cannon rounds, while ground troops trained artillery on the assailants, it said.

Vietnamese war veterans killed in bus crash

HANOI, Vietnam -- Thirty Vietnamese war veterans and a driver were killed in a bus crash Thursday while en route to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, police said. The bus had rounded a curve on the old Ho Chi Minh trail -- which has been converted into a highway -- about 7:30 a.m., and plummeted about 70 yards down a mountain in Kon Tum province, about 90 miles south of Danang, said A Tri, a district police chief. Only two of the 33 people aboard survived, he said. The veterans, including 14 women, were aged 60-70 and had fought for Vietnam's independence against the French and the Americans, he said. They were all from one neighborhood in Hanoi.

Japanese media:Prime minister will offer apology

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will publicly apologize today for Japan's invasion and colonization of other countries during World War II, Japanese media reported. The address will come at a time when ties between Tokyo and Beijing have sharply deteriorated amid complaints that Japan has failed to atone for its militarist past. Koizumi will express "deep regret" and offer a "heartfelt apology" in a speech to be delivered today at an Asia-Africa conference in Jakarta, Kyodo News Agency reported.