World briefs 4/29

Scores reportedly killed in Congo tribal clashes

KIGALI, Rwanda -- Fighting between rival tribesmen in northeastern Congo has left scores of people dead and injured during the last two weeks, a Ugandan army spokesman said Sunday.

Maj. Shaban Bantariza said Lendu militiamen, armed with assault rifles, machetes and bows and arrows, have killed "scores" of people from the smaller Hema tribe.

The attacks began in early April, but intensified during the past two weeks on the hills and forests surrounding Lake Albert, around 44 miles east of the Ugandan border, Bantariza said. The Hema and Lendu communities have fought periodically for decades over tea and coffee farms and cattle that form the backbone of the local economy.

German school killer had violent computer games

ERFURT, Germany -- The teen-age gun enthusiast who killed 16 people and himself at his former school enjoyed violent computer games and kept his parents in the dark about his humiliating expulsion from school, police said Sunday.

Adding new details to the troubling profile of Robert Steinhaeuser, the 19-year-old behind one of the deadliest school shootings ever, investigators said that hours before his deadly rampage, he told his parents he was going to take a math exam. As he left the house, his mother wished him good luck.

"The parents thought he was going to school every day and was successfully moving toward his high school diploma," Police Chief Rainer Grube said.

Officials said Steinhaeuser, an expert marksman, walked into the building just before 11 a.m., used a bathroom to change into all-black clothing and a ski mask, then fatally shot 13 teachers -- more than a third of the faculty -- two teen-age students and a policeman.

Chavez: He used troops to prevent bloodbath

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez on Sunday defended his decision to send troops and tanks to confront a massive opposition march that prompted his brief ouster, insisting he was trying to prevent a blood bath and a coup.

Chavez said he activated an emergency plan authorizing the use of military force because police and national guardsmen were overwhelmed trying to prevent opposition marchers from clashing with government supporters on April 11.

Venezuelan generals have said they refused to use force against unarmed civilians. But at least 17 people were killed during the demonstrations that day, and several investigations are under way to determine who is to blame.

Starbucks Vietnam-style peddles coffee chic

HANOI, Vietnam -- The decor is unadulterated kitsch -- glittering Christmas lights, Crayola-colored chairs, a pop music soundtrack -- and undeniably trendy.

For the stream of customers crowding into Trung Nguyen cafes across Vietnam, it's a potent combination of ca-phe sua, a strong espresso served over a syrup of condensed milk, and coffee chic.

Capitalizing on an emerging, affluent middle-class and the simple attractions of aromatic coffee, 31-year-old entrepreneur Dang Le Nguyen Vu has successfully launched Vietnam's first nationwide franchise.

Call it Starbucks, Vietnam-style. Over the past four years, the Trung Nguyen chain has grown to more than 400 outlets in all of Vietnam's provinces -- from the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh City to the rural outpost of Sapa on the northern border.

-- From wire reports