World briefs 8/10/04

Explosions in Turkey hit two hotels, gas plant

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Explosions rocked two small tourist hotels and a gas plant in Istanbul early Tuesday in apparent terrorist attacks, killing at least one person and injuring seven others, police said. The blasts came amid heightened security concerns in Turkey, the focus of earlier terror attacks. The explosion at a liquefied petroleum gas plant took place shortly after an anonymous bomb threat, police said. It was not clear if there were any casualties. The two earlier explosions rocked inexpensive hotels at around 2 a.m., police said. "It appears to be a terrorist attack," police chief Celalettin Cerrah told the Anatolia news agency.

Four die in accident at Japanese nuclear plant

MIHAMA, Japan -- Japan suffered its deadliest nuclear power plant accident Monday when a bursting pipe killed at least four workers and injured seven in another blow to the industry in an energy-poor country already worried about nuclear plant safety. No radiation was released when the boiling water and steam exploded from a cooling pipe at the plant in Mihama, a small city about 200 miles west of Tokyo. Monday's leak was caused by a lack of cooling water in the reactor's turbine and perhaps by significant metal erosion in the condenser pipe, said the plant's operator, Kansai Electric Power. Four workers died after suffering severe burns. Government officials said there was no need to evacuate the area surrounding Mihama, a city of 11,500.

Tehran demands Europe back its nuclear program

VIENNA, Austria -- Iran is demanding Europe's leading powers back its right to nuclear technology that could be used to make weapons, dismaying the Europeans and strengthening Washington's push for U.N. sanctions, a European Union official and diplomats said Monday. Declining to respond to a list of demands presented by Iran last week, the Europeans are urging the Iranian government to instead make good on a pledge to clear up suspicions about its nuclear ambitions. But diplomats said Iran's demands undermine the effort by France, Germany and Britain to avoid a confrontation. They had hoped to persuade Tehran to give up technology that can produce nuclear arms, but now are closer to the Bush administration's view that Iran should be referred to the U.N. Security Council for violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the diplomats said.

-- From wire reports