World briefs 8/18/03

Eight people killed in Iran redistricting clash

TEHRAN, Iran -- Rioters clashed with police in a central Iranian city in violence Sunday that killed eight people and wounded 150, sparked by a plan to redraw the municipal border, Iranian state media reported.

The rioting began Saturday night in the city of Semirom, when angry residents took to the streets, state-run radio and television reported. Windows of the city's municipal offices and adjoining buildings were smashed.

Clashes went on through the night and morning, but the city was quiet by Sunday afternoon. The government announced Sunday that the redistricting plan was rescinded.

Pope says Europe is suffering crisis in values

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy -- Pope John Paul II said Sunday that Europe is suffering a crisis in values and expressed hope that the addition of 10 more countries to the European Union next year would be an occasion for the continent's renewal.

The pontiff in recent weeks has decried what he calls a movement in Europe away from its Christian roots.

"You can't deny, that in these times of ours, Europe is going through a crisis in values, and it is important that it recovers its true identity," John Paul told pilgrims and tourists in the courtyard of his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, a town on a hill near Rome.

"The process of European Union enlargement to other countries cannot deal only with geographical and economic aspects," the pope said, "but must translate into a renewed harmony of values to be expressed in law and life."

Two dead, 56 injured in Chinese earthquake

BEIJING -- A moderate earthquake that hit northern China killed two people and injured at least 56, while forcing scores to flee their homes as buildings toppled around them, government and local officials said Sunday.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9, struck at 6:58 p.m. local time on Saturday in eastern Inner Mongolia between the towns of Bairin Zuoqi and Ar Horqin qi, northeast of Beijing, where several people also reported feeling minor tremors.

More than 60 aftershocks have been felt since, the strongest with a magnitude of 4.4, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the seismological network in the city of Chifeng, which administers the two towns.

Assault on police leaves 22 dead in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Hundreds of insurgents in a convoy of trucks attacked a police headquarters in southeastern Afghanistan, triggering a gunbattle Sunday that killed 22 people, officials said. It was one of the largest shows of anti-government force in over a year.

The fierce fighting in Paktika province was the latest in a wave of violence that has underscored just how unstable Afghanistan remains after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001.

The assault began shortly before midnight Saturday when about 400 guerrillas traveling in trucks drove across the border from Pakistan and attacked the police headquarters in the province's Barmal district, about 125 miles southeast of Kabul, said provincial Gov. Mohammed Ali Jalali. It wasn't clear how he knew the men came from Pakistan.

-- From wire reports