World briefs 8/29/02

World leaders caution U.S. against attack on Iraq

BEIJING-- China's vice premier said Wednesday that Beijing opposes a possible American attack against Iraq, urging caution as the United States considers military action against Saddam Hussein.

"China does not agree with the practice of using force or threatening to use force to resolve this issue," Vice Premier Qian Qichen told Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Qian joined Germany, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in calling for restraint Wednesday, after Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that the United States could face disastrous consequences if it delays action against Iraq.

Attack was planned on U.S. base in Belgium

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands-- Prosecutors said Wednesday three alleged Muslim militants arrested in the Netherlands on terrorism charges were plotting to attack a U.S. military base in Belgium.

The three men are due to appear in court next week on previously announced charges related to a plan to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

Spokeswoman Pollyan Spoon of the Rotterdam prosecutor's office said the men had revealed the plans for the attack in Belgium during interrogation.

Four cities make cut for 2010 Winter Games

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The front-running cities of Vancouver, British Columbia, and Salzburg, Austria, were among four finalists selected Wednesday in the race for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Bern, Switzerland, and Pyeongchang, South Korea, also made the cut as the International Olympic Committee executive board halved the field of eight candidates to a short list of official bidders.

Eliminated from the race were Andorra La Vella, Andorra; Harbin, China; Jaca, Spain; and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

India won't reduce charges over gas leak

BHOPAL, India -- A court declined Wednesday to reduce charges against the former chairman of U.S.-based Union Carbide Corp. for a 1984 gas leak that killed thousands in one of the world's worst industrial accidents.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Rameshwar Kotha asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to start extradition proceedings against former chairman Warren Anderson.

Anderson originally was charged with "culpable homicide," which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Federal prosecutors in May asked the court to reduce the charge to "hurt by negligence."-- From wire reports

Anderson, whose whereabouts were not known, would have faced a maximum sentence of two years if convicted in absentia of the lesser charge.

He has refused to appear in court in India since the case opened in 1992.

Government lifts emergency rule in Nepal

KATMANDU, Nepal -- Nepal's government announced Wednesday that it was lifting a state of emergency imposed last November that gave the army sweeping powers to stamp out rebels.

Hours after the announcement, an explosion shook a shopping mall in the capital Katmandu, damaging more than a dozen shops but causing no injuries. No one claimed responsibility for the blast, but police blamed the rebels, who have been fighting since 1996 to establish communist rule in the Himalayan kingdom.

King Gyanendra imposed the state of emergency on Nov. 26 after the insurgents broke off peace talks and resumed attacking police stations and government targets. The measure was extended by royal decree in March.

The state of emergency was to expire at midnight Wednesday, said Minister for Physical Planning Chiranjivi Wagle.

The decision to lift emergency rule came ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for November.