World briefs 9/21/04

Man slashes 25 children at Chinese school

BEIJING -- A man slashed 25 children with a kitchen knife Monday at a grade school in eastern China and held a 9-year-old girl hostage for an hour before police captured him, the government said. It was the third time in six weeks that a knife attack has been reported at a Chinese school or day care center. The earlier attacks left one child dead, injured a total of 42 people and caused widespread concern about school safety.

Afghan vice president escapes roadside bomb

KABUL, Afghanistan-- A deputy to U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai escaped a roadside bombing in northern Afghanistan on Monday, just four days after Karzai himself was targeted as he tried to hit the campaign trail for landmark Oct. 9 elections. Meanwhile, two U.S. soldiers and several militants were killed in firefights in the volatile southeast Monday, further underlining fragile security ahead of the vote. More than 900 people have died in political violence across Afghanistan so far this year.

Indonesia's presidential runoff favors ex-general

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A U.S.-trained former general who led the fight against al-Qaida-linked extremists in Indonesia appeared headed for a landslide victory Monday in a presidential runoff heralded as a key step for democracy in the world's most populous Muslim nation. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had nearly 59 percent of the votes in early returns. Incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri had 41 percent.

Leaders cast spotlight on world's 1 billion poor

UNITED NATIONS -- The leaders of France and Brazil on Monday warned that poverty leads to violence and urged the international community to find ways to narrow the gap between rich and poor, casting a spotlight on the more than 1 billion people living on less than $1 per day. President Bush skipped two high-level meetings, held on the eve of the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering, that focused on the impact of globalization and on ways to finance the war against poverty.

-- From wire reports

One of the forums drew more than 50 world leaders. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said overwhelming hunger and unemployment in developing nations was contributing to international violence.

Head of IAEA: 40 nations have ability to make nukes

VIENNA, Austria -- More than 40 countries with peaceful nuclear programs could retool them to make weapons, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency said Monday amid new U.S and European demands that Iran give up technology capable of producing such arms. Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, suggested in a keynote address to the IAEA general conference that it was time to tighten world policing of nuclear activities and to stop relying on information volunteered by countries. Beyond the declared nuclear arms-holding countries, "some estimates indicate that 40 countries or more now have the know-how to produce nuclear weapons," ElBaradei said.

-- From wire reports