World briefs 9A

Biggest march of strike held in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela -- In the opposition's biggest show of force since it launched a crippling general strike, more than 1 million Venezuelans poured into the streets of the capital Saturday to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chavez.

Protesters filled bridges, overpasses and parks along Caracas' busiest highway, carrying giant Venezuelan flags, blowing whistles and chanting anti-Chavez slogans.

Caracas fire chief Rodolfo Briseno said more than 1 million people were demonstrating in what he called "the biggest march we've seen in recent times."

Germans protest U.S. military base expansion

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Germans living on the edge of expanding U.S. air bases in Germany are sharpening their opposition to the threat of war against Iraq as they protest the already unpopular growth of the bases.

Hans Gunther Schneider has spent several years fighting an expansion of the base.

The threat of a U.S.-led war against Iraq -- which would involve American bases in Germany -- has attracted supporters to his cause in droves.

On Saturday, protesters rallied at the Spangdahlem, Ramstein and Rhein-Main bases urging Berlin to maintain a hard line against Washington's war plans, including prohibiting the use of German air space and U.S. bases here.

Colombian president vows to defeat terrorists

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Colombia's president vowed Saturday to strike back at leftist rebels he blamed for bomb attacks apparently aimed at national lawmakers that injured at least 23 people -- including a prominent senator.

An explosion shortly before midnight Friday in a restaurant injured 22 people and blew out windows. Three-hours earlier, a bomb disguised as a Christmas present exploded in the office of Sen. German Vargas Lleras as he was opening the package.

Vargas, a member of President Alvaro Uribe's governing coalition, suffered minor injuries. The senator has frequently denounced leftist rebels fighting in Colombia's 38-year civil conflict.

Spanish prime minister visits disaster area

MADRID, Spain -- A month after a tanker spilled fuel oil off northwest Spain, the prime minister traveled to the tar-stained area Saturday to apologize for failing to act more quickly to deal with a disaster that looks far from over.

"I'm conscious that our resources didn't always get there on time, I assume the errors and I apologize to those people that were missing these resources which we simply didn't have at that moment," Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said in a press conference.

The government has been heavily criticized for mishandling the disaster.

Ban on Cuba travel could fall within two years

HAVANA -- A U.S. congressman said Saturday that support is growing for an end to the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba and the law could be changed within two years.

"If Americans can travel to Iraq and Iran, two-thirds of the so-called 'Axis of Evil,' why can't they travel to Cuba?" said William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat.

Delahunt is one of 46 congressmen on the bipartisan Cuba Working Group that is pushing a broad series of reforms to ease limits on U.S. dealings with Cuba.-- From wire reports

, said he believes that the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto could occur within the next two years.

The Cuba Working Group also calls for allowing letting Cuban-Americans send more money to the island, cutting funds to TV and Radio Marti and for expanded cooperation in drug-fighting and other security matters.

"There now is a critical mass in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House to seek normal relations between the United States and Cuba," he said at a news conference.

Anti-EU protesters march through Copenhagen after summit

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Thousands of demonstrators, some pounding drums and blowing whistles, marched through Copenhagen on Saturday to protest the European Union, world poverty and a possible U.S. war in Iraq.

The two protests -- one of about 5,000 people from across Western Europe, the other of 1,000 -- came one day after the close of an EU summit in the Danish capital during which the bloc invited 10 countries to join.

The larger march was peaceful, but black-clad protesters in the smaller demonstration threw bottles at police, slightly injuring one officer.

Police arrested 15 people from France, Germany, Norway and Sweden on charges of violence against police and wearing masks during a demonstration, forbidden under Danish law.

"The EU is not the Europe of its citizens," said Danish protester Signe Hasseris. "It's the Europe of the well-fed lawmakers who have no idea what happens in the outside world where there is poverty and hunger."

-- From wire reports