World digest 10/23/02

Ferry sinks in Caspian Sea; nine rescued

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- A ferry carrying 51 people and tons of oil sank in the Caspian Sea on Tuesday after it was caught in a storm. Nine people were rescued from the churning waters, but some 40 others were missing.

The Mercury II was making its way from the port of Aktau, Kazakhstan, heading southwest to Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, when it went down, its owner said. Authorities confirmed one death.

Aidyn Bashirov, president of CASPAR shipping company, owner of the 505-foot vessel, said the ship was caught in a storm with winds up to 65 mph and 20-foot waves.

The rough seas shifted the oil containers -- estimated to weigh about 60 tons -- to one side, causing the boat to sink, Bashirov said.

Nine killed in Kashmir, Indian police say

JAMMU, India -- At least nine people were killed in India's Jammu-Kashmir state as Islamic militants battled security forces and Indian and Pakistani troops shelled each other across the frontier separating the countries, police said Tuesday.

Three Indian soldiers were wounded and a porter working for them was killed in heavy overnight shelling along the Line of Control, which divides the disputed Kashmir province between India and Pakistan, a senior police official said on condition of anonymity.

The shelling was reported from the Uri-Boniyar Sector, where two houses and a grocery store were also destroyed.

Separately, a gunbattle broke out when a group of militants fired at an army patrol in the densely forested Manjakot area of Punch district, bordering Pakistan, police said.

French troops disperse Ivory Coast protesters

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- French soldiers at a military base in Ivory Coast used tear gas and water cannon Tuesday to disperse hundreds of protesters who then fanned out across the city, prompting the U.S. embassy to close early for the day.

Witnesses said several protesters were injured.

The demonstrators demanded that France hand over opposition leader Alassane Dramane Ouattara, who has been sheltered in the French Embassy in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's southern commercial center, since a coup last month, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

Southern Ivorians widely suspect that Ouattara was behind the Sept. 19 grab for power by rebels who have since seized half the west African country in a monthlong uprising. Ouattara has denied any involvement.

Ivory Coast is a former French colony.

French farmer fined for destroying biotech crops

FOIX, France -- Militant French farmer Jose Bove was fined $2,923 Tuesday for mowing down a field of genetically modified crops in southern France two years ago, court officials said.

The anti-globalization crusader was one of nine people convicted by a court in the town of Foix for their roles in destroying an experimental colza, an oilseed plant, field in nearby Gaudies in April 2000.

Bove, a sheep farmer and anti-globalization activist, gained attention for leading a group of protesters who dismantled a McDonald's restaurant under construction in southern Millau, near his farm. In August, he completed a 61-day jail term for the rampage.

Car bomb goes off in Colombian capital

BOGOTA, Colombia -- A car bomb exploded outside police headquarters Tuesday, rocking downtown Bogota and confirming for many that Colombia's civil war has moved to a new arena -- major cities. At least two people were killed and 36 wounded.

Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus blamed rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, for the bombing in the heart of this city of 7 million. It came as security forces were girding for Colombia's war -- mainly fought in the countryside and villages -- to spread to the cities. Last week, rebel militias battled the army and police in Colombia's second-biggest city, Medellin, leaving 12 people dead.

-- From wire reports