World digest 10/26/04

Gaza withdrawal plan faces parliament vote

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon opened a stormy debate in parliament Monday with a passionate appeal to lawmakers to support his Gaza withdrawal plan -- which has divided the country and weakened his government -- as the only way to secure Israel's future. The withdrawal would mark the first time Israel has pulled down Jewish settlements in the West Bank or Gaza, and Sharon is hoping a decisive victory in a parliamentary vote scheduled for today will blunt calls for a national referendum on the plan.

Aftershocks jolt Japan following weekend quake

NAGAOKA, Japan -- Emergency workers struggled to rush food and blankets to crowded evacuation centers as strong aftershocks jolted an earthquake-shattered swath of northern Japan on Monday. The weekend quakes killed 26 people. A 5.6-magnitude aftershock hit just after dawn Monday, swaying buildings and deepening fears that the area's already shaky infrastructure would sustain more damage. Several other, smaller aftershocks were felt through the night, and Japan's Meteorological Agency warned of more quakes in the region. Officials said some 98,000 people had sought refuge following Saturday evening's 6.8-magnitude tremor.

Six convicted in sex abuse trials on Pitcairn Island

SYDNEY, Australia -- Six men have been convicted of charges ranging from rape to indecent assault following trials that exposed a culture of sexual abuse on their small Pacific island, home to descendants of the 18th-century mutineers from the British ship H.M.S. Bounty. Among those convicted late Sunday was the mayor of Pitcairn Island, Steve Christian, who claims to be a direct descendant of mutiny leader Fletcher Christian. He was convicted of five rapes. Sentences were expected to be announced later this week, British authorities said Monday.

Charge of Light Brigade commemorated

BALACLAVA, Ukraine -- Britain's Prince Philip and saber-waving cavalry re-enactors commemorated the charge of the Light Brigade on Monday, 150 years after the doomed British assault against Russian cannons in a Crimean War battle immortalized by the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. Of the more than 600 soldiers who charged against Russian cannon, 110 were killed. The charge was due to a confused order and came to be seen, through the poem, as the epitome of courage and obedience despite mistakes of command. "Theirs not to reason why/Theirs but to do and die," Tennyson wrote. About 200 British tourists watched, along with local residents, who appeared variously perplexed and delighted.

-- From wire reports