World digest 12/11/02

Jimmy Carter accepts Nobel, warns against war

OSLO, Norway -- Jimmy Carter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on Tuesday -- long-awaited for his diplomacy in the Middle East in the '70s -- with a warning to nations to avoid bloodshed in resolving their conflicts.

With the world on edge over terrorism and a possible U.S.-led attack on Iraq, the former U.S. president told an audience at the Nobel ceremony that war only breeds more war.

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil," he said. "But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other's children."

Carter, 78, accepted the award at the Oslo City Hall.

Spain: Tanker leaking 33,000 gallons daily

MADRID, Spain -- A tanker that spilled 5 million gallons of oil off northwestern Spain before it split in two and sank is leaking about 33,000 gallons of oil every day, officials said Tuesday.

The leaks from the tanker Prestige could continue into 2006, said Emilio Lora Tamayo, who led a scientific commission studying the disaster.

"We can seal the cracks, not all of them, of course," Lora Tamayo said. "Or we can try to pump out the remaining oil."

The Prestige sank Nov. 19, six days after it cracked in a storm, and took about 15 million gallons of oil to the bottom of the Atlantic. Spanish officials insisted then the oil wasn't a threat because near-freezing temperatures two miles beneath the surface would cause it to solidify.

Venezuelan capital hit by second day of protests

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Supporters of Hugo Chavez surged into the streets Tuesday for a second straight night of raucous protests -- trying to drown out opposition demands that the leftist president give up power.

Hundreds of "Chavistas," as the president's followers are known, ringed the headquarters of the private Globovision television network and rallied at the headquarters of the state oil monopoly.

The new protests came amid the tumult of a nine-day-old national opposition strike that has created shortages of food and drinking water and disrupted the country's oil industry.

Tensions were further raised when nearly half the judges on the Supreme Court decided Tuesday to suspend work to protest what they said was political harassment by the Chavez government.

Labor, business and opposition groups called the strike to demand an early referendum on Chavez's presidency, which ends in 2007.

Protesters storm floor of Mexican legislature

MEXICO CITY -- Protesters seeking higher wages for teachers and aid to farmers stormed the lower house of Congress late Tuesday, riding horses into the lobby and breaking down an ornate wooden door as they spilled onto the legislative floor.

Beatriz Paredes, the legislature's president, begged for calm as the more than 150 farmers, ranchers and teachers broke up a legislative session where lawmakers were discussing next year's budget.

No one was injured as protesters crowded the floor of the legislature and chanted anti-government slogans.

After a few tense minutes of shouting and finger-pointing, most of the protesters who fought their way onto the legislative floor returned to the lobby.

EU majority backs plan for Turkish membership

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- A majority of EU nations backed a German-French proposal Tuesday giving Turkey a conditional date to start membership talks in 2005 -- but Turks complained the date was too late.

The offer aims at reconciling Turkey's eagerness to join the 15-nation bloc with criticism from some in the European Union who say Turkey must first prove its democratic and economic credentials.

The debate has become a key issue ahead of an EU summit starting Thursday in Denmark, where 10 mostly former communist nations are to be invited to join in 2004.

Turkey had wanted to get started in 2003 because membership negotiations can last several years.

-- From wire reports