World Digest
Georgians tear down iron fence

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TBILISI, Georgia — Government officials tore down an iron fence yesterday in front of the president's office, saying they were removing a symbol of ousted leader Eduard Shevardnadze.

Zurab Zhvania, a former parliamentary speaker who now serves as head of the Cabinet, made the first cut in the fence before others quickly tore it down. The fence in central Tbilisi was built about 18 months ago to prevent protesters from blocking the offices of the president and other officials.

"We were chosen by the people and should not fence ourselves off from the people," said Zhvania, one of three opposition leaders who led protests that forced Shevardnadze's Nov. 23 resignation.

Rwanda mayor gets life in prison over '94 genocide

ARUSHA, Tanzania — A U.N. tribunal yesterday convicted and sentenced to life in prison a former Rwanda mayor for his role in the 1994 genocide that killed more than 500,000 people in the tiny central African country.

The judge said Juvenal Kajelijeli, 52, the mayor of Mukingo, was "clearly devoted to his evil course," specifically during an attack at a courthouse in the town of Ruhengeri in which 300 minority Tutsis were killed. The court said Kajelijeli provided the weapons used in the attack.

Drought-ravaged Ethiopia seeks $3 billion in aid

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia yesterday asked donor agencies for $3 billion to help the impoverished country of 60 million protect itself from drought and grow enough food over the next five years.

"If we fail to reverse the trend of recurrent drought within three to five years, the problem will get out of hand," Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said. "Recurrent droughts and related emergencies have continued to increase, so much so that this year we had to deal with a situation where about 14 million people were at risk of starvation and death."

Brazilian procession hit by truck; 17 killed

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — At least 17 people, including seven children, were killed Sunday night when a truck loaded with pineapple rammed into a religious procession on a narrow highway in northeastern Brazil. At least 20 were injured.

Police said the worshipers were observing a longtime tradition walking to a religious festival for Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, patron saint of the town of Araua.

The truck driver fled.

French diplomats stage worldwide 1-day strike

PARIS — French diplomats and other Foreign Ministry personnel yesterday staged an unprecedented strike to protest planned budget cuts, shutting down embassies and consulates around the globe and hindering services at home.

From Madagascar to Rome, Washington, D.C., and beyond, embassy personnel walked off the job for the one-day strike, according to the leading union at the ministry, known as UNSAUSMAE.

The unions reported 97 percent of staff at the Washington embassy walked off the job but a diplomatic source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 82 percent of the embassy staff observed the walkout.

France's Foreign Ministry oversees 9,409 employees — more than 5,000 of them abroad, making it the second-largest diplomatic corps in the world after the United States.

Also ...

The Congo government said yesterday that 13 people on the ground were also killed Saturday when a military plane crashed on takeoff from Boende. Twenty of the 24 people aboard died. Officials said the Russian-made Antonov 26 blew a tire. ... Effective yesterday, British motorists are no longer allowed to use handheld cell phones while driving. Most other Western European nations have similar bans.

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