World Digest
U.S. warns Philippines on terrorism

Seattle Times news services

	JEROME FAVRE / AP Demonstrators scuffle with riot police in Taipai, Taiwan, yesterday in a protest to pressure for an independent review of a shooting that injured the president before last month's controversial election.
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MANILA, Philippines — The Bush administration has quietly warned the Philippine government that it has not been doing enough to crack down on terrorist groups in the country, Western and Philippine officials said.

The Philippine government has been "in a state of denial" about the terrorist threat, said a Western diplomat, explaining what prompted the U.S. warning, which was made on March 22.

Over a period of months, the United States had given the Philippines intelligence that should have led to the arrest of suspected terrorists, including the leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, and the Philippine government did not act, the diplomat said.

Libya to convert missiles into defensive weapons

WASHINGTON — In keeping with its pledge to destroy its unconventional weapons, Libya has told U.S. officials it will convert hundreds of its Scud-B missiles into shorter-range, less powerful weapons for defensive purposes and end all military trade with North Korea, U.S. officials said.

U.S. officials said Libya's latest decision was yet another indication that Col. Moammar Gadhafi, the Libyan leader, was sincere in his Dec. 19 pledge to abandon the country's unconventional weapons and programs to acquire them.

Libya has already given up the longer-range Scud-C missiles that it secretly purchased from North Korea, along with equipment and materials related to nuclear and chemical weapons.

U.S. military less certain on '04 capture of bin Laden

KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. military pulled back yesterday from an earlier prediction that Osama bin Laden would be captured this year, even while preparing its largest force to date for operations along the Pakistani border where the al-Qaida chief is suspected to be hiding.

"We remain committed to catching these guys. It's pretty much ... just about everything that we do here," Lt. Col. Matthew Beevers said.
 
But he declined to make any new predictions of when the fugitives might be behind bars.

Beevers insisted the military in Afghanistan was "still confident" of capturing its top targets, but added: "At the end of the day, it's not about just one or two people. It's about ... ensuring that there is stability and security throughout Afghanistan."

Mudslides near Machu Picchu kill 6, others feared dead

LIMA, Peru — Heavy rains triggered mudslides near the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in southern Peru yesterday, killing at least six people. Five others were missing and feared dead.

Some 400 tourists were stranded when the mudslides buried a rail line and destroyed seven houses in the town of Aguas Calientes, below the citadel. The rail line is the only route in or out of the town.

No foreigners were believed injured by the predawn mudslide, which fell into the Alcamayo River.

Machu Picchu was used as a refuge by the Inca rulers until Spanish soldiers arrived in 1532 and began toppling their empire. Residents fled to Cuzco or the surrounding jungles to survive. The mysterious, partially reconstructed citadel in jungle-shrouded mountains is South America's top archaeological site. It draws 300,000 foreign visitors each year.

Restaurant near Texas border destroyed by tank explosion

NUEVO PROGRESO, Mexico — A propane-tank explosion ripped through a restaurant yesterday morning at the Mexican border with Texas, killing at least six people and injuring several more.

The tank exploded at about 8:30 a.m. at the Red Snapper restaurant, about two blocks from a bridge over the Rio Grande connecting Mexico with the United States.

Investigators said the explosion appeared to be accidental.

The restaurant was not open when the tank exploded on the second floor, but employees were in the building.

Protesters in Taiwan seeking shooting probe turn angry

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Tossing bottles and rocks, hundreds of Taiwanese protesters were blasted by police-water cannon yesterday after a rally demanding an independent investigation of the bizarre shooting that injured President Chen Shui-bian one day before his narrow re-election.

After a peaceful rally ended, about 1,000 protesters gathered at a barb-wire barricade in front of the presidential office. They began taunting police and threw bottles and rocks.

Police blasted the crowd with water cannons when the protesters tore down scaffolding from a rally stage and tried to use the metal structure to ram the police barricade.

The rowdy protests have become a weekend tradition since Chen won the March 10 vote. Defeated opponent Lien Chan has insinuated that Chen might have staged the unexplained shooting, and he wants a special task force to probe the event. So far, police have no suspects or solid leads.

39 miners in Siberia killed from apparent methane blast

MOSCOW — An apparent methane blast ripped through a coal mine in Siberia early yesterday, killing 39 miners and trapping at least 10 others underground, officials said.

Thirteen miners made it to the surface, said Valery Korchagin, an emergency-department spokesman in the Kemerovo region. He said four of them were injured, two hospitalized with burns.

A duty officer at the regional emergency department said authorities think a methane blast occurred at a depth of 1,840 feet. The shaft was reported to be filled with poisonous gases.

No bail for Mexican officers accused of aiding traffickers

MEXICO CITY — A Mexican judge jailed without bail two senior police officers accused of protecting powerful drug traffickers and helping them distribute planeloads of cocaine, authorities said late Friday.

The Attorney General's Office said Jose Agustin Montiel and Raul Cortez Galindo, high-ranking state police officers in Morelos state, close to Mexico City, were jailed pending trial.

Authorities said the Juarez cartel was allowed to land small planes carrying Colombian cocaine at the airport in Cuernavaca, the Morelos state capital and a weekend and summer retreat for the wealthy.

Officials said the drugs were removed from the planes under police supervision and transported in state police vehicles for sale.

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