Violence erupts in Gaza Strip; factions clash

Violence erupted in the Gaza Strip on Monday, with warring Palestinian factions firing at each other and kidnapping rivals, and gunmen abducting a foreign news photographer.

The clashes in the Jebaliya refugee camp near Gaza City broke a weeklong pause in the violent confrontation between the Islamic Hamas, which controls the government, and moderate President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah. In the past few weeks, 17 people have been killed in the internal fighting, leading to fears of civil war.

At least two people were wounded in the gunfire.

French news agency said its photographer Jaime Razuri, 50, from Peru, was abducted in Gaza City. Kidnap victims usually are released unharmed.

Sydney, Australia

Aboriginal tribe gets land rights

An Aboriginal tribe has been granted joint management rights over several state and national parks under a deal that recognizes its traditional ownership of the land, officials said today.

The Githabul tribe will share control with the New South Wales state government over a 2,315-square-mile area encompassing 19 parks and forests, including several U.N. World Heritage sites, according to the state Department of Environment and Conservation.

Department director Tony Fleming told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio that the pact will create jobs for the Githabul people and give them "much greater involvement" in the management of the land.

Oventic, Mexico

Rebels celebrate 1994 uprising

Thousands of Zapatista rebels on Monday celebrated the 13th anniversary of their brief uprising against the Mexican government, dancing, singing and holding discussions on improving the status of poor Indians in the southern state of Chiapas.

The ceremonies, which attracted hundreds of foreigners from several countries, began Sunday night under the stewardship of Subcomandante Marcos, the ski-masked, pipe-smoking Zapatista leader.

Participants saluted the Mexican and Zapatista flags, held a large dance and ate traditional tamales and coffee in the Zapatistas' base of Oventic, about 460 miles southeast of Mexico City.

The Zapatistas seized the main city of San Cristobal de las Casas and other Chiapas communities in the name of socialism and Indian rights on Jan. 1, 1994. A cease-fire ended fighting between rebels and government forces after a few days, and they have since maintained an uneasy truce.

Also

Bulgaria and Romania — two former communist nations from one of the poorest corners of Europe — joined the European Union on Monday to bring the bloc's membership to 27 nations.

Seattle Times news services