Nine still missing after huge blast in Albania

Rescuers worked into the night Sunday to try to find nine people still missing a day after a chain of massive explosions flattened an Albanian ammunition dump and hundreds of nearby houses, killing at least nine and injuring nearly 300.

Defense Ministry spokesman Igli Hasani said the operation would continue "for as long as needed," but rescuers — assisted by U.S. military explosives experts — were hampered by large quantities of unexploded artillery shells.

Saturday's explosions in the village of Gerdec, about six miles north of Tirana, sent shells over 2,500 acres, Hasani said.

Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the explosions were an accident: blasts triggered during work to destroy excess ammunition stockpiled during Albania's Communist past.

Nine bodies have been found. Nine more workers and villagers remained missing Sunday, authorities said. Health Minister Nard Ndoka said 298 people were injured, including children, and more than 50 remained hospitalized.

Tbilisi, Georgia

President is target of protest before trip

About 5,000 protesters rallied in the Georgian capital Sunday evening to show their dissatisfaction with President Mikhail Saakashvili ahead of his visit to Washington this week.

The demonstrators, gathered in front of the parliament building, accused him of stealing the Jan. 5 presidential election in which he won re-election with 53 percent of the vote. They demanded he step down and call a new election.

Among the demonstrators were about 60 people who joined a hunger strike begun by a handful of opposition leaders last weekend to press their demands.

In a televised address Sunday before leaving for Washington, Saakashvili appealed to Georgians for unity at a time of heightened tensions with Russia.

São Paulo, Brazil

First coca farms found near Amazon

The army said Sunday it has discovered the first known coca plantations in Brazil's Amazon, along with a fully equipped laboratory to manufacture cocaine.

The army used helicopters and small boats to reach the plantations and the lab near the northwestern city of Tabatinga, close to the border with cocaine-producing nations Peru and Colombia, army Lt. Col. Antonio Elcio Franco Filho said.

The coca leaf — the key ingredient in cocaine — is usually grown in mountainous regions of Andean countries.

"We believe they are using a transgenic or an adaptation of the leaf used in the Andean region," Filho said. "They are probably trying to find new locations to grow this, so we need to stay alert."

Puerto Barrios, Guatemala

Freed tourists tired but in good shape

Four Belgian tourists, freed by protesting farmers after being held hostage for more than a day in Guatemala's eastern jungle, said Sunday they were in good condition but tired.

The Belgians were abducted Friday along with their Guatemalan guide and a boat operator by a group of farmers demanding the release of their jailed leader. The tourists arrived in Guatemala City after being freed late Saturday. They were scheduled to fly to Belgium today.

The Belgians were freed late Saturday after Guatemalan police and soldiers in boats and helicopters located the group's hideout.

Seattle Times news services