Hundreds of female Tibetan protesters detained

Police detained more than 600 female Tibetan protesters, including many Buddhist nuns, Sunday after breaking up three demonstrations against China's crackdown in Tibet.

It was the largest number of protesters detained on a single day since Tibetan exiles began almost daily protests in March against Chinese policies in Tibet and the first time that only women demonstrated.

The protesters held three separate rallies in Katmandu but were quickly stopped by police. More than 600 protesters were being held in detention centers in Katmandu, said police official R.P. Dhamala.

The first protesters were stopped even before they could enter a street from an open area where they had gathered.

A second group managed to enter the street but was quickly stopped and taken away in buses and trucks. The third group, which was smaller, protested near the Chinese Embassy's visa office and was also detained.

Nepal's police have broken up almost all anti-China protests by Tibetan exiles during the past several weeks and detained participants. Officials say they will not allow protests that could harm Nepal's relations with neighboring China.

Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

Thousands protest drug violence

Thousands marched silently Sunday to protest a surge of drug-related violence in a Mexican city across from Texas where police director Juan Antonio Roman Garcia was fatally shot Saturday.

The crowd of several thousand students, church leaders, businessmen and politicians walked for four miles to a park near a border crossing, breaking the silence in a burst of speeches, dancing and singing.

More than 200 people have been killed so far this year in Ciudad Juárez, which is across the border from El Paso, Texas, and home base for the powerful Juárez drug cartel.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

At least 11 killed when ferry capsizes

An overloaded ferry capsized off the coast of southern Haiti, killing at least 11 people, U.N. and Haitian authorities said Sunday.

U.N. peacekeeping mission spokesman David Wimhurst said most of the 100 people aboard were able to swim to safety. The boat sank after taking on water about 150 yards from shore late Saturday. Eleven bodies were recovered; at least five were children.

The boat was on a slow, two-day journey along the top of Haiti's southern peninsula, transporting passengers, food and charcoal to the capital, Port-au-Prince. It made several stops to take on passengers and cargo and was "overcrowded," according to Wimhurst.

Kandahar, Afghanistan

Taliban suspects go on hunger strike

More than 200 Taliban suspects have gone on a hunger strike in the Kandahar prison to demand fair trials, officials said Sunday.

The prisoners have not eaten for about six days, and three are in poor condition, said Bismillah Afghanmul, a provincial council member who met with nine prisoners who had taped their mouths shut.

The prisoners are demanding fair and independent trials as well as the presence of defense lawyers during the investigations and hearings, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission said.

They also complained some of the cases have not gone before a court, leaving the detainees' fates in limbo, the commission said.

According to the commission's statement, the prisoners complained that foreign troops searched their homes on the basis of faulty intelligence, many cases had languished without trial, and they were tortured and humiliated during the investigations.

Islamabad, Pakistan

No deal reached over fired judges

Pakistani leaders failed Sunday to reach a deal on restoring judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf, increasing the likelihood the ruling coalition could end after just six weeks in power and plunge the country back into political turmoil.

Negotiators from the main ruling parties held talks in London throughout the weekend, ahead of today's self-imposed deadline to resolve the issue. But officials said Sunday night they were heading back to Pakistan without a deal.

Representatives of the junior party, that of ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said members would meet today to consider whether to stay in the coalition. The party already has threatened to quit the Cabinet.

Also

Zimbabwe: The presidential runoff pitting President Robert Mugabe against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will not be held in the next few weeks as required by law because the government needs more time to prepare, election officials said Sunday.

China: A man was arrested for saying on the Internet that he planned to grab the Olympic torch during its relay through eastern China, police said.

Seattle Times news services