Generals sentenced to life in prison

Buenos Aires, Argentina

An Argentine court convicted two former generals on Thursday for the murder of a senator during the country's seven-year military dictatorship and sentenced them to life in prison.

Retired Gens. Antonio Bussi and Luciano Menendez were found guilty of kidnapping, torturing and murdering Sen. Guillermo Vargas Aignasse.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Dead penguins washing ashore

More than 200 oil-slicked penguins have washed up dead on the beaches of a popular Brazilian resort, and officials say they are searching for a cause.

Authorities said they have counted nearly 200 dead penguins found on the beaches of the island city of Florianópolis, but people bringing in live penguins covered with oil reported seeing hundreds more dead on the beaches, said Manuela Osório, a veterinarian caring for surviving birds.

Shanghai, China

Auditor reports $660M in fraud

Ten central government departments, including the powerful Ministry of Finance, "misused or embezzled" more than $660 million last year, according to the latest report from China's top auditor.

The report, part of a long-running crackdown on government fraud, said 88 people had been arrested, 14 officials had been referred for prosecution and an additional 104 government employees had been punished for their roles in mismanaging or embezzling government funds, state media reported Thursday.

Liu Jiayi, China's top auditor, said a further $6 billion in government funds had been "mismanaged" last year, and fraud had been detected in dozens of government bureaus, including the State Administration of Taxation.

Abuja, Nigeria

Iran to share nuke data with Nigeria

An Iranian trade delegation announced an agreement Thursday for Iran to share peaceful nuclear technology with Nigeria, to help Africa's biggest oil producer bolster its woeful electricity-generation capacity.

Officials of both countries stressed the agreement involves only the peaceful uses of atomic energy.

Iran is under sanctions for defying U.N. Security Council demands to halt uranium enrichment until it answers Western suspicions its program is trying to develop atomic weapons. Iran insists its program is intended only to generate electricity.

Georgetown, Guyana

Notorious fugitive killed in raid

A gang leader accused of orchestrating two village massacres that left 23 people dead in Guyana was killed in a shootout Thursday after authorities raided one of his hide-outs, police said.

Rondell Rawlins, the South American country's most wanted fugitive, was accused of trying to destabilize Guyana through the massacres this year in the coastal village of Lusignan and the mining town of Bartica. He also was a suspect in the 2006 assassination of Agriculture Minister Satyadeo Sawh.

Bangkok, Thailand

Protesters push police off grounds

Thai anti-government protesters occupying the grounds of the prime minister's office forced several hundred policemen off the compound early today and promised more action in their bid to oust the leader.

Police exercised restraint when the demonstrators — some armed with golf clubs, batons and bamboo sticks — pushed up to 400 officers out of the Government House grounds at about 1 a.m.

Thousands of supporters of the conservative People's Alliance for Democracy were encamped at Government House in support of their campaign to force Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej from office.

The alliance accuses Samak's government of serving as a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in 2006.

London

3 British men face terrorism charges

Three British men questioned about an online threat to assassinate Prime Minister Gordon Brown have been charged with a range of terror offenses, police said Thursday.

One of the men, 22-year-old Ishaq Kanmi, is accused of soliciting murder, being a member or "professing to belong" to al-Qaida, and distributing terrorist publications.

Abbas Iqbal, 23, and his 21-year-old brother, Ilya, also have been charged, police said.

Also

Bolivia: President Evo Morales scheduled a national referendum Dec. 7 on a hotly disputed new constitution allowing presidential re-election and aiming to empower a long-marginalized indigenous majority.

Congo: Rebels and the army fought one of their fiercest battles in eastern Congo this year Thursday, exchanging machine-gun and mortar fire all day outside a national park that is home to some of the world's last mountain gorillas.

China: Police clashed with members of the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority in the far western region of Xinjiang, authorities and an activist said Thursday, the first reported outbreak of violence in the area since two high-profile attacks during the Olympics.

Seattle Times news services