SUVA, Fiji
Week-long election could provoke coup
Fiji began a week-long election Saturday that could fuel more turmoil in the troubled and racially divided South Pacific democracy.
Voters were choosing between an ethnic Indian opposition leader whose previous rise to power sparked a coup and an indigenous Fijian incumbent who is struggling for power with the country’s military chief.
Analysts have said a victory for caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase could mean continuing instability from his bitter dispute with military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
A win for Labor opposition leader Mahendra Chaudhry could provoke another coup.
MEXICO CITY
Top cop opposes weakened drug bill
The police chief of the Mexican capital joined forces with President Vicente Fox in opposing a drug decriminalization bill that has sparked alarm bells in the United States.
Joel Ortega said Saturday that the proposal, which Fox refused to sign last week, would make it harder for his officers to fight violent drug gangs that plague the Mexico City streets.
“Imagine in the moment that we are doing a raid, we almost have to say, ‘Hello, gentlemen drug traffickers, let us weigh the drugs to see if we have the power to arrest you,”‘ Ortega said.
BEACONSFIELD, Australia
Rescuers resort to blasts to free miners
Rescuers were using explosives Sunday to blast the final stretch of an escape tunnel in a desperate effort to free two Australian gold miners trapped underground for 12 days in a small steel cage.
Brant Webb, 37, and Todd Russell, 34, have been entombed a half-mile underground since an earthquake caused a rockfall April 25.
Beaconsfield, a town of 1,500, planned a huge party when the men are freed, including ringing a local church bell that has not sounded since the end of World War II.
Rescuers have bored through more than 45 feet of rock using a giant drill in an effort to reach the men.
JAKARTA, Indonesia
Ex-president Suharto treated for third day
Former Indonesian President Suharto underwent a third day of emergency treatment for intestinal bleeding Saturday.
The 84-year-old former general was taken to the Pertamina Hospital in the capital Thursday evening after he complained of weakness and difficulty swallowing.
His medical team diagnosed intestinal bleeding. Doctors did not specify the cause but said Suharto could be released within a week.
DUBROVNIK, Croatia
Cheney reiterates U.S. support of Croatia
Vice President Dick Cheney met with Croatian leaders Saturday and went sightseeing with his wife in a picturesque city by the Adriatic Sea on the final stop of a three-nation trip.
Standing next to Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, Cheney said the United States is “strongly supportive of Croatia becoming a full member of the transatlantic community, in terms of working with NATO and the EU.”
Cheney said the Bush administration is “deeply appreciative” of Croatia’s help in Afghanistan.”
SINGAPORE
Ruling party keeps control of Parliament
Singapore’s ruling party won a majority in parliamentary elections Saturday, signaling continuity in the city-state’s mix of economic success, social stability and tight political controls.
Final results showed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Party winning 82 of 84 seats in Parliament, including 37 seats it captured before the election because the opposition did not contest them.
