Jamaica

KINGSTON - Venezuela's ambassador to Jamaica, Alfredo Enrique Vargas-Hirsch, was shot and killed in his apartment before dawn Thursday.

Thailand

BANGKOK - Two men convicted of murder and rape were killed by firing squad at a prison on the outskirts of the capital, a prison official said.

Brazil

SAO PAULO - At least 18 people were killed when a bus struck a van and then swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with another bus in southeastern Brazil, police said.

Vietnam

HANOI - A jumbo jet with 665 breeding pigs on board will fly into Vietnam from Britain on Friday on a mission to go forth and multiply.

Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - Government troops repulsed attacks by Tamil Tiger rebels on its defences in the north, killing at least 50 guerrillas, the defense ministry said.

Turkey

AFYON - The judge in a high-profile trial of 11 Turkish policemen accused of involvement in the murder of a journalist resigned from the case, citing intolerable pressures.

Lebanon

BEIRUT - Israeli warplanes rocketed suspected Palestinian guerrilla targets south of Beirut, witnesses said.

Taiwan

TAIPEI - The government said Beijing had invited a senior Taiwan negotiator to a December seminar in southeast China, calling the move a positive sign but declining to say if he would accept.

Sudan

KHARTOUM - The central bank has cut banking links with U.S. establishments after Washington imposed economic sanctions on the African country for its alleged sponsorship of terrorism.

Bosnia Herzegovina

SARAJEVO - The government is issuing a special commemorative stamp in honor of Princess Diana, who went there on a humanitarian visit just three weeks before she was killed in a car crash.

Philippines

MANILA - The head of a Catholic missionary group called on the government to refrain from any military action in securing the release of an Irish priest held by Moslem gunmen on southern Mindanao island.

Switzerland

BERN - Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev checked out of a Swiss hospital after routine medical tests for allergies. "The rumors that I am dying have ended," Gorbachev said.

England

LONDON - A Virgin Atlantic plane made an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport after part of its landing gear locked up following a flight from Los Angeles. Some passengers suffered minor injuries.

Mexico

MEXICO CITY - Maria de Lourdes, one of Mexico's most-cherished singers of traditional "ranchera" music, died Thursday, media reports said.

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Venezuela

MARGARITA ISLAND - Police blew up a car they feared contained a bomb, parked outside a hotel that hosts a weekend summit of 23 leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Police would not say why bomb-squad officials carried out the controlled explosion.

Israel

JERUSALEM - Leaders were given a look at secret findings of a state probe of the Rabin assassination, but the step did little to quell a storm over conspiracy theories and a political crossfire of blame.

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