Algeria
ALGIERS - An explosion aboard a fishing trawler killed one person and injured six others in the old port of Algiers on Wednesday, officials said. A propane tank on the trawler exploded, the Port of Algiers said in a statement, although it did not specify the cause.
Albania
DURRES - U.N. staff on Wednesday unloaded the first major shipment of emergency food aid in Albania since the arrival of an Italian-led security mission in the anarchic Balkan state.
Portugal
LISBON - Three masked men carrying guns burst into a topless bar in northern Portugal Wednesday, poured gasoline on the floor and set it afire. Twelve people were killed and 14 injured, Portuguese media reported.
Vatican City
In his first comments on Bosnia since his trip to Sarajevo last weekend, Pope John Paul called Sarajevo a "city of cemeteries" and said Wednesday that only dialogue and reconciliation among Bosnia's ethnic and religious communities could cement lasting peace.
Canada
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The first male beluga to successfully sire a calf in Canadian captivity is heading south to California. The Vancouver Aquarium is lending Nanuq, captured seven years ago in Churchill, Manitoba, to San Diego's Sea World for breeding.
Colombia
BOGOTA - A top leader of the Cali drug cartel has been sentenced to 28 years in prison, but for kidnapping, not narcotics trafficking. Phanor Arizabaleta, considered No. 5 in the syndicate, was convicted and sentenced for extorsive kidnapping Tuesday by a regional judge in Cali, the chief prosecutor's office said.
North Korea
Impoverished North Korea is building a multimillion-dollar memorial to its late leader, Kim Il Sung, South Korea's intelligence agency said Wednesday. The $190 million project is scheduled for completion in July, the third anniversary of Kim's death, the Agency for National Security Planning said.
China
BEIJING - A powerful earthquake hit the disaster-stricken region of Jiashi in northwestern China early Wednesday, injuring an undetermined number of people. No deaths were reported. The magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the area in Xinjiang province at 2:19 a.m., the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
Thailand
BANGKOK - More than 145 years after he died, the third king of Thailand's current dynasty is about to have "the great" added to his title, a newspaper reported.
Mexico
MEXICO CITY - Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes has been made a commander of the National Order of Merit, France's highest civilian award given to a foreigner.
Britain
LONDON - Britain's election campaign sprang to life Wednesday when Prime Minister John Major made his most passionate defense yet of why he would not rule out entering the European Union's planned single currency.
Mali
BAMAKO - Police in Mali's capital Bamako used tear gas Wednesday to break up protests by opposition activists demanding new elections after chaotic weekend polling.
Fiji
SUVA - After a two-year absence, the Union Jack has been restored as Tuvalu's national flag, proving that the sun has not quite set on this tiny corner of the former British Empire.