Ethiopa
ADDIS ABABA — The two-year-long war between Ethiopia and Eritrea is over, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared Wednesday after talks with senior Ethiopian officials.
India
DHARMSALA — The Chinese government is considering the Dalai Lama's proposal to send a delegation to Beijing to discuss the status of Tibet, a senior Tibetan official said Tuesday.
Australia
CANBERRA — Australia said Wednesday it would spend an extra $12.4 billion over 10 years to upgrade its military, reflecting a new emphasis on security in its increasingly strife-torn neighborhood.
China
BEIJING — Two giant pandas, bound for their new home at the National Zoo in Washington D.C., left China on Wednesday aboard a specially modified Federal Express jet, a company official said.
South Africa
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa's opposition appeared to gain strength in municipal elections, though the ruling African National Congress still captured the vast majority of votes, according to partial results released Wednesday.
South Korea
SEOUL — South Korea's supreme court ruled in favor of Harvard University on Wednesday, banning the use of the "Harvard" name without prior approval from the school.
France
PARIS — A former top aide to President Jacques Chirac, charged in a corruption scandal, was freed on $40,500 bail Wednesday after five days in a Paris prison.
Brazil
BRASILIA — A landmark Brazilian congressional commission probing the drug trade approved its final report Wednesday, recommending that 827 people, including politicians, businessmen and former judges and police officials, be indicted.
Italy
ROME — A Rome judge Wednesday found two Argentine generals guilty of kidnapping and murdering Italians during Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship and sentenced them in absentia to life imprisonment.
Iran
TEHRAN — President Mohammad Khatami told thousands of student supporters on Wednesday he lacked sufficient power to fully realize his vision of a democratic Islamic system in Iran.
Germany
BERLIN — Germany launched nationwide tests on Wednesday for all cattle over 30 months old in its bid to win back consumer confidence in beef shattered by the Europe-wide mad cow scare.
Angola
LUANDA — Russia has agreed to provide military aid and training to the Angolan government in its fight against the rebel UNITA movement, Angolan Defense Minister Kundi Paihama told independent church-run radio on Wednesday.
Switzerland
BERNE — The Swiss parliament elected a member of the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) to the Cabinet as a successor to outgoing President and Defense Minister Adolf Ogi on Wednesday.
Indonesia
JAKARTA — United Nations investigators will quiz five policemen in Jakarta over last year's bloodshed in East Timor, including the general in charge at the time, Indonesia said on Wednesday.
England
LONDON — U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen urged the European Union on Wednesday not to allow the creation of its own rapid strike force to undermine NATO.
Cuba
HAVANA — Fidel Castro played benevolent grandfather to a timid 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez as state television on Tuesday broadcast for the first time images of the leader with the little castaway whose fate divided Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits.