Austria
VIENNA — Far-right leader Joerg Haider accused Austria's Jewish leader Ariel Muzicant Thursday of being "unpatriotic" and spreading lies abroad about alleged threats to his community. Haider said Muzicant had claimed Jews would be endangered by the advent to power of Haider's Freedom Party last year in a coalition with Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's conservative People's Party.
Ecuador
QUITO — Inmates in Quito's largest prison took 120 visitors hostage Thursday in a bid to force authorities to implement sentence reductions provided for in a 1997 law. Six-hundred fifty inmates in Quito's Garcia Moreno prison are pushing the state to apply a law that has allowed a 50 percent reduction in the sentences of some inmates.
France
MONTPELLIER — A French appeals court on Thursday upheld a radical farmer's three-month prison sentence for ransacking a McDonald's to protest unchecked globalization.
Indonesia
JAKARTA — Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Thursday he has no intention of resigning since to do so might trigger the break-up of his vast and sprawling nation.
Iraq
BAGHDAD — Iran's main armed opposition blamed Tehran on Thursday for a bombing in Baghdad on Wednesday that wounded six civilians.
Italy
ROME — An Italian doctor determined to be the first to clone a human defended his plan before a medical council Thursday and accused the Vatican of starting a new inquisition against science.
Japan
TOKYO — A Japanese court ordered the central bank and a former branch manager to pay 6.8 million yen ($55,200) in damages for sexually harassing a female employee, the latest example of Japan's tougher line toward sexual crimes.
Kuwait
KUWAIT — The man suspected of killing a Kuwaiti journalist is a senior police officer who told investigators he was enraged by an article she wrote, an Interior Ministry official said Thursday.
Mexico
MEXICO CITY — The head of Mexico's government-owned oil monopoly Pemex said Thursday that Mexico was still undecided on how to react to OPEC's latest round of oil export cuts as decided last week by the oil cartel.
Papua New Guinea
PORT MORESBY — Rebel soldiers ended a weeklong revolt by agreeing to surrender their weapons Thursday. Rebel leaders called off the protest after meeting with Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta and other top officials to present a petition of their concerns over army reforms and international intervention in the economy.
Russia
MOSCOW — A Moscow court found a sculptor guilty of terrorism for a grenade attack on the U.S. Embassy and sentenced him Thursday to six and a half years in a maximum-security prison.
South Korea
SEOUL — The owner of a Nazi-themed bar said Thursday that he replaced "Hitler" in its name with "Ditler" after a protest from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. A Nazi flag and napkins and matchboxes bearing swastikas also will be removed, said Hong Dong-hwan, owner of the bar previously called "Hitler Techno Bar and Cocktail Show."
Turkey
ISTANBUL — Two moderate quakes shook central Turkey on Thursday sending residents fleeing their homes in panic, authorities said. No injuries or damage were reported.
United Nations
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whom the U.S. ambassador once described as "an international rock star of diplomacy," announced Thursday that he will seek a second five-year term at the helm of the world body.