Argentina
BUENOS AIRES — Argentine health authorities have discovered 81 more outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in the last week, taking the total animals infected with the highly contagious virus Friday to 149.
BUENOS AIRES — The Argentine government, after getting support Friday for Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo's growth plans from its estranged coalition partner and labor unions, predicted its financing problems were over.
Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO — The European Union has rated the risk of mad cow disease in Brazil as virtually zero, Brazil's agriculture minister said, citing an EU report due to be released next week.
Canada
MONTREAL — Europe's rigid stance forced the United States to reject the Kyoto treaty on global warming and talks won't resume until Washington finalizes a new negotiating position, Canada's environment minister said on Friday.
CALGARY, Alberta — Police swooped down in raids across southern Alberta Friday to arrest 40 Hells Angels and associates on hundreds of drug, weapons and conspiracy charges just two days after a similar massive crackdown on the outlaw biker gang in Quebec.
Germany
KARLSRUHE — Parliament asked Germany's Supreme Court to ban a far-right party, saying it encourages hate crimes and has "a clear affinity with Nazism."
Iraq
BAGHDAD — Eight Iraqi children were killed when a missile dropped during the 1991 Gulf War exploded as they played soccer in a sports field, the official Iraqi news agency INA reported.
Ireland
DUBLIN — A special Irish court charged a prominent Irish republican with "directing the activities" of an illegal guerrilla group. Michael McKevitt, 51, was brought to a rare late-night sitting of the three-judge non-jury Special Criminal Court and charged with "membership of and directing the activities of an unlawful organization styling itself the IRA."
Liberia
MONROVIA — Liberia's government freed four journalists detained for more than a month and dropped espionage charges against them.
Mexico
MEXICO CITY — In its first strike against corruption, Mexico's new government has fired 12 officials — three of them in senior positions — after they were caught taking bribes in an undercover sting operation.
Netherlands
THE HAGUE — Queen Beatrix announced the engagement of her son Crown Prince Willem Alexander to an Argentine woman. But the bride's father — once a top official in an Argentine dictatorship — won't be at the wedding.
Panama
PANAMA CITY — An elderly Panamanian man was shot dead and three policemen were injured when drunken police officers opened fire in a remote jungle town near the Colombian border, police said.
Russia
MOSCOW — The Russian army says it backs plans to abolish the dreaded draft, but in the meantime it is preparing to conscript nearly 200,000 young men this spring.
Ukraine
KIEV — Two people were killed when an artillery shell left over from World War II exploded in a forest in eastern Ukraine, emergency officials said Friday.
United Nations
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council demanded that Sierra Leone's rebels allow U.N. peacekeepers into diamond-mine areas they control and authorized an increase of U.N. troops to 17,500 from 10,350.
Zambia
LUSAKA — Two young chimpanzees found stuffed inside a cardboard container at Qatar airport in September were flown to Zambia for rehabilitation.